by Ayrton Creagh
In contradiction to the expected tempestuous, stormy weather, it was nothing but blue skies and perfect racing conditions that graced the Numurkah circuit for the 2024 Australasian Titles held in the Goulburn Valley region. Bolstered by a positive 150+ competitors, there was plenty of fierce racing as drivers competed for the coveted red plate!
One of the larger classes throughout the weekend with 18 entries, Cadet 9 put on the fireworks for the spectators yet again as Beau Chambers continued his winning ways, snaring pole position by 0.135 over Koby Charles and Zac Duynhoven – Zac Ismaili and Rory Edmunds completing the top 5. In the post-qualifying interview, Chambers mentioned that to win, he just had to “go fast”, and fast he went, going on to take the opening two heats with Duynhoven just behind – Ismaili and Charles with a P3 finish each as Edmunds and Milan Sami also jostled for top five finishes. In the third and final heat Chambers looked a shoo-in to make it a clean sweep, but with lapped-traffic congestion playing its part, it was Duynhoven and Ismaili who managed to get the jump to pip Chambers at the post, the two Zac’s crossing the line for a 1-2!
We were set for nothing short of an electric final as Chambers lined up alongside Duynhoven, Ismaili in P3 whilst Edmunds’ consistency bagged him a P4 start, Charles out of 5th. Lights out and we were underway, drama immediately as several front runners out for the count by Turn 2 as Sami, Edmunds and Charles tripped over each other! The squabbling allowed Chambers to pull out a margin just shy of 1s by the end of the opening lap, Ismaili in pursuit. A lap later and Duynhoven was on the move, gliding past Ismaili who was now trying to hold on. Chambers wasn’t interested in hanging around, pedal to the metal as he drove away from the ensuing pack to build a massive gap, going on to cross the line an astonishing 5.3s ahead of Ismaili in 2nd, Duynhoven narrowly behind to complete the podium!
Off the back of a hot run of form lately, Cadet 12 saw Goulburn Valley local, Jensen Damaschino, claim a glorious pole position over his fellow EKS kart driver, Austin McPherson in 2nd; a mere 0.104s separating the two with Alana Gurney, Mason Martin and Nate Charles completing the fast five. The heat races were fierce, Damaschino not getting everything his own way as he took the sole heat victory before being trumped by both Gurney and McPherson in the latter races, Gurney the star of heats with a string of victories, McPherson and Sam Skoblar with a win each; Xavier Mifsud, Will Cairns, Mason Martin, Jackson Wood and Koa Patten all competing at the front of the field too.
The stage was set for yet another grandstand finale, Gurney’s dominance paying its due reward with pole position alongside the hometown hero of Damaschino, McPherson, Skoblar and Cairns just behind! The flag dropped and we were racing, Damaschino with a blinder of a start that ensured him the holeshot, Skoblar filing into P2. The racing could be compared to bare knuckle boxing early on, rough and tumble as there was plenty of dicing for position, Gurney running in 3rd before tumbling down to 6th, before Skoblar fell to 6th himself from 2nd in the space of about five metres. It was all going on, Damaschino however was fixated on the red plate, sprinting away to a 1.5s margin by lap 3. Gurney looked to be the nearest competitor speedwise, making this apparent as she turned on the afterburners to cruise through to 3rd on the tail of McPherson! Damaschino has checked out, the battle well and truly alive behind. It was pure Damaschino domination in the end, a magnificent victory of 3.3s ahead of Gurney, who together with Martin found a way past McPherson on the very last lap to take 2nd and 3rd each – what a race!
KA3 Junior Light saw Jai George back up his impressive performance from last weekend with yet another stunning pole position, obliterating the opposition to take P1 by 0.182s over Max Mangano and William Boniface – Aiden Schweikert and Harrison McInerney completing the fast five! George had the winning fever, backing up his qualifying with sheer dominance and three heat wins ahead of the likes of Boniface, Schweikert and McInerney, Schweikert and Mangano with mixed results as they were both hampered with DNF’s.
After the heats it seemed fairly bleak for the final as to whether anyone could get within arms reach of the #47. Could there be a changing of the tide to upset George’s current supremacy? The flag dropped and we were underway, Schweikert with a monster start to swoop into the lead in Turn 1 ahead of George, Mangano in 3rd! Schweikert had his head down and tail up as he tried to evade the hard charging #47, but George proved too good as he motored on by Schweikert a handful of laps later. George had hit the lead, it was seeming like it may all be run and done given how the early races had finished, but Schweikert didn’t seem to cave, keeping the margin simmering at the 0.5s mark. Three to go, Schweikert kicks it up a gear to record the fastest lap of the race and close in on George, and then does yet ANOTHER fastest lap to almost cruise right onto his bumper! Despite his efforts, George maintained his composure to stifle Schweikert efforts and take victory by a kart-length! Schweikert took 2nd, fastest lap to boot ahead of Mangano in 3rd – Michael White and Mason Woods a distant 4th and 5th!
