Just under 100 of Victoria’s best up and coming junior drivers headed to the Geelong Kart Clubs Beckley Park International raceway circuit to competing in the single race day 2017 Geelong Junior Challenge event at the weekend November 12th. With the temperature heading into the high 20’s karters were facing some warmer track conditions that have not been seen in Victoria since earlier in the year.
KA4 Jun Heavy C and D class
The class first up on the schedule for the weekend was the KA4 Junior Heavy C and D class which contained a good contingent of drivers from the Warrnambool Kart Club with 7 drivers competing.
Fastest in qualifying was Warrnambool’s #57 Lachlan Swayn setting a laptime of 35.736 only a batter of a few hundreths of a second ahead of South West Kart Clubs #71 Maximus Fahey and local Geelong driver #39 Max Green.
In the racing at the front it was a 2 driver battle across the weekend with Fahey and and Swayn out in front of the rest of the field having their own little battle while Green, #34 Sophie Mansbridge (Warrnambool), #18 Braden Clark (Oakleigh), #88 Johnny Hill (GKCV) and #44 Riley Jabke fought it out for the final step of the podium.
In the 12 lap final after a great battle between the drivers it went right down to the last meter with #57 Lachlan Swayn (WKC) just edging out #71 Maximus Fahey (SWKC) by a hair just .025 of a second at the line in a classic finish. There was also nothing in it for 3rd place with #44 Riley Jabke (OAK / GIPP), #89 Johnny Hill (GKCV) and #39 Max Green (GEE) having a awesome scrap throughout the race with Jabke taking 3rd with the 3 driver separated by 6 tenths of a second at the finish.
KA4 Junior Heavy C and D class final
1 57 Lachlan SWAYN WARRN VIC
2 71 Maximus FAHEY STHW VIC
3 44 Riley JABKE OAK, GIPP VIC
4 88 Johnny HILL GKCV VIC
5 39 Max GREEN GEEL VIC
6 18 Braden CLARK OAK VIC
7 34 Sophie MANSBRIDGE WARRN VIC
8 5 Alex RYAN WARRN VIC
9 7 Nicholas RYAN WARRN VIC
10 26 Winston SMITH GKCV VIC
11 28 Ryan COOK WARRN VIC
12 46P Seth BURTON WARRN VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#57 57 Lachlan SWAYN (WARR) 35.736
Final fastest lap
#71 Maximus FAHEY (STHW) 35.022
The 12 driver field of the KA4 Junior Heavy C and D class head into turn 1 at the start on Sunday at the Geelong Junior Challenge at the Geelong Kart Club.
#71 Maximus Fahey and #57 Lachlan Swayn go wheel to wheel as they head to the line to decide the winner of the KA4 Junior Heavy C and D class at the Geelong Junior Challenge at the Geelong Karting Club
Cadet 12 class
Like in many of the races this year the biggest field of drivers were running in the Cadet 12 class with 23 young drivers entered.
In qualifying Oakleigh’s #56 Damon Wood put in a great lap, lapping the Beckley Park International Raceway in 36.368 which was over 2 tenths of a second ahead of Warrnambool / South West driver #33 Jaxon Johnstone, local driver #92 Matthew Domaschenz 3rd and #94 Cadel Ambrose (Oakleigh / Eastern Lions) putting in a great effort to be on the 2nd row of the grid in one of his first Cadet 12 races after stepping up from the Cadet 9 class.
Just like in the previous class it would be a 2 driver race at the very front of the big pack across the 4 races with 2 drivers breaking clear to fight it out for the win with #92 Matthew Domaschenz (GEE) and #56 Damon Woods (OAK) nose to tail all day. Domaschenz winning heat 1, Woods winning heat 2 and 3 and in the 12 lap final again there was nothing between the drivers and after a great race #92 Matthew Domaschenz would win it at the finish line from #56 Damon Woods by the narrowest margin 0.028 of a second.
Geelong driver #76 Fraser Carr taking 3rd place after a close race with #33 Jaxon Johnstone (WKC/SWKC) and #52 Marcus Pisani (GKCV/GEE) who were 4th and 5th.
