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30th March 2013

PRE-FINALS ARE COMPLETE AT THE NATIONALS

The pre-finals are complete at the 51st Australian National Sprint Kart Championships at the Monarto Karting Complex in South Australia.

A wrap from qualifying day can be found here.

Updates will be posted here throughout the weekend, along with the AKA’s Facebook page (facebook.com/AustralianKartingAssociation) and Twitter feed (twitter.com/karting_net_au).

To view the full race results please click here.

Race Order
1. Leopard Heavy
2. Junior National Heavy
3. Leopard Light
4. Clubman Super Heavy
5. Senior National
6. Junior National Light
7. Clubman Heavy
8. Junior Clubman
9. Clubman Light

51st Australian National Sprint Kart Championships
Monarto Karting Complex, South Australia

Leopard Heavy
1. Kris Walton
2. Matthew Wall
3. Lee Mitchener
4. Brendan Nelson
5. Scott King
Race Notes: After being put to the end of the schedule due to a delay in a stewards hearing, the Leopard Heavy pre-final saw Kris Walton take advantage of his pole position to lead the field. Matthew Wall showed string speed late in the race to close in on Walton while Mitchener held out Brendan Nelson for third place.

Junior National Heavy
1. Nicholas Rowe
2. Bryce Fullwood
3. William Hawkes
4. Jordan Boys
5. Braydon North
Race Notes: Western Australian Nicholas Rowe, Victorian Jordan Boys and Darwin’s Bryce Fullwood distanced themselves from the field during the early laps of the Junior National Heavy 11-lap pre-final. Shamick Racing’s William Hawkes ran fourth, clear of Jayden Ojeda. On lap five, the red lights were displayed due following an incident between Max Carter and Jordan Tasker which resulted in Carter rolling his machine. At the restart five drivers came together mid-pack but Rowe held strong at the front. Rowe and Fullwood appeared to have the pace of the field while Boys and Hawkes finished third and fourth.

Leopard Light
1. James Sera
2. Ben Stewart
3. David Sera
4. Josh Tynan
5. Andrew Mercuri
Race Notes: FA Kart driver James Sera jumped into the lead at the start of the Leopard Light pre-final while Tony Kart driver Rocco Ventra somehow emerged unscathed from a frantic battle further back. The 2008 champion was unchallenged on his way to earning pole position for the final. Ben Stewart will join Sera on the front row. David Sera finished third ahead of Josh Tynan and Andrew Mercuri.

Clubman Super Heavy
1. Paul Pittam
2. Ben McKinlay
3. Andrew Cash
4. Scott Simpson
5.Mason Barbera
Race Notes: Queenslander Scott Simpson has been the benchmark in Clubman Super Heavy racing over the past few years, however, this weekend Andrew Cash and Paul Pittam have joined Simpson and his OTK team-mate Ben McKinlay in the battle at the front of the field. The quartet exchanged positions on a number of occasions before Pittam took the win aboard his Omega kart.

Senior National
1. Brock Plumb
2. Sean Butcher
3. Jason Newman
4. Oliver Etter
5. Jay Schrodter
Race Notes: Queenslanders Sean Butcher and Brock Plumb, along with New South Wales drivers Matthew Waters led the way for the majority of the Senior National pre-final. As the quartet battled it brought a number of other contenders into the equation. Rogers was eliminated with three laps to go while battling with Waters. Despite Waters’ best effort in the closing stages, Plumb held on for a narrow victory. Waters was later excluded for his part in the incident with Rogers elevating Butcher to the front row.

Junior National Light
1. Bryce Fullwood
2. Reece Sidebottom
3. Jayden Ojeda
4. Tyler Morrison
5. Shaun Costello
Race Notes: Victorian Reece Sidebottom led the early laps of the Junior National Light pre-final before Bryce Fullwood charged his way from his seventh starting position to take over the front-running mid race. The pair battled, and then were shadowed by Jayden Ojeda before Fullwood took the win to claim pole position for tomorrow’s championship final.

Clubman Heavy
1. David Sera
2. Kris Walton
3. Leigh Nicolaou
4. Remo Luciani
5. Kip Foster
Race Notes: With nine lead changes in the opening three laps of the Clubman Heavy pre-final there was no place for the faint hearted. David Sera, Kris Walton and Kip Foster all had time at the front of the pack. The trio were joined by Leigh Nicolaou and Remo Luciani to make it a five-way battle at the front. Sera made a last lap pass for the win ahead of Walton while Luciani moved past Foster for fourth.

Junior Clubman
1. Jake Klein
2. Damon Strongman
3. Nicholas Rowe
4. Braydon North
5. Joshua Denton
Race Notes: FA Kart driver Damon Strongman took advantage of his front row start to lead the field away in the Junior Clubman pre-final as pole sitter Joshua Denton was shuffled back to sixth spot. Nicholas Rowe closed in on the leader and moved himself to the lead on lap three. It then became a six-kart freight train with Jake Klein, Braydon North and Spencer Ackerman joining the front trio. Despite some heavy pressure from Rowe in the closing stages, Klein held on for the win as Strongman made a last corner pass on Rowe for second.

Clubman Light
1. Luke Marquis
2. Aidan Wright
3. Ben Stewart
4. Jesse Elliott
5. Jake Coleman
Race Notes: There was plenty of action during the opening few laps of the Clubman Light pre-final before Arrow driver Ben Stewart left it all behind him to move into the race lead. Former Junior Clubman national champion Jesse Elliott slotted into second place before Luke Marquis relieved him of this position by mid race. Marquis closed in Stewart over the final laps before making a move for the lead with 1 1/2 laps remaining. Stewart made an attempt to regain the lead on the final corner, but to no avail and Marquis held on for the win. Sera slowed exiting the final turn with a mechanical issue. Francis handed a 10-second starting infringement after crossing the line fourth, dropping him to 19th.

RESULTS: Heat Two (7 laps)

Leopard Heavy
1. Kris Walton
2. Michael Griffiths
3. Matthew Wall
4. Brendan Nelson
5. Paul Pittam

Junior National Heavy
1. Nicholas Rowe
2. Jordan Boys
3. William Hawkes
4. Braydon North
5. Bryce Fullwood

Leopard Light
1. James Sera
2. Nathan Davis
3. Andrew Mercuri
4. Ben Stewart
5. David Sera

Clubman Super Heavy
1. Paul Pittam
2. Andrew Cash
3. Scott Simpson
4. Ben McKinlay
5. Danny Errigo

Junior National Light
1. Bryce Fullwood
2. Reece Sidebottom
3. Dylan Hollis
4. Zane Morse
5. Jayden Ojeda

Clubman Heavy
1. David Sera
2. Kip Foster
3. Leigh Nicolaou
4. Kris Walton
5. Matthew Wall

Junior Clubman
1. Joshua Denton
2. Damon Strongman
2. Braydon North
4. Nicholas Rowe
5. Spencer Ackerman

Clubman Light
1. James Sera
2. Luke Marquis
3. Justin Francis
4. Ben Stewart
5. Jesse Eliott