Vic Country Series 5 – KartSportNews

by Andrew Hayes, AHR Media

The Wimmera Kart Racing Club has hosted Round 5 of the DPE Kart Superstore Victorian Country Series at its circuit just north of Horsham over the weekend.

143 entries battled the elements on Saturday, before conditions improved for Sunday’s racing.

A track resurface year on year proved to be a huge benefit, as the racing was much improved on the technical Wimmera track.

There was some breakthroughs, some supreme performances and plenty of hard luck stories.

full results on Speedhive HERE
more photos on Darren’s Sportography Facebook HERE

A healthy field of Junior Heavy form up at Horsham (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

TAG HEAVY (8 Entries)

Portland’s Scott King was looking to put some hard luck behind him from recent rounds, and kicked off in style by taking pole (29.189) in the first qualifying session of the day.

Scott was simply supreme in the heats, cruising to comfortable wins in each of the three encounters.

More of the same was to follow in the final, Scott finally taking his first round win of 2024, despite being a constant threat at the opening four rounds. Adam King and Aidan Solomon had some great dices across the weekend, and finished second and third respectively. Nathan Rosenzweig qualified well, but a starting infringement set him back in the heats, and he never got back to the front, ending up fourth, ahead of Zach Morris, who found some pace in the final.

1^st Scott King (PORT)
2^nd Adam King (PORT)
3^rd Aidan Solomon (WIMM)

Portland’s Scott King won TaG 125 Heavy (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

CADET 12 (21 Entries)

Newly crowned National Champ Archie Bristow returned to VCS after missing Warrnambool through illness, and proved exactly why he had the green plate, going quick time in qualifying (31.584).

Bristow was the benchmark in the heats, winning all three, despite being shadowed by the equally impressive Alana Gurney.

Bristow and Gurney again headed the field for the start of the final, with Ballarat’s latest National Champion getting the job done comfortably in the end, winning by a handy 4.4 second margin. Gurney was a fine second after accounting for the chasing pack behind. Ethan Turnbull grabbed his first VCS podium with a clean run in the final, home in third. Warrnambool winner Kurtis Polkinghorne finished fourth, ahead of Michael Mistriotis in fifth.

1^st Archie Bristow (BALL)
2^nd Alana Gurney (OAK)
3^rd Ethan Turnbull (GKCV)

Cadet 12 podium, sans winner (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 SENIOR LIGHT (15 Entries)

KA3 Senior Light qualifying was hotly contested to say the least, as the top four drivers were covered by a tenth of a second. Taking the honours and his first VCS Senior pole position (29.492) was Dallas Greene.

Mildura’s Jake Krasna mastered the wet conditions to claim the opening heat, before backing up to win heat two in better conditions. Polesitter Greene prevailed in the third encounter.

Krasna started the final from pole position and led the early stages of the final, whilst being stalked all the way by Greene. Eventually Greene made his move on lap 11, and was not headed from there, taking a classy win by just over a second. Krasna settled for second on a track he traditionally goes well at, finishing ahead of Nicholas Trebilcock, who showed some blistering pace on his way to third. Title combatants Brocklan Parker and Dylan Hollis rounded out the top five.

1^st Dallas Greene (GKCV)
2^nd Jake Krasna (MILD)
3^rd Nicholas Trebilcock (ROCH)

Senior Light form up, Jake Krasna (75) and round winner Dallas Green (86) off the front row (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

VIC COMBINED MASTERS (16 Entries)

Former VCS Masters champion Ash Mitchell made a return at Horsham, announced his arrival by claiming a very tight pole position (30.133).

Rain threw chaos on the first heat as the field was split on tyre choice, with history now saying wets was the better option, Heath Jelbart making every post a winner to take the heat out. From there Mitchell and Jelbart would split the wins in the remaining heats.

