Before the race night commenced we had our teams spend a bit of time networking with the other drivers as they enjoyed a few pre-race nibbles and then with all of the pleasantries’ out of the way it was time to go racing.

Heat 1

With all the drivers briefed up and ready to race they headed out on their formation lap behind the pace kart in a two by two formation and as the pace kart peeled back into pit lane it was game on a look of steely determination took over the drivers faces as they passed the start line.

In the 1st heat we saw all our sponsors in fine form as racing commenced and once again we saw returning rivalry between Graham Hartshorne (JJ Richards) against Nathan Heuschele and Paul Bloomfield (R&J Batteries) with David Dais (Honda), John Carter and Ben Vincent (Hit 105), battling it out for the forward of the pack in this race with Graham Hartshorne holding a solid lead throughout the first heat, with Ben Vincent from Hit 105 receiving a Black Flag for spinning out a driver at turn 5 and falling to the rear of the field  and with great race from all our returning sponsors in this first heat the drivers crossed the line at the checked flag

First victory of the night for Sponsors Challenge Round 3 went to the team from JJ Richards with Graham Hartshorne taking the win with a 2.912 sec lead over R&J Batteries and with Nathan Heuschele trailing behind followed by his team mate Paul Bloomfield giving the team from R&J Batteries 2^nd and 3^rd positions at the end of heat 1.

Fastest lap in heat 1 was R&J Batteries Nathan Heuschele breaking in to the 61sec with a 61.553.

Heat 2

The drivers returned after having a 15-minute break before going out in heat 2 for the reverse grid formation and with no messing about it was out and track and in formation for race 2. The race began with Paul Bloomfield and Nathan Heuschele (R&J Batteries), Ben Vincent and John Carter (Hit 105) and David Davis (Honda) pulling some great racing tactics at race start and holding the lead of the pack with JJ Richards Grahame Hartshorne looking to make his way from mid-field to catch up and challange.

We have Paul Bloomfield claiming in front after posting a PB of 61.534 and holding a solid lead defence 2.777sec not allowing Ben Vincent (Hit 105) to pass him while closing in on Ben Vincent we had Nathan Heuschele (R&J Batteries) defending against Hit 105’s John Carter and JJ Richards Grahame Hartshorne not allowing them to find an opportunity to pass into the top 3 positions defending his position against them at all cost.

A very clean race except for a minor scruffle at turn one on lap which saw Luke Sheppard from Logan Community Bank spin out and fall to the end of the grid. As we came to the final lap and all drivers came to the final last second push with their pedal flat to the boards. We had Paul Bloomfield (R&J Batteries) crossing the line in the first position and Ben Vincent (Hit 105) 4.527 sec behind closely followed by Nathan Heuschele (R&J Batteries), John Carter (Hit 105) and Grahame Hartshorne (JJ Richards).

Fastest lap in heat 2 was R&J Batteries Paul Bloomfield breaking in to the 61sec with a 61.532.

Heat 3

After a short break and our drivers reviewed their results via our Kingston Park Raceway App and keeping themselves hydrated we moved on to start the Semi-Final/Heat 3 race of Round 2 of the Sponsors Challenge Series.

With all the hard work from the previous two heats the drivers were placed into their points order in the briefing area with at the end of Heat 2 saw taking out the top 5 points were R&J Batteries Paul Bloomfield with 116pts and Nathan Heuschele with 114pts, JJ Richards Grahame Hartshorne 112pts and both John Carter (Hit 105) and Grahame Dawe (Coca-Cola) tied on 100pts

With the night at its half-way point for Round 2 we had our drivers eager to move up in the rankings and as the lights went green they were all turbo charged in as the race begun and the battle begins, we saw a lot of great lines thru the corners and a lot of race contact as the drivers spread their elbows a little in an attempt defend their ground in this heat.

In the early laps we had R&J Batteries Nathan Heuschele holding the lead with Ben Vincent (Hit 105) Paul Bloomfield (R&J Batteries) battling for 2^nd position with JJ Richards Grahame Hartshorne and Kyle Biard with some team work in hot pursuit.

2 laps in we had Nathan Heuschele (R&J Batteries) breaking into a 4sec lead over Hit 105’s Ben Vincent and Grahame Hartshorne (JJ Richards) who made it up to 3^rd position

By mid-race we saw our drivers getting into the very quick 62.5 second laps and a few eager drivers engaging in some race contact on track resulting in a few no bumping warnings being issued from the pitlane marshall. Honda’s Eden Davis collided with tyres at turn two while attempting to defend his position in mid-field and dropped to the rear of track and Kyle Biard (JJ Richards) Black Flagged for spinning out another driver and dropped to last position.

