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2007 Australian Superkart Championship

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The 2007 Australian Superkart Championship was the 19th running of the national championships for Superkarts. It began on 6 May 2007 at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and ended on 15 July at Eastern Creek Raceway after eight races.

It was contested for three engine-based classes, 250 cc International (twin-cylinder engines), 250 cc National (single-cylinder engines) and 125 cc. National championships were awarded to 250 cc International and 125, while 250 National were awarded a national title, but not an Australian Championship as there were insufficient competitors to qualify.

Teams and drivers

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The following drivers competed in the 2007 Australian Superkart Championship. The series consisted of two rounds, with four races at each meeting.

Team Class Chassis Engine No Driver
RMR Superkarts 250 National Anderson Maverick KTM 1 Australia Jason McIntyre
250 International Anderson Maverick FPE/RCS 6 New Zealand Wayne Sprostan
7 Australia Colin McIntyre
10 Australia Gary Pegoraro
11 Australia Evan Fuller
250 National Anderson Maverick Kawasaki 21 Australia Rick Setterfield
Bittern Garden Supplies 250 National Anderson Mirage PVP 3 Australia Shannon Barton
Rocket Race Engines 250 International Anderson Mirage FPE/RCS 4 Australia Rod Prickett
Zip – BDH 250 International Zip Eagle II BRC 5 Australia Gerard Seibert
15 Australia Peter Knispel
27 Australia Barbara Hepworth
29 Australia Yiani Harpas
66 Australia Todd Johnson
International Entertainment 250 International PVP PVP 8 New Zealand Anton Stevens
Stockman Superkarts 250 International Stockman MR2 Honda RS250 9 Australia Sam Zavaglia
250 National Stockman MR2 Kawasaki 12 Australia John Roberts
250 International Stockman MR2 Honda RS250 18 Australia Warren McIlveen
125 Gearbox Stockman MR2 Honda RS125 24 Australia Chris Harward
Maddern Oil Pty Ltd 250 International Zip Eagle II 14 Australia Chas Maddern
MJR Bricklaying 250 National Stockman MR2 Yamaha 16 Australia Martin Latta
Rod Conn 125 Gearbox Arrow Honda RS125 17 Australia Rod Conn
Safe Billet Cases 250 International Anderson Mirage SAFE/RCS 19 Australia Darren Hossack
Darren Dunn 125 Gearbox Topkart Honda RS125 20 Australia Darren Dunn
Project Precast 250 National Stockman MR2 Yamaha 22 Australia David Williams
Lombo Concreting 250 International Anderson Maverick Honda RS250 25 Australia Andrew Lombardo
26 Australia Eddie Lombardo
250 National Zapelli Kawasaki 76 Australia Chris Sullings
Ron Ping 125 Gearbox Stockman MR2 Honda RS125 28 Australia Ron Ping
Buildersmile Construction 250 International PVP PVP 30 Australia Carlo Chermaz
Suburban Accounting 125 Gearbox Stockman MR2 Honda RS125 33 Australia Kristian Stebbing
250 International Stockman MR2 Honda RS250 77 Australia Brad Stebbing
Coach Design 125 Gearbox Stockman MR2 Laydown Honda RS125 35 Australia Russell Jamieson
86 Australia Chryss Jamieson
NEC Automotive 250 International Stockman MR2 Honda RS250 40 Australia Stephen Castles
Impact Flags & Banners 125 Gearbox Stockman MR2 Honda RS125 46 Australia Colin Moore
James Bakker 125 Gearbox Bakker Honda RS125 51 Australia James Bakker
IDM Racing 125 Gearbox Centreline Honda RS125 55 Australia Ian Mash
GR Industries 250 National Stockman MR2 60 Australia Frank Giglio
Giova Design 250 International Avoig Honda RS250 62 Australia John Pellicano
125 Gearbox Avoig Honda RS125 63 Australia Luke Brown
JBL Performance 125 Gearbox Bakker Honda RS125 65 Australia Jarrod Lethborg
125 Gearbox Stockman MR2 Honda RS125 70 Australia Anthony Lappas
City Mobile Brakes 250 International Bakker Honda RS250 72 Australia Dean McGinty
Guards Australia 125 Gearbox Centreline Honda RS125 74 Australia Allan Dodge
Kitten Car Care Products 250 International Anderson Maverick 88 Australia Greg Ruff
Nick Paul 250 International Stockman MR2 Honda RS250 89 Australia Robert Oakley
Modbury Press 125 Gearbox MDV Honda RS125 91 Australia David Prest
Mark Hanson 250 International Zip Eagle II Yamaha TZ250 96 Australia Mark Hanson
KC Tools 250 International Anderson Maverick Honda RS250 99 Australia Daniel Rammerman

