VCS Shines at Warrnambool

words – Andrew Hayes, AHR Media
images – Brad McLaren, BPM Photography

The DPE Kart Superstore Victorian Country Series held it’s third round at Warrnambool’s Lake Gillear circuit over the weekend.

Given the scheduling of mid June the event was, remarkably, held mostly in sunshine, but the wind was cool keeping temperatures very modest.

208 entries faced the starter, and the meeting was completed without major incident.

There was some incredible performances, including two young ladies taking victory.

full results on speedhive HERE
more photos by Brad McLaren (BPM Photography) – Friday HERE, Saturday HERE, Sunday HERE

Here is the AHR MEDIA rundown:

TAG HEAVY (18 Entries)

A strong field of Tag Heavy assembled in Warrnambool, so it was no surprise to see the top three separated by less than two hundredths of a second. When the clock stopped, it was Ballarat winner Ben Mouritz taking pole (32.839).

The opening two heats were won by Portland winner Scott King, with Mouritz in hot pursuit. Mouritz flipped the script in the third to claim the honours.

King and Mouritz lined up together on the front row, Mouritz getting the better of the start. In the earlier races, the lead was hard to overturn, and as this final wore on it looked like it could be the case again. But come lap 13, the reigning VCS champ made his move, hitting the front. From there King absorbed the pressure to claim his second consecutive round win. Mouritz was a fine second, keeping his points tally ticking over. Max Lumsden was fast all weekend and looked a serious challenger to the lead pair, but settled for third. Adam King and Jay Racovalis forged their way forward in the final to finish fourth and fifth.

1^st Scott King (PORT)
2^nd Ben Mouritz (BALL)
3^rd Max Lumsden (GKCV)

CADET 12 (22 Entries)

There was a new pole sitter in Cadet 12 at Warrnambool, as Ethan Turnbull took the top spot (36.028), claiming his first VCS pole.

When the lights went out for racing, the speedy Alana Gurney took over proceedings. She was dominant on her way to winning all three heats.

Come final time, and once again it was Gurney reigning supreme. The number 34 was all class as she romped away to a comfortable win, her first in Cadet 12 in the VCS. Rossi Yau was all business as usual, eventually breaking away from the karts behind to finish a solid second place. Raf Busuttil made an epic start, moving from the fourth row of the grid to third on the opening lap. He held that position for many laps, but local hard charger Sam Barling came calling, eventually bringing Turnbull back into contention too. Barling prevailed for his second consecutive VCS podium for third, ahead of Turnbull who ran out of laps for fourth. Busuttil was home in fifth.

1^st Alana Gurney (OAK)
2^nd Rossi Yau (GKCV)
3^rd Sam Barling (WBOOL)

KA3 SENIOR LIGHT (26 Entries)

Always hotly contested, Warrnambool was no exception with the top six separated by less than a tenth, and half a second covering the top 18 drivers. There could only be one pole winner, and it was Dallas Greene (33.377) backing up his pole from Ballarat.

The heat wins were split three ways, the first going the way of the polesitter Greene, the second to reigning VCS champ Brocklan Parker, and the third went to Zach Findlay, who had won the opening two rounds of the 2025 series.

Not long after the lights went out, there was a skirmish near the front of the race. Emerging in the lead and bolting was Parker, who shot out to a comfortable lead. Second place was held first by Greene, then Damiano Muscariello, then briefly by Findlay as he charged through the field. Findlay set his sights on Parker and got to work. Lap 15 of 16 saw the pass for the lead, and from there Findlay clinched his third consecutive win. Parker was a fine second, ahead of Muscariello, who celebrated his first VCS podium in third. Imran Aly was solid all weekend on his way to fourth, ahead of the polesitter Greene in fifth.

1^st Zach Findlay (GKCV)
2^nd Brocklan Parker (PORT)
3^rd Damiano Muscariello (GKCV)

CADET 9 (18 Entries)

Zac Duynhoven has been right at the pointy end of Cadet 9 in 2025, and it was no real surprise to see him take pole position (37.201) in Warrnambool.

