The first Championship Round for 2004 was a great start to the year with more karts than have been seen for quite a while, a huge queue for scrutineering and full pits. The canteen was a hive of activity and kept us fed and watered all day. Many thanks to Suzanne, Sandy and Zoe for the great food and friendly smiles all day. Many thanks also to those of hardy volunteers who stayed out on the track all day as flag marshals and officials.

The Midgets were first up with a couple of new drivers (Jaimi-Louise, Dylan and Alex) joining the field alongside the Michael, Matthew, Mason and Jack.. Jaimi-Louise had a fairly short day, but we’re sure she’ll be back out there for the next meeting. Dylan was steady all day and Dylan had more spins than a washing machine but just kept on going with the aid of his trusty Comer engine. The more experienced Midgets tended to be at the front most of the day and it was good to see Jack going so well this year. Special mention needs to be made of Dave Hender who distinguished himself with a fairly spectacular barrel roll while push-starting Mason. The things parents do for their children!

The Final saw just a little mayhem with the Midgets not to be outdone by the other classes. Alex and the Comer went bush just before the start line and sent the starter running for it – nice turn of speed Brendan! Then Michael Moore tried to save his Dad some fuel money by hitching a ride on the back of younger brother Matthew. Dylan had a DNF and Jack and Mason led them home.

In the Rookies class, the day belonged to Brandon McGinnis whose track experience and speed kept him at the front. Mitch Caswell had a good showing with a great start in the Final which got him into the lead for a couple of laps. It was good to see Samantha Gatt and Michael Barker on the grid again this year and getting faster with every lap. New Rookie, Kristy Hamon, made a good start to the season, finishing all but one race, and helping to make sure that Grant doesn’t have time to get bored on race days.

Up next was the Junior Clubman class with a couple of drivers having their first start in the class. Denny Nott took out the round and Jarrod Goldoni showed good form coming away with second overall. Some close racing during the day had Jake Meyer, Patrick Hamon and Dane Beamsley trying to take canteen corner three-wide during Heat 1 while Patrick Hamon led Heat 2 from start to finish. Dane Beamsley did the same in Heat 4 but that was the only real bright spot in his day. The Final saw Denny back at the front, Patrick Hamon suffering a DNF and Jarrod well into second place. Behind them, Jake held Dane off for a while until close to the end when he managed to close up and make a fight of it. At that point, things went thoroughly pear-shaped when Jake’s kart shed its torsion bar and Dane slid off sideways into the newly-raked gravel trap at Tower corner.

There was a smaller field in Junior National Light with Royce Nott, Callan Gear, Magdalaine Breed and Tyla Dombroski. Alyse Breed was a little lonely in Junior National Heavy but drove well all day finishing every heat to gain valuable race miles. Tyla was new to the class and has come a long way since last season but did have some bad luck, losing a chain in Heat 2 and having a DNF in Heat 3. Royce seemed to have the overall speed on the day but was pushed hard by Magdalaine and also Callan. The top spot changed hands quite a few times between the leading three until contact saw Royce and Magdalaine DNF and Tyla take second place. The Final saw Royce again coming off worst in another clash to DNF as Callan and Magdalaine hung on and made it back on to the track to finish the race.

Clubman Light and Heavy raced together. The Lights, Chris Fitzgerald, John Daniel Luke and Kyle Gear were all new to Seniors but drove well and fought hard all day. JD and Kyle seemed to have a slight edge, but Kyle did fall victim to some mechanical demons which saw brought him a couple of DNF’s, firstly with a broken wire during the heats and then with a broken crank in the Final. Barry Knauth and Simon Burt carried on where they left off last season and Dave Kleinig was in amongst it too. The three other runners Jeff Whittaker, Craig Griffis and ____________were very close. A little too close as it turned out in Heat 3 when a moment of contact resulted in a major crash for Whittaker coming around the sweeper. His kart flipped, dumping him heavily and leaving him with a broken collarbone. Fortunately, members of our distinguished Fire Services were right there, closely followed by St John Ambulance and he was well taken care of before being taken to hospital. It is very reassuring to know that there are quite a few people in the club willing and able to deal with these situations on the extremely rare occasions that they happen.