Season review

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Round 1

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Sydney based racer Sam Zavaglia stepped back from the brink of a kart destroying crash to win the fourth and final race of the weekend, claiming the opening round of the Australian Superkart Championship held at the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships at Phillip Island.

Zavaglia (Stockman Superkarts Stockman-Honda) started the day well with a pair of second places in the two opening races behind team mate and defending champion Warren McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman-Honda). Race Three saw disaster strike when Zavaglia slid off the track at the Southern Loop while leading, plunging off a half metre drop in the infield as he struggled to rejoin the circuit, wrecking his nosecone on his way to salvaging sixth place. The final bonus points race saw Zavaglia climb rapidly into second place where he fought for the place with New Zealander Anton Stevens (International Entertainment PVP-PVP) which became a battle for the lead when McIlveen slowed with tyre failure. Zavaglia cleared away from Stevens for the win.

The tyre failure cost McIlveen the round win who had overcome ignition and clutch problems to claim the three preliminary race wins. Limping home for a 34th placed finish in the final gave the Tamworth-based racer points enough to secure third place for the round, but McIlveen did have the satisfaction of taking home the Phillip Island lap record (1:32.6516), an eight-year-old record held previously by Stockman Superkarts Team Manager, Brian Stockman.

Discovery of the meeting was the Marron Excavations / RMR Superkarts Anderson-FPE/RCS of Gary Pegoraro. Only a month after the Melbourne Superkarter stepped into the 250cc International ranks Pegoraro sits second in the Australian Championship after scoring a second and two thirds in the preliminary races. The former 250cc National racer faded to fourth in the final behind the improving pace of Stevens and Carlo Chermaz (Buildersmile Constructions PVP-PVP) but he now sits just four points behind Zavaglia heading into the next round at Eastern Creek.

Chermaz third-place finish in the final capped off a round above his expectations after a curtailed preparation from a construction site accident forcing the Queenslander to race recovering from a broken elbow and hand. Just four points behind McIlveen and twelve behind Zavaglia there is a four driver showdown beckoning at Eastern Creek in July for the championship decider.

In the 250cc National division, reigning champion Jason McIntyre (Marron Excavations / RMR Superkarts Anderson-KTM) had a perfect weekend, turning pole position into four races wins including a top ten finish in Race Three. McIntyre was however pushed as he has never been pushed in the last two seasons as John Roberts (Stockman Superkarts Stockman-Kawasaki) diced with McIntyre in three of the four races and heads to Eastern Creek closer in the points race than any of McIntyre rivals have managed. Another class newcomer, David Williams (Project Precast Anderson-Yamaha) snapped at the heels of McIntyre and Roberts throughout the weekend to finish third.

A tyre failure in race one saw defending 125cc reigning champion Russell Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) finish the weekend in third place as his team mate and father Chryss Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) took out the round. The distinctive laydown designed Stockman chassis taking two race victories each with Russell eclipsing Steve Crossland's six-year-old lap record in a dominant Race Four performance. Three thirds and a second in the bonus points Race Four has put Kristian Stebbing (Suburban Accounting Stockman-Honda) between the Jamieson family in the points, while veteran racer Colin Moore (Impact Flags & Banners Stockman-Honda) sits just one point behind Russell Jamieson after a consistent run.

Driver Quotes: Sam Zavaglia (Stockman Superkarts Stockman-Honda) 250cc International First, "I don't know where it come from, but I got a top end misfire under load. It was well down on horsepower. When Anton passed me I used his tow to drag me along behind him. I've been here before and lost with three laps to go, you don't know where it's going to end, but I'm glad it finished that way. I've had some luck. It's been a good weekend and I couldn't have hoped for better. We had problems but we still got there."

