30th April 2014

Brothers among top racers - From the Port Stephens Examiner

(http://www.portstephensexaminer.com.au/story/2247936/brothers-among-top-racers/?cs=762)

GO-KARTING SUCCESS: Jordan Pike, 13, and Ryan Pike, 14, have worked their way to the top of Australian go-kart racing.

GO-KARTING requires mental and physical strength and two East Seaham boys have put in the effort and soared to the top.

The Pike brothers Ryan, 14, and Jordan, 13, competed at the National Sprint Kart Championships at the Easter long-weekend at their home track, Mount Sugarloaf in Cameron Park, from Friday, April 18 to Sunday, April 20, and returned home with impressive results.

“The boys have been go-kart racing since they were seven years old and got go-karts for their seventh birthdays,” their mother Fiona Pike said.

The brothers also travelled Australia with their parents and drove on 56 different go-kart tracks along the way.

Mrs Pike said it helped them become adaptable racers.

No doubt their experience prepared them for the Easter tournament, which involved 18 laps and 15 to 16 minutes of “intense concentration”.

Hours of training paid off for Ryan, who competed in the 13s to 16s age division of the Junior National Heavy section and finished second in Australia out of 36 of the country’s top racers.

Mrs Pike said he would be chasing the number one spot at next year’s national titles.

Ryan took home a trophy for his second place victory, which was less than two seconds off being a first place win.

“Ryan is on a high at the moment,” Mrs Pike said.

“His mental strength has matured more than I ever could have imagined [through go kart racing],” she said.

Jordan came in ninth place from 44 competitors in the 13s to 16s division of the Junior National Light section.

Mrs Pike said the event was the pinnacle of Australian go-karting calendar, with 274 karters from across Australia turning out to race.

She said her sons’s efforts were “fantastic”.