Winton's Gold Nugget is BackPosted by Mark Jones, 31 August 2008, 1:41 PM |
This weekend sees Winton Motor Raceway play host to the Superkart Gold Nugget meeting. The title is being revived this year after a short absence, the winner of the day receives a Gold Nugget and Ingot, the traditional trophy.
The race meeting is a class based meeting, with Rotax Max Light, Rotax Max Heavy, and Gearbox Superkarts each getting their own races and points, with the points structure weighted towards classes with larger entry numbers as there are more competitors to overcome. It is a points structure used across Australia, notably similar to Queensland's premier trophy, the Pacific Challenge.
Both Rotax divisions and 125cc gearbox all travel to the Benalla racetrack in numbers, each with their own favourites. In Rotax light Jason McIntyre (RMR Suprkarts/Marron Excavations Monaco) is favourite after front running form rewarded the McIntyre with top three finishes at the recent Australian Championships.
In Rotax Heavy the competition should be fierce between new National Champion Mark Wicks, Chris Jewel, Colin McIntyre and Rod Clarke, while national series points leader Brad Stebbing in the Suburban Accounting Stockman looks to be the form in 125cc Gearbox with Rob Miller and John Bakker expected to challenge.
The meeting also has a try-drive component, the AASA regulations in force at Winton make it possible for Sprintkart racers to try long track racing on the shorter of the two Winton Motor Raceway layouts. Rotax Max classes all have the opportunity to race long track, with the Australian Championships only recently held at Phillip Island. The Gold Nugget weekend represents a lower key entry to big track racing.
