The Slideways Sprint Racing Series yesterday once again turned on the action, with close racing in all four categories at Slideways Go Karting World, Pimpama.
From Senior Heavies (over 80kg) and Lights (under 80kg), to Juniors (aged 12-15) and Cadets (aged 7-11), there were no runaway winners, with multiple drivers hitting the track fresh from last weekend’s Sodi World Series finals in France.
Next up on the Slideways racing calendar is the fifth round of the Enduro Series, scheduled for this Sunday, June 11.
The format for the day sees teams of three take on a 10 minute qualifying session for each driver, ahead of a 90 lap/65 minute race, with a pair of compulsory driver changes.
All of the details are on the Slideways Enduro Series web page, while the Slideways Sprint Racing Series continues on Sunday July 2, with classes for Heavy and Light Seniors, as well as Juniors and Cadets.
Information on all Slideways race days can be found on the dedicated race days page, or by phoning (07) 5546 6566 between 9am-5pm, 7 days a week.
Cadets
The Cadets once again filled out two grids of our Sodi GT4 Kids Karts, and drew the crowds to the fences as the races went right down to the wire.
Olivia Herbison was a hard luck story at the most recent Cadet outing, but she bounced back in fine form, with an ultra-smooth driving display that saw her win both races from pole position.
Riley Hill and Hamish Shields completed the podium for both of the ‘A’ races, but it was the final that went right down to the last corner, with barely one second splitting the trio at the chequered flag.
Round one winner Shields set the fastest lap of the day, a 52.414sec, reported to be a new benchmark for the cadet class at Slideways Go Karting World.
Christian Jardine finished fourth in the first race, ahead of Spencer Myatt, Zaiden Toirkens and Jaxson White, while in the second race, Jardine was fourth from Myatt, White and Toirkens.
In the ‘B’ races for the bottom 50% qualifiers, Hayden Quayle led home Ryan Tame and Angus Jardine for both podiums.
In the first race, Quayle’s margin of victory was 1.5 seconds, but that was brought down to a mere two tenths in the second encounter.
Ryan Jardine was fourth in the opener, from Lachlan Trevillien, newcomer Bailey Fieldhouse and Noah Parry, while Parry stormed through to fourth in the final, from Trevillien, Ryan Jardine and Fieldhouse.
Overall, the level of competition in the Cadets continued to impress, with many of the drivers honing their skills at the Slideways Junior Karting Academy.
The weekly classes on Tuesday and Thursday see young racers learn the tips and tricks of going fast, with tuition delivered by our highly-experienced staff, who have decades worth of on-track racing experience.
PHOTOS! #Slideways Cadet Racing Series Round 3 >> https://t.co/Wm2nzlZI78 #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/GpK2HXeZEU
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Cadets off and racing! #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/ef3gXchDgI
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Cadet qualifying underway here at Sprint Round 3! #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/u5s4LOeu0J
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 3, 2017
Senior Heavies
Josh Williams, showed that he was only getting started at the second round of the series, when he made it onto the podium in his first racing attempt at the venue.
Fast forward to round three, and Williams scored the pole position for the Senior Heavies with a 42.199sec lap time, 0.157sec ahead of Pete Brown, twice a Sprint race winner this season, with James Shields in third, fresh off the jet from France, where he represented Australia at the Sodi World Series finals last weekend.
In fact, out of the three teams from Australia who qualified for the Endurance section finals, Shields’ 1788 Kangaroos squad were the top placed, with a credible 36th overall.
The first heat turned into a classic, with Williams able to hold onto the lead for the 14 lap distance, leading home Brown who set the fastest race lap on the final tour, a 43.154sec.
Shields was third from the ever-present Ben Talbot, with first time racer Bryn Dodd a solid fifth on debut, ahead of Jason White, Stefan Russell, Clayton Hydes, newcomers Zac Davis and Ben Avery, then Jason Toirkens and Lachlan Davis.
The tables were turned in the second race, with Brown making it past to claim his third win from six starts this season.
Another race another third place for Shields, with Talbot fourth from White, Russell, Zac Davis, the rebounding Toirkens, Hydes, Avery, Dodd and Lachlan Davis.
