DAVID HOPS TO ALL POWERS WIN
Sunraysia Dirt Karters Official Release
May 20, 2013
Sydney Speedway kart racer David Hopping was a jubilant winner of the 2013 Mildura & District Pest Management All Power Nationals at Mildura’s Olympic Park Speedway over the weekend.
Hopping started on the front row for the 30 lap final alongside early leader and former national champion Glen Corish but slipped by into the number one spot when Corish half spun coming out of turn two on lap five.
“Glen got the jump on me at the start so I concentrated on putting as much pressure on him in the early part of the race,” Hopping explained, “fortunately for me he made a little error and I got by. From there I had to concentrate on being consistent with my lines and not making any mistakes myself.”
From there the 45 year old second-generation racer was unstoppable, cruising away with the victory in his Fineline Fabrications / Hoosier Tyres #78 Benson kart whilst Corish unfortunately blew his motor.
Hopping’s Speedway heritage is a proud one; his Dad Sid Hopping was the winner of the 1975 Warrnambool Classic and the man who built Parramatta City Raceway in 1977.
“I knew that Glen and “Keatsy” (Graham Keats) would be right behind me, so there was plenty of pressure not to stuff it up,” he smiled, “when we came up on lapped traffic it was pretty busy there, particularly in the last two laps.”
Hopping had raced the night before (Friday night) in the All Stars Modified Class where he finished 7th in the twin 25 lap main event that was won by Tasmanian hard charger Cody Dransfield.
“This is a great little event,” Hopping praised, “the club do an excellent job and it’s a fantastic smooth little track. It’s much smoother than some of the other places we race. I’ll definitely be back. The 2000 kilometre round trip is definitely long but it’s worth it.
Finishing right behind David as the chequered flag fell was fellow New South Welshmen Graham Keats (2nd) and Brandon Corish (3rd) whilst 19 year old lady racer Tahleesha Mayes was the fourth kart and first Mildura driver home.
Tasmanian Cody Dransfield was fifth, followed by Nathan King, Rod Seivwright, Steven Robertson, Ben Hodge, Mitch Gladman (Mildura) Michael Van Ginnekin, David Wood (Mildura) and Dan Morris.
The 20 lap Junior feature race, presented by Tasco Inland and JB Hifi, was dominated by 10 year old year old Sydneysider Luke Geering who lapped several of his rivals in the event that almost went the entire distance without a stoppage.
The Geering brothers were the standout racers (they were 1-2 in the feature race for any laps before 14 year old older brother Matthew faded to fifth) in a 17-kart field that boasted several nationally ranked drivers.
Luke Geering took the win from Australia #3 Luke Whalebone in second, Matthew Beattie in third, Todd Hobson fourth, Matt Geering fifth, Sam Mayes (Mildura) Jackson Barbary (Mildura) Dillon Ghent, Brandon Moore, Tyson Martin (Mildura) Mark Whalebone, Liam Aunger (Mildura) and Brodie Adams (Mildura).
On the Friday night some of the fastest karters in the country contested the Modified Clubman and Standard Clubman main events with Tasmanian hot shoe Cody Dransfield taking the win in the Modified class “Twin 25 lappers” from Tim Beady, Michael Van Ginniken, Ebony Hobson, Nathan King, Dan Morris, David Hopping, Brad Cunneen, Rod Seivwright and Mark Craven rounding out the field.
The Standard Clubman race was won in sensational fashion by legendary Walpeup farmer Bob Latta from fellow Mildura racer Mitch Gladman in second, Stephen Robertson third, Australian champion Ben Hodge in fourth, Wayne Bould fifth and Ryan Parsons sixth.
What made the win for Latta remarkable was the fact that he rolled his kart over early in the race and still managed to restart and go on to take a gutsy win in the 30-lap affair.
Latta was too sore to compete on Saturday night as a result of the crash and settled for watching his grandsons Brodie and Jake Adams compete instead.
The Junior Standards also competed over the weekend with Kelsey Allen, Sam Mayes, Alistair Bastian and Jeremy Ayworth all racing with distinction.
The Sub-Juniors (8yrs and above) provided spirited demonstrations on the Saturday night with Teika Collins, Jake Adams, Lachlan Barbary and Nicholas Bould all taking their place in the field.
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Ends release…