Tasmania’s number one karting venue Archerville Kartway saw in excess of 130 competitors all vying for a good result and a strong finish at the fourth and final round of the 2012 Tasmanian Statewide Series held on March 24th and 25th. Sunny skies, action packed racing and the excellent facilities on and off the track resulted in a race meeting to remember. Karting Tasmania went all out with the trophies this year and twelve lucky winners took home some very impressive mementos for a job well done and of course the highly prized red plate.
Troy Stone had been running at the front of Clubman Heavy for quite a while now but a major win had so far eluded him. That was until now with Stone winning the 2012 Tasmanian Statewide Series title in a dominant performance. Winning two of the rounds and always being at the front ensured no one else got close. Steven Wrigley had a good series finishing second and Stone’s Tazzie Karts and Parts/CRG teammate Jack Pickett came in third. Racing on the day was won by Trent Palmer, second was Zane Wyatt and third was Wrigley. An interesting addition in the Clubman Heavy class at this meeting was the Bruv GP Kart. Designed, built and raced by Aiden Shelton. This chassis features some very different and innovative ideas and proved to be quite fast.
Brodie Evans turned up at Launceston to do the business in Junior National Light and his ninety five point haul meant he shot to the lead of the series and took the title in his 3D Kartsport Omega. The form guide went right out the window for the series as Bodie Reading had a comfortable lead going into the final round and looked like keeping the red plate he won last year. Unfortunately he was only able to score twenty three out of a possible one hundred points at Launceston and this saw him slip to third place in the series just one point behind Gemma Wyllie who grabbed second. Despite missing the first round Nicky Richards still managed to snare fourth in the series ahead of Jacob Morris in fifth. On the day the results for Junior National Light were Brodie Evans followed by Wade McLean and Gemma Wyllie.
Junior National Heavy was a competitive class at all four rounds but one name always appeared high in the points. Keenan Slater took his first title in fine style twenty seven points clear of Daniel Newman in second. Young Thomas Clark really improved his driving this year and this resulted in a third place finish. Only ten points separated Clark, Morgan Jakobovski and Jairus Holmes in the battle for third. Jakobovski took the win on the day followed by Slater and Newman.
Mitchell Kerrison, Lachlan Dalton and Brock Lamont have been the dominant drivers in the Cadets class this year and this is how they finished at the end of the series. The racing between these three has been outstanding and I’m sure we’ll see big things from these young men in the years to come. On the day it was Kerrison who took the win from Lamont and Dalton came in third.
Kelsey Sapwell finished off the series as she started with another strong performance taking the win on the day in Senior National Light. She has really stepped up her driving after initially struggling with the move to seniors last year. Always at the front she scored heavily at every round and showed everyone else how it’s done running out eighty two points in front of second place. Naomi Wrigley got the better of the duel for second place in the series ahead of Toby Archer after only two points separated them going into the final round. Stuart Wells had a good return to racing at Launceston taking it right up to Kelsey on the day, in the end he had to settle for second ahead of Naomi Wrigley in third.
Johnathan Males made it state title number six after running at the front for the whole series in Senior National Heavy aboard his Forty Seven Kart Tuning/C J Marine & Karts backed Arrow. Danton Evans’ strong performances early in the series ensured he finished up second in the series after missing the final round. After a very strong showing Murray “Doodle” Dadson fell just shy of Evans to take third. On the day however, the three at the front were Males, Dadson and Michael Vaughan, all swapping similar lap times and running at the front with the Light competitors. In the final Vaughan made a pass with two laps to go and held on for the win ahead of Males and Dadson.
Nineteen drivers over the course of the series battled it out for the title in TAG Light. In the end it came down to a youth versus experience battle. In youth’s corner were Jake Rice and Jade Waddington against Dion “The Veteran” Wyllie representing experience. Only one point separated Wyllie and Waddington going into the final round so it was going to be close. All three suffered from dramas at one stage or another over the weekend with Wyllie recovering the best to take the title. Waddington just got home for second place after a DNF in the final. Unstoppable on the day and no doubt rueing missing the first round was Matthew Distill. He ended up third in the series only thirty six points behind the winner. Finishing order on the day was Distill followed by Wyllie and Rice recovered for third.
Tayla Heath and her father Paul were all smiles after taking out the title in the Rookies class. Heath only had a twelve point lead going into the final round but made sure the trophy was hers by winning every race at Launceston. Zevie Eisentraut and Brock Evans took it right up to Heath throughout the series and were rewarded with second and third place respectively. Behind Heath on the day it was Eisentraut followed by Samuel Gala.
This series of TAG Restricted Heavy was all about Michael Warren. Up until the wet meeting at Burnie he hadn’t lost a race and he ended up winning comfortably ahead of Matthew Clark. Andrew Walter returning from a lengthy stint on the sidelines really drove well in this class and thoroughly deserved his third place in the series. Fittingly, the series placings were also the finishing order on the day.
Michael Vaughan returned to the series for only his second round in Senior National Over 40’s Pro and once again took a clean sweep. Even after missing two rounds he still finished fourth only twelve points off third. Third in the series went to Michael Jack who was the big improver this year and always ran at the front of the pack. Peter Rogers had another good series and was runner up to Steve Crocker who added another title to his already impressive collection. On the day it was Michael Vaughan from Steve Crocker and Fred Cocca came third.
