7th March 2014

Go Karts round two gets underway - From the Whyalla News

(http://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/2129714/go-karts-round-two-gets-underway/?cs=12)

As a result of round one of the Whyalla Kart Club championship being rescheduled due to the heat, the club kicked off with round two on March 3.

The numbers were a little down due to it being held on Clipsal weekend, however the 20 drivers that competed were more than happy.

Having two drivers visiting from out of town and two new drivers taking to the track, it was a day of firsts.

Before racing commenced, all drivers participated in an eight minute qualifying session.

This has not been held at the club before and proved to be interesting with some classes being separated by no more than a couple of hundredths of a second between pole and second place on the grid.

The Rookies and Cadets were first on the track, local driver Corey Datson fresh off his P plates and ready to go.

The other driver in this class was Harrison Pfitzner.

Harrison is a semi regular visitor to Whyalla and had just recently moved up to Rookies.

The racing between these boys was close and tight, however Corey proved how the home track can be an advantage and stormed away with an overall win for the day.

The Cadets class was a couple of drivers down due to the Adelaide regulars not attending the race meeting.

This however proved to be an advantage for new driver Cadence Florentinus and regulars Lily Reid, Brayden Stewart and Cooper Jones.

These young drivers continue to show what can be done on the track, Brayden Stewart putting in a personal best lap over the weekend.

Cooper Jones again proved the driver to beat with strong finishes in each race, however the racing behind him was great, Lily Reid gaining confidence and speed as the day went on and Cadence Florentinus having a couple of spins, making her mum and grandmother’s heart sink, but continued on like a pro and finished strong for the day.

Final positions for the day; 1st Cooper Jones, 2nd Brayden Stewart, 3rd Lily Reid, 4th Cadence Florentinus.

The combined classes of 125/clubman heavy and light were next out.

These guys continue to be fast and close, third place in the light class being separated by a count back.

Neil Schmidt returned to the track after missing a good part of 2013 due to work commitments, showed he has not lost anything from the break.

Neil took up from where he left off and fought hard with Chris Reid for first place for the day with Chris finishing a close second.

Adelaide driver Steven Campbell came to do his flag marshaling, but was encouraged to bring his kart and do some racing also.

Steven exchanged places regularly with Julian Blackwell to get through the pack of 125/clubman heavy drivers to then catch their own class and fight for position.

Due to a sparkplug fouling in the final, Blackwell pulled his kart into the pit area before the end of the race, meaning third place for the day was set for a count back with Steven Campbell getting the nod.

The 125/clubman heavy class was low on numbers, however this did not affect the racing at this level.

Brian Sampson again showed why he is the one to beat in this class, driving his own race and setting the pace for the others to catch.

The return to racing of Allan Watt was enough to push Brian that little bit extra, however Allan could not catch him.

New to karting James Marsland demonstrated that he has potential once he is off his P plates and will be up there racing for a position at the front with a solid third for the day.

Final placing 1st; Brian Sampson, 2nd; Allan Watt, 3rd; James Marsland.

Junior national class was next, the two girls from 2013 back at it.

Bethany Simpson under her new team of Princess Racing and Isabella Cumerlato showed she had learnt a couple of things over the off season.

The girls love to race each other and always put on a show.

Bethany led most of the day, however this was not by the large margins that she was used to in the past, with Isabella close on her heels.

Final placing, 1st; Bethany Simpson, 2nd; Isabella Cumerlato

Last class for the day was the Sportsman SA class.

The numbers here were down a little again due to Clipsal and work commitments, only four drivers taking to the track.

Kade Lawson proved to be the man to beat, qualifying pole and then starting there all day long.

Jeremy Head was not far behind, but by the last two races his tyres had gone off and he had no grip, allowing new driver Scott Harper to get in behind him.

This fight for second and third was some of the closest racing for the day, Scott managing to get a podium finish in his first race in karting.

Unfortunately Chris Reid had sparkplug issues and although was quick, was not able to capitalize on his speed.

Final results for the day, 1st; Kade Lawson, 2nd; Jeremy Head, 3rd; Scott Harper.

Next race meeting will be held on April 5 at the Whyalla Kart Club.