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Heading past the midway point of the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship for 2024, many of the categories have been turned on their head after the results recorded at the third round of the title race last weekend at Emerald.
With the points being tallied post event, the most dramatic change has come in the KA3 Senior category. Entering the weekend, Championship stalwart, Andrew Starkey Racing’s Benito Montalbano was co-joined atop the ladder by fellow New South Welshman and full season debutante, Luca Belardo – who is competing with Jess Golding Motorsport in the Series.
With mixed results in Queensland from both Montalbano and Belardo, it has seen the former drop to equal second on the pointscore and Belardo to seventh.
The big surprise has been the surge of Mika Lemasurier. The Gold Coaster missed KA3 at round one – and only entered at round two as a means to boost his confidence after a difficult opening event in X30. Nevertheless, through consistent performances and two podium finishes, he finds himself leading the Championship heading to round four by five points.
Another driver who is using consistency as his motto in KA3 is South Australian, Joshua Elliston. His Emerald runs have seen the TD Racing driver move to equal second with Montalbano, just five points from the series leader. The KA3 Senior Championship is the tightest of the eight races this season with the top 10 drivers separated by just 32 points.
The youngest category, Cadet 9 sees a new Championship leader emerge in TWM Kart Republic driver, Oliver Williamson. Williamson bounced back after a mixed round two to win in Emerald and he jumped Oliver Armitt to lead by three points heading to Coffs Harbour. Aaron Hindle was rewarded for a strong performance by sitting in third position – just five points behind that of Williamson.
Reigning TaG 125 Champion, Harrison Hoey has his eyes set on a second consecutive Australian title for the Parolin factory team. Although he was caught out by tyre selection amid Saturday’s inclement weather in Emerald, he has done enough to close the gap to Series leader, Ben Holliday to just five points.
Topsy turvey results through the field benefitted both Holliday (who races in David Sera’s Kart Class team) and Hoey. South Australian MFK racer, Jacob Dowson is still in the mix just 14 points from the top of the ladder, as is Sydneysider, Jackson Souslin-Harlow – sitting fourth 26 points behind the Adelaide-based leader.
In the KZ2 category, uncharacteristic errors from Joshua Fife during heat racing saw his runaway 39 point lead cut to just 12 points. Reigning Champion, Sam Dicker’s solid round has elevated him to second on the ladder, while Henry Johnstone dropped to third, some 45 points behind Kart Republic racer, Fife.
Cadet 12 Championship leader, Archie Bristow had his lead cut from 34 points to 15 after quiet performances in the heats. The Victorian has seen Jack Larsen – who had a standout round three – move closer to him, while round winner, Jay Kostecki has moved into Championship contention with his win – the Calicorse racer scoring all but six points on offer in Emerald and is now 31 points off the Series lead heading to the penultimate round.
Nick Percat’s JND Racing squad continues to occupy the top two placings in KA3 Junior. Although his lead was cut slightly, Jack Szewczuk maintains a 23 point advantage over Riley Harrison – who graduated from Cadet racing this year. Through his round win at the weekend, Evoheat backed Queenslander, Isaac McNeill moved to third and is just 29 points behind Szewczuk, while Victorian Sam March is a further two points behind.
McNeill is in with a shot at potentially finishing two categories in the top three or indeed winning as he moved into second place in KA2 Junior, some 29 points behind Lewis Cordato. Cordato had structured almost the perfect weekend in his Scape Student Accommodation machine, however struck trouble on the warmup lap in the final and would score no points. It was crucial given a multi-kart pileup that ensued behind him – it would prove to be an opportunity that went begging. Bundaberg-based round winner, Ky Burke moved to third on the pointscore – a 38 point range behind the title leader.
There was no such trouble in X30 for Championship leader, Brad Jenner – another of the JND racers. He took his second consecutive round win and heads to the fourth round 102 points in the lead over Max Walton. It emerged post event on a countback that Jenner’s Emerald win promoted him to outright all-time round wins of 14 rather than the 13 as had been previously advised.
With 75 points the maximum at each round, Jenner almost has one hand on the Australia #1 green plate.
The following two rounds are new ground for many competitors. The SP Tools Australian Kart Championship visits the newly extended Coffs Harbour facility from July 18-21 and then will come to a conclusion at the Oakleigh Kart Club August 29-September 1. Under the current multi-round Australian Championship format, neither circuit has been utilised before.
The full SP Tools Australian Kart Championship pointscores are available here.
2024 Australian Kart Championship Calendar:
