Aussies on Asia Podium – KartSportNews

Australian karters Scott Howard and Hamish Campbell finished on the podium at the latest round of the Rotax MAX Challenge Asia Trophy at the Bira circuit in Thailand.

Howard placed second in DD2 Masters while Campbell grabbed third in Junior MAX.

Despite some engine issues earlier in the event, Howard (Stratos RL, BirelArt) sat on pole for the final, but lost out to Ping Hao Chen at the start. Chen was able to drive away to a comfortable win with Howard second.

Roger Young also contested DD2 Masters with the Stratos RL team, placing fourth.

In Juniors, Campbell (Stratos Racing, Tony Kart) opened the weekend in fine style, setting fastest time in qualifying. A first and a second in the heats, then second in the Super Heat (and fastest lap) demonstrated solid pace.

Heading into the final, the team rolled the dice on a setup change in search of outright victory, but it didn’t yield the expected gain.

P1 in qualifying for Hamish Campbell and mechanic Matt McLean

Starting off P2, contact in the first corner dropped the Aussie to third, which he held to the end. Thailand’s Panu Stienmonkong took victory ahead of Slabbert Francois (Malaysia) and Campbell.

“We came to Bira to win” Campbell said. “While we fell just short in the Final, the pace across the weekend was there. We’ve banked important points, closed the gap in the standings, and we’ll be giving it everything in the last two rounds.”