Jason Richards Impresses, Johnston Wins At Hot Rotax Pro Tour Opener

With temperatures in excess of 40 degrees, the first 2010 Rotax Pro Tour event was conducted at Geelong today, with BOC Gases V8 Supercar star, Jason Richards impressing in his return to karting and Max Johnston scoring a thrilling last corner win in Rotax Light.

Richards was superb throughout the weekend, taking the fight right up to the DD2 regulars. With his team boss, Brad Jones watching on whilst pitting for his son, Macauley and the V8 Supercar season fast approaching, Richards could have been excused for taking it cautiously, however the Kiwi professional traded blows with the best of them – and is keen for more!

“I have to look at the schedule and see how it fits in, but it was just awesome racing and I want to do some more,” he said. “I’m keen to try and qualify for the Rotax DD2 World Finals in the Over-32 Masters category.

“The Rotax DD2 is just a great engine and it was just so much fun to come back to karting and having to get my head around it. I’ve had the entire Christmas break away from racing, so this was a good way to get my eye back in preparation for Abu Dhabi.”

Richards seized a motor during the Pre-Final, meaning the Arrow Racing Karts team had to strap a fresh Rotax DD2 to his Sparco/IKD Arrow chassis for the final, where he finished in eighth, after running within the top five for much of the weekend. He also gave a fascinating insight into being a professional race driver to the Rotax Pro Tour drivers on Friday evening.

The Rotax DD2 Final was taken out by Queenslander, Kyle Ensbey. He kicked his 2010 campaign off in grand style, going through the weekend undefeated and setting the fastest lap in the Final. Following him home was another Queenslander, Damian Ward, who remarkably recovered after being pinned underneath his kart during the Rotax Light Pre-Final not less than 45 minutes prior.

Daniel Baker in his first Rotax DD2 appearance came home in third placing, with Travis Millar and Brinley Gread filling the top five.

The Rotax Light final was a torrid affair, not decided until the very last corner. Young Melbourne racer, Joshua DeMaio – in his first major senior meeting – was supreme for much of the weekend, showing established stars – Kelly Racing Development driver, David Sera and Tyler Greenbury – the way home by a solid margin in the preliminaries. Sadly, after a collision as a result of opening lap jostling, he was forced to watch from the sidelines.

Greenbury, along with David Whitmore and Sera cleared out from the pack and soon, Monster Energy Drinks Tony Kart racer, Max Johnston joined the party. Sera fell by the wayside with a braking issue, eventually retiring with three laps remaining.

Heading into the last corner, the trio were nose to tail with Whitmore leading, unfortunately, Greenbury got tangled up with him whilst trying to force a move, this allowed a jubilant Johnston through for the win. Whitmore hung onto second from Darren Anderson, Christopher Pratt and Newcastle’s Mark Flood.

Formula Rotax JMA Light (Juniors) was taken out by Rockstar Energy Drinks CRG driver, Pierce Lehane who had to work hard for the victory. The Final was the toughest he had to work all weekend, proving dominant in the heats. Finishing in second was Joseph Mawson who moved forward superbly to recover after a lowly qualifying compromised his weekend. He in fact led at one point in what was arguably the best Formula JMA race ever seen in Australia.

CC Racing pilot, Liam Morey came home in third placing after plucking away all weekend long, whilst New South Welshman Jake Coleman was fourth. Fifth was James Macken – the Gold Coaster having one of his best Rotax weekends, unfortunately a slight error in setup cost him a chance of something better after leading the race early on.

Macauley Jones – son of V8 Supercar team boss, Brad Jones – scythed his way through the field in the early stages after being forced to start from the rear. Firmly ensconced in the top 10, Jones was dropped to the back of the field after a collision late in the race.

Qualifying and Rotax Heavy heats were dominated by Melbourne Kosmic pilot, Daniel Richert, however once the Pre-Finals and Finals rolled around, Pro Karting CRG pilot, Jason Pringle came to the fore, taking the victory from Richert by 0.795. His brother, Rick finished third after a valiant fight with Paul Rodgers and Aaron Rintoul rounding out the top five. After a strong weekend in the heats, Rintoul was forced to come from back in the pack after a Pre-Final incident.

Rotax Over 35 was taken out by Geelong driver, Frank Falla. After Central Coast (NSW) driver, Luke Wall took the Pre-Final, it was set up to be a fantastic race, however Wall exited the event on the first lap after a collision with Ross Wilson. Shane Mundey took home second in his Aurora Kart and Anthony Waye annexed third in another Aurora machine. Mark Newman and last year’s Rotax Pro Tour Melbourne winner, Paul Mapperson rounded out the top five.

For the first time, Formula JMA Heavy was conducted in Australia, however results are still provisional with judicial proceedings pending. Lady racer, Jaymee Frampton was the first across the line from Lachlan Marshall and Scott May. Nils Musaeus and Michael Saller crossed the line in fourth and fifth. Results are expected to be confirmed following the judicial process.

The 2010 Rotax Pro Tour has certainly kicked into life in sensational fashion and with more events coming up soon and an unprecedented nine places up for grabs to the Rotax World Finals at the end of the year, a strong platform for growth has been built.

PHOTO CAPTION: Jason Richards prepares for battle with Arrow Racing Karts team members, Darren Hossack (L) and Adam Klunyk. Photo courtesy of kartsportnews.com/Mark Wicks.

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