SEKNSW Rnd 2 recap
Another great day greeted teams for round 2 of the SEKNSW championship, held at the Newcastle Kart Racing Club venue on the 23rd of March.
3 new teams joined SEK for this round and they were welcomed with a great day and great racing, and we are happy to say that all teams finished the 6 hour race with very few, or no problems at all.
The short qualifying session moved the usual suspects to the top with pole position being taken by kart 11 Legends, followed closely by the local kart 58 Maverick team. 3rd in qualifying was kart 71 Thorntek Racing with the round sponsors, kart 84 CargoSafe in 4th. Rounding out the top 5 was the returning kart 16 of Rubbins Racing with one of their best performances to date courtesy of SEK NSW president James Waters and new local recruit Cody McKay.
With the 6 hour race underway, it was once again proven that qualifying means very little, with the Legends kart 11 pitting soon after the race start. They were closely followed by kart 16 of Rubbins Racing with a minor fuel problem. The fuel problem was quickly rectified and the team was back on track and making ground in no time.
The Sportsman class was proving to be a repeat of round 1 with kart 29 Gardiner Racing leading the way from kart 65 CIA, represented by their newest recruits. Kart 64 of GLR Racing and kart 46 SUYT completed plenty of laps in their first races.
As the race unfolded kart 66 of Better Still Racing and kart 747 of The Flying Bananas both struck trouble, moving them down the order in the sportsman class. In Maxx class, kart 84 of CargoSafe also suffered a minor issue.
The end result of the day saw kart 58 of Maverick taking the win from Maverick customers, Double D Racing, who put together a near perfect run in their new Maverick chassis. The CargoSafe kart 84 making it home in 3rd from TWR in kart 24, who now hold a 1 point championship lead.
Great results were had by kart 12 of CJ Racing who seem to be heading back to their previous form and after Rubbins Racing drive back through the field after their early stop, Kart 16 was looking down the barrel of a best ever finish of 4th place until receiving a post race penalty for a pit infringement which moved them down to 7th.
The sportsman class was a carbon copy of round 1 with kart 29 of Gardiner Racing winning from kart 65 of CIA Racing and kart 70 of Karting Solutions in third.
In a great gesture, the CargoSafe team picked a best and fairest sportsman team and rewarded their "never give up" attitude with a free race entry to round 3 at Port Macquarie. That award was presented to kart 66 of Better Still Racing. This kind gesture showing that the MAXX class teams appreciate the hard work
of all competitors within the SEK family.
A special mention must go to kart 17 of CUB Racing finishing 11th outright and 4th in sportsman. The relatively new team had a trouble free but exhausting run, having to complete the 6 hour race without their youngest star.
A short 5 week break now before SEK heads to Port Macquarie on the 4th/5th May for the first of 3 marquee events of 2019. The annual SEK State of Origin will see NSW take on QLD for bragging rights, whilst also being a great social weekend with great friends.