by Mitchell McLellan
The 39th Running of the City of Melbourne Go Kart Titles took place over the weekend under beautiful Melbourne weather! The Go Kart Club of Victoria prepared a top level race track for one of the biggest stand alone meetings in the country. Well over 300 karters took their place racing over the weekend, looking to take home the prestigious title.
- scroll to bottom for photo gallery
- full results on Speedhive HERE
- more photos by Pace Images – Friday HERE, Saturday HERE, Sunday HERE
- more photos by BPM Photography – Friday HERE, Saturday HERE, Sunday HERE
- more photos by Tim Francis HERE
The future of Australian Karting is in safe hands with Cadet 9 putting on fast and clean racing all weekend. SP Tools Australian kart champion elect Milan Sami took a strong pole position on Saturday morning, with Cooper Djemil and Daniel Hall rounding out the top 3. Sami showed a clean pair of heels on Saturday, taking both heat wins! Daniel Hall, Jonathan Testa, Luke Robinson, Zac Duynhoven & Zac Ismaili all ran in the top 5 on Saturday, showing they were in the hunt.
Sami put in one of the drives of the weekend on Sunday morning. The young driver dropped back to position 10 on the opening lap but was able to fight his way back to victory, to put himself in the box seat for the final. Sami led out of the opening corner in the final but chaos at turn one opened the race up and had state champion RJ Bellbowen emerge in second spot. Bellbowen, who qualified in position eighteen, put the fight to Milan Sami in the final with multiple lead changes! After a tense and exciting final, Sami emerged victorious to continue his stellar season! Bellbowen came home in second spot with Luke Robinson, Jonathan Testa and Zac Ismaili rounding out the top 5.
Cadet 12 had a strong field of local and interstate drivers with state champion Oliver Williamson taking first blood with pole position. Lady racer Alana Gurney and recent SP Tools Australian Kart Championship round winner Jude Ammoun rounding out your top 3. Saturday was an even day of racing with Ammoun taking heat 1 and Ethan Turnbull taking heat 2 after qualifying 5th. Williamson, Gurney and Jarvis Hindle were all around the top 3 on Saturday. The weekend complexion changed in heat 3, with Williamson’s kart having a mechanical issue before the start of the race when he was meant to start on the front row. Ammoun took his second win of the weekend putting him in strong shape.
The final was an intense battle with Ammoun, Turnbull and state champion Casper Anderson all fighting for victory with Williamson charging back through the field. Ammoun backed up his recent Australian Kart Championship success by taking his first City of Melbourne title! Turnbull and Anderson completed the podium, with Williamson recovering to fourth and Iver Spence rounding out the top 5.
KA3 Junior Light was the biggest class of the weekend and had to be split into an oversubscribed format. Former state cup champion Austin McPherson took pole position in the fancied field, with AKC round winner Riley Harrison and former Australian champion rounding out the top 3. With the oversubscribed format the heat races had multiple drivers taking victory including McPherson, Harrison, Carson and local driver Luca Portaro. Braxton Regan, Jai George, Hudson Hughes, Felix Jia, Scarlett Stevens, Aiden Schweikert, Oscar Corless, Sebastian Dias, Oscar Corless and Cruz Patroni all had a top 5 finish across the heats showing the even field.
The final was turned on its head at the opening corner of the race with McPherson, Carson, Portaro, Regan, Hughes, Stevens, George and Schweikert were all involved in a turn 1 incident and were out of contention for the win. Harrison was able to drive away into the distance and leave Patroni, Mason Lucchitti and Archie Bristow to battle for the podium. Harrison added another big title to his career taking victory! Bristow was able to make a brilliant fight back in the final to take second from Patroni rounding out the podium. Lucchitti just missed the podium with Carson fighting his way back to fifth spot.