The pair would lead the field to the start of the final with Jelbart making the better start. Mitchell shadowed Jelbart for the first thirteen laps, before making his move for the lead. Jelbart was poised to return serve, but ran off the track at a critical point of the race. Mitchell the winner on return, followed closely by Jelbart in second. Third went to the 2023 Masters champ Anthony Pethebridge who chased his tail after going underweight in heat one. Angelo D’Ettore and Mark Appleby could hardly be split, and finished fourth and fifth respectively.

1^st Ash Mitchell (MILD)
2^nd Heath Jelbart (BEN)
3^rd Anthony Pethebridge (ELKC)

Masters podium (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

CADET 9 (6 Entries)

NT Champion Beau Chambers was looking shiny with his new blue plate, and he dominated qualifying to take pole (32.341) in a sign of what was to come.

Chambers was undeniable in the heats, as he won each by more than 10 seconds, including taking heat one by a whopping 17 seconds!

The experience of Chambers showed again in the final, as he made it a clean sweep on his way to a perfectly executed round win, remarkably only his second in VCS! Zac Ismaili showed his huge improvement in 2024, as he steamed to a well deserved second place for the second round in a row. Completing the same podium as the Warrnambool round was Jonathon Testa, taking a third place trophy. Logan Rethus and Tyler Ursua battled for most of the weekend and finished fourth and fifth. Special mention to Jett Gobourne who had a little spin fighting Testa for third, he also drove beautifully across the weekend.

1^st Beau Chambers (PORT)
2^nd Zac Ismaili (OAK)
3^rd Jonathon Testa (GKCV)

Cadet 9 winner Beau Chambers (95) leads the field to green alongside Zac Ismalli (4) (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

TAG LIGHT (13 Entries)

When the clock stopped in Tag Light qualifying it was SA’s Ryan Morgan on top of the charts, taking a long awaited pole position (28.481).

Heat one was won by the current black plate holder Curt Sera after taking the lead just after mid race. Dallas Greene took control of the second and third heats, in a clear indication of the weekend he was having.

Put simply, Greene was on fire at the Wimmera circuit and could not be stopped in the final of Tag Light, winning comfortably by 3.8 seconds. A commanding performance that was his second class win of the day! Jake Krasna was also having a day out, and he claimed his second runners up spot of the day, ahead of Morgan, who was in the mix all weekend in third. Jordi Belton is a much improved driver and would claim fourth, ahead of heat one winner Sera in fifth.

1^st Dallas Greene (GKCV)
2^nd Jake Krasna (MILD)
3^rd Ryan Morgan (SGKC)

TaG Light runner-up Jake Krasna leads Curt Sera and Ryan Morgan (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 JUNIOR LIGHT (18 Entries)

SA’s Cristiano Crisa turned in a huge qualifying to prevail for pole (29.411) in the hotly contested Junior Light class, exceeding even his own expectations.

Proving the unpredictability of the class, there was three different heat winners from three events. Firstly it was Aiden Schweikert, then Jai George, and finally Hudson Hughes who all staked their claim.

The final rolled off with George and Schweikert leading the way, with Hughes and Crisa also in tow. George made the running until Schweikert made a pass for the lead on lap ten. The pack continued to battle, with Hughes rising from fourth with five laps to go, to claim a breakthrough VCS win ahead of Schweikert who was right on his hammer for second. George’s run of three round wins in a row came to an end, but he banked serious points in third. Crisa was impressive all weekend on his way to fourth ahead of Ryder Dahler who was also pacey in fifth.

1^st Hudson Hughes (OAK)
2^nd Aiden Schweikert (OAK)
3^rd Jai George (ELKC)

South Australia’s Cristiano Crisa missed the Junior Light podium, but qualified fastest and set quickest lap in the final (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

TAG RESTRICTED MEDIUM (12 Entries)

Five different tracks and five different conditions, yet for the fifth consecutive round in 2024 it was ‘The Sot’, Andrew Sotiropoulos prevailing in qualifying (30.159).