Gary Pegoraro (Marron Excavations Anderson-FPE/RCS) 250cc International Second, "I've had a pretty reasonable weekend consider we've only had the kart for a month. I can't complain. We've had a couple of issues but when you're trying to catch some of the best karters in the world you have to do your homework. We've got a little bit more to do. But our RMR Anderson is going really well."

Warren McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman-Honda) 250cc International Third, "I had a tyre blowout coming in to the second last lap and managed to scramble home for a point in the final. The kart went mostly fine but we had ignition problems in the fourth and the third race and a clutch slipping problem. Roll on Eastern Creek and hopefully I can win all four races there and maybe win the championship."

Jason McIntyre (Marron Excavations Anderson-KTM) 250cc National First, "The kart was brilliant. The Whizzer engine was brilliant all day. We had some competition for a change where we were pushed all the way but we were able to pull away. To come away from Round 1 with four wins, it's looking good for Eastern Creek."

Chryss Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) 125cc First, "The weekend started ordinary but it finished good. We had a very very good day. We were lucky the engine failure happened on Friday but the important days, Saturday and Sunday was really good. Those two young fellas had the wood on me in that last race and congratulations to Russell for breaking the lap record."

Round 2

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Warren McIlveen was too quick for the competition at Eastern Creek Raceway, taking two wins and a second to secure his sixth Australian Superkart Championship, a tenth consecutive title for the Stockman Superkarts team. Jason McIntyre successfully defended his 250 National division title, while Kristian Stebbing broke through for his first title, winning the 125cc Australian Championship.

McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman-Honda) was behind in the points heading into the final round, some eight points behind Stockman Superkarts team mate Sam Zavaglia, and four behind RMR Superkarts racer Gary Pegoraro, but pole position and a dominant Race 1 win put his title firmly back on track. Winning the second race with Zavaglia well down the order with an electrical gremlin meant the pressure was off for the final as all he would need as a finish inside the top eight. What gave the pursuing three drivers hope was continuing cylinder detonation issues with the kart that might bring McIlveen undone. The kart and driver were strong enough to control the race from the front early on in the final race. Zavaglia slipped through to take the final race victory, bringing home a 1–2 finish in the championship for the Stockman Superkarts team.

Proceedings had been complicated by an incident during the third race when a wheel rubbing clash between Zavaglia and the International Entertainment PVP of Anton Stevens sent Stevens into a tumbling accident. While there were initial fears for Stevens health, his injuries were relatively minor and it is expected that the New Zealander will be released from hospital on Monday. Stevens had been very quick and had recovered to be fighting in the top three after a bolt head break in Race 1 had caused a chain reaction that sprayed engine water over the Kiwi in Race 1. An excellent second place behind McIlveen in Race 2 demonstrated what he had been capable of.

The ensuing delay while the paramedics attended Stevens and a brief investigation by the authorities the program was substantially delayed leading to the race being declared at two laps, effectively a non-result with no points awarded.

This left Zavaglia, Carlo Chermaz and Pegoraro separated by just four points heading into the final. However, third and fourth was the best Chermaz and Pegoraro could manage. For Chermaz though second for the round and third for the championship was an excellent result after being forced to race the previous round with a broken elbow and injured arm. Chermaz's tiny team from Queensland performed above expectations against the big multicar teams from Stockman's and RMR.

For Pegoraro, fourth in the championship is perhaps disappointing but it was his first season in 250 International for several years as the RMR Marron Excavations Anderson-Rotax team built up this year to challenge Stockman Superkarts. It took until the second race for Pegoraro to get up to the pace but was just off the pace of top three karts.

Darren Hossack had a consistent run through the weekend, running just on the tail of the pace of Chermaz, Pegoraro and Stevens, picking up points to finish fifth in the championship for the Safe Evolutions team, proving the local ingenuity of the teams self-developed Safe Billet Cases engines. Stephen Castles in the NEC Automotive Stockman improved over the weekend to finish sixth.