Just 2 laps to go and we had Hit 105’s Ben Vincent holding a solid 1.355 sec defence followed by R&J Batteries Nathan Heuschele, Damon Jones (???) with Grahame Hartshorne (JJ Richards) and John Carter (Hit 105) in full pursuit mode and as they exited turn 8 once more towards the checked flag we saw a neck and neck dash to the checked between Ben Vincent and Nathan Heuschele and with a final move gaining that split second advantage saw Ben Vincent cross the line with Nathan Heuschele right behind while Damon Jones from Hit 105 crossed in third closely followed by fellow Hit 105 team member John Carter and JJ Richards’ Grahame Hartshorne.

Fastest lap in heat 3 semi-final was Hit 105’s Ben Vincent breaking in to the 61sec with a 61.370 recorded on his final lap.

Final

It has now come down to the moment of truth to see who will be the Round 3 winners in the 2017 Sponsors Challenge and as they headed out on their formation lap behind the pace kart in a two by two formation for the final race of the night there was a tenseness in the air.

As the lights went green we had R&J Batteries’ Nathan Heuschele taking the lead followed by his fellow R&J Batteries team member Paul Bloomfield and JJ Richards Grahame Hartshorne closely followed by all three members of Team Hit 105 (John Carter, Ben Vincent, Damon Jones) hot on his exhaust). As we started lap 2 we saw a lot of drivers engage in some fierce competition resulting in a lot of bumping on track while our sponsors were defending their positions in the opening act of the Heat 4 Finale. Mid-field saw a lot of swiutching as the drivers eagerly attempted to take the optimal racing line and manoevering to get out of the mid-field and avoid being dropped back to the rear of the field.

The pace was hotting up know and Nathan Heuschele (R&J Batteries), Paul Bloomfield (R&J Batteries), Grahame Hartshorne (JJ Richards) now form into the top 3 defenders who were closely followed by Hit 105’s Ben Vincent and John Carter who were defending against Coca-Cola’s Grahame Daw and Honda’s David Davis looking to move on up to the forward five positions and attempt to get into the top 3 of the race to earn points for their teams in this hard fought night of adrenaline racing.

By mid-race we had JJ Richards’s Grahame Hartshorne dropping to mid-field after being involved in a crash at turn seven and seeing the top forward positions being dominated by R&J Batteries Nathan Heuschele and Paul Bloomfield who were defending against the might of Team Hit 105 with Ben Vincent, John Carter and Damon Jones beginning their siege racing tactics to break the indomitable defence both Nathan Heuschele and Paul Bloomfield

As the race went on and in the closing laps JJ Richards Greahame Hartshorne attempted to break out of the mid-field but was having a challenge from R&J Batteries Blean Lowien and JJ Richards Kyle Biard.

JJ Richards’ Grahame Hartshorne pulling a 61.645 lap (his personal best of the night) and R&J Batteries Nathan Heuschele while defending 1^st position with a 2sec lead from Paul Bloomfield and John Carter and saw him get a 61.950 sec lap time

With all drivers in full pursuit with their great line taking and racing manoeuvring the checked flag was close in sight and as the leaders rocket out of turn 8 and as they pass the waive of the checked flag R&J Batteries’ Nathan Heuschele wins with a great lead defence of the racing grid followed by fellow team mate Paul Bloomfield taking out 2^nd position and not far behind them was the full might of team Hit 105’s just 2sec behind them and

What a close and very competitive race and the spectators applauded the drivers as they returned to the pits and the conclusion of another fantastic Sponsors Challenge race night

In what has been one hell of a night out karting for all of the drivers in this round of the 2017 Sponsors Challenge Series it was now time to see who will be the champions of the night and have the bragging rights for round 3 of the 2017 Series.

Winners of the Night

1^st Place â€“ Nathan Heuschele (R&J Batteries) 232pts
2^nd Place â€“ Paul Bloomfield (R&J Batteries) 222pts
3^rd Place â€“ John Carter (Hit 105) 210pts

Fastest Lap of the Night 

Ben Vincent (Hit 105) with a 61.370

Team of the Night

1^st Place â€“ R&J Batteries with 628 Points
2^nd Place â€“ Hit 105 with 622 Points
3^rd Place â€“ JJ Richards with 474 Points

To enquire about getting your company on the grid in 2017 please call our event sales team on 07 3826 2255