2019 SPARCO ROTAX PRO TOUR CONCLUDES
The curtain closes on the Grand Final round of the 2019 Sparco Rotax Pro Tour. Saturday’s final was contested under blue skies with impeccable racing conditions, the same couldn’t be said for Sunday where the heavens opened up and provided much needed rain over the circuit.
In Micro Max it remained to be a Zed Corse lockout across the entirety of the weekend. The Burns twins shared wins across both finals with Team mate Isaac McNeill also completing the podium on both days. Jenson Burns secured his first round win on Sunday ultimately securing second in the championship to twin brother and now Team Australia representative, Jaxson.
Saturday Final
1st - Jaxson Burns
2nd – Jenson Burns
3rd – Isaac McNeill
Sundays Final
1st – Jenson Burns
2nd – Isaac McNeill
3rd – Jaxson Burns
With just one World Finals ticket on offer for the Mini Max category the battle was on between Kristian Janev and Aiva Anagnostiadis from qualifying onwards. The pair didn’t have it easy throughout the double header weekend with Kamal Mrad showing impressive form once again and driving away from the pack on numerous occasions. Costa Toparis showed why he has already earnt himself a ticket to the World Finals and will be a force to be reckoned with as he strives to become the Worlds best Mini Max driver.
Saturday Final
1st – Kamal Mrad
2nd – Jake Rutkowski
3rd – Costa Toparis
Sunday Final
1st – Jake Rutkowski
2nd – Costa Toparis
3rd – Max Walton
Like all other classes despite 5 rounds of the series having already been contested none of the twelve tickets on offer were secured. Junior Max being one of the more intense classes as our elite drivers were elbows up in attempt to take one of the three tickets. Praga driver Luke Pink had led the entirety of the season but couldn’t hold out DR Kart Australia driver William Seal who was focused on securing the #1 plate all weekend. Pink secured second in the championship with AWC Motorsport Academy driver Hugh Barter rounding out the Top 3 and also securing himself a ticket to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.
Saturday Final
1st – William Seal
2nd – Luke Pink
3rd – Hugh Barter
Sunday Final
1st – William Seal
2nd – Hugh Barter
3rd – Jarrod Hughes
With just one qualifying session to determine both Saturday and Sunday’s heats the pressure was on from first thing Saturday morning. All World Finals tickets contenders qualified within the Top 5. TF Race Engines drivers Tyler Howard and Pierce Lehane were often the pace setters throughout the weekend. Cody Gillis and Brodie Whitmore also were at the front and earnt themselves places in both the series and Team Australia. Sundays Final saw New Zealand based driver Jackson Rooney secure his first round win since making the move to Rotax Light.
Saturday Final
1st – Tyler Howard
2nd – Cody Gillis
3rd – Brodie Whitmore
Sunday Final
1st – Jackson Rooney
2nd – Pierce Lehane
3rd – Cody Gillis
It was a dominant start to the weekend for Velocity Kart Shop driver, James Macken who ended Saturday with 2.3 second win over current Champion, Lane Moore. AWC Motorsport Academy driver Benjamin Walter secured third on Saturdays final as well as in the championship behind TWM pilot Ben McMellan. Sundays final was contested under more trying conditions when rain decided to fall, Danny Wright took the win over Rick Pringle and Ben McMellan.
Saturday Final
1st – James Macken
2nd – Lane Moore
3rd – Benjamin Walter
Sunday Final
1st – Danny Wright
2nd – Rick Pringle
3rd – Ben McMellam
The competition couldn’t get any closer nor the drivers any better when it came to the elite DD2 gearbox class. Ryan Kennedy had a healthy points lead going into the weekend but had Marcusson and Brewczynski both looking to secure the final World Finals ticket. Marcello Surace impressed in just his second meeting in DD2 and showed he will be one to watch for the 2020 season. Come Sunday Ryan Kennedy took out the coveted Jason Richards DD2 Cup.
Saturday Final
1st – Cody Brewczynski
2nd – Ryan Kennedy
3rd – Jonathon Marcusson
Sunday Final
1st – Ryan Kennedy
2nd – Cody Brewczynski
3rd – Bond Roby
In our oldest category to take part of the series the DD2 Masters battle was all but settled by Saturday afternoon. An unfortunate mechanical fault saw Kris Walton lose the championship to fellow Queenslander, BirelArt pilot Troy Bretherton. New Zealand based driver Fraser Hart shone once again taking out Saturdays Final and coming home in second in Sundays. Amidst the on and off rain on Sunday only two drivers took the gamble of slick tyres, Trevor Whitby who unfortunately had a DNF and Kris Walton who had to patiently wait but eventually went on to win by 16 seconds. A decision he admits he wouldn’t have made. Danny Wright rounded out Sundays podium after running double duties all weekend.
Saturday Final
1st – Fraser Hart
2nd – Troy Bretherton
3rd – Terry Hanly
Sunday Final
1st – Kris Walton
2nd – Fraser Hart
3rd – Danny Wright
Sunday night saw IKD host the Jason Richards Gala Dinner at the Cube Wodonga. Series place-getters were recognised, Team Australia announced and the Jason Richards Memorial Award was won.
In what is an emotional award for IKD the driver who took out the Jason Richards Memorial Award was this year given to Trevor Whitby. Someone, who Ian Black the decider of the award recipient believes follows the same mentality that Jason did and ultimately believes that our sport could be a better place with more people with Trevor’s attitude.
Team Australia for 2019 is definitely looking strong and IKD and the team are confident that we can have yet another successful ‘crack’ at the RMCGF in Sarno, Italy on October 19 – 26.
TEAM AUSTRALIA 2019
Micro Max – Jaxson Burns
Mini Max – Kristian Janev, Costa Toparis
Junior Max – Luke Pink, Hugh Barter, Beau Pronesti
Rotax 125 Light – Cody Gillis, Brodie Whitmore
DD2 – Ryan Kennedy, Jonathon Marcusson
DD2 Masters – Troy Bretheron, Kris Walton, Scott Howard.
The series place-getters for 2019 are:
Micro Max
1st – Jaxson Burns
2nd – Jenson Burns
3rd – Isaac McNeill
Mini Max
1st – Kristian Janev
2nd – Aiva Anagnostiadis
3rd – Jake Rutkowski
Junior Max
1st – William Seal
2nd – Luke Pink
3rd – Hugh Barter
Rotax 125 Light
1st – Pierce Lehae
2nd – Cost Gillis
3rd – Brodie Whitmore
Rotax 125 Heavy
1st – Lane Moore
2nd – Ben McMellan
3rd – Benjamin Walter
DD2
1st - Ryan Kennedy
2nd – Jonathon Marcusson
3rd – Cody Brewczynski
DD2 Masters
1st – Troy Bretherton
2nd – Kris Walton
3rd – Scott Howard
That concludes the 2019 Sparco Rotax Pro Tour Season. The focus now turns to Team Australia. Stay up to date with how the team goes via or Facebook and Instagram pages.
A big thank you to our sponsors:
Sparco
Electro industries
AWC Motorsport Academy
DPE Kart Superstores
CRG Australia
Mansons TCLM
Tillett Racing Seats
Lucky Design