KA3 Junior Heavy was a game of inches as Ryan Taborsky strutted his way to pole position by a remarkable 0.019s ahead of Mathew Basso, Cooper Frith tailing by a further 0.041s with Rya Roberts and Max Johnston the top five! Taborsky’s speed ensured him the opening heat victory, but it’d be Basso’s supreme race craft that saw him cut through the field with ease and take the next two races ahead of Taborsky and Frith in Heat 2, Cohen Naumann and Cody Boys on the podium in Heat 3.
Basso’s consistency ensured that he start the final from pole position alongside Ryan Roberts – Taborsky all the way back in 5th after a DNF in the heats – what would it take to stop Basso out in front? Lights out and we’re underway, a great start from the #18 saw him take the lead, as Naumann followed through into P2, Johnston just behind. It was single file for a couple of laps before Naumann took his shot at the crown, passing Basso for the lead, before Basso expeditiously took it back a lap later. As the others continued to duel it out for the win, Basso drove away from the pack to record the fastest lap of the race and victory by 1.7s over Rya Roberts! It was fine margin further behind, Max Johnston narrowly pipping Frith and Taborsky on the line to take the final podium place!
The top of the field in Tag 125 Restricted Light were virtually inseparable as Ethan Warren stormed to the top of the charts by just 0.007s ahead of Mackenzie Rowley in 2nd place! Over 0.100s further back, just 0.007s separated 3rd from 5th as Hugh Dalton narrowly beat Ben Bloomfield and Corey Macfarlane! Rowley had plenty of speed aboard his kart in the opening heat, but it’d be Warren’s race smarts that saw him take the opening race, before tripling up in Heat’s 2 and 3 ahead of Dalton and Ella Dealy, the top five still difficult to separate with frequent jostling throughout.
The final was Warren’s for the taking, a pole position grid start the result of his clean sweep of the heats lining up alongside Ella Dealy out of P2 – could she challenge for the win on her home turf? The flag dropped, throttles pinned and we’re off, Warren straight into the lead of the race with Dalton on his tail – Dealy just behind. The laps wound down, Dalton working tirelessly to keep in touch of the #59 but Warren practically walking away at this point. Further behind, Mackenzie Rowley had been tearing his way through the pack and had set after Dalton for the silver medal. As the 20-lap finale came to an end, Warren had his kart on cruise control, crossing the line a cool 4.6s ahead of Rowley who made the overtake for 2nd with two laps to go – Dalton completing the top three!
After only recently returning to karting a handful of weeks ago, there was no rest for the wicked as Brodie Doidge claimed pole position at his home track in the Tag 125 Restricted Medium category, 0.119s ahead of fellow Goulburn Valley member, James Cocca, in 2nd. Lachlan Waeland, Trent Meadows and Josh Godfrey completed the top five.
Doidge looked formidable from the onset, claiming the first two heat victories over Meadows and Cocca, who would alternate 2nd and 3rd between each other across the two races. Heat 3 spelt disaster for Doidge however, as a mechanical failure ruled him out of the race before it even began! With the race split wide open, Meadows seized the opportunity to take the win ahead of Cocca and Godfrey just behind!
As a result of Doidge’s DNF, Meadows was awarded pole position alongside Cocca out of P2, Doidge just behind in 3rd. The light went out and we’re away, Cocca with a terrific start that saw him inherit the lead from Meadows, Doidge filing in behind in 3rd. The laps went down, Doidge making a pass for 2nd on lap three that saw Meadows run wide, Doidge fully focused on the escaping Cocca down the road. The afterburners were turned on and Doidge reeled Cocca in with 15-laps to go, making light work of the overtake. It was nothing short of an annihilation as Doidge crossed the line victorious by 7.5s ahead of Meadows with the fastest lap, Waeland inheriting 3rd as part of post-race proceedings.
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Tag 125 Restricted Heavy saw yet another GVKC member on top of the charts in qualifying, as Mason Baldi went fastest with a 25.065 – 0.077s ahead of Shannon Hogg with Jason Gambold in 3rd. Baldi swept the heats in fine fashion, leading Hogg in the opening two heats, Brent Opie on the comeback as he picked up a pair of 3rds before taking 2nd in Heat 3 – Logan Burton just behind.
