PHOTO CREDIT : TIM FRANCIS
Pro Karting continued their Victorian Golden Power Series assault in the fifth round at the Rochester Kart Club over weekend. Pro Karting took a team of 14 drivers across 9 classes to the circuit and were looking for more round victories and podium places!
Jason Pringle was the single Pro Karting driver attack in the TAG 125 Heavy class. Pringle set a scintillating pace in qualifying and put himself off pole position. Jason had an unfortunate DNF in heat 1 while leading the race but was able to bounce back and take victory in both heat 2 and 3. Pringle was able to grab the lead early in the final and never looked back taking a mammoth 6 second victory over the rest of the field!
Darsyn Harris took the start in KA4 Junior Heavy for the Pro Karting team. Harris qualified outside the top 10 in position 14 but put in 2 brilliant opening heats with position 10 in heat 1 and then position 5 in heat 2. Darsyn had another top 10 finish in heat 3 in 8th spot but while looking on for a strong result had an unfortunate DNF in the 15-lap final.
KA4 Junior Light had a double driver Pro Karting attack in Pip Casabene and Matthew Ritter. Casabene qualified inside the top 3 in a great result with Ritter also inside the top 10 in position 8 overall. Casabene stole the show in the heats taking out victory in heat 1 and 2 while grabbing 2nd in heat 3, which had him off pole position for the final. Ritter race on the edge of the top 10 throughout all the heats and was looking for a strong finish to his weekend. Casabene was right in the battle in 15 lap final and was able to come away with a podium finish in 3rd spot! Ritter had an unfortunate end to his charge with a DNF result ending his charge in the final race.
Max Torcasio was the single driver Pro Karting pilot in the KA3 Senior Light class. Torcasio did a brilliant job in qualifying just missing the top 5 in position 7. Torcasio had a consistent run in the opening 2 heats with 7th position in both races. Max had an unfortunate DNF in heat 3 which had him out of position 9 for the final. Torcasio put in his best performance of the weekend in the 15-lap final working his way up to position 6 by the finish in a solid result!
Lucas Costanzo and Mason Woods were the youngest 2 drivers in the Pro Karting team in the Cadet 12 class. Costanzo put his entry on the front row of the grid in qualifying with Woods just outside the top 10 in position 11. Costanzo was brilliant in the heats taking out a 1st and a 2nd in the opening 2 heats, before a DNF in heat 3 hurt his starting chances for the final. Woods moved forward in every heat with 10th in heat 1, 8th in heat 2 and 5th in heat 3. Costanzo put in a brilliant drive in the final to make his way to the front and take a dramatic victory! Woods raced well and kept himself inside the top 10 in 8th position overall.
Mark Seddon was another single driver attack in TAG 125 Light for Pro Karting. Seddon qualified in position 16 overall and raced on the edge of the top 15 with 15th in heat 1 and 16th in heat 2. Seddon moved up to position 13 in heat 3 and grabbed his best result in the final just missing the top 10 in position 12 overall!
Jesse Watkins and Lucas Perrone both took to the starter in TAG 125 Restricted Medium for Pro Karting. Watkins set qualifying alight grabbing 3rd position overall, with Perrone inside the top 10 in position 9. Watkins never left the top 5 with a 3rd in heat 1 and 5th in heat 2 and 3, while Perrone bounced back from a heat 1 DNF to finish 6th in the final heat to keep him in the hunt. Watkins and Perrone both had tough finals with Perrone coming home in position 13, while Watkins unfortunately had a DNF result while battling for a podium position.
Sebastian Perrone was out on track for Pro Karting in the TAG 125 Restricted Light class. Perrone qualified in position 8 overall and raced well in his 3 heat races. Sebastian came home inside the top 5 in heat 1 in 5th and in heat 3 in 4th. Perrone raced hard and well in the final to come home inside the top 5 in 5th position.
KA3 Junior had a trifecta of Pro Karting drivers in Alexander Yoannidis, Pip Casabene and Isabella Mayne. Yoannidis set the 3rd fastest time in qualifying, with Mayne inside the top 15 in 14th and Casabene unfortunately excluded from the session. Yoannidis grabbed a set of 3rd places in the opening heats, while Casabene charged to 11th in heat 1 and 6th in heat 2. Casabene was remarkably able to take victory in heat 3 bringing him into contention, with Yoannidis having an unfortunate DNF. Mayne was consistent across all 3 of her heats coming in on the edge of the top 15. Yoannidis was able to break away and take a commanding victory in the final, with Casabene coming home in 2nd in a brilliant 1-2 for the team. Mayne drove well again in the final and came home just outside the top 15 in position 16 overall.
Team manager Jace Lindstrom spoke post weekend on the team’s weekend of racing. “A really strong weekend for us. We put in a good pre-event test at the Rochester club day and it’s paid dividends. This weekend was great to get wins in the cadet and junior categories. We have been working hard on our junior drivers and they are doing an amazing job. To get wine and podiums in cadets juniors and seniors classes shows a good spread of achievements from all drivers.” Pro Karting will be back on circuit for the Junior Sprint Classic on the first weekend of October.
