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2 February
Series Regulations for the 2012 TaG Super Series - click HERE (pdf).

10 December
The TaG Super Series Final has been run and won. Congratulations to all competitors on another fantastic series with some great racing.

Special thanks to Wollongong Kart Racing Club, Combined Districts Kart Club, North Shore Kart Club and Newcastle Kart Club for running well organised meetings. We would also like to thank our series sponsors for providing some great prizes.

The final round of the TaG Super Series was held at Newcastle. While the day started off with stunning weather some rain in the mid afternoon mixed things up for most classes. Sportsman Heavy In qualifying David Endres put in a stunning lap time to take the pole from David Colton and Lindsay Bunt. Heat 1 - David Endres took the lead but Lindsay Bunt was quick to attack passing En­dres into turn two. Colton sat close behind. Endres & Colton continued to chase Bunt but Bunt held them both out to win the first race. Mathew Endres finished a lonely fourth ahead Ballantyne. Heat 2 - David Endres won the start and held out a challenge from Bunt into turn two. Colton was not as lucky spinning in turn two and going back to last. Chris Aoun made a great start to get to fourth. However he dropped a wheel in the dirt coming onto the back straight knocking him back to eighth. Hryniuk recovered from a bad start passing Bail for third at the bottom of the circuit. By lap three Endres had extended his lead over Bunt and Hryniuk while Bail and Haswell battled for fourth. However it was Mathew Endres who was on the move taking Haswell and Bail in the last two laps. David Endres took a good win ahead of Bail & Hryniuk. Pre Final - The conditions in the pre final were less predictable. Some light rain fell as the drivers hit the track meaning everyone was on slicks. At the start Bunt used the grip of the outside line to take the lead ahead of David Endres. There was no brotherly love going into turn two as Mathew Endres hit David Endres. Mathew came out worst going back to eighth. Hryniuk moved up to third as Bunt and David Endres battled for the lead. Hryniuk attacked Endres at the end of the straight moving to second. Hryniuk then passed Bunt for the lead coming up the hill. Colton was next to attack David Endres go­ing into turn one however he went in too hot and the two made contact. This caused En­dres to spin relegating him back to tenth. Colton made the move to third and was starting to catch Bunt however he went a bit wide going onto the straight and spun. This moved him back to last. Aoun and Bail were now third and fourth. However Aoun also became unstuck coming off the track and dropping back to last. Jason Hryniuk took the win by the length of the straight. Bunt was second ahead of Bail, Mathew Endres and David Endres. Final - Going into the final the rain suddenly got heavy. Lindsay Bunt won the start but Hryniuk passed him back going into turn two. Ballantyne moved to third as Bail and Mathew Endres engaged in some argy bargy as they fought for fourth. Colton was on the move next going from sixth to third by lap two. As Hryniuk cleared out in the lead, Bunt was coming under pressure from Colton and Ballantyne. Colton shifted race lines as he searched for better grip in the rain. Once he found a better line he managed to pass Bunt and move to second. With seven laps to go Ballantyne was now on the back of Bunt and looking to take third. Fourth and fifth was a battle of the white helmets between Aoun and Mathew Endres. By mid race Hryniuk was in the lead by the length of the straight but today would not be his day dropping a chain and ending his race. Colton moved to the lead and took a superb win. Ballantyne drove well to finish second ahead of Bunt, Mathew Endres & Kris Bail.
