RedIce Racing's 2017 campaign kicked off with a bang, with Ilya Harpas taking round honours and the championship lead, and Yiani Harpas securing a podium on debut, running 3rd in the standings. 

Drivers were greeted with patchy, wet conditions in Sydney. Qualifying on Saturday was a full wet session, with Ilya Harpas securing pole position from Gary 'Wizzer' Pegoraro by a tenth of a second. Third was Anton Stevens, followed by Yiani in 4th in his Anderson DEA machine. Unfortunately, 2015 Champion Russell Jamieson was not present for Round 1, but will be back on board for Round 2 in September. 

Race 1 race saw Wizzer pull a 2 second lead over Ilya in the first lap, with Stevens and Yiani running close behind. Ilya chased Wizzer down, and made a brave move around the outside of the final corner, on the final lap, only to lose out by 1 tenth of a second over the line. 

Race 2 presented drivers with a drying track. Anton Stevens and Wizzer both opted to start the race on slick tyres, with the rest of the field on wets. It turned out to be an inspired decision for the Wiz, who promptly pulled away - with Ilya struggling to stay in touch on wet tyres & a predominantly dry circuit.  Wizzer extended the gap to almost 4 seconds mid race, then started to slow, with reliability gremlins striking. Ilya reeled him in to take the lead, and took the victory with 6 seconds back to a slowing Wizzer in 2nd. Anton Stevens took 3rd, with Yiani a little further back in 4th position. This was a stellar recovery from Yiani, who was turned around on lap 1 - losing a bunch of positions & time to the field. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Race 3 was a more straightforward affair, with the first dry run of the weekend. Ilya raced hard against Wizzer for the duration of the race, finishing in first place, 2 tenths clear. Yiani had a strong, if lonely race, coming in third position - with Anton Stevens suffering a DNF after 2 laps. 

 

The final race of the weekend greeted the drivers again with wet conditions. Starting from pole, Ilya streaked away at the front to take a commanding 16 second win from Anton Stevens, with Yiani coming in a strong 3rd again. Wizzer came home in 4th, carrying mechanical gremlins which halted his progress through the field. Russell Jamieson's Dad, Chryss Jamieson, came in a strong 5th in class. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We head now towards a large break, with the 2nd and final round of the SKA Australian Superkart Championships to be held on the 18th and 19th of September at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich. 

RedIce Racing would like to acknowledge the support of their sponsors, Your Amigo & Scotcher Race Fuels. We would also like to thank the series sponsors, Rockpress, Coach Design, L&J Custom Kitchens, Denture Professionals, Giova Design & Linra Properties.