SEKQLD Championship Rnd 3 - The Cooloola 7-Hour
| by Daniel Silk | 29 August 2014 |
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The action packed third round of the Sportsman Endurance Karting QLD Championship has been taken out by the rampaging #88 Force Phantom machine, which survived multiple safety cars, rain showers and a few near misses to be on the top step of the podium at the end of 7 hours of racing.
They were followed to the flag by #64 KnK Team Australia in second and a fast finishing #87 Team HTB who overcame some early technical issues to take the final podium spot inside the last 30 minutes.
Above: #88 Force Phantom win the 7 hour
Their elevation to third was at the expense of #10 Frog Racing, who drove with guts and consistency to score their highest ever finish of fourth place and push up the championship ladder into the Top 5.
In the midfield the battles were highly entertaining from flag to flag. #36 DJT Circus posted yet another strong result, finishing a solid fifth after a relatively trouble free race and a strong strategy, solidifying their top 5 championship credentials.
Above: #88 Force Phantom take their third consecutive win to be 30 points clear
They were followed home by #9 Racer X, who had a mechanical failure within the first hour which cost them several laps leaving them in 13th place at the 56 minute mark. Their charge through the field into sixth place saw them take out the Hard Charger Trophy for most positions made after the first hour of racing.
Their close rivals #89 Team ACID also had another excellent showing to finish seventh, a result sweetened by their taking out of Round 3’s special trophy, the Hour of Power Award for most positions made up in the first hour of racing, charging from 10th to 6th.
#24 Team BAZINGA! Recorded their season’s best result, coming home in a well driven eighth place thanks to some excellent strategy and clean and consistent driving.
Above: #64 Team KnK Australia took home a strong 2nd position
Further back in the field the racing was no less intense with a few of the fastest teams hitting trouble. Brand new team #2 SP Tools Racing finished inside the Top 10 in 9th position on their first ever outing earning the respect of the field with some very clean and competitive overtaking. This team have marked themselves out already as one to watch out for in the future as they will only get quicker with experience.
Taking their third consecutive 10th place finish this season was #15 Outback Racing, a remarkable result considering they were involved in a significant shunt with the #91 KT Racing. The incident took the latter out on the spot and necessitated significant running repairs on the former.
Not quite making the flag, but being classified a respectable 11th on debut was the #90 Team ACID entry who battled reliability all day and earned the respect of the field for their dogged persistence.
Above: The #90 Team ACID entry were classified 11th on debut
Above: #10 Frog Racing recorded their best ever finish in 4th place
The same can also be said for the #12 JLA Racing machine, who had top five pace all day and deserved better. A second bent axle in as many days due to accident damage caused a chain of events that saw their chassis deteriorate rapidly, which robbed them of what would have been a well-deserved result. They were eventually classified 12th but receiving full points.
The #91 KT machine was eventually classified 13th and received half points due to completing less than 75% race distance, a fact that will certainly sting their initially strong looking championship campaign.
Rounding out the field in 14th was the Minion Motorsports entry, with numerous technical issues resulting in the wheels literally falling off at one stage after half race distance.
Above: #89 Team ACID won the Hour of Power Award en route to 7th place
Above: #91 KT Racing suffered accident damage and were classified 13th
Above: #15 Outback Racing took their third 10th place in a row
Above: #24 Team BAZINGA! were a solid 8th place at the end of 7 hours.
Above: The Safety Kart was in action numerous times throughout the event
Above: #44 Minion Motorsport had mechanical dramas throughout the day
Above: #12 JLA Racing had top five pace, but race damage saw them finish 12th
Above: #2 SP Tools Racing impressed on debut, finishing 9th
Above: #9 Racer X fought from 13th to 6th and took out the Hard Charger Trophy
Above: #36 DJT Circus made the most of a good strategy to finish 5th
Above: #87 Team HTB put in a remarkable recovery to finish 3rd
