2023 NSW Superkart Championship Round 2
NSW Motor Race Championship – Round 4
Sydney Motorsport Park – 8th of July 2023
Glorious Sydney winter weather treated the Superkarts in their return to Sydney Motorsport Park for the NSW State Championship. 18 drivers came out to qualify early Saturday in cool conditions. 20 have entered the race meet but unfortunately Lee Vella and Paul Buckley did not get a lap in qualifying. Mark Robin was the fastest followed by Aaron Cogger and Laurie Fooks. Lauren Shand was 4th, Paul Campbell 5th, Elliot Physick 6th and Mark Vickers 7th. Tony Moit, Jock Dos Santos and Arthur Magaitis completed the top 10.
The field got away cleanly with Fooks arriving at turn 2 in the lead. As he approached the turn his engine seized causing him to spin in front of the rest of the drivers. They all took avoiding action, with Karts going in every direction. Fortunately, they all went by with no major incident. Fooks pushed his Kart to the outfield, he jumped the tyre wall into safety and proceeded to become a spectator.
This early mishap caused the field to spread out. Up front it was a battle between Robin and Cogger, with Campbell shadowing them. The surprise was Vella, driving in an uncustomed lowly position and struggling to get any major speed out of the kart. In the midfield there was a great dice brewing between Vickers and Moit, and further back Stuart Robertson and Brock Schafer had a spirited battle.
Lauren Shand was running in a comfortable 4th position when she ran into trouble and had to retire. She was the 3rd DNF of the race joining Fooks and Warren McGrouther. Campbell was showing some speed and went Cogger to claim 2nd position and hounded Robin who was in the lead. At the end Robin prevailed from Campbell and Cogger. Vella eventually finished 4th, not a bad result considering. Physick was 5th and Dos Santos 6th. Vickers held out Moit to finish 7th. Dodge and Robertson completed the top 10.
A full field of 20 karts started race 2, Campbell leading the pack with Cogger and Robin in proximity. Towards the rear, Vella’s kart was smoking and touring slowly. Shand’s drive was also going slowly, both retired and would start a trend for this race. The 3 leaders pulled away from the rest of the field. Behind them Fooks, Dos Santos, Physick and Magaitis fought for the same piece of track space, but it would not last long for Fooks. The unlucky driver joined the list of DNF’s.
Further back, Nathan and Peter Ashworth battled with Paul Buckley and Brian Tinsley. This went on for 4 laps until both the Ashworth’s retired.
Cogger was struggling to keep up with Robin and Campbell, he started to fall back, but was still well clear to the 4th position of Dos Santos. The two-leader put on a great show, both drivers swapping positions at different parts of the track. Campbell prevailed at the end winning by 0.24 seconds. Cogger was 3rd. Dos Santos 4th from Physick. Vickers finished 6th from Moit, Magaitis, Dodge and McGrouther.
Race 3 was the first one under light, unfortunately for Fooks, it was a carbon copy of the first race. His kart seizing his engine at turn 2 during the first lap. He again pushed the kart to the side and watched on, pondering on 3 retirements in a row. Vella finally found his speed and proceeded to take the lead and power on. Robin and Cogger continued their battle as per previous races, however this time they were missing their sparring partner Campbell. The latter was touring slowly lap after lap until he eventually retired on lap 5.
Vickers, Dos Santos and Physick also recommenced their dicing as per previous races. The karts looked great under light, a credit to the presentation and effort of the individual drivers and the Superkart community in the whole. Magaitis in his Green number 77 Kart was swapping positions with McGrouther, Robertson and Buckley.
Vella was too fast and prevailed at the end from Robin and Cogger, Vickers and Dos Santos rounded the top 5. Physick, Moit, Buckley, Robertson and McGrouther made up the rest of the top 10.
17 karts started the final race, Vella made the best start from Cogger, Robin and Campbell. What ever was wrong with Vella’s machine at the start of the day, it was fixed. He was setting some
impressive lap times in the cool night air. Further back Buckley, Moit and McGrouther were racing in proximity as were Schafer and Robertson.
Cogger was struggling to hold on to the Robin and Campbell battle, he slowly drifted off into a comfortable 4th position. McGrouther, Moit and Buckley swapped position 5 times during that race. Vella won comfortably, a great comeback from the early gremlins. Robin edged out Campbell, this pair put on the best racing of the whole meet. Cogger finished 4th a long way ahead of Vickers. Magaitis was consistent finishing 6th just ahead of Dos Santos. Buckley was 8th from Moit and McGrouther. Physick was 11th, from Schafer, Robertson and Dodge. Topfer finished 15th, from Tinsley and Peter Ashworth.