The club sends best wishes to Jeff and his family. He will be out of action for a while but hopefully we’ll see him back when he recovers.

The field in Rotax Light is a little smaller this year but with a few new faces in Chris Gatt and Ross Caswell moving up Seniors. John Lewis also ran in Lights along with Daniel Goldoni and Ryan Rannard continuing their rivalry from last year. The front runners all had their good and bad moments during the heats, with an early DNF and some mechanical problems for Daniel, and a lucky escape for Ryan in Heat 3 after having to take evasive action early in the race. Ross and Chris acquitted themselves well but John seemed to be struggling a little. The dreaded red-and-white checkered flag in the Final brought the field in for a cosy chat with the Stewards. After a restart it turned out to be a good close race before Rannard was able to pull away for a good lead and the win.

Once again, the only ones to get confused about where to go on warm-up and form up laps were the Seniors! The first heat of Rotax Heavy/All Power had three drivers heading off on Track 3 and the rest on Track 1 after their warm-up lap. Oh well. Funny how the Midgets got it right. Never mind guys, there are a lots of chances for you to redeem yourselves.

Bruce Duffield drove well all day with no excursions through the gravel. Kel Compton showed some great speed and passing moves throughout the day, making up eight places in Heat 2 only to have things literally fall apart during the Final when a wheel removed itself from the kart and headed for the fence at the bottom end of the track. At least he wasn’t too far from the pits! Heat 3 saw a large portion of the field off at canteen corner following a spin by 78 who kept going only to lose it at the end of the sweeper. Jeff Thompson in the Trulli and Bruce Panting also went well through the day.

What a big day it was in motorsport!

Round 2 saw nearly all the competitors from Round 1 and some new ones so it looks like being a really good season this year. Especially encouraging is the number of new Midgets and Rookies.

Racing got under way earlier and credit is due to the scrutineers who attended to the rest of us before getting their own karts organised. Flagging is an issue this season but hopefully a system that involves everyone and minimises delays will be developed and implemented ASAP.

Confusion with forming up and starting procedures has finally trickled down to the Midgets with the pack splitting up and heading off on different tracks in the early heats. The field were fairly spread out for much of the day except for Jack and Mason at the front and Michael and Matthew who got too close at one point which left Michael sidelined and less than happy. The class managed to score a red and white chequered flag in Heat 3 but were not alone there. There were a couple of DNF’s but the all drivers did really well including the new P-platers, Jami-Louise Fan, Scott Malady and Dylan Holmes.

More DNF’s and another runaway wheel, this time belonging to Brandon. It escaped and flew over the tyre barrier near the tower (probably the safest place to be really). Christi Hamon had a very short day after acquiring a bent axle in practice but will no doubt be raring to go next time. Newcomer Colin Menzies did all the right things after a spin-off, pulling his kart well out of the way and also showed an admirable degree of good humour in coping with the ups and downs of racing. Well done! Mitch and Brandon were definitely the fastest but unfortunately spent too much time off the track watching. Michael Barker drove well and Sam Gatt had a great day, picking up her first round win.

You could have thrown a very small tea-towel over the first three runners in this class. Royce, Callan and Magdelaine barely gave each other room to breathe and were nose to tail pretty much all day except when they were side by side! There was some great driving, particularly in the Final with Callan and Royce trading places at each corner right to up the flag. Alyse hung in there, never lost concentration or good humour, and gets faster with each race.

This class had its fair share of disappointments, dodgy starts and DNF’s but also produced some good driving and great passing moves. At the front, Denny was the one to catch and all the others gave him a good run for his money at various times. Jarrod continued his good run with another second overall and Patrick looked faster and much happier in spite of a DNF in Heat 1. Jake drove and defended well to be right in amongst it. Muffler problems brought Dane his first meatball flag but he fought back in the Final with a terrific pass at Canteen Corner.

Where to start? It all happens in Clubman. It was good to see Michael Britton back but it wasn’t one of his more successful days. Things just went from "not so good" to "worse" with a DNS and a couple of DNF’s including a bad crash after a brake lock-up. He was very lucky to escape with just bruises. Look on the bright side Michael – at least they didn’t make you go and rake the gravel trap this time! He came back like Lazarus in the next heat and was going like a rocket before a cooked motor put him out for the rest of the day.

