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Sunny conditions greeted the Superkart drivers as the rolled out onto Sydney Motorsport Park to qualify. 14 Superkarts hit the track in the early morning session, perfect conditions for fast times. Lee Vella did not disappoint, setting a time of 1:37.7050 in his Avoig Elise. Mark Robin was the second fastest driver. Tony Moit and Dylan Stephens followed next. Lauren Shand and Robert Trimmer, Paul Campbell, Stuart Robertson, Jock Dos Santos and Mehmet Sinani rounded out the top 10.
Vella and Robin made the best starts, and proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field. Moit ran into trouble straight away and was the first DNF. Taplin’s kart toured slowly in the first lap, he soldiered on for a few laps but to no avail. During lap 3 the order was Vella and Robin up front, a large gap to Campbell in 3rd. Shand was running in 4th when she retired at the last turn, she was forced to watch the race from the tyre wall.
By mid-distance the race had settled down and the only close dice was between Stuart Robertson and Sinani, the former would come out on top in that duel. Vella was dominant and arrived home in 1st position from Robin. Campbell finished a lonely 3rd from Trimmer and Stephens. Dos Santos was 6th, Robertson 7th. Sinani kept dropping down the field and only the finish line stopped him from dropping further places. Westly Thompson edged Wayne Thompson as the last two finishers.
Vella repeated his starts and Robin followed suit, Sinani seemed more competitive in this race and latched on to the rear of the two leaders for the initial lap. Campbell and Stephens eventually passed him and commenced their race long battle for 3rd position. Shand was having her own dice with Dos Santos.
Vella was putting down qualifying laps at front, by lap 5 he was overtaking back markers. Robin tried to hang onto him and keep him honest. Vella won from Robin, Stephens was 3rd from Campbell and Trimmer. Sinani finished 6th from Shand and Dos Santos. Robertson and Wesley Thompson made the top 10.
Race 3 is a race of what could have been. Stephens made the best start from Vella and Robin. Dos Santos also made a great start and was putting pressure on Sinani and Shand. Vella went past Stephens in the second lap to take the lead. Unfortunately, Shand went off and retired, she did not exit her kart and the safety car was called. The field toured behind the safety car for a few laps then the race was called. Shand was taken to the medical centre for precautions. The final order behind the safety car was Vella. Stephens, Robin, Campbell and Trimmer.
Before the starts of Race 4, the biggest question would be, can anyone stop Vella? The man of the moment made another great start and pulled away instantly. Robin could only try to hang on and watch the opponents number get smaller in the distance. Sinani and Shand both retired before they could finish a lap, this left 10 Superkarts on the track.
The standings at the end of lap 1 were exactly the same at the finish line. But the lack of overtaking did not detract from the race. All drivers were hitting their apex and making great lap times. It looked like a qualifying session on steroids. Vella made it a clean sweep of wins, comfortably ahead of Robin by 7 seconds. Campbell’s consistency earned him a solid 3rd place. Stephens was 4th from Trimmer 5th. The rest of the finishers were as follows; Dos Santos, Robertson, Taplin, Wesley Thompson and Wayne Thompson.
Congratulations to Vella, the star of the meet.