Cadet 12 class final
1 92 Matthew DOMASCHENZ GEEL VIC
2 56 Damon WOODS OAK VIC
3 76 Fraser CARR GEEL VIC
4 33 Jaxon JOHNSTONE WARRN, STHW VIC
5 52 Marcus PISANI GKCV, GEEL VIC
6 7 Brocklan PARKER PORT VIC
7 5 Brodie THOMSON GEEL VIC
8 18 Sam WHITEFORD GKCV VIC
9 36 Thomas SCHMIDT GEEL VIC
10 69 Noah LAMPERD GEEL VIC
11 94 Cadel AMBROSE OAK, E/LIONS VIC
12 39 James LODGE GKCV, GEEL VIC
13 95 Koby SAMUELSON GEEL VIC
14 10 Oscar MALONEY WARRN VIC
15 75 Jake KRASNA MILD VIC
16 41 Jack GORDON GEEL VIC
17 9P Domenic KUCINA BALL VIC
18 77 Shaun CLOVER STHW VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#56 Damon WOODS (OAK) 36.368
Final fastest lap
#56 Damon WOODS (OAK) 36.219
Photo – A big field of 23 drivers in the Cadet class head into turn 1 on Sunday at the Geelong Junior Challenge at the Geelong Karting Club
Another close finish at the Geelong Junior Challenge in the Cadet 12 class with local driver #92 Matthew Domaschenz winning the final by this much (.028) of a second at the line ahead of Oakleigh’s #56 Damon Woods
KA4 Junior Light class
In the KA4 Junior Light class there was just a small field of 4 drivers competing and it was Go-Kart Club of Victoria’s #67 Cooper Johnstone continuing on his good results of late setting the fastest time in qualifying with a lap time of 34.507 a good gap of 2 tenths of a second ahead of the rest of the field which included #17 Hugo Simpson (GKCV), #83 Harrison Campbell (GKCV) and #72 Samuel Gibson (OAK/ELIONS).
In the racing there was not much between all the 4 drivers across the day with Johnstone and Simpson having a great tight battle swapping 1st and 2nd throughout, Johnstone winning heat 1 by 4 tenths, Simpson winning heat 2 by 2 tenths, Johnstone coming back to win heat 3 by 5 tenths and in the 12 lap final all 4 drivers were in amongst the action with the field separated by 8 tenths of a second at the finish and just like the previous 2 classes it came down to the final meter of race track with #17 Hugo Simpson with his kart fractionally ahead of #67 Cooper Johnstone 1st and 2nd, #72 Samuel Gibson just 5 tenths behind in 3rd just edging out #83 Harrison Campbell who was 4th.
1 17 Hugo SIMPSON GKCV VIC
2 67 Cooper JOHNSTONE GKCV VIC
3 72 Samuel GIBSON OAK, E/LIONS VIC
4 83 Harrison CAMPBELL GKCV VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#67 Cooper JOHNSTONE (GKCV) 34.507
Final fastest lap
#17 Hugo SIMPSON (GKCV) 34.262
The KA4 Junior Light and C and D classes head into turn 1 at the Geelong Junior Challenge at the Geelong Karting Club with #17 Hugo Simpson (GKCV) and #67 Cooper Johnstone (GKCV) leading the charge
KA4 Jun Light C and D class
Like in the previous KA4 Light class just 4 drivers took to the grid in the C and D class and in qualifying with Ballarat driver #28 Zaiden Barry taking pole position with a lap time of 34.689 a tenth of a second ahead of local Geelong driver #24 Scott McEachran, Oakleigh’s #44 Jet Wilson 3rd fastest ahead of GKCV driver #19 Charlee Zammit.
In the racing throughout the day #24 Scott McEachran and #28 Zaiden Barry duked it out for first and 2nd, Barry winning the first two heats by a narrow margin, Mceachran taking out heat 3 and in the 12 lap final #28 Zaiden Barry would get his nose in front to take the win by a tenth ahead of McEachran with #44 Jet Wilson 3 seconds further back taking 3rd, Zammit in 4th with the C and D grade drivers mixing it with the main KA4 junior Light class for much of running.
KA4 Junior Light C and D class final
1 28 Zaiden BARRY BALL VIC
2 24 Scott MCEACHRAN GEEL VIC
3 44 Jett WILSON OAK VIC
4 19 Charlee ZAMMIT GKCV VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#28 Zaiden BARRY (BALL) 34.689
Final fastest lap
#24 24 Scott MCEACHRAN (GEE) 34.506
Photo – In the 12 lap final of the KA4 Junior Light C and D class Ballarat Kart Club driver #28 Zaiden Barry would take out the win by 2 tenths of a second at Geelong Junior Challenge at the Geelong Karting Club
KA4 Junior Heavy class
7 drivers lined up for the KA4 Junior Heavy class and it was South West / Warrnambool driver #95 Daniel Hookway who was at the top of the sheets in qualifying lapping with a time of 35.156 just edging out #71 Maximus Fahey by the narrowest of margins .026 of a second.