Very rarely did you not see twenty five points next to Scott Wrigley’s name in the points tally. He was unstoppable at all four rounds in the Senior National Over 40’s Super Heavy class. In the end he took the title by thirty four points from Greg Wood who served it right up to Wrigley throughout the series but had to settle for second. John Lee snuck into third place for the series finishing an agonising one point in front of Darren Williams. On the day it was Wrigley followed by Wood and Williams in third.
Nathan Zuj has been the pacesetter in Clubman Light in Tasmania for the last few years and despite being pushed harder this series than he’s used to he still came out on top. All Zuj had to do was finish at Launceston but this ended up proving easier said than done. All looked to be going well in the first heat but then his best engine suffered a rather fatal piston failure. Couple this with a heat two DNF and Brody Appleby found himself in the box seat. Unfortunately for Appleby he too was struck down by mechanical failure in the final and this allowed a relieved Zuj to score just enough points to take the title ahead of Appleby and young Alastair Lee having a terrific series in third. On the day though, the spoils went to Evan Livingston who took the win ahead of Dillon Van Galen and Alastair Lee came in third.
Unfortunately TAG Restricted Light didn’t get enough numbers to constitute a class towards the series but David Sherriff was always at the front and often outperformed those in the Clubman Light class. He also took the win on the day from his cousin Andrew Sherriff and Craig Phillips in third. It was good to see Phillips and Andrew Sherriff back behind the wheel after a few months off.
Clubman Super Heavy also suffered a lack of numbers across the series with only five competitors over the four rounds. Joshua Muskett and Matthew Rowbottom battled it out on the day with Muskett winning out over Rowbottom.
At the end of the day’s racing the annual McDonalds Young Guns race was held with twenty eight drivers taking to the track for the twenty lap random draw race. Over the years this race has been won by some of Tasmania’s best young drivers and is a highly sort after trophy amongst the junior ranks. History repeated itself from last year with a Tony Kart driven by a quick lady taking the win. Only this time it was
Gemma Wyllie who came from near the rear of grid to take the race win. She narrowly held off the fast finishing Brodie Evans who passed Nicky Richards with one lap to go. Both Wyllie and Evans later divulged that they had bet their respective families that they would finish on the podium. Evans should have held out for more money as he only got $20 compared to Wyllie who secured $150 from her father and grandfather!
Finally thankyou to all the 477 drivers who competed in the series, all the pit crew members, the stewards and all the volunteers who made this series one of the best for many years. Special thanks also to all four Tasmanian clubs and their many helpers for hosting terrific meetings. Thanks to Jade Stone for helping with the series points, Mark Sergeant for his efforts as Clerk Of Course at all four events and Steph Peters and Janine Evers for all their hard work behind the scenes. 2012 has been a great year so far and there’s much more to come.
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Cadets
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Mitchell Kerrison 1st Mitchell Kerrison
2nd Brock Lamont 2nd Lachlan Dalton
3rd Lachlan Dalton 3rd Brock Lamont
Rookies
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Tayla Heath 1st Tayla Heath
2nd Zevie Eisentraut 2nd Zevie Eisentraut
3rd Samuel Gala 3rd Brock Evans
Junior National Light
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Brodie Evans 1st Brodie Evans
2nd Wade McLean 2nd Gemma Wyllie
3rd Gemma Wyllie 3rd Bodie Reading
4th Nicky Richards
5th Jacob Morris
Junior National Heavy
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Morgan Jakobovski 1st Keenan Slater
2nd Keenan Slater 2nd Daniel Newman
3rd Daniel Newman 3rd Thomas Clark
4th Morgan Jakobovski
Senior National Light
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Kelsey Sapwell 1st Kelsey Sapwell
2nd Stuart Wells 2nd Naomi Wrigley
3rd Naomi Wrigley 3rd Toby Archer
Senior National Heavy
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Michael Vaughan 1st Johnathan Males
2nd Johnathan Males 2nd Danton Evans
3rd Murray Dadson 3rd Murray Dadson
Senior National Over 40’s Pro
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Michael Vaughan 1st Steve Crocker
2nd Steve Crocker 2nd Peter Rogers
3rd Fred Cocca 3rd Michael Jack
4th Michael Vaughan
5th Stephen Johnstone
Senior National Over 40’s Super Heavy
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Scott Wrigley 1st Scott Wrigley
2nd Greg Wood 2nd Greg Wood
3rd Darren Williams 3rd John Lee
Clubman Light
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Evan Livingston 1st Nathan Zuj
2nd Dillon Van Galen 2nd Brody Appleby
3rd Alastair Lee 3rd Alastair Lee
Clubman Heavy
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Trent Palmer 1st Troy Stone
2nd Zane Wyatt 2nd Steven Wrigley
3rd Steven Wrigley 3rd Jack Pickett
4th Trent Palmer
TAG Restricted Heavy
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Michael Warren 1st Michael Warren
2nd Matthew Clark 2nd Matthew Clark
3rd Andrew Walter 3rd Andrew Walter
TAG Light
4th Round Placings 2012 Statewide Series Final Positions
1st Matthew Distill 1st Dion Wyllie
2nd Dion Wyllie 2nd Jade Waddington
3rd Jake Rice 3rd Matthew Distill
4th Jake Rice
5th Jackson Evans
Clubman Super Heavy
1st Josh Muskett
2nd Matthew Rowbottom
TAG Restricted Light
1st David Sherriff
2nd Andrew Sherriff
3rd Craig Phillips
McDonalds Young Guns
1st Gemma Wyllie
2nd Brodie Evans
3rd Nicky Richards
