Phillip Island - Round 1

Round 1 of the 2018 SKA Nationals was run at Phillip Island on the 23rd and 24th of June. Ilya started the weekend off on the wrong foot, with a slipping tandem gear hampering his qualifying efforts, only managing to secure 6th on the grid for a very wet Race 1 on Saturday afternoon. With his spare motor on board, he survived a start-line scare to recover back to 3rd position, 5 seconds down the road from Ryan Urban (NZ) and Gary 'Wizzer' Pegoraro - in first and second respectively. 

Race 2 on Sunday greeted the RedIce Racing team with more bad luck. On the first of two rollaround laps, the gear link mechanism disconnected from the motor, leaving the #1 kart stuck in 2nd gear. Diving into the pits, Steve and Todd worked like greased lighting to reconnect and secure the shift linkage, sending Ilya back out onto the track after a 3 minute delay. Ilya set the track alight, carving back up through the field to 6th place - setting the fastest lap of the race on his final lap. Gary Pegoraro came home victorious, pipping Russell Jamieson at the line by a mere 0.018 of a second! Kristian Stebbing had a strong race, coming in third position. 

Race 3 was a much smoother affair for the team, with Ilya storming to a strong 11 second win over the 8 laps of racing, ahead of Pegoraro and Jamieson in 3rd and 4th respectively. Race 4 was a more tightly contested affair, with Ilya just beating Russell to the line by less than 0.2 of a second. 

Sydney Motorsport Park - Round 2 

Heading into the 2nd Round at Sydney Motorsport Park on 4th and 5th November, Gary held a 4 point lead in the championship over Ilya. 

The weekend started off strong, with Ilya snatching pole position by 0.049 of a second over Gary Pegoraro, with Russell Jamieson close behind in 3rd. 

The day's proceedings came to a temporary halt after two drivers in the 125cc Rotax Superkart category had a significant accident. One driver was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries (and a fractured rib), whilst the other driver returned to the track after being cleared by medical staff. RedIce Racing wishes both drivers a speedy recovery. 

Race 1 was run later in the afternoon, and proved to be a strong race for the reigning champion, winning the shortened six lap race by almost 12 seconds over Ryan Urban and Gary Pegoraro - who crossed the line in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. 

Sunday's proceedings saw the final 3 races of the season, kicking off in the morning with Race 2. It was another sensationally strong race by Ilya, coming in 14 seconds clear of Pegoraro in second, and Ryan Urban in 3rd. 

Race 3 was marred by multiple DNFs throughout the 250cc International field, with only 5 karts classified as finishers. Ilya had another strong race, still lapping in the 1:28s to come home 10 seconds clear of Pegoraro in 2nd, and Chryss Jamieson in 3rd.  

With three wins, Ilya had passed and started to stretch his lead over Pegoraro in the championship. If Pegoraro was victorious in the final, Ilya would need a 4th place or higher finish to claim the title.

Race 4 started with a fantastic 3 way tussle for the lead between Urban, Pegoraro and Harpas. After 2 laps, Ilya scythed through to the lead and started to pull a small gap on Pegoraro. All was going plan, until a hole blew in the front exhaust pipe on lap 7 of 10, whilst leading Pegoraro by a few seconds. Not only did the #1 kart experience a significant loss in power, the hole resulted in 400 degree exhaust gas blowing onto Ilya's thigh. Ilya completed the final 4 laps of the race experiencing a significant amount of discomfort, but dropped through the field. Lapping in the 1:36s and 1:39s, he managed to hang on to 3rd while Pegoraro stormed to a commanding victory over Russell Jamieson. This was enough to clinch the 2018 Championship, the third in a row for Ilya and the RedIce Racing team! 

RedIce Racing would like to thank its sponsors, Your Amigo and Scotcher Petroleum for their support in 2018. We would also like to thank Wizzer Engines, and for the fantastic competition from Gary throughout the season.