Sportsman Light In qualifying Nipperess was quick out the gate with Taylor and Farrell close behind. Then Hulm jumped to the front & Erdmann moved to third. However Mitchell Hewitt jumped them all to secure pole ahead of Hulm and Taylor. Erdmann and Farrell were fourth and fifth. Heat 1 - Hulm got a good start to lead Hewitt & Erdmann. Taylor was close behind as well. Kozlinski was holding out Wilson & Nipperess for a top five position while Cogger retired with a seized engine. With two laps to go Hewitt made the move on Hulm and went on to win. Erdmann held off Taylor and Kozlinski held onto fifth. Heat 2 - The boys up front were serious for the start of heat two. Hewitt won the start as Hulm and Erdmann banged wheels going into turn one. Taylor tried to take advantage and made a move going into turn two however the hole closed and he ended up going over the top of Erdmann. All survived and continued. As Hewitt pulled a six kart lead Hulm, Erdmann and Taylor continued to dice. Taylor look Erdmann for third while Sy­monds and Wilson battled for fifth. With two laps to go Wilson passed Symonds into the bottom corner. Hewitt took a strong win ahead of Hulm. Erdmann piped Taylor on the last lap for third. Wilson finished fifth. Pre Final - Hewitt hit the lead however Erdmann threw it up the inside of him going into turn two. Hulm sat close ready to strike. By lap three Hewitt was looking to attack Erd­mann & Chris Bleakley was catching Hulm. As the rain continued to fall Erdmann had opted for the tight line while Hewitt was trying to get the run around the outside. Bleakley made the move to third passing Hulm at the bottom of the circuit but Hulm passed him back over the ski jump. Hewitt tried his outside line on Erdmann coming onto the straight. The extra momentum secured the lead for him. The dicing between Hulm and Bleakley was allowing Taylor to close the gap on the two. When Bleakley threw it in going into turn two Hulm had no answer. Hewitt won another race ahead of Erdmann. Bleakley was third ahead of Hulm and Taylor. Final - Going into turn one Hewitt was in front. Erdmann took a wide line on entry and crossed back to take the lead on the exit of turn one. However going into turn two Erd­mann went in too hard and overshot the corner. Hewitt moved back to the lead as Erd­mann only just stayed on the track. Bleakley was in third but the man on the move was pretty boy Wilson. Wilson moved from seventeenth to fifth in three corners. He then moved onto fourth before the end of the first lap. Matt O'Toole also had a sensational start moving up to fifth in the first lap. Taylor & Hulm who had dropped back at the start were now making their way back through the field and battling with Nipperess and O'Toole. By mid race Hewitt was beginning to clear out in the lead while Erdmann was under pressure from third placed Bleakley. Taylor slipped off the track costing him his fifth place position and going back to seventh. Bleakley made a move on Erdmann for second coming onto the straight but Erdmann struck back at the end of the straight up the inside. However Bleakley was not finished making a big big move going into turn two. Erdmann tried to cross back on the exit but Bleakley had the line and held second. Hewitt clean swept the day with a good win. Chris Bleakley was second. Erdmann was third ahead of Wilson and Nipperess.
TaG Restricted Heavy Qualifying - Robertson was the first to hit the front ahead of Young and Taylor. Ritchie was next to go fastest then Wilson jumped to the front and Casuccio moved to third. Ritchie went fastest again and took the pole ahead of Wilson. Taylor moved to third on the last lap. Casuccio was fourth and Warder fifth. Heat 1 - Wilson got the best start taking the lead ahead of Taylor. Ritchie dropped to third. Cassuccio was in fourth but he had Warder hot on his tail. Ritchie made a move on Taylor to take second. However Taylor struck back to take Ritchie. He then immedi­ately made a move on Wilson for the lead. Wilson dropped back to fourth behind Casuccio. On the last lap Ritchie passed Taylor up the hill and took the win. Wilson fin­ished third while Lawrence made a late race charge to fourth ahead of Casuccio. Heat 2 - Wilson got another good start over Ritchie. Casuccio moved up to third ahead of Warder. By lap two Ritchie had made the move on Wilson. Lawrence and Robertson both looked quick as they tried to move up the order. Ritchie took the win ahead of Casuccio & Lawrence. Robertson finished fourth ahead of Cross. Pre Final - Ritchie took the lead