CIK: AUS: Round four, day three summary

Awesome Finish to Penultimate Round of Sparco CIK Karting Championships

Some of the best racing seen so far in the Sparco CIK Australian Karting Championships greeted the big crowd at Lincoln County Raceway, Dubbo this afternoon.

The Formula A final had everything one could wish for- one of the most unpredictable finishes in Australian CIK history, taking the current Championship leader, Barclay Holden from an also-ran to a podium finish and his major rival, Daniel Elliot from a race winning position to spectating.

Pieper Motorsport Birel drivers, Daniel Elliot and Nick Lowe were the runaway leaders at the beginning of the Formula A final, after a drama filled start which saw JT Team Arrow's Matthew Wall knocked out of his front row position after a coming together with Elliot, which left him at the tail of the field. Current Championship Leader, Remo Racing Trulli Kart's Barclay Holden had a tough start, being pushed back to second last in the first 200 metres in a coming together with Lowe. When the dust settled, the Birel drivers had established a commanding lead, when the unthinkable happened, with Nick Lowe suffering an engine seizure and leader Elliot succumbing to mechanical problems caused by the radiator cap coming loose, the coolant spraying from his engine. With a number of other retirements, including Redspeed's Jason Burns, Azzurro's Luke Wood and PCR's Matthew Muller, it become a titanic three way tussle between the rejuvenated Jason Hryniuk, driving the Rainer & Leach CRG, Wall and Holden. The crowd were kept on their toes with some of the fiercest racing seen in some time, with the battle only settled two corners from home when Hryniuk made unavoidable contact with Holden, letting Wall through for a memorable round win, made even more so by the injury sustained to his leg in the roll up lap confrontation with Elliot. Wall was unable to walk following the final, a herculian effort indeed. Redspeed's William Thomason finished a sensational fourth position.

Vega Tyres Intercontinental C:
Transwest Racing CRG's Mathew Sofi, who has just returned from America, drove a sterling final to come away with an emphatic victory, leading from flag to flag in a dominant performance. Current Championship Leader and poleman, JT Team Arrow's Bart Price couldn't match the race winning pace of the CRG driver, with third place going to the consistent Team Arrow driver Scott Harrison. Second placed man coming into this round, Redspeed's Tom Williamson lost a wheel on the rollup laps in the pre-final, which, under CIK rules, precluded him from competing in the final. First Kart's Daniel Erickson, in his first ICCevent, passed Championship leader, Bart Price early in the final, before Price's pace and experience became too much for the Sydneysider, who dropped back significantly.

Motor Quality Intercontinental A:
Ashley Walsh overcame a midfield starting position to take out another round win in Motor Quality Intercontinental A, with Paul Laskazeski finishing a determined second after being pushed to the back of the field in the early laps after a coming together which put Trulli's James Mann off the track. Laskazeski put in the drive of the Series so far to close the gap down on his Top Kart team mate and ICA debutante, Deepal Kandola and passed him with consummate ease. Kandola finishing a brilliant third in one of the highlights of the weekend, however Walsh continued his peerless performance at the head of the field.

Junior Intercontinental A:
Following a stunning victory in the pre-final, poleman Kristian Lindbom had to be content for second after team mate Amrit Kandola pushed him for the majority of the final, before picking his opportune moment and taking the lead, miraculously pulling several kart lengths after getting past the defending champion, enough to take an easy victory, his first in CIK racing. Third place went to Trulli driver Jake Williams, who survived an early race attack from fellow Championship contender, Joshua Scott, who came together with the star of the weekend, Trulli kart South Australian Paul Pittam, which put the Hunter Valley driver to the rear of the field, all but ending any chance he had of taking this year's Junior Intercontinental A Championship. Another notable perforamnce came from Parolin's Richard Rapa who performed exceptionally from the beginning of the weekend.

Thus brings to a close the penultimate round of the Sparco Australian CIK Championships, with the final round to be contested in one month's time at Sydney's Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway across the weekend of September 24-26.

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