MOUNT Gambier karting members shone brightly at the final round of the Victorian Country Series hosted by the Portland and District Kart Club over two days.
Cadet 9 drivers Charlie Evans and Hayley Fewins both showed great pace, with the two drivers battling for track positions over the weekend.
Among a large field of drivers Evans qualified well in sixth pace, while Fewins struggled to find clear track and started the heat races from 12th.
Some outstanding heat race results from Evans, including a win proved promising, while Fewins also climbed the field to gain positions.
At the start of the 16-lap final Evans moved up to second, before finishing the event in a well-deserved third place.
Fewins had her own pack to contend with and despite fighting hard to defend her position finished the weekend in 12th place.
Cadet 12 is always a crowd pleaser and this event was no different.
Parker Scott and Brock Fewins were both competing in the largest class for the weekend, with less than 1.5 seconds separating the top 20 drivers in qualifying.
Scott did well to qualify 11th, while Fewins’ qualifying effort was only 0.3 of a second behind him for 18th place.
Mixed heat results for both boys meant they had some work ahead of them to achieve desirable results.
The final saw a mechanical failure for Fewins, who was unable to start, while Scott went on to finish in 14th place.
KA4 Junior Light was well represented by three Mount Gambier drivers.
Bronson Boult, Tyson White and Jobe Stewart all qualified well, with Boult leading the way in second, Stewart in third and White in eighth.
All boys had great heat results, with the final on Sunday afternoon a tough contest.
Close racing saw Boult meet the chequered flag in second, Stewart in third and White with a top 10 result.
KA4 Junior Heavy was represented by Keean Ferguson, who had his hands full going up against 19 other drivers.
Qualifying went well for Ferguson, with seventh spot on the grid.
Despite a DNF in the pre-final after kart contact, smart racing during the heat races set Ferguson up well for the final where he capitalised and finished in sixth place.
KA3 Junior is quite often referred to as to premier junior class and it was a battle of the Limestone Coast drivers with Boult and Stewart going toe to toe.
After racing within inches for most of the weekend it was Stewart who got the better of Boult to cross the line in first place, while Boult rounded out the podium with a well-deserved third.
KA3 Senior Light competitor Lauren Ferguson was competitive in her field of 20.
During qualifying a mere 1.3 seconds separated all 20 drivers, with Ferguson sitting mid pack.
Consistent lap times on Saturday was a positive start, but Sunday’s result saw the Mount Gambier driver drop back through her field after kart contact on lap one of the final.
She drove well to recoup some track positions to finish 17th.
The lone wolf representing the club in Victorian Combined Masters was Kevin Harvey.
A recent improvement in form had Harvey on the pace from early Saturday with a good qualifying time.
Consistency was his game plan, which paid off as he battled among the top 10 for the entire event, but was unlucky to finish just outside that benchmark, crossing the line in 11th.
Tag Restricted Heavy produced some of the closest racing of the weekend with Andrew Harvey securing pole position by a mere 0.043 of a second, while Trevor Pevitt also secured a second row start in his new kart starting from fourth.
Harvey made a clean sweep in all the heat races, while Pevitt also featured among the place-getters taking a third place in heat one.
At the start of the final race Harvey took an early lead before being relegated to third, while Pevitt suffered contact and greeted the chequered flag back in seventh.
The final MGKC club member to hit the track was Morgan Feast, featuring in TAG 125 Light.
Again just over half a second separated the entire field during qualifying.
Feast had the pace and spent some time towards the front of the field during the heat rounds, but a DNF in the pre-final and final was an unfortunate way to finish the weekend’s racing.
Series results – Mount Gambier drivers
Cadet 9: Charlie Evans third; Hayley Fewins eighth; Xavier Cain 26th.
Cadet 12: Parker Scott 17th; Brock Fewins 33rd.
KA4 Junior Light: Jobe Stewart second; Bronson Boult fourth; Tyson White 22nd.
KA4 Junior Heavy: Keean Ferguson seventh.
KA3 Junior: Bronson Boult fourth; Jobe Stewart seventh.
KA3 Senior Light: Lauren Ferguson 19th.
TAG125 Light: Morgan Feast 21st.
TAG125 Res Medium: Trevor Pevitt 34th.
TAG125 Res Heavy: Andrew Harvey first; Trevor Pevitt ninth.
Vic Combined Masters: Kevin Harvey 10th; Matt Evans 21st.
