Series Newcastle Saturday report

WALL REIGNS SUPREME IN CIK STARS OF KARTING OPENER

Victorian Matthew Wall made it count when it matters most on his way to victory in the opening round of the CIK Stars of Karting Series in Newcastle this weekend.

The karting veteran took out both races in the Pro Gearbox (KZ2) category in convincing fashion.

Wall claimed the win in this morning's opening 25-lap encounter ahead of his JT Team Pacific team-mate Chris Hays (Gold Coast, QLD) and CRG driver Kel Treseder (Bundaberg, QLD).

The 31 year-old got the jump off the start line aboard his Alfano-backed Arrow Kart in the second final of the day while Treseder made his way past Hays, the fastest qualifier yesterday, into second place.

Unfortunately for James Kovacic (Forresters Beach, NSW) his weekend came to an early end with handling issues on lap three of the final.

By mid race Pro Karting Tony Kart driver Jordie Lindstrom (Greensborough, Vic) and Justin Ruggier (Kellyville, NSW), both who had issues in the opening final of the day, had charged their way through the field to be in contention for a spot on the podium.

Also making good inroads on the front-runners was Victorian Troy Wooolston (Ivanhoe, Vic) who had moved to fourth place by this point in the race.

As the race drew to a close it was evident that Treseder was catching Wall, but even Treseder didn't expect how close he would come to victory during his debut in the Gearbox class.

Exiting the final corner Wall made what he described as a 'rookie error' by slowing to begin his celebrations and came within millimetres of handing the win to Treseder on the line.

In the end, Wall crossed the line a mere 0.037 seconds ahead of Treseder. Lindstrom claimed third spot ahead of Woolston and Ruggier.

"That was a rookie error that almost cost me the win," said Wall.

"I guess that I've been watching too much Formula One over the years where they slow down to celebrate and am very lucky to have got away with it.

"This weekend has just been fantastic to see the CIK style of racing back on track in Australia and it has got a lot of people in the sport excited. I can't wait to get to round two in Ipswich."

Gladstone driver Cian Fothergill was beaten off the start by the defending champion Hayden Bride (Newcastle, NSW) in the second final of the day, but it wasn't long before Fothergill found his way to the front as McBride encountered mechanic dramas.

The demise of McBride allowed Fothergill to stream off into the distance while Simon Roberts (Newcastle, NSW), Grant Smith (Patterson Lakes, VIC) and Matthew Waters (Horsley Park, NSW) battled for the minor positions.

Roberts' run came to an end when he broke a chain on his High Roller Energy CRG on lap four, as did Ryan Gallagher's (Goulburn, NSW) run towards the front.

As the race continued Anthony Vince (Balmoral, NSW) and John Grother (Gladstone, QLD) were closing in on the front-runners and the pair would eventually cross the line second and third respectively behind Fothergill in his Tracksa-backed Kosmic kart.

Unfortunately for Grother he was later excluded due to an incorrect fitment of his timing transponder, which parted ways with his kart in the opening lap, elevating Vince to second and Damien Radosevic (Gwadalan, NSW) to third.

Matthew Bailey (Unanderra, NSW) finished fourth ahead of Waters while McBride recovered to finish sixth.

Sydney CRG driver Pierce Lehane was unstoppable during the return of the CIK style of racing in the junior ranks.

The 14 year-old from Castle Hill qualified on pole position, won all three heat races yesterday and both finals contested today.

Behind Lehane it was Jonathan Venter (Beecroft, NSW) who finished runner-up in today's pair of 25-lap races.

Brock Plumb (Forest Lake, QLD) crossed the line third aboard his Briel kart in the final encounter while Queenslander James Macken finished third in today's opener. Tony Kart's (Cairns, QLD) Aidan Wright and Kosmic pilot Jacob Parsons (Balgowah, NSW) finished fourth and fifth in both encounters.

"It has been a great weekend, I've really enjoyed the power of the KF3 specification engine and am really looking forward to the next round," said Lehane.

"We've been doing a bit of testing prior to the weekend, which seemed to really pay off and I couldn't be happier with a start like this in the championship."

In the development categories, Daniel Baker put in a dominant performance in Clubman to start his campaign for the East Coast Title and trip to Japan courtesy of Yamaha Australia in a stylish fashion. Local fast femme Bree Wooland upstaged many of her more fancied rivals to take out the Junior National category.

James Bower proved too good in the TaG Restricted 125 Light category while Brian Griffiths claimed the win in the TaG Restricted 125 Heavy class.

The next round of the 2010 CIK Stars of Karting Series will be contested in Ipswich, QLD on May 5-7.

-source: bammedia