Hello and welcome to the Grand Final night of this years Triple M Tag Team Challenge!
After 4 hard fought battles throughout the year, it’s all come down to this with the top 5 teams in contention to take home the grand prize of VIP tickets to the Gold Coast 600. A bit of rain earlier in the day has the track now dry but greasy, sure to make every pass, every flying lap, every pit stop, every penalty and every mistake with everything on the line for our top teams, so lets get into it.
As the teams gear up and the starting driver from each team gets into their kart tensions are high. The pace kart rolls out and engines come alive as our drivers roll out into the standard 2x2 formation and as the pace kart peels off the teams and spectators cheer on, the green flag drops and we’re underway! All get away clean except for Techpath who go a little too hard into turn one and lose it. They’re going to have their work cut out for them now to claw their way back.
A relatively clean first stint with some of our top contenders who started at the rear of the field climbing the ladder early to put the pressure on. They know where they need to be and that’s exactly where they’re headed. CTS Motorsport, Karting Bae’s and DJM Racing all push for the front. Don’t Blush Baby had a great start off the front row but soon lost the lead to Go Kart Avengers. The battles continued to unfold throughout the field with NJN Karting and Shirio Schumachers dropping to the back, Karterham and The F1 Wanna B’s holding strong for early position and our current series top points holders charging to the front our teams get ready for the first pit stops.
Chaos as often happens with the first pit stops of the night and we see our first penalty going to The F1 Wanna B’s for speeding down pit lane, another for Techpath losing it in their pit bay (which can be very dangerous!) and yet another for Muslim League Noon who decided it was a good idea to loop it around in pit entry (don’t do that). On the other end we have our veteran teams now experts at the driver change over-clocking some super fast pit stops in the 20 second range which is quite impressive.
They say the action never stops here at Kingston Park Raceway and that phrase is never more true then during one of these events as the racing is consistently hard and fast for almost 2 continuous hours! CTS Motorsport takes the lead and gains a sizable one at that with a 10 second buffer only 16 laps in. These boys definitely want to take home that grand prize. Hot on their heels though are Karting Bae’s and moving up the field are our other top series spot holders with Red Cup Coffee Racing and DJM Racing.
Half way through and it’s turning out to be one of the cleanest races we’ve seen in a long time. The teams know what’s on the line and they can’t afford any penalty if they want to be in contention. Looking at our fastest lap times so far, something you only see very, very rarely, an identical lap time! Our first and second place holders, CTS Motorsport and Karting Bae’s both running a 62.994! Not to be out done, CTS soon smashes that out of the water with a 62.154. The field starts taking shape and those who are keeping a close eye on our Kingston Park Raceway App know where they are sitting and how close they are from the karts in front and behind. Some mid pack battles ensues between The F1 Wanna B’s, Don’t Blush Baby, Katerham and Cranky Pants Racing. The lead teams are still very close with Go Kart Avengers putting the pressure on DJM Racing and Red Cup Coffee Racing. Our 2 leaders, CTS Motorsport and Karting Bae’s now have a commanding one lap lead but still, anything can happen with 30 laps remaining.
Into the final stint and the pit stops are chaotic once again as it’s all or nothing for our teams! Not a mistake made by our top teams tonight and around they come to finish off the series this year with CTS Motorsport crossing the line first! Karting Bae’s second by only 22 seconds and DJM Racing making their way into third at the end beating out Red Cup Coffee Racing.
1st – CTS Motorsport – 62.154(fastest of the night)
2nd – Karting Bae’s – 62.551
3rd – DJM Racing – 63.135
That wraps up the Triple M Tag Team Challenge series for the year with our winners taking home the VIP tickets to the Gold Coast 600 next weekend!
Congratulations to all the teams and our winners for the hard fought battles throughout the year. If you think you have what it takes to go 90 laps in teams of three for the chance at the title and the prize then keep your eyes on our Facebook page for the kickoff dates for next year.
Once again congratulations to our winners CTS Motorsport and we look forward to seeing you all again soon here at Kingston Park Raceway, where everyone loves to race! For results click here!