Duynhoven used his starting position to clinch the opening heat race. Whilst not first across the line in the second and third heats, the results will show him as the winner following a disqualification.

Max King leads Jett Gobourne and Jax Wortley

Bizarre circumstances in the final, Duynhoven parked beside the track before completing a lap, and then the runaway leader disqualified for a technical infringement. Unbeknown to them at the time, Jett Gobourne and Max King were actually battling for a win rather than the second and third they sat on track. When the chequers dropped it was King taking the win, ahead of Gobourne in a strong second place. Daniel Hall raced well all weekend and snuck onto the podium after crossing the line fourth. Jax Wortley and Ben Henman rounded out the top five.

1^st Max King (GKCSA)
2^nd Jett Gobourne (ELKC)
3^rd Daniel Hall (OAK)

VICTORIAN COMBINED MASTERS (16 Entries)

There was some super handy inclusions to the Masters class, and one of them, Steven Riddell claimed the top spot in qualifying (33.950).

Riddell and Remo Luciani split the heat race wins, Riddell on top in the first and third, Luciani owning the second.

Steve Riddell leads Phil smith, Remo Luciani, Neil McAuley and Shane Box

Riddell led the field away in the final, with Luciani hot on his heels. Glenn Riddell was still in recovery mode after getting shuffled down the order in the heats. He came on strong to first pass Luciani, then his brother for the lead just after mid race. Glenn would prove the class of the field on his way to leading a Riddell one two with Steven in second. Luciani took the fastest lap of the race on his way to third. Phil Smith and Neil McAuley battled hard just off the podium, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

1^st Glenn Riddell (ELKC)
2^nd Steven Riddell (ELKC)
3^rd Remo Luciani (WIMM)

KA3 SENIOR MEDIUM (5 Entries)

Better numbers than Portland for KA3 Medium, but still low in comparison to other years. Spiros Anagnostopoulos was the class of the field taking pole (34.170) and three heat wins.

Spiros Anagnostopoulos ahead of Ryan Dealy, Nick Popple, Robbie Turmine and Casslus Barber

Spriros looked on for a clean sweep of the weekend until a mistake at the bottom of the hill in the closing laps of the final turned proceedings on its head. Ryan Dealy had matched Spiros’ times during the heats, but needed more consistent speed to battle for the win. But it all turned and Dealy took the win in an extraordinary turn of events. Nick Popple also snuck through for second after looking destined for third. Spiros landed in third place ahead of Cassius Barber and Robbie Turmine in fourth and fifth.

1^st Ryan Dealy (GVKC)
2^nd Nick Popple (GIPP)
3^rd Spiros Anagnostopoulos (ELKC)

TAG RESTRICTED HEAVY (6 Entries)

The third round of VCS saw the best entry list for restricted heavy, and also crowned another pole sitter. Trent Meadows (34.170) became the third driver in as many rounds to top qualifying.

Meadows was simply unstoppable in the heat races, taking each comfortably.

Trent Meadows leads as Jett Rendell gets a hurry up from Brodie Worner

The final was more of the same for Meadows, leading from start to finish to claim victory by 5.5 seconds. Jett Rendell was the best of the rest, the Ballarat winner a comfortable second in all events. Brodie Worner looked a shoe in for the final spot on the podium, but a mistake at the bottom of the hill dashed those chances. Mick Angwin was in the right place at the right time, swooping in to take third for the second round in a row. Aaron Jackson returned to VCS with fourth, ahead of the recovering Worner.

1^st Trent Meadows (ELKC)
2^nd Jett Rendell (BALL)
3^rd Mick Angwin (BALL)

KA3 JUNIOR LIGHT (21 Entries)

A stellar field of KA3 Junior Light lined up for qualifying at Warrnambool, and it was tight. The top three were all very evenly matched, but when it counted it was Aiden Spector taking pole position (33.618).

Warrnambool driver Riley Gee used his home track knowledge to nail the opening two heats after qualifying second. Luca Portaro stepped it up to win the third heat.