Max Mangano took first blood in KA3 Junior Heavy by taking a narrow pole position over Queenslander Lana Flack and Tasmanian Mason Woods in third, only separated by four hundredths of a second. Flack and Mangano shared the heat wins on Saturday with Joel McGrath, Wood, Harry Mcinerney and Ewan Anderson all running in the top 5. The game changed again on Sunday in heat 3 when Flack went off at turn one off pole resulting in a DNF result. Mangano was able to take victory in heat three, with Chelsea Humphrey fighting into contention with a second position.
Mangano got a clean get away in the final and didn’t look back leading every lap and taking out the prestigious title! Flack fought her way back up to second position, with McGrath rounding out the podium. Levi Jones worked his way up to fourth position in the final with Anderson rounding out your top five.
Hot off an AKC round victory in Ipswich, Hamish Campbell was able to take a strong pole position in the premier KA2 Junior class. Lana Flack was able to put in another stellar qualifying, jumping on the front row with Corey Carson landing in third spot. Campbell clean swept Saturday’s heat but didn’t have it all his on way with challenges from Flack, Carson, Anashe Manyau, Harry Bresnehan, Michael White, Joseph Bianchini and Riley Harrison in the top 5. Campbell was able to take the third and final heat race but Cooper Folley was the driver on the move landing in second spot in heat three after qualifying outside the top 10.
Campbell was able to produce a faultless weekend leading lights to flag in the final and winning his first City of Melbourne title! Queenslanders Folley and Flack rounded out the podium with Harrison and Victorian Manyau rouding out the top five.
TAG 125 Restricted Light was another massive field of nearly thirty-five drivers and Jackson Pinczuk led the charge in qualifying grabbing pole position. Gerry Westerveld and Angus Kues-Sales rounded out the top 3. Pinczuk and Westerveld both took a heat win on Saturday, with Kue-Sales and Spiros Anagnostopoulos both running inside the top three. Westerveld was able to make it two from three heat wins on Sunday morning with a dominate race and looked prime for victory heading into the final.
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Westerveld led away into the final but Kue-Sales was keeping him honest. In a race long tight battle, Westerveld was able to cling on and take another City of Melbourne title! Kue-Sales just missed victory coming home in second spot with Andrew Riddell moving forward across the weekend to round out the podium. Anagnostopoulos and earlier pole sitter Pinczuk round out your top five.
The Masters category has been a big talking point in the world of karting over the last week and Glenn Riddell fired the first shot taking pole position in the Victorian Combined Masters category. State champion Mark Seddon jumped on the front row with Chris Mirra rounding out your top 3. Seddon was able to turn the tables in the Saturday heats by taking two race wins. Riddell was able to lead away and gap the field in both heats but Seddon had huge pace in the back end of both races to take victory. Mirra, Steven Riddell, Carlos Del Toro and Herman Van Ree all stayed in contention for the podium with top 5 finishes on Saturday.
Seddon made it three from three on Sunday morning, but Glenn Riddell again kept him honest setting up a fascinating final. Seddon was able to nail the start and to get an all-important break on the field and didn’t look back making it a clean sweep! Glenn Riddell, who dropped down off the start, worked his way back into second position with Del Toro rounding out the podium. Mirra just missed the podium in position four with Alan Roberts working his way into the top five in fifth position.
KA3 Senior Light was a capacity grid with plenty of talented drivers ready to take the start! Australian number one Mika Lemasurier took pole position by the barest of margins over local drivers Matthew Basso and Zach Findlay. Australian number two Will Thompson took heat one from position five, with Basso taking the other heat on Saturday. The talking point out of Saturday was contact in heat 2 between Lemasurier and Thompson dropping them down the order. Findlay, Imran Aly, Max Johnston & Baylin Pease were all hovering around the top five to stay in contention. Thompson was able to regroup in heat 3 to take victory over Basso with Christian Sasso making his move coming home in third spot.
The final was an epic battle with Basso leading the first half of proceedings. The pressure came from Thompson and Lemasurier to make it a three kart battle to the finish. Thompson was able to emerge with victory and another major title in KA3 Senior Light. In one of the best drives of his career, Basso was able to come home in second spot and Lemasurier rounding out the podium. Findlay and Sasso rounded out the top five in an extremely competitive class.