ahead of Wilson however Wilson ran wide on turn one allowing Robertson to move into second. Wilson passed him straight back however this allowed Ritchie to pull a large lead almost the length of the straight. Warder moved to third as Robertson spun coming onto the start finish straight. Sam Taylor was the big mover of the pre final moving from fifteenth to fourth by mid race. On the last lap Taylor chased down and passed Wilson to finish second behind Ritchie. Wilson was third ahead of Casuccio and Young. Final - Sam Taylor got the jump at the start to take the lead from Ritchie however he ran wide in turn two handing the lead to Ritchie. The action did not end there as Wilson stuck it up the inside of Ritchie in turn three. Richie crossed back to take the lead up the back straight. Wilson then lost it going over ski jump, spinning and almost getting cleaned up by the field. This pushed him back to fifth. Ritchie continued to lead over Taylor and Casuccio. With six laps to go Taylor had closed all the lead that Ritchie had pulled in the opening laps. Ritchie responded putting in some hot times but it was not enough. Cassuccio was also inching closer to the top two trying to get a sniff. With six laps to go Cassuccio threw it under both Taylor and Ritchie going over ski jump to take the lead but they both got him back going up the hill. Taylor was now right on the tail of Ritchie but was holding off making his move. Eventually Taylor took the lead coming onto the back straight. Ritchie now had to look out for Cassuccio who was ready to strike as well. With two laps to go Cassuccio took Ritchie for second. Taylor took a well deserved win from Cassuccio. Ritchie was third. Bakota was fourth ahead of Robert­son.
TaG Restricted Super Heavy Qualifying - There was a great field of Super Heavy drivers for the final round of the series. It was good to see a few new super heavy drivers join the series. Steve Lalas did another outstanding job in qualifying to take the pole. Lee Gardiner was also fast in qualifying finishing second ahead of Justin Bayliff. Peter Drain was fourth and Darren Charnock fifth. Heat 1 - Steve Lalas took the lead ahead of Gardiner and Bayliff. Peter Drain was fourth right on the tail of Bayliff. Charnock, Stewart and Dalton-Kirby were not far be­hind but got caught dicing with some heavies. Lalas pulled a gap as Drain looked quick. Drain quickly passed Bayliff and then Gardiner to move to second. Lalas took the win ahead of Drain, Gardiner, Bayliff and Charnock. Heat 2 - Lalas and Gardiner both made great starts to take first and second. Bayliff & Stewart were not so lucky as the two got caught in a crash with some heavy drivers causing them to DNF. Dalton Kirby also suffered a blow going out in lap two. Lalas con­tinued to extend his lead. He took the win and finished well up in the heavy field as well. Gardiner had a good run to take second ahead of Drain and Charnock. Pre Final - The Pre Final was bliss for the big boys in super heavy. As the heavens opened up the big boys decided it was time to play with the heavy drivers out front. La­las jumped to the lead and fourth outright on the first lap. Gardiner jumped to second and Peter Drain was third. Gardiner worked his way through the heavy drivers moving up to fifth outright. Drain eventually caught Gardiner to take second in the supers. With three laps to go Justin Bayliff worked his way through the field to pass Gardiner for third. Charnock completed the top five. Final - As the rain continued to fall the final was getting serious. With series honours on the line the final was set to be a cracker. Series leader Justin Bayliff made his best start of the year to take the lead in supers and fourth outright in heavy. Lalas was in second followed by Drain but they were half the straight behind Bayliff. As Bayliff was powering along comfortably out front, Lalas was working his way past some heavies and trying to chase Bayliff down. With five laps to go Lalas had caught Bayliff. Bayliff had to finish to ensure he would take out the championship so when Lalas caught him Bayliff moved over and let Lalas passed. Lalas took another impressive win ahead of Bayliff and Gar­diner.

