4th September 2011

DAVID SERA MAKES IT A DOZEN AT ROTAX NATIONALS

Victorian (Narre Warren, Vic) David Sera claimed his 12th Australian Karting Championship when he was victorious in the 11th Annual Rotax Nationals at Geelong, Victoria today.

Sera’s victory, his sixth in seven years competing in the Rotax Light category, was a dominant one in the 30-lap championship final with the Monster Energy-backed Arrow kart pilot leading the entire race.

“It wasn’t easy out there in the final, I think I was hearing things like someone was right behind me. For the first 15 laps I just put my head down and didn’t look behind once,” said Sera

“The first time I looked behind I saw that I had about a two second lead, from there I was able to drive a little bit more conservatively to make sure I maintained that gap until the end.”

Behind Sera it was an intense battle for the minor placings with Daniel Rochford (Narre Warren South, Vic) eventually getting the better of World Final Runner-up New Zealander Josh Hart.

“Daniel Rochford has been on the front row for a World Final before and Josh Hart is the World Number two, so they are two very talented drivers,” said Sera.

“I think we’ve got a very high level of talent in Australian karting, maybe not quite the depth of what is in Europe and the USA but definitely one on one we’ve got the best as any in the world.”

Albury driver Bret Mullavey finished fourth ahead of Queenslander (Gold Coast, QLD) Chris Hays.

Fujitsu Cool Program driver Joseph Mawson (Hinchenbrook, NSW) has been the dominant driver all throughout 2011 in the Junior Max category. This weekend was no different with the 15 year-old claiming the third national championship of his flourishing career aboard an Shayne Piper/Kart 1-prepared Arrow kart.

Juce Superfruit drink-backed Wright karts driver James Golding (Warragul, Vic) got the better of a race long battle with CRG Pierce Lehane (Castle Hill, NSW) to claim the runner-up position.

“It’s definitely a relief, I felt as though I had a bit of pressure on me coming into the weekend which has made it a long one so I’m very happy to have taken the win,” said Mawson.

“I wanted to win this one so bad. I did have some luck on my side as I had a throttle issue and when the race was stopped due to an incident I was able to get it fixed before going on to take the win.”

In the Rotax Heavy category, it was Melbourne (Inavhoe, Vic) driver Troy Woolston who dominated the main event to claim the second national championship of his career, his first victory came in 2002.

Woolston showed superior speed aboard his CC Racing-prepared Intrepid kart to cross the line 3.8 seconds clear of 10-time Australian champion Matthew Wall (Sunbury, Vic).

“It’s been a long time between drinks and it’s great to have the weight of the world off my shoulders, it is something that Dad and I along with Gary (Arandt) have been chasing all year,” said Woolston.

“We’ve been pretty consistent all throughout the Rotax Pro Tour and it’s a great way to round out the year.”

Wall, who started 11th in the 30-lap final was a big mover during the early laps but by the time he made his way into second place Woolston had already opened a race winning lead.

Rick Pringle (Essendon, Vic) got the better of a race-long battle with Zeke Edwards (Echuca, Vic), Brendan Nelson (Gold Coast, QLD) and William Yarwood (Cornubia, QLD).

In other categories it was Mick Robson (Rotax Over 35s), Mawson (Junior Max Heavy), David Aldersley (Rotax Super Heavy) and Jason Pringle (DD2) who proved victorious.

11th ANNUAL ROTAX NATIONALS
Geelong, Victoria

Results – Top Five

Rotax Light
1. David Sera
2. Daniel Rochford
3. Joshua Hart
4. Brett Mullavey
5. Christopher Hays

Rotax Heavy
1. Troy Woolston
2. Matthew Wall
3. Rick Pringle
4. Zeke Edwards
5. William Yarwood

Junior Max
1. Joseph Mawson
2. James Golding
3. Pierce Lehane
4. Liam McLellan
5. Matthew McLellan

Rotax Over 35s
1. Mick Robson
2. Hamish Leighton
3. Shane Karandrews
4. John Bailey
5. Malcolm Walker

Junior Max Heavy
1. Joseph Mawson
2. Reece Bloomfield
3. Ryan Johnstone
4. Anton De Pasquale
5. Christopher Anthony

Rotax Super Heavy
1. David Aldersley
2. Bruce Otter
3. Anthony Ciccone
4. Owen Guthrie
5. Billy Askew

DD2
1. Jason Pringle
2. Lucas Ward
3. Kyle Ensbey
4. Thomas Macdonald
5. Damian Ward

The full results can be found on the CM:S timing system (https://app.austkarting.com.au/aka/results/) followed by selecting Victoria and the Geelong Karting Club.

All the action was updated on the Australian Karting Association’s Twitter account (@karting_net_au) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/AustralianKartingAssociation) throughout the weekend.

Rotax Nationals Honour Roll

Rotax Light
2001 – Matthew Wall (Vic) – Arrow
2002 – Josh Arandt (Vic) – Arrow
2003 – Bart Price (Vic) – Arrow
2004 – Scott Auld (Qld) – Arrow
2005 – David Sera (Vic) – Arrow
2006 – Hayden McBride (NSW) – Gillard
2007 – David Sera (Vic) – Arrow
2008 – David Sera (Vic) – Arrow
2009 – David Sera (Vic) – Arrow
2010 – David Sera (Vic) – Arrow
2011 – David Sera (Vic) – Arrow

Rotax Heavy
2001 – Damien Meyer (NSW) – CRG
2002 – Brett Davidson (Vic) – Arrow
2003 – William Yarwood (Qld) – Arrow
2004 – William Yarwood (Qld) – Arrow
2005 – William Yarwood (Qld) – Arrow
2006 – William Yarwood (Qld) – Arrow
2007 – Kel Treseder (Qld) – Top Kart
2008 – Kel Treseder (Qld) – Kosmic
2009 – Matthew Wall (Vic) – Arrow
2010 – Simon Meyer (NSW) – CRG
2011 – Troy Woolston (Vic) – Intrepid

Junior Max
2009 – Ben Jurczak (Qld) – Redspeed
2010 – Jonathan Venter (NSW) – Kosmic
2011 – Joseph Mawson (NSW) – Arrow

Previous Venues
2001 – Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway, Sydney, NSW
2002 – Todd Road Karting Complex, Melbourne, Vic
2003 – Mt Sugarloaf Raceway, Newcastle, NSW
2004 – Ipswich Raceway, Ipswich, QLD
2005 – Beckley Park Raceway, Geelong, Vic
2006 – Mt Sugarloaf Raceway, Newcastle, NSW
2007 – Ipswich Raceway, Ipswich, QLD
2008 – Todd Road Karting Complex, Melbourne, Vic
2009 – Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway, Sydney, NSW
2010 – Ipswich Raceway, Ipswich, QLD
2011 – Beckley Park Raceway, Geelong, Vic