Baldi’s speed looked like it couldn’t be matched as they went into the final, but with Opie starting alongside the #69, could he snare victory as part of his incredible comeback? The flag dropped and we were racing, Baldi with yet another perfect start to take the lead into the opening corner, Opie tucking in behind with Hogg hot on his heels. The laps wound down, single file for most of the race until Hogg decided to step out of the slipstream and overtake Opie on lap 7. There was little change from there, Baldi blazing his way across the line to win by 3.2s over Hogg in 2nd – Opie completing the podium for a GVKC 1, 2, 3!
Victorian Combined Masters featured more local success early in the weekend. Local, Clayton Groves, claimed yet another brilliant pole position at a track he always seems to dominate, waltzing his way to 1st by 0.158s over Leigh Holmes in P2 with Chris Brooks, Mark Appleby and Rodney Kubeil completing the fastest five!
The heats were immense, Groves storming away for a 4.5s win in Heat 1, before wet conditions from overnight rain saw three drivers opt for wets (others deciding with slicks to save their wets for the anticipated downpour in the afternoon), lapping the entire field led by Angelo D’Ettore! As the track continued to dry, Groves returned to his winning ways, once again running off with a 4.5s victory in the final heat over Holmes and D’Ettore.
With the pending rain expected to hit the track mid-afternoon, who would come out on top? Contradicting the forecast, it was still clear skies as the drivers went out for their final, Groves starting out of pole position alongside Holmes, the two class heavyweights set to battle for a final time with D’Ettore, Appleby and Kubeil completing the front five places. Lights out and we’re underway, Groves with a fantastic start but amidst all the action Holmes is forced wide, dropping down to last place. By the end of the first few laps, it was Groves who leads from Kubeil, Brooks in 3rd with D’Ettore and Appleby chasing them down. Kubeil threw everything he had at Groves, but it proved to be not enough as the #2 obliterated the field to win by a resounding 9.3s! Kubeil took home a well-deserved 2nd, with Brooks concluding the podium places.
KA3 Senior Light featured the titans of the category all converge yet again vying for Australasian Title glory. Following his recent SA state title victory, Will Thompson took pole position in what was a thrilling qualifying session, narrowly beating Jett Adamson and Hugo Garraway to 1st place – less than 0.1s separating the top three with Jake Krasna and Tanner Peters behind!
The heats commenced and it was Adamson who drew first blood, taking victory over Thompson. Heat 2 would see Garraway take the victory despite finishing 3rd on track, post-race penalties applied to both Thompson and Adamson who had finished in both 1st and 2nd before being classified in 7th and 8th, handing 2nd and 3rd to Nick Trebilcock and Brodie Radford.
Heat 3 would see Garraway starting off pole alongside Adamson, Garraway going on to take a dominant victory before also being penalised, victory going the way of Trebilcock with Thompson and Adamson handed 2nd and 3rd respectively.
It’d been a blockbuster set of affairs until this point, four drivers well and truly in contention for the red plate coming into the final! Having kept his nose clean throughout the heats, Trebilcock was set to start out of P1 alongside Garraway; Thompson, Adamson and Peters the remaining top five starting places. The flag dropped and we were racing, Garraway with an audacious overtake into the opening turn to get the holeshot and take the lead! Trebilcock slotted into 2nd following Garraway around the circuit, Thompson back in 3rd. There had been little change at the top of the order, Garraway focusing on running away with it whilst Trebilcock and Thompson tried to hang on. Approaching half race distance and Thompson decides to get a move on, breezing past Trebilcock on lap 9 before sensationally taking the fight to Garraway a handful of laps later. Thompson took the lead with some eight laps to go and never looked back, beating Garraway to the line by two kart-lengths with Adamson taking 3rd!
Arguably one of the most inform racers heading into the event, 2024 City of Melbourne Titles winner, Zach Findlay, proved he’s certainly no slouch around any track in Victoria, claiming a glorious pole position in KA3 Senior Medium by a mere 0.034s ahead of Grace Riddell, Taylem Mackinlay a further 0.04s further back! Jarrod Bottomley and Luke Richards completed the top five. The heats featured more fierce racing as Findlay was yet to be beaten, going three from three heading into the final. Further back, Bottomley had carved his way through the mid-pack with two podiums – the other podium places shared between Riddell and Ben Fisher. Unfortunately for Riddell, a DNF in Heat 2 hampered her starting position for the final.