5 December
The fifth and final round of the 2011 TaG Super series was run at Newcastle yesterday.

• Round and Series Points HERE (Excel format)

22 November
Round 4 of the 2011 TaG Super Series was held last Sunday at Lithgow. Once again, the TaG boys put on a great show with excellent racing. Many Thanks to the North Shore Kart Club for putting on the event. Series points after the round are HERE (Excel format).

TaG Restricted Light In Qualifying Michael Sieders was first to hit the front followed by Hellyer. Robin and San­dona jumped to second and third on the next lap. Robin then went quicker again to take a great pole. Sandona qualified second. Sieders dropped to third while Hellyer and Joshua Craig finished fourth and fifth. Heat 1 Sandona hit the lead and pulled a two kart lead over Robin. Sieders was close behind in third. Henry Smith made a good start  ahead of Hellyer. Hellyer started to pressure Henry Smith. By mid race Sieders had moved to second. Hellyer pushed passed Henry Smith com­ing onto the straight. Craig benefitted from the move taking Henry Smith as well. Sandona took a strong win ahead of Sieders and Robin. Heat 2 Sandona won the start again ahead of Robin and Hellyer.  Sieders struck early on Hellyer to take third. Mark Robin was jumping out of his seat trying everything to keep up with Sandona who still held the lead. By the last lap Sieders had caught Sandona and Robin but was un­able to make the move. Sandona took the win ahead of Robin and Sieders. Hellyer held out Henry Smith for fourth. Pre-Final Robin hit the lead as the skies started to sprinkle. Hellyer had moved to second ahead of Sieders and Sandona. With three laps to go the rain had really started to fall and several kar­ters were falling off the track. With two laps to go Sieders passes Robin for the lead. San­dona follows him through. Simon Van Es was the big mover in the rain coming from ninth to fourth. Sandona made a move on Sieders with two laps to go to take a good win ahead of Robin & Sieders. Van Es took a great fourth ahead of Craig. Final Sandona cleared out a 20m lead on lap one ahead of Josh Craig. Sieders moved to third with a worse for wear sidepod. Hellyer and Bennet were having a big dice with Motohashi who was showing good speed in the wet. As the top three settled into a groove the race was on for fourth place. Hellyer made the move and passed Baldock. Then Motohashi made the move on Baldock to take fifth. Motohashi was really starting to make some ground passing Hellyer next and moving to fourth. Sandona took a strong and well deserved win.  Josh Craig was second. Sieders third ahead of Motohashi and Robin.

TaG Restricted Heavy In qualifying Benjamin Ritchie was quick straight out the gate setting the pole time on lap one. Casuccio was also fast in second. Tony Walls showed he is not only fast at Eastern Creek by putting in a great time for third. While Kris Matich and Phil Warder came in fourth and fifth. Heat 1 Ritchie hit the lead followed by Wall. Casuccio was in third but adding pressure to Wall. Osmond managed to move past Matich. Osmond was now catching fourth placed Warder and bringing Matich with him. Out front Casuccio passed Walls at the end of the front straight to move to second. Walls tried to challenge back but dropped a wheel in the dirt. Ritchie took a strong win ahead of Casuccio and Walls. Warder held off Osmond for fourth. Heat 2 The first corner of heat two was spectacular.  Ritchie missed the start handing the lead to Casuccio. Matich looked up the inside of Richie into turn one but the window was closing. Karts went everywhere and Gardiner got stuck in the gravel while everyone else survived. Casuccio & Ritchie were leading Osmond who benefited the most from turn one.  Robert­son and Warders were dicing hard for fourth place. Ritchie managed to chase down Casuccio and take the win. Osmond drove well for third while Warder beat Robertson for fifth. Pre-Final Ritchie won the start again ahead of Osmond & Casuccio. These three had been dicing hard together all day. On lap three Osmond slid it down the inside of Ritchie. Ritchie tried to pass back around the outside coming up the hill. Casuccio was sitting ready to pounce as Warder began to close on the leaders. By mid race Robertson and Wall had begun closing on  Warder. With three laps to go Osmond had pulled a three kart lead over Ritchie. With two laps to go Wall passed Robertson going up the hill to take fifth spot. Ritchie pushed past Osmond coming onto the straight. Osmond also fell victim to Casuc­cio who threw it in at the end of the straight on the last lap. Ritchie took the win ahead of Casuccio. Osmond was third. Warder fended off Wall for fourth and fifth respectively. Final Ritchie got another good start from pole. Warder made a great start to move to second.  Casuccio slotted into third ahead of Robertson. As Ritchie was clearing away from Warder. Casuccio and Robertson came together at the end of the back straight. Robert­son managed to keep going while Casuccio spun. Kris Matich found some great speed in the final passing Warder for second down the hill. However Osmond was also fast pass­ing Warder and then Matich for second.  Matich continued to push hard throwing every­thing at Osmond. On the last lap Matich tried a tight line down the hill under Osmond but Osmond had too much momentum driving around the outside and holding second. Ritchie took a great win from Osmond & Matich. Warder was fourth and Robertson fifth. Jason Chaffer had a career best sixth.

