CIK Stars of Karting Series debutant Adam Hughes upstaged his more fancied rivals during qualifying day at the final round of 2010 at Port Melbourne in Victoria today.
Hughes, competing aboard a Kosmic kart in the Pro Light (KF1) category, topped the timesheets during qualifying before maintaining the front running in the top five shootout.
The Victorian then backed his qualifying up with a strong performance during the three heats races to mix it at the front of the field with series regulars Cian Fothergill, John Grother and Hayden McBride.
“To come out and qualify on pole was a great start to the weekend but then back it up with a couple of strong results in the heat races is even better,” said Hughes.
“The KF1 specification engine is a bit different to drive to the engines I normally use but I’m really enjoying it and will hopefully be contesting the entire series in 2011.”
Fothergill’s dominant performance during the opening three rounds of the series has him placed 40 points clear at the top of the points table and well on track to claim the
James Courtney trophy (the perpetual trophy awarded to the champion in Pro Light).
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In the Pro Junior (KF3) category James Macken and Jake Coleman were very impressive throughout the day taking the fight to the championship leader Pierce Lehane.
Macken took out the opening two 16-lap heat races and will start on the front row for tomorrow’s finals aboard his Tony Kart.
“It has been a great day, the Tony Kart is really working and the Tony Kartsports team are doing a great job,” said Macken.
“I’ve really enjoyed the CIK Stars of Karting Series this year. It took a little bit to get used to the tyres and the new engine but I really think we’ve got a strong package now and look forward to a good result tomorrow before embarking on a strong campaign in 2011.”
Lehane encountered a couple of mechanical issues throughout the day before showing some good speed to take out the final heat race.
With 50 points on offer across tomorrow’s two finals, Lehane now holds a 44-point buffer at the top of the championship tables and is well on track to claim the Jon Targett trophy (the perpetual trophy awarded to the winner of Pro Junior).
In the Pro Gearbox category local driver David Sera qualified fastest and won the opening two heats races before encountering a clutch issue in the final 16-lap encounter allowing Jason Pringle to take the win.
Behind Sera and Pringle, championship contenders Kel Treseder, Matthew Wall, Troy Woolston and Chris Hays were engaged in some titanic battles throughout the day to set the scene for an action-packed final day tomorrow.
With only 20 points separating the top three in the championship standings, the John Pizarro trophy (awarded to the winner of Pro Gearbox in the series) is still very much up for grabs.