There was plenty of contenders come final time, and it was Portaro who upped the ante. Portaro had showed pace in previous rounds, but this was something else as he cleared out on the field to take a 2.2 second win, his first in VCS competition. Finishing in second place was Jai George who had dominated the opening two rounds of the series. George didn’t have things all his own way this time, but still maximised his result. Gee landed on the podium in third after a strong weekend on home soil. Spector was home in fourth, ahead of Archie Bristow in fifth.

1^st Luca Portaro (GKCV)
2^nd Jai George (GKCV)
3^rd Riley Gee (WBOOL)

TAG LIGHT (15 Entries)

The fastest class of the weekend was Tag Light, and for the second time in 2025 it was Dallas Greene taking the pole position (32.311).

Coming off a strong run at the AKC round in Newcastle, Greene was in a groove, and that rhythm carried onto three consecutive heat wins.

The final was a Greene master class, as the young speedster put in a top shelf performance to ease away to a four second win, his first of the 2025 series. Zach Findlay had an up and down run through the final, but when it counted he was in second place, ahead of Angus Hall who come hard and fast with some big moves for third. Max Marriner was a contender all weekend and slotted into fourth, ahead of the reigning champ Ryan Morgan in fifth.

1^st Dallas Greene (GKCV)
2^nd Zach Findlay (GKCV)
3^rd Angus Hall (OAK)

TAG RESTRICTED MEDIUM (17 Entries)

SA’s Paul Pittam has been largely unchallenged in Restricted Medium in 2025, and it was hardly a surprise to see him take a third consecutive pole position (34.146).

Pittam had been undefeated in all racing in 2025, but that all changed in the opening heat at Warrnambool, as Trent Meadows backed up his Heavy form to take the win. But not stopping there, Meadows also won the second and third heats, despite Pittam crossing the line first in the third.

The TaG RM podium on track – Paul Pittam leads Kobe King and Trent Meadows

Meadows led the field away in the final, with the hungry pack in tow. Just after half way, Pittam made his move for the lead, the move also allowing Kobe Trigg through to second. From there Pittam edged away to a third consecutive round win. Trigg, Meadows and Phil Hobbs went to war for the final spots on the podium, with Trigg prevailing for second. Meadows consolidated third place ahead of Hobbs, who set the fastest lap of the race in fourth. Ella Dealy got going in the final for fifth.

1^st Paul Pittam (SGKC)
2^nd Kobe Trigg (PORT)
3^rd Trent Meadows (ELKC)

KA3 JUNIOR HEAVY (22 Entries)

For the second consecutive round, it was title contender Chelsea Humphrey who stopped the clock quickest for pole position (34.403).

Humphrey was under immense pressure in the heats, but with speed and a calm head, she managed to prevail in each stanza.

0.030 seconds at the line, Chelsea Humphrey (28) takes the win – just!

The final saw Humphrey doing battle with Lucas Rickard for the lead of the race. Humphrey was as disciplined as ever, covering her lines with unrivalled precision. Rickard tried everything, and the race came to a climax at the final corner as the pair emerged side by side. Humphrey won the drag race to the line, beating Rickard by the tiny margin of three hundredths of a second. Sam Spiteri clicked as the weekend went on, and his run in the final culminated in third place. Reigning champ Levi Jones claimed fourth ahead of emerging local Kelly Carman.

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

TAG RESTRICTED LIGHT (22 Entries)

Jamie Meadows continued his families strong form on the Warrnambool circuit to become the third different pole winner (33.445) in three rounds in 2025.

Portland winner SA’s Shane Moreland stepped up the game in the heats, crossing the line first in all three encounters, however a post race penalty in the second would elevate Ryan Dealy to the top position.

The final event of the weekend was the Restricted Light final, and it was set to be a ripper. Moreland got away nicely and was never headed, as he went lights to chequers for a second consecutive round win. Dealy continued to hunt at the front, securing his third podium in a row with second place. Josh White was a jet in the final and pressed Dealy for second before having to settle for third, his second podium of 2025. Meadows dropped as low as 7^th on his way back to fourth, ahead of Ash Johnston who fought hard all weekend in fifth.

1^st Shane Moreland (MGKC)
2^nd Ryan Dealy (GVKC)
3^rd Josh White (GKCV)