In 250 Nationals class, defending Jason McIntyre's title became easier after a reed valve failed on John Roberts' Stockman-Kawasaki. A second DNF in Race 2 wrapped the title up but McIntyre won the third race to make sure, leaving him undefeated for the season. Consistency brought his RMR team mate Rick Setterfield into second position for the championship while a final race finish allowed Roberts to hang on to third in the points.

125cc championship went right down to the wire with just two points separating the Coach Design Stockman-Honda of Chryss Jamieson and the Suburban Accounting Stockman-Honda of Kristian Stebbing. Stebbing had won the two early races to get into position to threaten Jamieson but in the end was gifted the championship when Jamieson retired on the second lap of the final race. Stebbing backed off at that point and the IGA Romeo's Foodland Stockman-Honda of Anthony Lappas won the race, but second was enough for Stebbing to secure the title. A pair of accidents would drop defending champion and lap record holder Russell Jamieson (Coach Design Stockman-Honda) out of contention leaving veteran Colin Moore (Impact Flags and Banners Stockman-Honda) to take third in the championship after a consistent run through the weekend.

Driver Quotes: 1st 250 International Warren McIlveen (Mac's Marine Stockman MR2 Honda): "I'm wrapped, it's just awesome. I got out in front in that last race. I saw Sam behind me, so I let him go, my tyres were pretty well shot anyway. I just kept it on the track to finish the race and win another title. We had some detonation problems, and a few other dramas, the team has been great. This is the tenth year in a row for Stockman Superkarts."

2nd 250 International Sam Zavaglia (Stockman Superkarts Stockman MR2 Honda): "I was chasing Warren down, his tyres were skating. We already had it planned that I wasn't going to pass him but he couldn't handle me being behind him! We work as a team at Stockman Superkarts. I've had a rough, rough weekend so I'm happy I got that finish, but Warren has been the driver of the series by far."

3rd 250 International Carlo Chermaz (Buildersmile Construction PVP): "I think that's about as fast as I could have gone around here. After the first round where I was physically not very well this is the best outcome I could have gotten. Unfortunately in that last race I should have been a bit braver going into turn two on that opening lap, I got swamped under brakes by a few of the guys and I got held up for a few laps and had to pick them off. I couldn't ask for a better weekend."

1st 250 National Jason McIntyre (Marron Excavation Anderson Maverick KTM): "The weekend started not so good, the kart balance wasn't exactly there Over the weekend we got back onto the pace. Eight wins from eight starts for the series, I'm extremely happy with that. In the final in the colder conditions the kart was a lot better and my times were just two tenths over my current lap record. Another title to make three in a row I'm very happy with."

1st 125 Gearbox Kristian Stebbing (Suburban Accounting Stockman Honda): "I'm wrapped. My first Australian title. I worked very hard for it. We spent a lot of time between meetings improving the kart and it all paid off today. It all came down to the last race, I was two points behind Chryss Jamieson, unfortunately for him he seized around turn two. When I saw that I eased off and just tried to get it home."

Results and standings

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Race calendar

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The 2007 Australian Superkart Championship season consisted of two rounds. Four races were held at both race meetings.

Rd. Race title Circuit City / state Date Winner 250Int Team Winner 250Nat Team Winner 125 Team Report
1 Australia Phillip Island Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip Island, Victoria 5–6 May Sam Zavaglia Stockman Superkarts Jason McIntyre RMR Superkarts Chryss Jamieson Coach Design
2 Australia Eastern Creek Eastern Creek Raceway Sydney, New South Wales 14–15 July Warren McIlveen Stockman Superkarts Jason McIntyre RMR Superkarts Kristian Stebbing Suburban Accounting

Drivers Championship

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Points were awarded 20–17–15–13–11–10–9–8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 based on the top fifteen race positions in first three races of each round. The fourth race of each round, which is longer than the others (eight laps vs five laps) awarded points for the top twenty race positions at 25–22–20–18–16–15-14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Race three at Eastern Creek had no points allocated after a red flag declared the race after just two laps.

