This weekend saw the running of our annual 2-day major meeting, the 2013 Australasian Karting Gold Cup.  Although a disappointing turn out, which could be attributed to the hectic Country Karting calendar we have at the moment, there was some great racing in all classes with some big moves and some great passes.  24 racers from Dubbo were joined by 13 from Orange, 3 from Combined Districts, 2 from Gunnedah and Grenfell, and one each from Canberra, North Shore, Sydney, Tamworth and one all the way from Victoria.  There were 5 events run over the weekend with 9 classes in total.

Due to the low numbers, the racers that made the trek were rewarded with even more racing than what was planned, with officials deciding to run the meeting across three 10 laps heats instead of the scheduled two heats, which were run on Saturday.  Sunday saw the running of the 12 lap pre-final and a 15 lap final.  The meeting was final only counts, however race positions were important with the Gold Cup winners being decided on a points basis across all races from the weekend.

The Cadets and Rookies were run together, seeing 13 karts hitting the track.  The cadets were sponsored by Dubbo soils & Landscaping Supplies, and saw a great 3 way battle for the top spot, the final was won by 0.4 seconds with Makk O’Neill (Dubbo) taking the spoils ahead of Theodore Livanes (Canberra) and Ethan Smith (Dubbo).  In the Outback Recovery Services Rookies Class Blake Fardell (Dubbo) streaked away from the field to claim first place ahead of Darcy Inwood (Orange) and Connor Lavelle (Orange).

Country Leisure Motor Inn sponsored the Junior National Light class, but the racing was far from leisurely with some great racing across the weekend with most races seeing the lead change numerous times between the top 3.  The class was a great battle between the Dubbo locals with the podium being filled with club members.  Nicholas Riley edged out Luke Wrigley for the top spot, with Tyler Everingham finished in 3rd in his first race meeting in the category which also included a race win in Heat 2.

The Senior National Pro class was run at 150kg and sponsored by Brett Harvey Designs and Constructions.  The class had some great racing with some audacious passing and thrilling moves between the leading karts.  At the end of the day Darren Harris (North Shore) was first across the line ahead of Bradley Newman (Orange) and David Dunbar (Orange).

Only one competitor entered the Wurth (Australia) Clubman Light class, with Michael Riley (Dubbo) obviously taking first place.  The usually strong clubman Heavy field didn’t disappoint and made a great showing again.  Warrick Norris (Sydney) found scorching speed in the final to take out the class sponsored by Everingham Electrical and Data.  Chris Riley (Dubbo) managed to hold on to 2nd from a fast finishing Richard Drooger (Grenfell).

Again only one competitor entered into the Stephensons Hydraulics TAG125 Heavy class, with Peter Whale (Dubbo) taking all the glory.  In the J.M. Forklifts Restricted 125 Light class Jack Koenig (Dubbo) took a comfortable victory in his first race meeting in the senior class over Michael Dunbar (Combined Districts).  Hannafords Tyres and Suspension sponsored the Restricted 125 Heavy class which saw the return of Bert Wrigley (Dubbo) to Lincoln County Raceway who claimed victory in his first race meeting for years, finishing ahead of Mathew Whale (Dubbo) in 2nd and John Heath (Victoria) finishing in 3rd.

The Junior Gold Cup was taken out by the Cadets racer Theodore Livanes (Canberra) with the Senior Gold Cup being a tie; even with a count back between Bradley Newman (Orange) and Richard Drooger (Grenfell).  There were also a number of lap records broken over the weekend with Blake Fardell (Rookies), Nicholas Riley (Jnr Nat Light), and Darren Harris (Snr Nat Pro) setting new benchmarks in their respective classes.  Full results can be found here.

The Dubbo Kart Club would like to thank all its Gold Cup sponsors and it’s club sponsors.  A special thanks goes out to Mitch from StarFM who was track side all weekend commentating all the action to the delight of the spectators and competitors alike.  Our next race meeting is an open club meeting to be held on 15th September 2013.