words by Ayrton Creagh
It wouldn’t be the start of a Golden Power Series without a scorching opening round to get things underway, 2025 delivering in usual fashion as temperatures soared just south of 40°.
With an incredible turnout of entrants and teams based all around the country, the Golden Power Series continues to live up to its title of being one of the premier karting series in the country.
- full results on Speedhive HERE
- LOTS of images on photographers’ Facebook pages:

Cadet 9
The blazing conditions certainly challenged the youngest competitors of the weekend. Jonathon Testa appeared unphased as the weekend commenced, notching pole position over Milan Sami and Felix Sim just behind – little over 0.1s separating them. Despite Testa’s quick start to the weekend, it was Sim, Sami and Luke Robinson who enjoyed the spoils throughout the heats.
Things were sizing up for a blockbuster final, several drivers in contention with Sami starting off pole alongside Sim. Disaster before the race even commenced, Sami’s engine appearing to foul metres out of the out-grid. With a re-arranged order, lights were out, Sim maintaining the lead and holding on. More drama only laps later, Sim running into the gravel trap into turn 1! Djemil inherited the lead of the race and never looked back, going on to win with Luke Robinson and Zac Duynhoven in his trail.

Cadet 12
The usual frontrunners stood tall in Cadet 12 over the weekend, Alana Gurney returning to the top of the charts, notching pole position aboard her Parolin kart a mere 0.06s ahead of Martin Hsieh, Rossi Yau just behind. Despite qualifying down in 5th, Jensen Damaschino found a way to cut through the field and win the opening two heats, before recently crowned Tasmanian State Champion, Mason Martin, took the chocolates in Heat 3 – Gurney, Hsieh, Yau and Oliver Williamson all in the mix.
Similarly to Cadet 9 it was appearing to be a grandstand finale, little separating the best of the bunch in Cadet 12 as they all vied for glory. Damaschino’s consistency awarded him pole alongside Williamson. Damaschino got to work early, maintaining the lead on the opening lap before relinquishing this to Williamson a lap later. Damaschino was dogged in pursuit, passing Williamson only moments later to reclaim the lead. It was a game of patient chess at the front, whilst further back, Jarvis Hindle was slicing his way through the top order with ease. Last lap, Williamson yet to make a move, Hindle in pursuit, the top 3 covered by mere metres! There was nothing Williamson or Hindle could do, Damaschino’s stout defence ensuring him yet another mesmerising victory.

KA3 Junior Light
Undeniably KA3 Junior Light was one of the classes of the weekend, fraught with action in every race. In yet another scintillating qualifying session, Lana Flack marched to pole position, outqualifying Sebastian Dias by a mere 0.04s with KartClass’ Riley Harrison just behind. Flack continued on her warpath in the heats, cleaning sweeping enroute to a pole position start for the final – Dias in the mix with Aaron Bottomley notching two 2nd place finishes.
Flack went into the final as the driver to beat, having reigned supreme all weekend. Could someone trigger an upset? The flag dropped and we’re racing, Flack maintaining the lead momentarily before Bottomley made a move for the crown on lap 2. The lead was passed around like a hot potato, no driver seemingly wanting to hold it for long as Dias now held the lead on lap 7 – disaster for Flack after an incident scrubbed her out of contention. All of a sudden it was a five-way duel for the lead; Harrison, Jai George and Luca Portaro all involved. Bottomley found a way to slither back into the lead, Dias trying to remain in touch. Last lap, squabbling throughout the top five saw dicing for position, George now into 2nd. A sprint to the line, Bottomley takes it in a thriller! George crosses the line 2nd before receiving a drop-down bumper infringement, Dias and Harrison completing the podium!

KA3 Junior Heavy
Home-track hero, Aydan Warren, came into the weekend as the driver to beat after showing impressive speed throughout 2024. So, it was no shock to see Warren top the timing charts in his own backyard, out-pacing Cohen Naumann by 0.1s – Max Johnston notching an identical time for 2nd as well! The heats were closely fought, Johnston getting the better of Warren in the two opening heats (with a victory of 0.001s!), before Warren charged back to win Heat 3.
It all pointed towards a sensational finale; Johnston set to start from pole with Warren alongside. An electric start for Johnston saw him take the lead on the opening lap, Chris Lowe slotting into 2nd with Warren behind. Plenty of action throughout the field whilst it was fairly single file out in front, the pursuing group trying to reel in Johnston before disaster – Johnston appearing to have a brake failure! Lowe inherited the lead, Warren closing in but unable to catch the evading Love who went on to take his maiden round win! Warren crossed the line 2nd with Max Mangano completing the podium.