Interstate racer Jackson Souslin-Harlow stopped the clock fastest in KA3 Senior Medium to upset the locals in qualifying. Local pair Thomas Patching and Zach Findlay were just behind in second and third and were looking to knock off the interstate state champion. Souslin Harlow dominated Saturday with two comfortable heat wins, but Findlay was hot on his heals trying to go with him. Patching, Jarrod Bottomley, Taine Venables and Dylan Ralph were all pushing into the top five aiming for a podium. Findlay was able to get the jump in heat three and grab his first victory of the weekend to make the final an interesting affair.
Souslin-Harlow was able to show his pace and class in the final to add another City of Melbourne title to his ever-growing resume. Findlay was gallant but didn’t quite have enough pace and had to settle for second position from Patching rounding out the podium. Ralph just missed the podium in position four with Ryan Dealy moving forward across the weekend to round out the top five.
TAG 125 Light was another full grid of class driver with the talk of the town being recently retired Australian champion Bradley Jenner making his return out of retirement. Jenner, without missing a beat came out and put his Rotax powered entry on pole position, over fellow Victorians Dallas Greene and Amos Orr. The heats on Saturday were fast and slick with Victorian champion Orr and Todd Road local Greene sharing the heat wins. Jenner along with state champion Max Walton, SP Tools Australian Kart Championship leader Brodie Whitmore and Jordi Slater all inside the top five. Greene made it two from three heat wins but had interstate pair Walton and Whitmore nipping at his heels.
Turn one in the final was a big moment in the championship with Walton out of contention and both Jenner and Whitmore dropping spots. Greene was able to clean sweep Sunday and take his first major title victory. Whitmore, who was as low as fifth, fought back to finish in second spot over Orr rounding out the podium. Privater Jasper Frith showed he could mix it with the big stars to come home in fourth spot over Jaxon Johnstone in fifth.
Jason Pringle was one of the favourites heading into the weekend in TAG 125 Heavy and he converted this into pole position. Ben Mouritz was right behind him in second spot with Harrison Draffin rounding out the three. Saturday was an even affair with both Mouritz and Pringle taking a heat win each setting up an intense Sunday between them. Draffin, Jordyn Sinni, Max Lumsden and Lachlan Cini all has top five finishes on Saturday in an even affair. Pringle took the all important third heat on Sunday to put him off pole position for the decider.
The final was nothing short of an arm wrestle with Pringle leading away but Mouritz throwing everything he had at him. The margin went up and down and Mouritz got within three tenths in the back stages. Pringle was able to hold his nerve and take out another City of Melbourne championship! Mouritz was gallant in second position with Draffin rounding out your three. Sinni just missed the podium in fourth with Sebastian Perrone rounding out the top five in fifth.
X30 Light was one of the smallest classes of the weekend, but the class level was through the roof! Former Australian Champion Pip Casabene grabbed the all-important pole position over SP Tools Australian Kart Championship leader Brodie Whitmore and Pro Karting driver Alexander Yoannidis. Casabene backed up his pole position with victory in heat one while fifth place qualifier Jack Wells taking out the second heat. The class in the top five was at an elite level with Whitmore, Will Thompson, Max Walton and Christian Estasy all running near the front of the field.
Casabene took out the third heat of the weekend but had Whitmore only a few tenths behind, the final was building to a huge race. Casabene was able to lead away and look to have the championship in hand until Thompson and Dallas Greene made a late race charge at the race leader. Thompson got within three tenths of a second, but Casabene was able to hold his nerve to take a famous victory! Thompson had to settle for second spot with Greene just behind him in third. Estasy was able to come home in fourth position with Rush Performance stable mate Jett Kocoski rounding out the five.
2026 will be the 40th running of the prestigious City of Melbourne Go Kart Titles and it will be a meeting not to be missed!
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