SA Junior Cup

Over the 27th and 28th of August, our own future road racing stars returned to the Monarto Go Kart track for round 4 of the 2023 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup as a support class to the talent of the FIM MiniGP Australia Series. After a full weekend of on-track battles and series points challengers, we caught up with young #68 Lucas Warren to see how his weekend turned out…

Wow, what a weekend full of mixed feelings. I was really looking forward to returning to the Go Kart Club of SA at Monarto for another round of racing. When we were last here back in June 2023 for Round 2, I had my career-best result. I felt there was a bit of pressure to see if I could do it again or not and I did which was awesome!!

Racing on this track is brilliant as this track is not all about straight line speed and slipstreaming, which I find tough on the bigger tracks, this track is truly about your race craft, about how late you can brake, carry speed into the corners and then your exit speed.

Qualifying Saturday morning we had some interesting weather conditions with a very overcast and misty rain drizzling in at times, so during warmups, I went out on wet tyres due to the cold, slippery and greasy conditions.

Come to the first qualifying session most of the other riders had changed to the slick tyres, however, I decided to stick with the wet tyre, along with one other rider, to try and put down a strong time to start off with. I managed to set the second fastest time of the session on the very last lap behind Archie Schmidt. 

Second qualifying I went out on the slick tyre as the track had started to grip up and was a little warmer and dry. I managed to improve my lap time and continued to hold second in qualifying which meant I would be starting in a great position for each race of the weekend.    

In the first race, my nerves were high, and I was focused on getting a good start as this has been something I have been working on. I got a fantastic start and was second behind #69 Archie Schmidt into the first corner. Archie was so quick and was gone in no time, and I held the second position comfortably for the race.  

Race two was similar, but not as good of a start and I was close behind #7 Xayvion Amoy and #27 Cooper Pitt as the race went on. I was closing quickly on Xayvion and Cooper and was able to make a tight pass in turn 5, to finish the race in the second position again. 

Image: 1st Archie Schmidt, 2nd Lucas Warren and 3rd Cooper Pitt                                                                                                           Image: Pit Lane Studio                                     

The third race was the exact same start, and I was behind Xayvion and Cooper, I was able to get around Cooper and started to close the gap to Xayvion. Whilst coming up again to the fastest part of the track for myself, turn 5, unfortunately, I had a mechanical failure and when I went to brake, my front brakes were just not there. This had to be the scariest moment for me, whilst pumping my brakes and stomping on my back brake to try and pull up so I didn’t hit Xayvion in front.

Unfortunately, I just couldn’t slow down enough, and my front wheel hit Xayvion taking us both down which I feel terrible about as you never want to have mechanical issues and impact others racing. I rushed quickly to get my bike so I could continue the race, finishing this race in position five.  

The bLU cRU SA Junior Cup  team looked at my bike straight away and found the master cylinder needed replacing and my brakes needed more fluid, which was fixed in time for the final race of the weekend.  

Here we go, the final race of the day – I took a deep breath as I knew I could do this. I got a good start, third into the first corner and that’s where I stayed for the entire race.

I finished the weekend in the second position which is the exact same position as in June 2023, but this time I was able to obtain a new PB of 54.1 seconds. Overall, I was not the only one to get new PB’s this weekend, with many of us improving on our lap times from the last time we were here.  

I was in the pit next to one of the newer members of bLU cRU SA Junior Cup this year, #42 Josh Schiller. He started the weekend doing lap times over 1 minute, but by the end of the weekend, he absolutely smashed that time by doing 57.5 seconds – how amazing is that!  

Thank you to all of the bLU cRU SA Junior Cup sponsors as without you we couldn’t do this sport that we love so much with such ease. Also to the entire bLU cRU SA Junior Cup Team and all the riders and families that are involved in bLU cLU SA Junior Cup, there is just so much support amongst all of us.

With only two rounds to go – I now set my sights to Round 5 at Mac Park, Mt Gambier starting September 29th 2023.

Archie Schmidt

Lucas Warren

Cooper Pitt

Read up on the Pit Lane Studio round recap – HERE.

Full results from the weekend – HERE.

2023 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup Points Table:

A huge thank you again to all of our most generous sponsors, without your amazing support this Junior Cup would not be possible.

Image: Pit Lane Studio                                                                                      #7 Xayvion Amoy, Image: Pit Lane Studio                                      Image: Pit Lane Studio                 

A Saturday morning dawn coaching session and track tour was the start of the weekend for these young racers, receiving expert advice and tips for each section of the track from Ty Lynch and Samuel Pezzetta ahead of a timed practice for what would be the first time many of these juniors would experience this circuit. Only a single qualifying session after practice meant that rider feedback and bike setup was crucial, and even in wet conditions a blistering pace was set early on by #69 Archie Schmidt, #11 Judd Plaisted and #7 Xayvion Amoy securing front row positions of 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

RACE ONE:: The midday weather continued to prove difficult to predict, and the damp but drying track kept the pit shed busy with last minute tyre changes. Constant battles with countless leader changes between the front runners held the unwavering attention of the crowd and only .3 of a second separated Judd and Archie in first and second places respectively with Xayvion taking the bronze. While in the middle of the pack #99 Jai Strugnell and #46 Ghage Plowman were relentless in their battles with each other on track.

