A HANDFUL of Mount Gambier drivers travelled to Melbourne’s Todd Road Circuit to test their luck against some of the best go-karters in the country.
Being the fifth and final round of the 2017 Australian Karting Championships, there was plenty on the line for contending drivers.
KA4 Junior had two local representatives in the form of Jobe Stewart and Kai Allen both competing for glory.
Another large field of 34 drivers attended and amongst the mix of the pace setters were the two young men from Mount Gambier.
Both karters had attended all five rounds of the national series and were keen to end the year on a positive note.
It was Allen who had an impressive day out, to finish the round in seventh, which handed him third overall for the championship.
He was awarded a new IAME engine for his efforts and collected his third national podium placing in as many years.
Stewart qualified in the middle of the talented field and set about improving on that position as the heat races unfolded.
A 10th and 11th placing on the way to the final was a great result as Stewart continued to collect points towards his grid position for the final.
With a downpour of rain minutes before the green light, the track dried quickly so he elected to stay on slick tyres hoping for a fast finish.
Another heavy shower during the race meant Stewart struggled to find grip on the rubbered-up circuit and despite a determined drive , he crossed the line in 16th down from his starting
position in 12th.
Following on from last year’s stellar season, Allen also found good form and despite damaging an engine during qualifying still managed to register a time placing him just inside the top 10.
Heat one saw him relegated back down the field after kart contact on lap three meant he lost 14 positions, before fighting back inside the top 20.
A couple of top three placings in the following heat races boosted the youngsters confidence and Allen set his focus on the final.
Again with the weather being a little indecisive Allen drove a great final race to finish the round in seventh place.
It was enough to earn him third overall for the series.
The youngest of the Mount Gambier residents to across to border and compete was eight-year-old Charlie Evans.
With some recent success at the Western Melbourne Complex, in the City of Melbourne Titles, Evans was well prepared for the experience and was one of 18 drivers vying for podium contention.
After qualifying was completed Evans focused on the job at hand and during his first race at a national level drove well to get as high as eighth, before dropping just outside the top 10 in 13th.
Heats two, three and four all went without incident as Evans continued to impress on his way to setting a new personal best lap time.
The 16-lap final was held in damp and tricky conditions with Evans driving an impressive race to finish in 16th.
The X30 class was well contested with 36 entrants vying for a podium position, including Mount Gambier member Morgan Feast.
Earlier this year Feast showed he was a contender for glory by taking the round win in Geelong and showing he was a genuine chance for a podium contender at the year’s end.
Qualifying was tight at the front and Feast earnt a spot on the grid mid-field in trying conditions.
After a good result in heat one, a DNF in heat two2 on lap one was going to make a comeback difficult.
Showing true determination and desire Feast bounced back to score a ninth placing in the pre-final.
He hoped to carry good speed into the 20-lap final heat.
However, as the lights turned green, lap one did not go to plan and Feast found himself back down the field in unfamiliar territory, at 28th.
In arguably his best drive of the weekend Morgan managed to make up an impressive 11 spots in the remaining laps to greet the chequered flag in 17th position and as a result finish the 2017 national championships ninth overall.
