Kosmic Racing Australia’s Matthew Waters etched his name in Australian karting history by winning the Pro Light (KF) Championship at the final round of the Castrol EDGE CIK Stars of Karting Series in Melbourne.
Waters started the weekend as the points leader, however George Geranis was keen to show up the Sydney-sider on his home track. It wasn’t to be, with Geranis spinning heading into turn one in the second final.
A fly in the ointment Waters wasn’t expecting was Queenslander, Troy Loeskow. Loeskow came into the event third on points with a mathematical chance at winning the Championship and then went on to win the first final.
Following on from that, he was dominant in final number two to take the double win. Throwing caution to the wind, he had nothing to lose being 16 points off the Championship lead and two points off second place.
Geranis’ turn one spin elevated Loeskow to second in the Title should he remain in the event. He rocketed to the front ahead of Pierce Lehane and was a chance to take the Championship should misfortune hit Waters.
It wasn’t to be though with Waters coming home sixth, doing enough to take his fourth Australian Karting Championship and first Stars of Karting Title, including the James Courtney Trophy and $10,000 scholarship to compete in an overseas CIK event.
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“We had a good round this weekend, we did a lot of preparation and a lot of testing before the race. George and Troy have really pushed me all year and it went down to the wire,” said Waters.
“I only ended up winning by a couple of points, but that’s all that matters.”
A mere three points separated Liam McLellan and James Abela entering the final round in the chase for the Pro Junior (KFJ) Title. After the first final, McLellan’s second placed finish saw him hold a point buffer where he could finish as low as 13th to become Champion.
The second final saw the Victorian OK1 chassis driver enter a race long battle with Abela, causing many nervous moments among his support crew.
In the end though, despite Abela getting the best of him in the race, McLellan cruised to the Championship win and was presented with the Jon Targett perpetual trophy and the $10,000 scholarship to compete in an overseas CIK event.
Taking their maiden Stars of Karting final across weekend were Chris Sandrone and Callum Walker. Sandrone and McLellan locked wheels as they crossed the finish line in final one – the margin of victory just 0.064.
In Pro Gearbox (KZ2), Dutchman Joey Hanssen to become the first international racer to win a CIK Stars of Karting Championship.
He confirmed his stranglehold on the Jon Pizarro Trophy in the first final on Sunday morning – his seventh final victory of the 2013 season. In the second final, his season long combatant, Chris Hays quickly got to the pointy end of the field and tore away in his Energy Kart.
The battle for third in the Championship was the major on-track interest in Pro Gearbox with John Grother, Kel Treseder and Jason Pringle all fighting it out.
Grother – who switched to an ART GP chassis this weekend – recorded fourth and third placed results to secure third in the Championship despite a valiant effort from Treseder who ended the weekend’s proceedings sixth and fourth.
2013 CIK STARS OF KARTING SERIES
presented by Castrol EDGE
Round 5 of 5
RESULTS (Top Five)
Pro Gearbox (KZ2)
1. Chris Hays (Gold Coast, QLD)
2. Joey Hanssen (Netherlands)
3. John Grother (Gladstone, QLD)
4. Kel Treseder (Bundberg, QLD)
5. Tyler Greenbury (Toowoomba, QLD)
Pro Light (KF)
1. Troy Loeskow (Bundaberg, QLD)
2. Adam Willison (Melbourne, Vic)
3. Pierce Lehane (Sydney, NSW)
4. Brooke Topp (Toowoomba, QLD)
5. Jordan Nicolaou (Melbourne, Vic)
Pro Junior (KFJ)
1. Callum Walker (Brisbane, QLD)
2. James Abela (Sydney, NSW)
3. Liam McLellan (Melbourne, Vic)
4. Andrew Kahl (Sydney, NSW)
5. Joshua Rogers (Gladstone, QLD)
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
Pro Gearbox (KZ2)
1. Joey Hanssen 658
2. Chris Hays 575
3. John Grother 502
4. Kel Treseder 488
5. Jason Pringle 469
Pro Light (KF)
1. Matthew Waters 554
2. Troy Loeskow 547
3. George Geranis 536
4. Brooke Topp 504
5. Jordan Nicoloau 466
Pro Junior (KFJ)
1. Liam McLellan 563
2. James Abela 547
3. Andrew Kahl 512
4. Chris Sandrone 509
5. Callum Walker 490
