A team of nine highly skilled drivers across seven classes took on third round of SP Tools Australian Kart Championship for A1 Engines Motorsport. Brett Arnett, a multiple time Australian champion in his own right, is looking to lead the next generation of karters to Australian glory. With drivers as young as the starting Cadet 9 class, all the way through to the KZ2 gearbox class, meant a busy weekend for the team.
William Thompson was star of the show taking on the KA4 Junior category. Thompson qualified up on the second row if the grid in third spot and came away with a couple of handy fourth placings in heats one and two. Things didn’t quite go the way of the young driver in heat three and four, dropping outside the top ten and having him starting in position five. In an extraordinary drive in challenging conditions, Thompson was able to make his way forward and get to the front of the field. Will took out his maiden SP Tools Australian Kart Championship round victory using his A1 Engines Motorsport power!
Zachery Thompson and Thomas Hughes were up next in the near capacity field of TAG 125. Qualifying went quite differently for both drivers with Thompson putting in a stunning lap for position two overall! Hughes was unfortunately excluded from qualifying meaning for some tough heat races. Thompson had a tough few opening heats getting run off at the opening corner both heats. Hughes was able to charge through the field in his opening two heats getting him up the field. Both Thompson and Hughes ran inside the top ten for the remainder of the heats, setting them up for a fascinating final. Both Thompson and Hughes did a terrific job in tough and ice cold conditions with Thompson coming home in position eight overall. Hughes was only a couple of spots behind, coming home inside the top ten in position ten overall.
Nicholas Trebilcock and Chloe Potter were up next in the KA3 Senior class using the A1 Engines Motorsport power. Qualifying was difficult for both drivers with Potter down in position thirty five and Trebilcock getting excluded from qualifying. Trebilcock and Potter both moved up spots in the heats to start Saturday. Trebilcock then got up as high as position fourteen in heat three, while Potter was racing on the edge of the top fifteen at times. Both drivers were able to make the final field with Potter putting in her best performance of the weekend coming home inside the top twenty in position seventeen. Trebilcock had an unfortunate DNF to end his charge in the final.
Ayrton Dalmaso and Jackson Brasher took on the oversubscribed Cadet 12 class with their A1 Engine Motorsport rocket ships. Dalmaso was able to put himself on the front row of the grid in qualifying, with Brasher landing just outside the top fifteen. Brasher had a double DNF to start the heats resulting in the young charger being on the back foot. Dalmaso had a strong third spot to kick his heats off but a DNF in heat three hurt his chances. Both Brasher and Dalmaso moved forward in their remaining heats to make the main final. Brasher led the charge home in the final, coming home in position nine after starting out of position thirty. Dalmaso put in a strong race in the tough conditions coming home just outside the top fifteen in position sixteen overall.
Cooper Stapleton fresh of victory at the Victorian Kart Championship was debuting in the KA2 oversubscribed junior class. Stapleton set the nineteenth fastest time in the near fifty kart field qualifying session. Cooper put in some solid heat races coming home inside the top ten in position nine in heat one and position seven in heat three. In the combined final, Stapleton had to endure some incredibly difficult conditions. Cooper was able to come home in position eighteen overall on his debut of the premier junior class!
Sam Sidwell was the youngest driver on circuit for A1 Engines Motorsport running in the Cadet 9 class. Sidwell qualified just outside the top ten in position twelve and was looking to make his way forward in the heats. Sam burst into the top ten in all but one heat with a fifth in heat two, a fifth in heat three and an eighth in heat four. Sidwell saved his best for last making his way up to position four in the final and just missing his maiden Australian Kart Championship podium!
Thomas Hughes was back out on circuit again in the premier KZ2 gearbox category. In a near forty kart field Hughes was able to set the fourth fastest time in qualifying. Hughes had an excellent third in heat one but a DNF in heat two put him back for the third heat. Tom finished eighteenth in heat three, charged to twelfth in heat four and rounded out his weekend just outside the top ten in position eleven overall.
Team owner and manager Brett Arnett spoke post weekend of his team’s result. “It was a wet and cold one that’s for sure. Will did a great job to grab victory and he really deserves this result. We had multiple drivers put in strong performances and it was great weekend of racing”. Arnett will continue to chase results with his A1 Engines Motorsport team for the remainder of 2022.