Once again heading into a final, Findlay looked to be firing on all cylinders, the rapid Bottomley joining him on the front row with Fisher, Riddell and Mackinlay behind. Could an upset be on the cards? The lights went out and we were racing, Findlay with a blinder of a start to take the lead into turn one, Bottomley following through in 2nd with Fisher hot on his heels. Bottomley looked motivated behind the steering wheel, squeezing every ounce of performance from the kart that he could. But there wasn’t anything that could be done, Findlay too fast and furious to be caught as he scampered down the road to win by 5s over Bottomley in P2, Fisher completing the top three! Another dominant display from young Findlay.
Tag 125 Light saw arguably the best qualifying session of the event take place, to be expected from such a high-calibre category. Tony Kart’s Jasper Frith claimed a scintillating pole position over Will Thompson by just 0.037s – Curt Sera, Jordi Belton and Jake Krasna completing the fast five! Incredibly, Sera and Belton recorded identical times, the timing system recognising Sera as minutely faster; the top five covered by less than 0.07s!
Despite Frith’s masterful qualifying, it was Thompson’s race craft that reigned supreme, clean sweeping the heats with three fastest laps to stamp his authority. Frith, Krasna and Sera all enjoyed dual podiums to their names respectively, having diced it out through all three racing encounters.
Heading into the final and it was Thompson who was the driver to beat yet again, set to start out of pole position alongside Krasna with Frith, Sera and Belton behind. The flag dropped and we were racing, Thompson taking the lead as to be expected, Frith following through to claim 2nd ahead of Krasna. Frith lumped the pressure on the back of the Thompson kart, suffocating the leader with incredible precision and consistency to ensure Thompson had to be at his best. The two built a gap to Krasna behind, before Thompson broke Frith’s spirits and drove away from the #42, taking his second chequered flag for the day and winning by 1.9s as he crossed the line! Krasna and Sera would continue to battle it out, before what looked to be a mechanical issue saw Krasna pull out of the race with four laps to go, Sera cruising home to take a comfortable P3!
Despite being the smallest field for the weekend, Tag 125 Heavy certainly didn’t lack talent – a star-studded line up that saw numerous state champions compete in the field of five. What has been his happy hunting ground for some time now, Troy Alger took yet another pole position around the Numurkah circuit by just under 0.1s ahead of Liam Ford in 2nd – Tom Hughes, Tom McCulloch and Lachie Sharpe completing the field. Once again, it was the finest of margins that separated the drivers, 2nd to 4th decided by just 0.007s!
Alger’s speed was electric on Saturday, winning the opening heat from Hughes and Ford, before Hughes annihilated the field by 15s in slippery conditions Sunday morning – Ford and Alger 2nd and 3rd. No one looked to be the clear favourite heading into Heat 3, as Ford waltzed his way to victory in style ahead of Alger and McCulloch – McCulloch with the fastest lap.
The Australasian crown was seemingly open to whoever wanted it most, three different winners in three heats – it was anyone’s for the taking! Alger was set to start of pole alongside Ford, the two equal on points with positions decided from the qualifying results – Hughes, McCulloch and Share the remaining places. The lights went out and we’re underway, Alger with a terrific start to snatch the lead as Ford plummeted to 3rd, Hughes squeezing through on the apex of turn one. As the laps wound down Ford had pace to burn, passing Hughes for 2nd and setting chase after Alger. Ford would try salvage what he could, but Alger’s blistering speed and consistency proved to be unmatched as he led from lights to flag, taking the win by 1.2s! Ford crossed the line in P2, with fellow A1 Engines driver Tom Hughes crossing the line in 3rd.
Commentator’s Driver of the Weekend (special mention):
After yet another fantastic running of one of the standout events on the calendar, there were several drivers who had put together stellar weekend’s deserving to be mentioned. With difficult conditions impacting early on Sunday morning before ideal weather in time for the finals, spectators were treated to the incredibly high calibre of driving on display at grassroots level, with one driver standing out.
Jensen Damaschino has been a regular front runner in Cadet 12 for some time now, however, in recent weeks had really began putting pressure on the front runners at both a state and national level to challenge for a big result. Jensen’s improvements over recent events were solidified by his impressive run of form throughout the weekend, claiming pole position before taking the fight to some of Australia’s best racers to come out on top. Jensen didn’t only display exhilarating race craft and slick moves on track, but also great sportsmanship off it; supportive and encouraging of his competitors and their results at the end of the weekend’s racing.
Congratulations Jensen on a fantastic result!
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YESSSSS! JENSON