27th February 2011

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS DOMINATE CIK STARS OF KARTING OPENER (inc. Video)

Defending Series Champions Matthew Wall, Cian Fothergill and Pierce Lehane proved superior in their respective categories at round one of the CIK Stars of Karting Series in Ipswich at the weekend.

Wall won both the Pro Gearbox (KZ2) finals contested today, however, his win in the second final was far from easy.

Bundaberg’s Kel Treseder got the jump off the start line aboard his CRG kart ahead of Toowoomba’s Tyler Greenbury and Wall.

The trio raced within close proximity throughout the opening half of the race, swapping positions on numerous occasions.

When Wall made a mistake just after half race distance, it forced Greenbury to hit the back of him and the concertina effect pushed Wall forward and allowed him to open a slender gap.

From there Wall held on for the victory while the battle between Greenbury and Treseder went down to the wire with the pair racing side by side through the final set of corners. In the end it was Greenbury who held on for the runner-up spot.

“It was a very tough race out there but I’m glad to have held on for the win,” said Wall.

“I made a mistake which in a way helped me win, which is not common, but luck was on my side today.”

Fothergill finished the weekend undefeated taking pole position, winning all three heat races before taking out both of today’s 25-lap finals in the Pro Light (KF1) category.

The Gladstone driver was forced to fend off a spirited challenge by Victorian Adam Hughes in the second final on his way to victory.

“Undefeated all weekend – you can’t ask for a better start than that,” said Fothergill.

“The competition has really stepped up another level this year, so it is good to be able to start the year with such a successful run here at Ipswich.”

Hughes’s second place was well clear of Tony Kart driver Grant Smith.

Smith crossed the line ahead of a hard charging Matthew Waters in the Tesa Tape-backed entry, who came from 20th on the grid to finish fourth ahead of Gold Coast driver James Macken.

Lehane was the dominant driver in the Pro Junior (KF3) ranks with the Sydneysider winning both 25-lap main events today.

The 15 year-old was never seriously challenged on his way to victory leaving Top kart pilot Joseph Mawson to settle for second place in his series debut.

“It is great to start my title defence off with a win but it wasn’t easy out there,” said Lehane.

“I got a good gap early in the race but with about seven laps left in the second final I could hear the engine starting to make some unusual noises and I lost about 10km/h an hour on the back straight.”

“After that I really had to push in the slower sections of the track to make sure I maintained my gap.”

Local driver Brock Plumb had a great battle with Perth’s Jake Klarich for the final spot in the podium. The pair swapped third place on a number of occasions before Klarich claimed the honours ahead of Plumb.

Jake Coleman got the better of a tight battle for fifth spot ahead of New Zealand driver Aaron Marr.

In the Yamaha Challenge it was Jake Downs was victorious in an action packed Junior National race while Lydon Dodge proved too good in the Clubman ranks.

In the local support categories it was Scott Sorensen who won the TaG Light division while Patrick Mather took the honours in the TaG Heavy division.

Round two of the series will be held in Adelaide on April 2/3.

2011 CIK STARS OF KARTING SERIES
Round 1 – Ipswich QLD

Round Results – Top Five

Pro Light (KF1)
1. Cian Fothergill (Gladstone, QLD) – Kosmic/IAME
2. Adam Hughes (Mentone, Vic) – Kosmic/IAME
3. Grant Smith (Patterson Lakes, Vic) – Tony Kart/IAME
4. Matthew Waters (Horsley Park, NSW) – Exprit/IAME
5. James Macken (Gold Coast, QLD) – Exprit/IAME

Pro Gearbox (KZ2)
1. Matthew Wall (Sunbury, Vic) – BRM/TM
2. Tyler Greenbury (Toowoomba, QLD) – Intrepid/Maxter
3. Kel Treseder (Bundaberg, QLD) – CRG/TM
4. Jason Pringle (Essendon, Vic) – CRG/Maxter
5. Scott Auld (Ipswich, QLD) – MS Kart/TM

Pro Junior (KF3)
1. Pierce Lehane (Castle Hill, NSW) – CRG/Vortex
2. Joseph Mawson (Hinchinbrook, NSW) – Top Kart/Vortex
3. Jake Klarich (Mariginiup, WA) – Lenzo Kart/Vortex
4. Brock Plumb (Forest Lake, QLD) – Birel/Vortex
5. Jake Coleman (Glenmore Park, NSW) – CRG/Vortex

YAMAHA CHALLENGE
Clubman
1. Lydon Dodge (Cairns. QLD)
2. Ben Stewart (Gold Coast, QLD)
3. Nathan Tigani (Chipping Northon, QLD)
4. Sam Lumsden (Gold Coast, QLD)
5. Brett Robinson (Sydney, NSW)

Junior National
1. Jake Downs (Middlemount, QLD)
2. Stefan Stankovic (Padstow Heights, NSW)
3. James Abela (Mt Vernon, NSW)
4. Michael Dwyer (Mullumbimby, NSW)
5. Jamie Grohman

TaG Light
1. Scott Sorensen
2. Oliver Etter
3. Benjamin Harm
4. Aaron Paul

TaG Heavy
1. Patrick Mather
2. Peter Virgulti
3. Luke Turner
4. David Johnstone
5. David Wallis

CIK STARS OF KARTING SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Top Five after Round 1 of 5

Pro Light (KF1)
1. Cian Fothergill – 85
2. Adam Hughes – 70
3. Grant Smith – 60
4. Aidan Wright – 59
5. James Macken – 58

Pro Gearbox (KZ2)
1. Matthew Wall – 82
2. Tyler Greenbury – 71
3. Kel Treseder – 68
4. Scott Auld – 65
5. Jason Pringle – 56

Pro Junior (KF3)
1. Pierce Lehane – 85
2. Jake Klarich – 70
3. Brock Plumb – 66
4. Jake Coleman – 56
5. Aaron Marr – 54

YAMAHA CHALLENGE
Clubman
1. Lydon Dodge – 80
2. Aaron Borg – 60
3. Ben Stewart – 57
=3. Brooke Topp – 57
5. Nathan Tigani – 56
=5. Brett Robinson – 56

Junior National
1. James Abela – 68
2. Stefan Stankovic – 66
3. Jake Downs – 59
=3. Callum Walker – 59
5. Jamie Grohman – 55
=5. Michael Dwyer – 55

To view the full results please visit the AKA results system by clicking here and click on the Queensland drop down menu followed by the Ipswich Kart Club.