TaG Restricted Super Heavy In qualifying Justin Bayliff was hungry taking pole and setting a time that would place him seventh in the restricted heavy field. Gardiner was also quick taking second ahead of Charnock. Heat 1 Bayliff took the lead ahead of Gardiner and Charnock. Gardiner and Charnock diced while Bayliff negotiated the Heavy traffic. Bayliff took the win while Gardiner took the fastest lap. Heat 2 Justin Bayliff got another good start managing to miss the carnage in the Heavy class ahead. Gardiner was less lucky finishing in the gravel pit at turn one. Charnock did well moving to 8th outright in the opening laps, but it was Bayliff who would take a strong win in Supers and 6th outright in Heavy. Charnock finished second and tenth outright. Pre-Final Gardiner got the start in the Pre final leading Bayliff and Charnock. On lap two Bayliff moved to the lead and Charnock made it through to second. However it was not long be­fore Gardiner made it back to second. Bayliff continued to exchange stickers on track with the heavy drivers. He still got the win ahead of Gardiner and Charnock. Final When the heavens opened up a smile appeared on Justin Bayliffs face. The big fella loves it wet. After a strong opening lap and some negotiations with the Heavy field Bayliff clean swept the weekend winning his class and finishing sixth outright. Gardiner also had a good run beating many of the heavy drivers finishing second ahead of Charnock.

Sportsman Light In qualifying Anthony Hulm hit the top of the time sheets. Ahead of Suter, Hussey and Hewitt. Suter then moved to pole ahead of Hulm while Attard jumped to third. Hussey was fourth while Hewitt went back to fifth. Heat 1 Suter hit the lead. Hulm tried to challenge the lead going down the hill but lost a spot to Attard in the process.  Amri moved up to fourth as Suter picked up a two kart lead. By mid race Attard had closed the gap on Suter. Attard took the lead coming up the hill but Suter struck back at the end of the straight. This allowed Hulm to close in. Attard struck at Suter again and Hulm followed him through for second. David Jolly made the move on Amri for fourth. Amri got hung out to dry and was pushed back to ninth. Attard took the win ahead of Hulm & Suter. Hussey passed Jolly on the last lap for fourth. Heat 2 Ryan Suter won the start and pulled a 15 kart lead on lap one. Hewitt moved to second ahead of Hulm & Hussey. Rannard and Griffiths were having a big dice for fifth and sixth. Jolly had an unlucky spin costing him several places. Third placed Hulm was under pres­sure from Hussey. Attard and Ferraro failed to negotiate the same piece of road at the end of the straight and both went out. Suter took another strong win ahead of Hewitt, Hulm, Hussey & Rannard. Pre-Final The rain started to fall during the roll up laps. As everyone was on slicks the racing looked like it would get real interesting. Hewitt got out in front first however it was Gordon Wilson who was on a charge moving from sixteenth to fifth in the first corner. By the second lap Wilson had moved to second and was chasing down the Hewitt. However a stuck throttle caused him to run off the track on lap three moving him back to second last. Hewitt was still holding down the lead ahead of Suter and Rannard. Rannard moved to third ahead of Hulm. Wilson & Nipperess were continuing their challenge on who could pass and then be passed by the most amount of karts... Suter now moved to the lead ahead of Hewitt. Hew­itt tried to get him back on several occasions but Suter was too fast taking the win from Hewitt. Hulm edged out Rannard while Jolly was fifth. Final Ryan Suter had had a strong days racing but the final would not go all his own way. The rain had eased but the track was still wet. Suter turned the first corner in the lead but it was Hewitt that would steal the lead on turn two.  Gordon Wilson spun first corner knock­ing him back to last. Suter had a look a Hewitt around the outside, this gave Rannard the chance to dive into second giving Nipperess the opportunity to move to third. Rannard caught leader Hewitt and made a pass at the end of the straight. Suter tried to follow around the outside but got pushed into the gravel. Nipperess also moved passed Hewitt going into turn two. Nipperess was on fire moving passed Rannard at the end of the back straight to take the lead. While Nipperess cleared out a large lead the drivers from second to fifth were nose to tail and dicing hard. Gordon Wilson had made his way back from last to seventh and was catching the leaders. With five laps to go Ryan Suter’s pace had picked up as he passed Hewitt and Rannard and moved to second. Rannard looped at the end of the straight after going to deep and locking the brakes. The spin cost him ten spots. Gordon Wilson had now moved to fourth behind Hewitt. Nipperess still had a de­cent lead but Suter was starting to put in some hot times. With two laps to go Suter had halved the gap to Nipperess who had held a large lead. By the last lap Suter had caught Nipperess and dived in coming onto the straight . Nipperess crossed back to take the lead back at the end of the straight.  Suter threw it back in on the run down the hill. He man­aged to get in front but then ran wide almost running off the track. However the grip off line gave him the drive to clear Nipperess out of the turn. Suter took a well deserved win from Nipperess. Gordon Wilson did well to recover to third. Bergman piped Hewitt on the last lap for fourth and fifth respectively.

