Round 1
Sydney based racer Sam Zavaglia stepped back from the brink of a kart destroying crash to win the fourth and final race of the weekend, claiming the opening round of the Australian Superkart Championship held at the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships at Phillip Island.
Zavaglia (Stockman Superkarts Stockman-Honda) started the day well with a pair of second places in the two opening races behind team mate and defending champion Warren McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman-Honda). Race Three saw disaster strike when Zavaglia slid off the track at the Southern Loop while leading, plunging off a half metre drop in the infield as he struggled to rejoin the circuit, wrecking his nosecone on his way to salvaging sixth place. The final bonus points race saw Zavaglia climb rapidly into second place where he fought for the place with New Zealander Anton Stevens (International Entertainment PVP-PVP) which became a battle for the lead when McIlveen slowed with tyre failure. Zavaglia cleared away from Stevens for the win.
The tyre failure cost McIlveen the round win who had overcome ignition and clutch problems to claim the three preliminary race wins. Limping home for a 34th placed finish in the final gave the Tamworth-based racer points enough to secure third place for the round, but McIlveen did have the satisfaction of taking home the Phillip Island lap record (1:32.6516), an eight-year-old record held previously by Stockman Superkarts Team Manager, Brian Stockman.
Discovery of the meeting was the Marron Excavations / RMR Superkarts Anderson-FPE/RCS of Gary Pegoraro. Only a month after the Melbourne Superkarter stepped into the 250cc International ranks Pegoraro sits second in the Australian Championship after scoring a second and two thirds in the preliminary races. The former 250cc National racer faded to fourth in the final behind the improving pace of Stevens and Carlo Chermaz (Buildersmile Constructions PVP-PVP) but he now sits just four points behind Zavaglia heading into the next round at Eastern Creek.
Chermaz third-place finish in the final capped off a round above his expectations after a curtailed preparation from a construction site accident forcing the Queenslander to race recovering from a broken elbow and hand. Just four points behind McIlveen and twelve behind Zavaglia there is a four driver showdown beckoning at Eastern Creek in July for the championship decider.
In the 250cc National division, reigning champion Jason McIntyre (Marron Excavations / RMR Superkarts Anderson-KTM) had a perfect weekend, turning pole position into four races wins including a top ten finish in Race Three. McIntyre was however pushed as he has never been pushed in the last two seasons as John Roberts (Stockman Superkarts Stockman-Kawasaki) diced with McIntyre in three of the four races and heads to Eastern Creek closer in the points race than any of McIntyre rivals have managed. Another class newcomer, David Williams (Project Precast Anderson-Yamaha) snapped at the heels of McIntyre and Roberts throughout the weekend to finish third.
A tyre failure in race one saw defending 125cc reigning champion Russell Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) finish the weekend in third place as his team mate and father Chryss Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) took out the round. The distinctive laydown designed Stockman chassis taking two race victories each with Russell eclipsing Steve Crossland's six-year-old lap record in a dominant Race Four performance. Three thirds and a second in the bonus points Race Four has put Kristian Stebbing (Suburban Accounting Stockman-Honda) between the Jamieson family in the points, while veteran racer Colin Moore (Impact Flags & Banners Stockman-Honda) sits just one point behind Russell Jamieson after a consistent run.
Driver Quotes: Sam Zavaglia (Stockman Superkarts Stockman-Honda) 250cc International First, "I don't know where it come from, but I got a top end misfire under load. It was well down on horsepower. When Anton passed me I used his tow to drag me along behind him. I've been here before and lost with three laps to go, you don't know where it's going to end, but I'm glad it finished that way. I've had some luck. It's been a good weekend and I couldn't have hoped for better. We had problems but we still got there."
Gary Pegoraro (Marron Excavations Anderson-FPE/RCS) 250cc International Second, "I've had a pretty reasonable weekend consider we've only had the kart for a month. I can't complain. We've had a couple of issues but when you're trying to catch some of the best karters in the world you have to do your homework. We've got a little bit more to do. But our RMR Anderson is going really well."
Warren McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman-Honda) 250cc International Third, "I had a tyre blowout coming in to the second last lap and managed to scramble home for a point in the final. The kart went mostly fine but we had ignition problems in the fourth and the third race and a clutch slipping problem. Roll on Eastern Creek and hopefully I can win all four races there and maybe win the championship."
Jason McIntyre (Marron Excavations Anderson-KTM) 250cc National First, "The kart was brilliant. The Whizzer engine was brilliant all day. We had some competition for a change where we were pushed all the way but we were able to pull away. To come away from Round 1 with four wins, it's looking good for Eastern Creek."
Chryss Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) 125cc First, "The weekend started ordinary but it finished good. We had a very very good day. We were lucky the engine failure happened on Friday but the important days, Saturday and Sunday was really good. Those two young fellas had the wood on me in that last race and congratulations to Russell for breaking the lap record."
Round 2
Warren McIlveen was too quick for the competition at Eastern Creek Raceway, taking two wins and a second to secure his sixth Australian Superkart Championship, a tenth consecutive title for the Stockman Superkarts team. Jason McIntyre successfully defended his 250 National division title, while Kristian Stebbing broke through for his first title, winning the 125cc Australian Championship.
McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman-Honda) was behind in the points heading into the final round, some eight points behind Stockman Superkarts team mate Sam Zavaglia, and four behind RMR Superkarts racer Gary Pegoraro, but pole position and a dominant Race 1 win put his title firmly back on track. Winning the second race with Zavaglia well down the order with an electrical gremlin meant the pressure was off for the final as all he would need as a finish inside the top eight. What gave the pursuing three drivers hope was continuing cylinder detonation issues with the kart that might bring McIlveen undone. The kart and driver were strong enough to control the race from the front early on in the final race. Zavaglia slipped through to take the final race victory, bringing home a 1–2 finish in the championship for the Stockman Superkarts team.
Proceedings had been complicated by an incident during the third race when a wheel rubbing clash between Zavaglia and the International Entertainment PVP of Anton Stevens sent Stevens into a tumbling accident. While there were initial fears for Stevens health, his injuries were relatively minor and it is expected that the New Zealander will be released from hospital on Monday. Stevens had been very quick and had recovered to be fighting in the top three after a bolt head break in Race 1 had caused a chain reaction that sprayed engine water over the Kiwi in Race 1. An excellent second place behind McIlveen in Race 2 demonstrated what he had been capable of.
The ensuing delay while the paramedics attended Stevens and a brief investigation by the authorities the program was substantially delayed leading to the race being declared at two laps, effectively a non-result with no points awarded.
This left Zavaglia, Carlo Chermaz and Pegoraro separated by just four points heading into the final. However, third and fourth was the best Chermaz and Pegoraro could manage. For Chermaz though second for the round and third for the championship was an excellent result after being forced to race the previous round with a broken elbow and injured arm. Chermaz's tiny team from Queensland performed above expectations against the big multicar teams from Stockman's and RMR.
For Pegoraro, fourth in the championship is perhaps disappointing but it was his first season in 250 International for several years as the RMR Marron Excavations Anderson-Rotax team built up this year to challenge Stockman Superkarts. It took until the second race for Pegoraro to get up to the pace but was just off the pace of top three karts.
Darren Hossack had a consistent run through the weekend, running just on the tail of the pace of Chermaz, Pegoraro and Stevens, picking up points to finish fifth in the championship for the Safe Evolutions team, proving the local ingenuity of the teams self-developed Safe Billet Cases engines. Stephen Castles in the NEC Automotive Stockman improved over the weekend to finish sixth.
In 250 Nationals class, defending Jason McIntyre's title became easier after a reed valve failed on John Roberts' Stockman-Kawasaki. A second DNF in Race 2 wrapped the title up but McIntyre won the third race to make sure, leaving him undefeated for the season. Consistency brought his RMR team mate Rick Setterfield into second position for the championship while a final race finish allowed Roberts to hang on to third in the points.
125cc championship went right down to the wire with just two points separating the Coach Design Stockman-Honda of Chryss Jamieson and the Suburban Accounting Stockman-Honda of Kristian Stebbing. Stebbing had won the two early races to get into position to threaten Jamieson but in the end was gifted the championship when Jamieson retired on the second lap of the final race. Stebbing backed off at that point and the IGA Romeo's Foodland Stockman-Honda of Anthony Lappas won the race, but second was enough for Stebbing to secure the title. A pair of accidents would drop defending champion and lap record holder Russell Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) out of contention leaving veteran Colin Moore (Impact Flags and Banners Stockman-Honda) to take third in the championship after a consistent run through the weekend.
Driver Quotes: 1st 250 International Warren McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman MR2 Honda): "I'm wrapped, it's just awesome. I got out in front in that last race. I saw Sam behind me, so I let him go, my tyres were pretty well shot anyway. I just kept it on the track to finish the race and win another title. We had some detonation problems, and a few other dramas, the team has been great. This is the tenth year in a row for Stockman Superkarts."
2nd 250 International Sam Zavaglia (Stockman Superkarts Stockman MR2 Honda): "I was chasing Warren down, his tyres were skating. We already had it planned that I wasn't going to pass him but he couldn't handle me being behind him! We work as a team at Stockman Superkarts. I've had a rough, rough weekend so I'm happy I got that finish, but Warren has been the driver of the series by far."
3rd 250 International Carlo Chermaz (Buildersmile Construction PVP): "I think that's about as fast as I could have gone around here. After the first round where I was physically not very well this is the best outcome I could have gotten. Unfortunately in that last race I should have been a bit braver going into turn two on that opening lap, I got swamped under brakes by a few of the guys and I got held up for a few laps and had to pick them off. I couldn't ask for a better weekend."
1st 250 National Jason McIntyre (Marron Excavation Anderson Maverick KTM): "The weekend started not so good, the kart balance wasn't exactly there Over the weekend we got back onto the pace. Eight wins from eight starts for the series, I'm extremely happy with that. In the final in the colder conditions the kart was a lot better and my times were just two tenths over my current lap record. Another title to make three in a row I'm very happy with."
1st 125 Gearbox Kristian Stebbing (Suburban Accounting Stockman Honda): "I'm wrapped. My first Australian title. I worked very hard for it. We spent a lot of time between meetings improving the kart and it all paid off today. It all came down to the last race, I was two points behind Chryss Jamieson, unfortunately for him he seized around turn two. When I saw that I eased off and just tried to get it home."
Jason McIntyre
Wayne Sprostan
