Melbourne Kart Centre took a team of 10 drivers across 6 classes to the inaugural ROK Festival over the weekend at the Oakleigh Go Kart Club! James Sera led the 10-driver team from out of the race seat this weekend and with the new ROK GP classes taking to the track for the first time, the team were looking for strong results and a fun weekend of racing!
Bradley Jenner and Jack Johnson took on the ROK GP Light class in their Melbourne Kart Centre entries. Jenner was able to take pole position on Saturday with Johnson also inside the top 10 in position 9. Jenner had his entry on rails taking out race 1 but a mechanical issue in race 2 ended him on the sidelines. Jenner was able to cross the line 1st in the Saturday feature before a post-race penalty relegated him to 3rd spot. Johnson had a consistent day of racing on Saturday with 3 top 10 finishes of 8th in race 1, 6th in race 2 and 8th in the Saturday feature. Jenner returned on Sunday and was unstoppable taking the Sunday pole position, race 4, race 5 and the Sunday feature which made him the ROK Festival champion! Johnson had another consistent day qualifying inside the top 10 in 8th and never leaving the top 10 across Sunday, which gave him 7th overall in the championship.
Joshua Lackas took on the TAG 125 Restricted Light class in a single driver attack for the Melbourne Kart Centre team. Lackas qualified in 8th on Saturday and raced well to come home in 6th in race 1, 7th in race 2 and 6th in Saturdays feature! Joshua continued his hot form by qualifying on the front row on Sunday. Lackas dropped to position 7 in race 4 but finished in the top 5 in race 5 and the Sunday feature which brought him home in position 5 overall.
Cadet 12 had a triple driver attack for Melbourne Kart Centre in former state champions James Flynn, Blake Purvis and Hudson Hughes. Flynn and Purvis locked out the front row on Saturday with Hughes also inside the top 10 in position 8. Flynn and Purvis had 1-2 finishes in race 1 and 2 with Flynn taking out the Saturday feature, with Purvis joining him on the podium in 3rd. Hughes raced on the edge of the top 10 with 11th in race 1, 8th in race 2 and 11th in the Saturday feature. All 3 drivers were able to qualify inside the top 5 on Sunday with Flynn in 2nd, Hughes in 3rd and Purvis in 4th. All 3 drivers were able to run inside the top 5 on Sunday with a race 5 win for Purvis, 3rd in race 4 for Flynn and 5th in race 5 for Hughes. A 2nd place finish for Flynn in the final was enough to clinch ROK Festival win in Cadet 12, with Purvis coming home in 4th and just missing the podium. Hughes was able to come home inside the top 10 in 9th in the final and the overall championship standings.
Imran Aly and Joshua Lackas were both taking their place for Melbourne Kart Centre in KA3 Senior Light. Aly was able to qualify in 3rd spot on Saturday with Lackas just outside the top 5 in 6th spot. Both drivers had unfortunate DNF’s in race 1 or 2 but Lackas was able to come home inside the top 5 in the Saturday feature! Aly was able to grab pole position in tough conditions on Sunday morning, with Lackas also inside the top 5 in 4th spot. Lackas came home just outside the top 5 in 6th position in race 4 and 5 but a 4th in the Sunday feature was enough to get him up on the podium in 3rd place overall! Aly never left the top 3 on Saturday with a 3rd in race 4, race 5 and the Sunday feature but due to a DNF in Saturday’s feature he just missed the top 5 overall in 6th place!
Peter Gigis was another single driver attack for Melbourne Kart Centre, this time in ROK GP Masters. Gigis was able to qualify on the front row on Saturday putting him right in the front group. Gigis came home in 2nd in race 1 and 2 and 3rd in the Saturday feature which had him right in the mix for Sunday. Gigis qualified in 3rd position in a wet session on Sunday before having an unfortunate DNF in race 4. Gigis rebounded in race 5 to come home in 3rd and a 2nd in the Sunday feature was enough to give him the overall ROK Festival championship win!
Hunter Salvatore and Jay Murray were the dual junior attack in the KA3 Junior class. Both drivers were able to qualify inside the top 3 with Salvatore in 2nd and Murray in 3rd. Both drivers raced inside the top 5 in race 1 and 2 with Salvatore grabbing a brilliant 2nd in the Saturday feature. Murray was able to also come home inside the top 5 in position 4 in the feature setting up for an exciting Sunday. Both drivers qualified strongly on Sunday with Salvatore on the front row in 2nd and Murray on the 2nd row in 4th. Salvatore finished 2nd in race 4 but was breath taking for the rest of Sunday, taking victory in race 5 and the Sunday feature which gave him the overall victory in KA3 Junior! Murray had a 3rd in race 4 and 2nd in race 5th but things didn’t go his way in the final which dropped him down to position 8.
James Sera spoke post weekend on the Melbourne Kart Centre team’s weekend. “We came here this weekend racing in 6 classes and have come away with 4 victories. It was great to have everything come together and to take out both ROK GP classes at the first ever ROK Festival was an amazing result! It was one of our best weekends of the year and I can’t thank our amazing team of drivers enough!”
