What a weekend at Todd Road for the opening round of the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship! It was my first AKC event with Tom Williamson Motorsport in the Kart Republic chassis, and overall, I’m happy with the progress, even if the results didn’t fully reflect the pace we had.
With five practice sessions, we spent the first few fine-tuning both the kart and my driving. In Practice 3, I finished P4, just 0.04 seconds off the fastest time, which gave me a big confidence boost. By the later sessions, I was pushing harder and felt strong heading into Saturday.
Qualifying went well—I even held provisional pole for a while before ending up P6. I knew the pace was there; I just had to push.
Heat 1 was chaotic, with a massive pileup at the start that took out half the field. Luckily, I avoided the mess and finished P10. Heat 2 wasn’t my best, but I still managed P8. Heat 3, unfortunately, ended before it even started. On the run to turn one, the train of karts behind pushed Maxim Kirwan into the back of me, and we both ended up in the gravel trap. DNF.
Starting P13 in Heat 4, I worked my way up to P8 and even set the fastest lap of the race, which was a huge positive. It was one of my best drives in KA2 so far, proving I had the pace to be at the front.
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The final didn’t go to plan. On the roll-around lap, two karts ahead of me collided, putting four karts out of position. Everyone expected another formation lap, but race control went straight to green. The karts in front of me were caught out by the unexpected start, and with nowhere to go, I lost positions and dropped to P16. I recovered a few spots to finish P13, but it was frustrating knowing I had top-five pace all weekend.
Despite the setbacks, there are plenty of positives to take away. The Kart Republic chassis suits my driving style, and I know I can be competitive. We’ll fine-tune a few things, and I’ll be ready to push hard at Round 2 in Monarto next month.
Big thanks to Tom Williamson Motorsport, my family and Dapto Discount Tyres for their support. On to the next one!
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