There were a couple of bingles, some dropped chains and yet another wayward wheel heading for the fence line. The usual suspects Barry Knauth and Simon Burt were close to the front but also up there was relative newcomer, Jeremy Ireland who went one better than his previous round and took second overall. The racing was fast and furious as always with Dave Kleinig, Craig Griffis and two newer faces, Ben Gargett and Darryl Hunter in the thick of things.

Although the field is small this season, it’s no less serious and is still the "sheep stations" class. Ryan Rannard and Daniel Goldoni are not having it all their own way with Ross Caswell giving notice right from the start of the year that he is going to be right up the front too. Rannard and Goldoni both suffered due to track confusion after the red chequered flag came out. They found themselves closer together than they wanted to be and both came out of it with bent axles. Nothing like the musical sound of sledgehammers in the pitlane. Chris Gatt is giving it a good shot but did seem to be lacking a little speed or kart performance. He and chief mechanic John will no doubt be working to rectify this so he can get out there and challenge for the top places. New face Colin Hillery was also lacking a little speed and luck but will find that time and race miles will make all the difference.

There were mixed fortunes for quite a few drivers in this class. Peter Van Boxtel had an ordinary day during which he developed a revolutionary moveable steering column. Interesting idea. Still a bit of a problem on the track but he could always give it a shot on "The New Inventors" when he gets the bugs ironed out. Throughout the field and the day, there were lots of spins, a bit of close contact and some DNF’s.

This class is bigger than it was last year and is consequently more entertaining. Good to see some past drivers back again and some new faces out there also. There are still a couple of well-known Heavies who haven’t shown themselves actually on the track yet this season but hopefully they will reappear at some stage. Surprisingly, the Final was a much less dramatic affair with the field spreading out for most of the race. Bruce Panting took first, Paul Goddard drove well for second and Jeff Thompson took out third. Kel Compton was there in body but not in kart, spending the day as an official out on the track. Well done.

Good fields in most classes, lots of excitement and some good driving - all in all the first two rounds have launched us into what looks like being a terriffic 2004 Championship.

Championship Round 4

May 30

The locals could have been forgiven for thinking that they had woken up somewhere down south when Sunday 30^th May dawned wet, windy and COLD! With the elusive dry season obviously taking its time to arrive, "wet" wasn’t beyond expectations. But wet and cold was something else again. There were lots of slightly mouldy windcheaters and jackets that hadn’t seen the light of day for a while and the canteen did a roaring trade in bacon and egg sandwiches. The hopeful ones told themselves (and each other) that it was sure to warm up soon. The smart ones just sent someone home for warmer clothes. Needless to say, the damp track made for some fairly interesting driving lines around the corners. Very few people had wet tyres and the meeting was not declared a wet one as the rain was very light anyway. Consequently there were lots of offs in the first few heats until the track dried out.

Rotax Light were first out and produced a couple of fairly spectacular spins and slides. Daniel Goldoni had a wheel come adrift early on while Ryan Rannard struggled with electrical and mechanical gremlins causing a recurring backfire. There was a restart in Heat 2 when Goldoni and Gerhard Newman ended up sideways and in the tyre barrier after the first attempt. Chris Gatt was very fast and had a Trulli great day assisted by a very nice engine. He ended up taking his first class win overall. Newman, although sporting P plates, also did very well, thoroughly enjoying himself, and turned out to have plenty of interstate race experience a couple of years ago. Colin Hillery completed a small field.

The Rotax Heavy/All Power class was also a little depleted, perhaps it was too cold for the big guys! They all made it through the first start only to go begin going off all over the track shortly afterwards. By the time most of them had had a turn and things settled down, Kel Compton was out in front and looking forward to another good day. Unfortunately, Heat 2 saw him beached on a gravel trap but, amazingly, he managed to rock the kart out of it and kept going. There were a fair few intimate moments that left various runners a little battered - some (like Mal Hayes) repeatedly so. Jeff Thompson came to the fore midway through the day and also ended up with a Trulli great result, taking the top spot by the end. Bruce Panting had a rough day but Kerry Berry made it to the end in good shape to take second place.