Sotiropoulos was up to his old tricks in heat one, before SA’s Jack Ryan took the chocolates in the second stanza. Sotiropoulos back in charge in heat three.

Ryan was as impressive as ever on the outside of turn one to lead the start of the final, however it wouldn’t be long before the Sot made his presence felt, taking over the front running. Tasmanian Jackson Callow turned up the pressure on The Sot in the middle of the race, before a big bicycle moment at turn 5 put paid to his chances of victory. Sotiropoulos again finding the secret sauce to win an incredible fifth round in a row. Callow was a welcome inclusion as he finished second, ahead of Jono McKean, whose form is trending up after consecutive third place finishes. Ryan was home in fourth, ahead of Jackson Hodgetts in fifth.

1^st Andrew Sotiropoulos (OAK)
2^nd Jackson Callow (LKC)
3^rd Jack Ryan (MGKC)

Andrew Sotiropoulos (8) heads the Restricted Mediums (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 SENIOR MEDIUM (8 Entries)

A smaller than expected KA3 Senior Medium Class, yet it was packed to the seams with quality. Zach Findlay has been electric in 2024, and he added another VCS pole (29.624) to his growing resume.

The heats all went the way of Findlay, but not without being made to earn them.

Findlay’s masterpiece was without doubt the final, as he put in a supreme turn of pace to lead the field from lights to flag and a 5.3 second margin. Matthew Nietz may have started the weekend a bit off his usual pace, but he certainly found it when it counted to claim second, ahead of Robbie Turmine, who delivered a big result on his home track for third. Seth Burton was right up front early in the weekend, settling for fourth in the final, ahead of the Master from Horsham, Remo Luciani in fifth.

1^st Zach Findlay (GKCV)
2^nd Matthew Nietz (GKSA)
3^rd Robbie Turmine (WIMM)

Another win for Zach Findlay in Senior Medium (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

KA3 JUNIOR HEAVY (19 Entries)

Stepping up from Lights, it was Lucas Rickard putting the cat amongst the pigeons by taking an impressive pole (30.037) on his Heavy debut.

Rickard went on with business as he also recorded his first three heat wins, in succession mind you, giving his competitors something to think about.

Rickard jumped away well in the final, but was shadowed by Chelsea Humphrey through the early stages. Humphrey seized her opportunity on lap seven to take the lead, and it would prove decisive. Once Humphrey got to the lead, the chasing pack began squabbling, and ultimately slowing themselves down. It allowed Humphrey to build a race winning lead, going on to salute for the second time in 2024. Rickard eventually emerged as a clear second, and could be proud of his efforts. A drag race to the line between a pair of SA speedsters saw Sam Spiteri pip Levi Jones for the final spot on the podium. Josh White grabbed fifth place.

1^st Chelsea Humphrey (ELKC)
2^nd Lucas Rickard (GKCV)
3^rd Sam Spiteri (BAR)

Pole-sitter Lucas Rickard leads Chelsea Humphrey, but it would be Humphrey who got up to take the win (pic – Darren’s Sportography)

TAG RESTRICTED LIGHT (7 Entries)

Restricted Light qualifying saw SA based Portland driver Ben Kilsby add another pole position (29.517) to his pole from Ballarat.

Kilsby was clinical in the heats, doing what he needed to do to secure the win in each, despite being under pressure at different points of each.

History will show Kilsby going lights to flag to take his second consecutive round win in 2024, but what it won’t show is that he was given a good run in the final by Ash Johnston. Kilsby did have his measure in the end, but Johnston gave a fair account of himself to finish a strong second. Jakub Fitzsimmons also got going on consecutive podium results, adding third to his second place from the previous round at Warrnambool. Jack Michelson and Edward Bourke rounded out the top five.

1^st Ben Kilsby (PORT)
2^nd Ash Johnston (BALL)
3^rd Jakub Fitzsimmons (WBOOL)