Victorian Jason Pringle has taken the second ever Jason Richards Cup in a blistering drive in the final for DD2, as a variety of winners took home the glory in their respective categories, Adam Hunter was able to snare a clean sweep in DD2 Masters capping off a wonderful weekend of racing at the Jason Richards Memorial.
It was a matter of continuing his success from Saturday’s heat races as Adam Hunter drove away in the pre-final of DD2 Masters, a determined Daniel Richert on home soil looked to be the only challenger for Hunter who was able to capitalise on his strong form from Newcastle. The top four finishers remained unchanged from Saturday’s events, with Richert finishing second to Hunter in the final. Michael Robson was engaged in an enthralling battle with Danny Wright across the two races, with Robson managing to hold onto the final podium position by race end. It was to be Danny Wright who secured fourth place from his Praga teammate Trevor Whitby in fifth in both of today’s races over the longer 20 lap and 28 lap formats.
In a first for the Pro Tour rankings season, Travis Kodric was able to stand on top of the podium in Rotax Heavy, though the spot has alluded him for the previous rounds, the determined young Victorian forced his way to the lead at the opening of the pre-final, driving brutally ahead of Rick Pringle who looked to try and secure the lead and various points across the day. Kodric’s teammate Dylan Collett who himself claimed a heat win yesterday, was seeking to challenge Kodric and Pringle, however he had to settle for third by the end of the final. At one point it was looking to be a Formula K one-two finish with Kodric in the lead, however Pringle came through to take second ahead of Collett, while Shay Mayes and Kris Walton held on for fourth and fifth respectively in the final.
Queensland’s Zane Goddard looked to be in a commanding position for the Sodi Junior Max Trophy Class after victory in the pre-final over fellow statesman William Brown. Jack Black showed strong amounts of race pace across the events which would help him secure third in the pre-final ahead of a charging Jordan McGregor in fourth. Despite her DNF in yesterday’s second heat, Melissa Whitmore was able to take fifth in the pre-final setting herself up in a good position for the longer final. McGregor jumped to a convincing lead in the final event, though challenges came regularly from Goddard, he appeared unphased and pressed on with is lead. A mechanical drama late in the race saw McGregor fall back in the field to fourth, allowing Goddard, Brown and Black to push up to the top three, with a recovering Stephanie Stones rounding out the top five. A post-race penalty saw Jack Black and Jordan McGregor have their positions swapped, thus McGregor claimed third with Black in fourth.
Brad Jenner was able to continue his strong run of consistency from the weekend, after claiming a trio of second places in the heat races; Jenner rose to the top in both the pre-final and final. It wasn’t completed with ease however, with 14-time National champion David Sera following close behind the pre-final. Daniel Rochford followed in the consistency footsteps of Jenner to take third from Andrew Carey and Mitchell Hewitt. Transferring his form from the morning race, Brad Jenner fought off regular challenges from his heat race sparring partner Andrew Carey, Jenner was able to hold out across the closing stages of the race, though the action continued behind him. Daniel Rochford maintained his strong form, thus helping his rankings points towards the Rotax World Finals finishing third behind Jenner and Carey. Tyler Greenbury and David Sera shared multiple position changes in the second half of the race with Greenbury holding on for fourth and Sera for fifth.
It continued a trend that had been created in previous categories as Victorian Jake Klein was able to snare victory not only on home soil, but on his birthday in the Junior Max pre-final. In what was seen as the closest racing across the weekend, Klein fought with fellow Victorian Jordan Boys and Newcastle round winner James Abela across the 20 laps, with Callum Walker and Bryce Fullwood all carrying strong pace and completing the top five, increasing the intensity towards the final. It was then a battle across the longer race distance in the final that had many intrigued, and as the lead changed on countless occasions, Jordan Boys was able to come out on top for a well-deserved round victory at the Beckley Park International Raceway.
James Abela fought back in textbook style looking for back to back round wins, however he settled for second behind Boys, with Bryce Fullwood on debut in the class completing the podium after he claimed pole position for yesterday’s heat races. After his pre-final win, Jake Klein settled to complete the top five with a hard charging Nicholas Andrews by the drop of the chequered flag.
It was only for a fifth place in yesterday’s final heat that interrupted Jason Pringle’s perfect clean sweep of the DD2 category in Geelong. Pringle managed to take the win in the pre-final, followed by a close charging Adam Lindstrom who carried determination, seeking his first round victory in the category. Returning from his strong form in Newcastle that saw him challenge the round winner in Pringle, Thomas MacDonald was able to claim third in the race ahead of Canberra young gun Michael Stewart who had flown back into Melbourne after receiving the NSW Speedcar Association Rookie of the Year award for his speedway efforts at a presentation in Sydney on Saturday night. Reigning National DD2 Champion Lucas Ward was able to complete top five in the last of the morning’s races. Chasing not only the round win, but his name on the Jason Richards Cup, Jason Pringle drove away in his CRG in a scorching display in the DD2 final. Little could be said that could put down the drive of Pringle, as the challengers behind him fought to make up the final steps of the podium. MacDonald looked to be an ominous contender; however a late race incident saw him drop back in the field. Lucas Ward was able to step up through the field to finish behind Pringle, with Stewart finishing third from Troy Bretherton and Travis Millar.
Round six of the Rotax Pro Tour takes place at Ipswich, Queensland from the 21st – 22nd of June and will be the inaugural night round for the Pro Tour.
To follow the event throughout the weekend, like Rotax Pro Tour on Facebook, follow Rotax Pro Tour on Twitter and tune into the audio commentary via Ustream at www.ustream.tv/user/internationalkarting.