Sportsman Heavy In qualifying David Colton was impressive moving straight to the top of the time sheets. Todd Davey was second. David Endres was head down while moving up to third. Kris Bail put in a hot one to pip Endres for third. Jason Hryniuk rounded out the top five. Heat 1 Todd Davey won the start from second ahead of Colton & Endres. Davey continued to hold out Colton as Endres edged away from Piper. Davey took the win ahead of Colton, Endres, Piper & Ballantyne. Heat 2 David Colton hit the lead ahead of Bail who made a great start. Bail got passed up the hill by Davey who slipped to fourth. Ballantyne then attached Bail down the hill but Bail held him out. Todd Davey moved to the lead mid race while Piper held down third. Davey held on to win ahead of Colton and Piper. Ballantyne was fourth while David Endres moved up to fifth. Pre-Final Colton hit the lead ahead of Piper. Hazelton moved to third followed by Davey and Hryniuk. Hazelton started to loose positions as Davey and Hryniuk moved up the order. By mid race Colton still held the lead  from Piper as Hryniuk moved to third ahead of Davey. With two laps to go Hryniuk made a move on Piper. Davey capitalised moving to second. Colton took the win ahead of Davey, Piper and Hryniuk. Mathew Endres piped brother David for fifth. Final Colton got the jump and Hryniuk moved to second. Hryniuk moved to the lead in turn two but the wheels fell off in turn three..literally.  Colton resumed the lead while David Endres moved to second ahead of Todd Davey.  Ballantyne spun at the end of the straight but managed to avoid the gravel. Davey got passed Endres to move to second. Alex Taylor was having the drive of his life moving to fourth ahead of Hazelton and driving away. Colton had now pulled a eight kart length lead over Davey who was being pressured by David Endres. Taylor had now caught Endres and was having a look. With three laps to go  David Endres pulled a super tight line down the hill and managed to get passed Todd Davey. With two laps to go Endres was looking racy closing the gap on Colton. Taylor had converted the move on Davey for third place. On the last lap Endres was all over Colton. Colton covered the last corner while Endres went wide. Endres crossed back onto the straight beating Colton to the line. Alex Taylor took a career best third ahead of Todd Davey and Mathew Endres.

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SERIES SPONSORS

2 November
Round 4 of the 2011 TaG Super Series has been moved to Lithgow on Sunday 20th November. The change of date and venue is due to the incomplete track works at Eastern Creek. The race meeting will still be run by North Shore Kart Club. TaG Australia apologises for any inconvenience caused by the date & venue change.