Tag 125 Restricted Light
Ben Bloomfield raised the bar for the category to match those of the temperatures, soaring to new heights as he claimed pole over Ryan Dealy by 0.14s – Jonny Sawyer completing the top 3! The heats were action-packed, jostling for position as Bloomfield, Dealy and Jamie Meadows all went on to take a heat victory each.
Moving into the final, who would end up on top? Dealy set to start out of pole position alongside Bloomfield – lights out and we’re away. Dealy with a terrific start to take the lead, Sawyer following suit and moving into P2 with Bloomfield behind. Bloomfield made light work of Sawyer, passing by on lap 4. That was all she wrote, Bloomfield brought the margin down from 1.0s to just 0.2s – Dealy holding on for a sensational victory!

Tag 125 Restricted Medium
Despite making her debut in-class in the series, Ella Dealy presented unphased as she waltzed to pole position by a narrow 0.02s over Michael Flynn, Josh Godfrey tailing behind with the top three separated by a mere 0.05s. Dealy capitalised on her excellent to take victory in Heat 1, 2023 series champion Trent Meadows fighting back to claim Heat 2 before 2-in-1 overtake into the first corner saw Dealy clinch Heat 3!
Dealy had speed on her side, but a poor finish in Heat 2 saw her starting behind Meadows and Godfrey. Could Dealy take it to the experience of the masterful Meadows? A blinding start from Godfrey saw him take the hole into turn one, Meadows falling to P2. A lap later and Dealy was now on the move, finding a way past Meadows for 2nd before drama – Meadows and Flynn coming together! It cracked the race wide open, Dealy set the task of reeling in Godfrey who held a kart-length lead. A match of strategic chess ensued, the two waiting patiently to see who would bite first – Dealy making a lunge on lap 10 and taking the lead! Godfrey’s tyres appear to have fallen off the cliff, unable to match Dealy’s speed as she went on to take victory – the siblings notching the Dealy double up!

Tag 125 Restricted Heavy
Returning to the class for 2025, Blair Van Ree added yet another pole position to his collection, pipping Trent Meadows by 0.17s with Brent Opie a further 0.5s back. No one could seemingly stop Van Ree whilst on his warpath, claiming the two opening heats in style, before Meadows broke the trend heading into Heat 3.
It was a two-way tussle for the win in Tag 125 Restricted Heavy – the two category favourites of Meadows and Van Ree going toe-to-toe. Van Ree managed a terrific start that saw him take the lead on the opening lap, Meadows relegated to 3rd as Opie jumped into P2. Meadows found a way passed Opie a lap later – setting pursuit for Van Ree. Meadows cut the deficit down to a single tenth, but in the dying stages didn’t appear to have the speed he displayed mid-race – Van Ree holding on to take victory!

Victorian Combined Masters:
Recently crowned state champion, Mark Seddon, once again brought his speedy nature to the Eastern Lions circuit, claiming pole position by a slender 0.047s over Chris Brooks in P2, with Anthony Pethebridge another 0.018s further back! Seddon was in sublime form throughout the heats, taking a hattrick of victories as local favourite, Ian Branson, worked his way through the order back to the top of the charts.
It was going to take a herculean effort to stop Seddon from marching to victory, could Branson pull off a famous victory in the final? The flag dropped and we’re racing, a terrific start from Seddon saw him build a several kart-length lead by the end of the opening lap. Branson tried to hold on, but Seddon unleashed the #10 kart that saw him throw down purple sectors lap after lap. Seddon crossed the line 2.7s clear of Branson in P2, Simon Gwilliam completing the podium!

KA3 Senior Light
Another category boasting a complete grid, it was ex-Australian champion, Zac Heard, who stormed to pole position by a mere 0.06s ahead of Hugo Garraway in 2nd, Will Thompson a further 0.03s back. The heats were intense, Heard taking two heat wins to start his weekend in fine form, before track-local, Jaylen Paragreen, stormed to a popular victory in Heat 3.
There was nothing separating the top 10 in KA3 Senior Light heading into the final, the barest of margins differing between 1st or 10th – who would end up on top? Lights out and we’re away, Zach Turner getting a terrific launch to sweep into the lead, closely followed by Thompson and Heard. Heard began making moves, claiming the lead before being relegated back to 2nd laps later – Turner back into the lead. Heard bide his time, sitting patiently behind Turner who began to experience grip issues on track – Heard making the winning move on lap 7! In the end, Heard would cross the line victor by 0.2s ahead of Thompson, Christian Estasy finishing 3rd after a close last lap battle with Paragreen.