Williams set the quickest time of the race with a 43.061sec on the very last lap, the best overall lap time in the Heavy class for the day.
Next weekend at the fifth round of the Enduro Series, Williams will line up for the first time with Shields for the 1788 Kangaroos, while Brown will anchor the Global Action Photography squad, who will be out to cut the gap to the series leading CTS Motorsports team.
PHOTOS! #Slideways Senior Heavy Sprint Series Round 3 >> https://t.co/o6AwxPwHQA #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/yC4dh8U8WB
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Senior heavies rounding out the day! #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/KEkywURVdD
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Senior heavies: qualifying action. #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast pic.twitter.com/YrUuOJ6A8u
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 3, 2017
Juniors
For proof that the Slideways Junior Racing Academy and the Racing Series is improving the skills of up and coming drivers, you couldn’t look past the performances in the Junior category on the weekend.
Liam Hydes has been the pace setter to date, winning all four races contested, and was looking good again with a 43.673sec pole time in qualifying, which would have placed him fourth in Senior Heavy or sixth in Senior Light.
Narrowing the gap was Euan Shields who was only 0.324sec behind, with the ever-improving Jacques Goodman close behind in third.
The first race was a tightly-run affair, with Goodman making his way through to the lead and never looking back, along the way registering the fastest lap of the race with a 43.814sec.
Hydes came home second from Lewis Spencer, Chloe Herbison, first time starter Sam Lancuba, Shields, debutant Josh Bryan, with Juliette Russell rounding out the finishers.
The finale proved to be tough, with Hydes getting the better of Goodman, with Spencer coming home third, with all podium finishers setting best lap times in the 43 second bracket, with Hydes the fastest with a 43.467sec.
Russell came through strongly to claim fourth, from Herbison, Shields, Lancuba and Bryan, who made solid improvement with his lap times throughout the day.
PHOTOS! #Slideways Junior Sprint Series Round 3 >>
https://t.co/hw7TZFLZK0 #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/avjBH7Xmxu— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Junior class race start. #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/8IgAdNGhEY
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Junior qualifying is GO! #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/gJGwIQQ2gW
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 3, 2017
Senior Lights
While Senior Lights Series point score leader Michael Seeto remained France following the Sodi World Series Finals, there was still plenty of talent on show at the pointy end of the field.
Claiming pole position with a swift 43.059 second time was Clay Seaborne, who was hot off the plane from Sodi World Series finals in France, where he was the sole Australian representative in the Sprint Cup, where he finished an impressive 46th out of 77 starters.
Second on the grid was Camron Robertson, with Dean Ferguson third.
The opening race will go down as one of the highlights of the season to date, with a blanket covering the top-three runners throughout, with none of the combatants making a mistake over the 10 minute journey.
Seaborne eventually claimed the victory from Ferguson (who set the fastest lap of the race with a 42.915sec), with Robertson in third.
Alex Heaton, a first-time starter at the venue was solid in fourth, from Kyle Toirkens, Tim Hatton, Erin Shields (the fourth member of the Shields clan in four different categories), and newcomer Daniel Bell.
In the final, Seaborne managed to jump away from the competition in the early laps, and held down a relatively comfortable margin to the finish.
Ferguson was once again second, just ahead of Robertson (fastest race lap – 43.247sec), Heaton, Kyle Toirkens, Shields who set personal best lap times, Bell and Hatton.
Next weekend at the Enduro event, Ferguson will line up for CTS Motorsport as they look to extend their lead in the point standings, while Seeto will return for TSR, who will look to return to their winning ways after sitting out the last round.
Robertson meanwhile will be teaming up with Heavies race winner Brown for Global Action Photography, who were victorious in the most recent Double Enduro event.
PHOTOS! #Slideways Senior Lights Sprint Series Round 3 >> https://t.co/tun3mNR7gg #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/JhA0e8HoWs
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Senior lights- classic racing! #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/Lm7Ya7mHqD
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 4, 2017
Senior lights in qualifying mode. #Slideways #GoKarting #GoldCoast #Brisbane pic.twitter.com/2OmraT4HR5
— Go Karting World (@SlidewaysWorld) June 3, 2017