Thursday, 02 August 2012 00:00

2012 THOMAS RANDLE CIK 1ST R4

KOSMIC / IAME
CIK Round 4 at Eastern Creek saw a hard charging Fothergill take the win in KF1, a NSW State Title & the Championship lead in KF1 for Hughes and a very proud moment for young Randle in KF3.


KF1

Former Series Champion Cian Fothergill (KOSMIC / IAME) put in a sterling drive on his way to victory at Round Four of the 2012 CIK Stars of Karting Series presented by Castrol EDGE at Sydney’s Eastern Creek International Karting Raceway today.

After being forced onto the sidelines in the opening 25-lap encounter, the Kosmic Racing Australia driver charged his way from the last row on the grid to secure victory in the second Pro Light (KF1) final.

The win in the second main event was Fothergill’s 12th since he made his debut in the elite series at the start of 2010, and ensures that he remains in contention for the James Courtney trophy with one round remaining.

Courtesy of his victory, Fothergill’s name will be the first that will be etched on the Franco Guiatoli Memorial Shield.

“Starting from the back is not ideal but when the race is 25 laps long, you can afford to take your time a little bit when passing people,” said Fothergill.

“While it was disappointing not to finish the opening final, it was good to have the pace that I did in the final to move up the order and become the first driver to win the Franco Guaitoli shield.”

Behind Fothergill, his Kosmic counterpart Daniel Rochford (KOSMIC / IAME) also charged through the field to finish runner-up with reigning champion Jake Spencer (Kosmic / IAME) ensuring that the Italian chassis dominated the podium.

By virtue of winning the opening final, Adam Hughes (KOSMIC / IAME) was crowned the NSW State Champion and also took over the championship lead for the first time in his career.

Pre-round favourite Joseph Mawson had a round he’d rather forget and was plagued with mechanical issues across the weekend. At the other end of the scale Harrington Doyle Racing’s Brooke Topp continues to impress with a strong run near the front of the field.

KF3
Victorian Thomas Randle (KOSMIC / IAME) put an end to Cameron Hill’s run of wins in the Pro Junior (KF3) ranks with victory in both of today’s 25-lap main events.

Thomas Randle opened up a gap over the field early in the race before being chased down and challenged by Hill late in the race. While close enough to pressure, Hill was never close enough to mount a serious challenge as Randle claimed a clean sweep of the finals.

It is the first time Randle has won a round of the series, it is also the first time he has finished on the podium.

“Last round I blew an engine in the pre-final and had to start last, but this round everything went to plan and got to front then managed to hold it,” said Randle.
 
“It feels great to be standing up here on the podium – let alone on the top step!”

In the Australian Leopard Challenge, local driver Pierce Lehane proved too good for his opposition in the Light category. The Exprit driver was nothing short of dominant on his way to victory ahead of Arrow’s Ben Stewart and series leader Jedd Stojakovic.

Despite having issues in qualifying that forced him to start from the rear of the grid in the heat races, CRG driver Jason Hryniuk used all of his experience to claim the win in the Heavy category ahead of Queenslander Kris Walton and Michael Griffiths.

The fifth, and final, round of Australia’s elite karting championship will be contested at the Port Melbourne Karting Complex in Victoria on September 22/23.