The Midgets class were not to be put of by a little dampness on the track and started out a bit too fast and furious. Consequently, most of them went off in all directions and the first heat was won by the Comer Kid, Alex Barras, as the only one who could spin and get away with it. Jami-Louise Fan took second place as the only other runner who could stay on the track. Well done to the new kids! It was a great example of the benefits to be gained by staying on the track. As the day wore on and the track dried, things settled down a bit and by the end it was Jack Dalton and Mason Hender who took equal first.

By the time Junior Clubman went out, the track was a little more forgiving. Patrick Hamon had a much better round, showing some good speed and taking second overall, before thanking his Dad during the presentation for giving him lunch money….? Jarrod Goldoni is doing well this season and drove consistently for third place. Dane Beamsley started Heat 1 with a DNS after his kart rolled to a stop on the warm-up laps and he spent the rest of the day working hard to compensate with some good results in the following heats. He and Jake Meyer shared the minor placings with Royce Nott, having a first run in the class but suffering from a couple of DNF’s due to mechanical gremlins. Older brother Denny had a very successful round taking another overall win.

The Rookies class was very small with only three drivers but they drove their hardest all day anyway. Once again Brandon McGinnis was the winner but Sam Gatt did take the start away from him in the Final and did very well to hold him off for a couple of laps. The confidence boost will do her the world of good and she and Christi Hamon are going forward in leaps and bounds. Hopefully the other competitors in the class will be back for the next round.

Kyle Gear took a fairly comfortable win in Clubman Light over a much-improved JD Luke who came in second after close racing against Chris Fitzgerald in third place. The Heavies upheld their reputation by entertaining the spectators with quite a few close encounters of the smashing kind. There weren’t too many of them, but they still managed to find themselves wrestling over the same small pieces of track fairly regularly. Michael Britton did very well to win the day in spite of a DNS in the Final and then also distinguished himself with a memorable speech during the presentation. There were a couple of those interesting coloured flags that appear occasionally and the Final was memorable for the way the third placegetter, Craig Griffis, did a Bradbury to be the last man standing at the chequered flag. The legendary Barry Knauth took second overall.

Junior National was hard fought with the Gear family taking another win courtesy of Callan. The drivers raced close but, apart from a little bumping here and there, were pretty clean although a moment of sisterly affection between Allyse and Magdelaine Breed saw Allyse DNF in Heat 3. Royce Nott pushed hard taking second over Magdelaine in third.

The next meeting will be the first in the Night Series on Saturday 12^th June. Scrutineering is due to start at about 4:00pm and the racing should get underway around 6:00pm (depending on the light).

1. EQUAL 1^st – Mason Hender (77) / Jack Dalton (44)

2. Michael Moore (19)

3. Alex Barras (03)

1. Brandon McGinnis (45)

2. Samantha Gatt (92)

3. Christi Hamon (40)

1. Callan Gear (54)

2. Royce Nott (30)

3. Magdelaine Breed (74)

1. Denny Nott (57)

2. Patrick Hamon (38)

3. Jarrod Goldoni (05)

1. Kyle Gear (55)

2. John Daniel Luke (97)

3. Chris Fitzgerald (8)

1. Michael Britton (43)

2. Barry Knauth (25)

3. Craig Griffis (69)

1. Chris Gatt (105)

2. Daniel Goldoni (2)

3. Ryan Rannard (18)

1. Jeff Thompson (37)

2. Kerry Berry (80))

3. Kel Compton (23

The first Night Meeting for the 2004 season was held on a beautiful June evening, cool and clear with no humidity. The dry season finally made it to Hidden Valley! After the last cold, wet meeting everyone came prepared with jumpers just in case. The usual hard-working volunteers had spent many hours setting up the portable lights and, with the new party lights courtesy of Dave Hender, the track looked terrific. The meeting format was 3 heats and a final. In this series, the overall results are determined by placings in the final only rather than a cumulative score as in the Championship series. Racing on Track 2 got under way around 6pm with Junior National up first.