KA3 Senior Medium
Reigning 2024 Golden Power Series champion, Zach Findlay, started off his championship campaign the only way he seemingly knows how: from pole position! Findlay took a commanding P1 by 0.06s over Grace Riddell in 2nd, with debutant Ryan Wyhoon claiming P3. Findlay was on another level throughout the heats, sweeping the field for three in a row – Riddell taking a pair of P2’s with Jarrod Bottomley in the mix.
Findlay was unquestionably the favourite heading into the final, possessing a couple of tenths the field just could not find. Lights out and we’re off, Findlay taking the lead. It didn’t long for him to check out from the rest of the field, a mere glimmer in the distance as he charged down Puckapunyal’s iconic straight. Further back, Thomas Patching put together a scintillating drive that saw him charge from 10th to 2nd. Findlay won yet again in a dominant lights-to-flag display, Patching 6.5s adrift with Wyhoon completing the podium!

Tag 125 Light
Amos Orr returned to Tag 125 Light in style, the 2024 champion dazzling his way to yet another pole position as he defends his crown. Sam March managed to put his Kart Republic on the front row alongside Orr, 0.04s adrift from the pole time with Hugo Garraway another 0.009s further back – 0.05s covering the top three! Orr got to work early throughout the weekend, taking the two opening heats, before a collision in Heat 3 saw him tumble down the order to 10th – Brodie Norris claiming victory.
It was set to be a clash of the titans in the Tag 125 Light final, Orr and Norris set to butt heads once again in what was going to be a tantalising set of affairs. A poor start for Amos saw him fall down to 4th on the opening lap, Norris inheriting the lead and making hay whilst the sun shone – scampering away down the track. Orr turned on the afterburners, charging from 4th to 2nd by lap five, before setting pursuit for Norris who was a touch over 1s down the road. Orr belt out purple sectors like he had a bus to catch, or a race to win, closing in on Norris with 3 laps to go. Final lap, the two glued to each other – a handful of corners remaining, Norris and Orr side by side! Orr somehow came out ahead, cruising across the line 0.9s ahead of Norris who was almost able to hold on, March crossing the line in 3rd… now breathe!

Tag 125 Heavy
Tag 125 Heavy maestro, Troy Alger, once again found himself atop the timing charts, cruising to yet another electric pole position by 0.139s over Max Lumsden, Tom McCulloch 0.19s adrift. The heats commenced, Alger maintaining his winning ways in Heat 1 before a penalty in Heat 2 gave McCulloch the victory – McCulloch doubling down in Heat 3 to add another win to the list.
The ProKarting Pilot had found a turn of pace, coupling this with precision consistency that rewarded him a pole position start in the final, Alger alongside, mano a mano as they were set to duel it under the sunset for one last time. The flag dropped and we were away, McCulloch claiming the holeshot and snatching the lead as Alger followed single file, Lumsden behind. McCulloch wrestled his kart around the circuit, Alger’s appearing to get to race pace quicker than the #56 who was passed shortly after on lap 3. Alger immediately began to build a gap, McCulloch now stabilising and keep this at a constant 0.6s between the two. Three to go, Alger looking a sure bet for the victory before McCulloch threw down a fastest lap out of nowhere, a last ditch effort as he set after Alger. The Albury-based driver was able to halve the gap to Alger to just 0.3s, but it’d be too little too late – Alger storming home winner by a kart-length over McCulloch, Mitchell Sutej claiming 3rd with a handful of laps to go over Lumsden some 2.5s further back!

Commentator’s Driver of the Weekend!
In what was sweltering conditions all weekend, both drivers and organisers did a remarkable job to ensure the event went ahead as well as it did; encouraging and supporting each other in extremely difficult conditions. There were many excellent drives put together throughout the weekend: Amos Orr’s comeback in Tag 125 Light, Jensen Damaschino’s stout defence in Cadet 12, Mark Seddon’s dominance in Victorian Combined Masters to name a few. But there was one driver who stood out.
Throughout the entirety of 2024, Aaron Bottomley showed pace that warranted being at the front of the KA3 Junior Light field, however, would seemingly be knocked by setback after setback. It was clear coming into 2025 that Aaron had changed something in the off-season, bringing a relaxed approach to his racing that enabled him to climb back through the field having qualified down in 6th. Aaron’s drive in the final was gutsy, driving with a flare I hadn’t previously seen him bring to the track that saw him finish on top of a national-quality field to claim his first open meet victory! I have no doubt 2025 will bring many more joyous moments for both Aaron and his family throughout the rest of the season.
Congratulations, Aaron… you’re the Commentator’s Driver of the Weekend!











