Race Report from Victorian State Cup Swan Hill

Emerson Harvey shines in new class.

After enduring a really tough year in KA4 Emerson stepped up to the prestigious Junior Clubman class or KA3. With very little seat time in the new class, the Shannons backed driver showed good speed heading in to the final race of the year, the Victorian State Cup at Swan Hill.

Practice All the weather warnings fell on deaf ears for some 200 odd karters that headed up to Swan Hill for the Victorian State Cup. Nothing but fine weather greeted the karters, practice started pretty well for Emerson setting some good times while learning a new track but Emerson started to notice a problem with his No1 engine. A quick engine change for the final session saw him straight back on the pace.

Qualifying KA3 Junior had a dry qualifying session, Emerson was sitting in P2 for most of the session until he was baulked while on his fast lap dropping him just outside the top 10 in 11th position out of 25 starters.

Heat 1. Emerson was determined to make up for qualifying and really show his pace, a really strong drive saw him make up 6 spots to bring his Shannons Rocket home in 5th.

Heat 2. The rain came & a last minute change to wets proved to be the right move, another great drive saw Emerson move through the field in tough conditions and bring it home in 6th.

Heat 3. With an improved starting position due to good results in heats 1 & 2, Emerson was starting P6 on the outside, he made a nice start but got shuffled back a few spots at turn 3. After battling the kart with a handling problem the best Emerson could manage was 9th, after close inspection we found the handling problem was due to a broken seat.

Heat 4. With the seat repaired and starting position 7 & a gap in the rain things were looking good for heat 4. The field of 25 didn’t disappoint & the pace was fast, after a few laps things settled down & Emerson was putting in some very fast times and moved up to 5th, the last couple of laps you could throw a blanket over the top 5, it was a close finish and 5th for Emerson.

Final. With a great starting position of 5th, Emerson’s consistency over the weekend had paid off. After making a great start and holding on to 5th and putting in some good laps, it seemed he just couldn’t go forward & was coming up pressure from the 6th place driver. After a fierce battle & in only his third race in the class Emerson came home 6th, we later found the seat had broken again, so a really good effort in the 25 strong field.