Junior National were first out on the track. Royce Nott was the winner and had his nose in front most of the night. Callan Gear was very fast in his new kart but a heat 3 DNS put him back a place on the grid for the final. He did his best to get past Nott and almost did it with the two running side-by-side until Nott took the lead back and held on for the Final win. Magdelaine Breed was a very close third and Alyce Breed was fourth.

Next up were the Midgets and it is great to see numbers increasing in this class with five P-platers. The final was won by Michael Moore who did a great job all meeting and hit the front when it counted. He, Mason "Schumacher" Hender and Jack "the Flying Gardener" Dalton were very close throughout the heats and, before the final, it would have been pretty hard to predict a winner. There were some ups and downs throughout the rest of the field with a couple of DNF’s, including Alex Barras who has joined the seized motor club and Scott Malady who unfortunately didn’t make it through the final. Dylan Holmes did very well taking fourth place and Matthew Moore, Jami-Louise Fan and Patrick Malady completed the field.

Rookies was comprehensively won by Brandon McGinnis who had a fairly lonely evening out the front while most of the action took place behind him between the next three runners. Sam Gatt did well all evening, only to not get to the end of the final unfortunately. Christi Hamon has improved dramatically, doing very well in the straight and beating McGinnis off the start in the final, taking out second overall. Michael Barker is driving well and had some good battles with the other runners taking third in the final while Colin Menzies also acquitted himself well, in spite of a few mechanical dramas.

Junior Clubman – fast and furious as always and quite nerve-racking for the parents! The heats were exciting with a pile-up in Heat 2, the result of the Nott brothers getting closer than they would like. Dane Beamsley was left with nowhere to go except off. Patrick Hamon survived, going straight through the middle and he and Jake Meyer were the only finishers. Hamon drove very well and thoroughly deserved the win with a lot of speed, skill and a little luck. He and Beamsley were on each others’ crash bars all evening. The final was a thrilling race. Beamsley, running second, made a last lap dive up the inside at canteen corner and almost got to the front, only to lose it and go back to third at the flag as Denny Nott was right there waiting to pounce literally on the finish line.

It was good to see Matthew Bird back on the track in Clubman Light. This class was decisively won by Kyle Gear (must have a good engine builder). JD Luke and Chris Fitzgerald took second and third respectively and were fairly close throughout the evening. Clubman Heavy was won by Simon Burt who is having a good year so far with a couple of round wins to his credit. Jeremy Ireland took second and is also doing extremely well as a relative newcomer to the sport. Competitors in both groups were pretty close for much of the night. Too close in the case of the two Heavies in Heat 3 who went off at canteen corner while the rest of the class took evasive action on either side of them. Dave Kleinig was very happy with third while Barry Knauth was uncharacteristically out of the points. Darryl Hunter and Ben Gargett were the other competitors in this class.

As both had small fields Rotax Light and Heavy/All Power ran together. Ryan Rannard, in spite of a persistent engine backfire, took the honours in the Lights but the competition was very close all night between the three runners. Gerhard Newman and Chris Gatt were second and third. The Heavies was won by Bruce Duffield with Kerry Berry in third. Mal Hayes unfortunately had an off early on and then an engine drama kept him out of the Final.

Darwin Karting Association

Night Meeting Round 1

1. Michael Moore (First)

2. Mason Hender (PCR)

3. Jack Dalton (Demon)

1. Brandon McGinnis (Arrow)

2. Samantha Gatt (CRG)

3. Michael Barker (Arrow)

1. Royce Nott (Top Kart)

2. Callan Gear (Gillard)

3. Magdelaine Breed (PCR)

1. Patrick Hamon (Tecno)

2. Denny Nott (Top Kart)

3. Dane Beamsley (PCR)

1. Kyle Gear (Tecno)

2. John Daniel Luke (Arrow)

3. Chris Fitzgerald (PCR)

1. Simon Burt (Tony Kart)

2. Jeremy Ireland (PCR)

3. Dave Kleinig (Arrow)

1. Ryan Rannard (PCR)

2. Gerhard Newman (Arrow)

3. Chris Gatt (Trulli)

1. Bruce Duffield (Omega)

2. Kerry Berry (Arrow)