Pos Driver PHI 1 PHI 2 PHI 3 PHI 4 EAS 1 EAS 2 EAS 3 EAS 4 Pts
250 INTERNATIONAL
1 Warren McIlveen 1st 1st 1st 34th 1st 1st 2nd 123
2 Sam Zavaglia 2nd 2nd 6th 1st 2nd 19th 1st 114
3 Carlo Chermaz 4th 5th 4th 3rd 3rd 3rd 3rd 107
4 Gary Pegoraro 3rd 3rd 2nd 4th 6th 6th 4th 103
5 Darren Hossack Ret 10th 8th 5th 4th 4th 5th 72
6 Stephen Castles 5th 6th Ret Ret 5th 5th 6th 58
7 Anton Stevens Ret 4th Ret 2nd Ret 2nd DNS 52
8 Colin McIntyre 7th Ret DNS DNS 7th 7th 7th 41
9 Wayne Sprostan 9th 7th 7th 6th Ret DNS DNS 56
10 Robert Oakley 6th Ret 3rd 8th 38
11 Daniel Ramerman 16th 25th 15th 33rd 8th 12th 8th 36
12 Yiani Harpas Ret 8th 5th 7th 33
13 Brad Stebbing 10th 17th Ret 9th Ret 9th 13th 27
14 John Pellicano 8th Ret Ret DNS 21st 8th Ret 22
14 Andrew Lombardo 19th Ret DNS 15th 9th 10th Ret 22
16 George Koutros 22nd 17th 19th 20
17 Greg Ruff 12th 9th 11th Ret 18
17 Mark Hanson 15th 11th Ret 10th 18
17 Dean McGinty Ret 12th 19th 11th 18
20 Eddie Lombardo Ret Ret DNS Ret 25th 24th 23rd 16
21 Brett Purdie 11th 22nd Ret 12th 15
22 Rod Prickett Ret DNS DNS DNS Ret DNS 9th 12
22 Evan Fuller 18th 13th 32nd 17th 12
24 Peter Knispel 27th 27th 18th 26th 10
24 Todd Johnson 26th 26th 20th 20th 10
26 Gerard Siebert Ret 37th Ret 16th 8
27 Barbara Hepworth 13th Ret DNS 24th 7
250 NATIONAL
1 Jason McIntyre 14th 14th 9th 13th 10th 11th 10th 150
2 Rick Setterfield 25th 19th 16th 25th 17th 14th 16th 97
3 John Roberts 17th 16th 10th 14th DNS Ret 11th 93
4 Shannon Barton 20th 18th 29th 22nd 11th DNS 12th 93
5 Frank Giglio 31st 33rd 31st 32nd 23rd 20th Ret 67
6 David Williams 21st 15th 12th 18th 65
7 Martin Latta 29th 31st Ret DNS 13th Ret 15th 53
8 Chris Sullings 34th Ret DNS DNS 18th Ret 17th 34
9 Lee Filliponi Ret 36th 28th 36th 33
125 GEARBOX
1 Kristian Stebbing 24th 23rd 17th 21st 12th 13th 18th 129
2 Chryss Jamieson 22nd 21st 13th 23rd 14th 16th Ret 109
3 Colin Moore 23rd 24th 21st 27th 24th 21st 22nd 97
4 Chris Harward 28th 28th 22nd 29th 20th 18th DNS 73
5 Russell Jamieson Ret 20th 14th 19th Ret 22nd DNS 72
6 Rod Conn 32nd 30th 26th 30th Ret DNS 21st 58
7 David Prest 33rd 35th 27th 31st Ret 26th 25th 55
8 Jarrod Lethborg 16th 15th 20th 50
9 Ron Ping 30th 32nd 23rd 35th 41
9 Allan Dodge 35th 38th Ret DNS 27th 27th 24th 41
11 Anthony Lappas 15th Ret 14th 40
12 Darren Dunn Ret 29th 25th 28th 34
13 James Bakker 36th Ret 24th Ret 26th 23rd Ret 33
14 Luke Brown Ret 34th 30th Ret 19th 25th Ret 31
15 Ian Mash 28th 28th 26th 24
Pos Driver PHI 1 PHI 2 PHI 3 PHI 4 EAS 1 EAS 2 EAS 3 EAS 4 Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

References

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