Throughout the racing it was #95 Daniel Hookway out in front going on to take a sweep of wins across the 4 races winning the 12 lap final by a second ahead of #71 Maximus Fahey and local Geelong driver #99 Jay Racovalis.
KA4 Junior Heavy class final
1 95 Daniel HOOKWAY STHW, WARRN VIC
2 71 Maximus FAHEY STHW VIC
3 99 Jay RACOVALIS GEEL VIC
4 8 Lotem BEN YOSEF OAK VIC
5 39 Max GREEN GEEL VIC
6 88 Johnny HILL GKCV VIC
DNF 26 Winston SMITH GKCV VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#95 Daniel HOOKWAY (STHW, WARRN) 35.156
Final fastest lap
#71 Maximus FAHEY (STHW) 34.859
Photo – #99 Jay Racovalis (GEE) races hard with #39 Max Green (GEE) in the KA4 Junior Heavy class on Sunday at the Geelong Junior Challenge race meeting at the Geelong Kart Club
Cadet 12 C and D class
Many Cadet 12 drivers were doing the double, running in both Cadet 12 and Cadet 12 C and D across the weekend with a great field of 20 drivers in C and D.
In qualifying after jumping up from Cadet 9s Oakleigh/Eastern Lions driver #94 Cadet Ambrose put in a great lap of 36.568 to take pole position half a tenth ahead of GKCV driver #25 Isaac Woodhouse, Oakleigh’s #73 Liam O’Donnell and #52 Marcus Pisani who was a tenth off pole.
In the racing #52 Pisani got away well to take out victory in heat 1 breaking free from a big 6 kart dice for 2nd that involved #21 Isaac Woodhouse (GKCV) who was 2nd, #36 Thomas Schmidt (GEE) who put in a great drive to finish 3rd after starting 7th, #73 Liam O’Donnell (OAK), #94 Cadet Ambrose (OAK/ELIONS), #57 Akasha McEachran (GEE) and #7 Brocklan Parker (PORT).
In heat 2 it was again Pisani taking the win just edging out O’Donnell by 4 tenths with yet another great battle between Ambrose, Woodhouse, Schmidt, Parker, and McEachran for 3rd.
Heat 3 would see 4 karts break away from the main pack this time with #73 Liam O’Donnell fighting way to the lead to take the win narrowly by just over a tenth of a second ahead of #52 Marcus Pisani, #25 Isaac Woodhouse and #94 Cadel Ambrose all 4 drivers separated by just 4 tenths of a second at the line.
In the 12 lap final there would be a great fight for the lead between 6 drivers with local Geelong driver #36 Thomas Schmidt putting in an outstanding drive to come through the field after finishing in 8th in heat 3 to take out the final from #25 Isaac Woodhouse (GKCV) and #52 Marcus Pisani with #7 Brocklan Parker, #73 Liam O’Donnell and #94 Cadel Ambrose just off the top 3 drivers coming home in 4th, 5th and 6th.
Cadet 12 C and D class final
1 36 Thomas SCHMIDT GEEL VIC
2 25 Isaac WOODHOUSE GKCV VIC
3 52 Marcus PISANI GKCV, GEEL VIC
4 7 Brocklan PARKER PORT VIC
5 73 Liam O’DONNELL OAK O’Donnell Custom VIC
6 94 Cadel AMBROSE OAK, VIC
7 57 Akasha MCEACHRAN GEEL VIC
8 39 James LODGE GKCV, GEEL VIC
9 72 Ryan NEWBORN GKCV VIC
10 95 Koby SAMUELSON GEEL VIC
11 24 Zach FINDLAY GEEL VIC
12 75 Jake KRASNA MILD VIC
13 71 Daniel GOLIGHTLY GEEL VIC
14 77 Shaun CLOVER STHW VIC
15 9P Domenic KUCINA BALL VIC
16 22 Ethan CORNWILL BEN VIC
17 21P Hayden MILLINGTON GKCV VIC
DNF 14 Alexander CIRONE GKCV, GEEL VIC
DNF 5P Nicolas MENDEZ GKCV, GEEL VIC
DNF 48P Jett RENDELL GEEL VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#94 Cadel AMBROSE 36.568
Final fastest lap
#7 Brocklan PARKER (PORT) 36.471
Photo – #73 Liam O’Donnell and #94 Cadet Ambrose lead the big field of 20 drivers out of turn 3 in the Cadet 12 C and D class on Sunday at the Geelong Junior Challenge event at the Geelong Kart Club
KA3 Junior class
14 drivers were competing in the fastest class of the weekend KA3 Junior and in qualifying #76 Emerson Harvey (GKCV) would take pole position by a millimetre just .002 of a second ahead of Ballarat’s #6 Jaxson Cox who was a winner at the final round of the Australian Kart Championship at GKCV and Portlands #25 Corey Herbertson also just half a tenth of pole position.
The heat racing would be fought out between Herbertson, #17 Hugo Simpson (GKCV), Harvey, Cox and #13 Ryan Bettess (GKCV), #11 Hamish Allan (OAK) and #61 Reef McCarthy (GKCV) with #6 Jaxson Cox winning heat 1 from #25 Corey Herbertson (POR) and #76 Emerson Harvey (GKCV) by under a second, Herbertson having a great dice with 4 other drivers that were all separated by under a second at the line to win heat 2. #76 Emerson Harvey beating #25 Corey Herbertson by half a second to win heat 3 and in the all important 12 lap final #25 Corey Herbertson was able break free of the field and take a 3 second victory ahead of #17 Hugo Simpson with #61 Reef McCarthy putting in an outstanding drive in the final to come from outside the top 5 for much of the weekend to storm home to 3rd.
KA3 Junior class final
1 25 Corey HERBERTSON PORT VIC
2 17 Hugo SIMPSON GKCV VIC
3 61 Reef MCCARTHY GKCV VIC
4 6 Jaxson COX BALL VIC
5 76 Emerson HARVEY GKCV VIC
6 38 Valentino ASTUTI GKCV VIC
7 13 Ryan BETTESS GKCV VIC
8 11 Hamish ALLAN OAK VIC
9 50 Thomas DIXON GKCV VIC
10 42 Wil KELLY-MERRIFIELD WARRN VIC
DNF 5 Nathan SCICLUNA E/LIONS VIC
DNS 97 Rhys KEMP BEN VIC
DNS 23 Jai STEPHENSON GKCV VIC
DNS 90 Ethan CHURCH GEEL VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#76 Emerson HARVEY 33.485
Final fastest lap
#76 Emerson HARVEY 33.416
Photo – The fastest class racing at the event the KA3 Junior class get ready to go racing at the Geelong Junior Challenge race meeting with #25 Corey Herbertson (Portland) and #76 Emerson Harvey (GKCV) leading the charge
Cadet 9 class
In the youngest field of the weekend 13 Cadet 9 drivers would take to the grid and it was #85 Tyce Hodge that would set the quickest qualifying time just .002 of a second ahead of reigning 2017 Victorian Kart Champion #14 Toby Dvorak (Oakleigh) with GKCV driver #7 Jack Plumb 2 tenths off 3rd fastest.
Heat 1 would see #14 Toby Dvorak and #85 Tyce Hodge fight it out at the front with Dvorak winning by under 2 tenths, in heat 2 after finishing heat 1 in 7th South West Kart Clubs #21 Rusty Ponting would put in a brilliant drive to come through the field to take the win ahead of Dvorak, #33 Lewis Francis (GKCV, OAK) and Hodge who were all within a second of Ponting at the finish.
Heat 3 would see yet another great race for the lead with Dvorak just edging out Ponting by 1.5 tenths and in the big 12 lap final #14 Toby Dvorak would be able to break free of the fighting pack winning by 1.7 seconds, with a great battle happening between 3 drivers for the remaining spots with the 3 drivers within a kart length of each other at the finish #21 Rusty Ponting in 2nd, #85 Tyce Hodge half a tenth behind in 3rd and #33 Lewis Francis just missing out on a podium half a tenth behind Hodge in 4th.
Cadet 9 class final
1 14 Toby DVORAK OAK VIC
2 21 Rusty PONTING STHW VIC
3 85 Tyce HODGE VIC
4 33 Lewis FRANCIS GKCV, OAK VIC
5 7 Jack PLUMB GKCV VIC
6 6 Cooper STAPLETON OAK, GKCV VIC
7 17 Stefan KARAJCIC GKCV VIC
8 46 Peter BOUZINELOS GKCV VIC
9 20 Ewan ANDERSON PORT VIC
10 29 William BRINSLEY GKCV VIC
11 28 Chelsea HUMPHREY BEN VIC
12 5P Jett TAORMINA GEEL VIC
13 15P Samuel MARCH E/LIONS VIC
Qualifying fastest lap
#85 Tyce HODGE 37.692
Final fastest lap
#21 Rusty PONTING (SWKC) 37.287
Photo – #14 Toby Dvorak (Oakleigh) and #21 Rusty Ponting (South West) go wheel to wheel into turn 1 ahead of the 13 driver Cadet 9 class on Sunday at the Geelong Junior Challenge at the Geelong Kart Club.