RACE TWO:: Sunday morning’s gentle shower before riders briefing was no challenge for the Pirelli wets on the Yamaha R15’s and with every confidence in their tyres race 2 was nothing short of nail biting. The four front runners Archie, Xayvion, Elijah and Judd finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively, all changing leadership multiple times per lap throughout the four laps and had the crowds of spectators filling the fourth story sky deck balcony striving for the best view and cheering and clapping from start to finish.

Strong finishes from #27 Cooper Pitt, #68 Lucas Warren and #79 Jamie Gregory and constant improvement from #17 Payton Kemp and $42 Josh Schiller meant that every junior competitor was eager to pull their last tricks out of the bag for race three, but unfortunately weather conditions and on track incidents cut the schedule short and finalised proceedings early.

Final outcomes for the weekend were :

Archie Schmidt

Judd Plaisted

Xayvion Amoy

Written by Daniel Amoy

Images by Pit Lane Studio

Thank you again to all of our most generous sponsors.

Last weekend in between some questionable weather from every season, Levis MCC hosted Round 2 of the 2023 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup at the Go Kart Club of SA in Monarto.

Sitting second in the 2023 bLU cRU Junior Cup standings, Xayvion Amoy was keen to take on every opportunity to continue his points standing for the year and with the stiff competition in packed fields, racing both bLU cRU SA Junior Cup and Junior 11-U16, he was set for a big weekend on the bikes.

Xayvion shared his race report for the weekend –

Saturday:

First up was practice which I was pretty stoked about considering Dad said that there was no practice, but there was! During practice, it was about getting into the groove and getting warmed up. I felt like I had a pretty good practice weekend at Monarto at the start of the year so I was feeling good. I immediately compared the practice weekend and the first practice session, I could 110% feel the difference out of the corners thanks to Lee’s Spot on Motorcycles after they tuned up my bike, it felt so good! Runs like butter. The only trouble I was having in practice was braking, I’m not really feeling it with those brakes on my junior bike but I managed to get over it and pushed those braking markers back. In bLU cRU I felt amazing! The braking on those bikes feels really nice which is a bit funny considering all the other boys don’t really like their bLU cRU brakes. But I felt good so I’m happy. By the last practice session in bLU cRU I felt really good, it was like I just rode the track the day before. In qualifying I went really good on my junior bike, I was feeling quick and got my times up there, I ended up qualifying 3rd which I was happy about. In bLU cRU I was still feeling good and felt quick. I was pushing it but man those other boys were confident especially Lucas Warren #995 Racing , he was like a jack-in-a-box. He just pounced out of nowhere and was riding crazy good, great work dude! In bLU cRU I ended up qualifying 6th, which was a bit disappointing but I was determined to get those starts on point.

Sunday:

It was race day, I was pretty pumped and confident to got those starts. First off was juniors and because the kart starting grids are side by side and directly behind I found it pretty awkward. I came up with a strategy and it worked! Threaded the needle between Lucas and Jai, got that start perfect for an amazing whole shot into first position, I kept that first place for the first few laps then Lucas made a dive on me, I was still very happy with second so I just focused on defending (Lucas absolutely gapped me). In bLU cRU I got a good start from sixth, I didn’t really get that first corner on point but I managed to keep that sixth and in a few other bLU cRU races I managed to get some fifths. Overall I did better in the junior 160cc class and managed to leave with a 2nd place trophy.

Just wanted to mention OH MY GOODNESS JAI, THAT SAVE WAS CRAZY!!! YOUR FRONT END WAS PRETTY WELL LOCKED UP, THE BIKE WAS UPRIGHT BUT YOU STILL HAD YOUR KNEE ON THE FLOOR, THAT WAS INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Tailem Bend Motorsport Accommodation for the overnight stay. Thanks to Willy Strugnell for sharing pits and generators and thanks to Kym, Allan, Chris and Andy for all the bLU cRU support. A great weekend by Levis MCC at The Go Kart Club of SA .

(Above) Xayvion Amoy, Ghage Plowman and  Jai Strugnell                      (Above) Cooper Pitt stoke levels                                      (Above) Calm before a day of action.

with Willy Strugnell  in the pits.                                                                            were high over the weekend. 

(Photos courtesy of Pit Lane Studio)

2023 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup Standings (after round 2 of 7 rounds)!

Point results for the round are below and Speedhive has each heat’s results – HERE.

 2023 bLU cRU SA Junior Cup Round 2

Junior 11-U16

160cc Junior Small Wheel

Supersport 300

Supermoto Open

190cc Senior Small & Big Wheel

As always a huge thank you goes out to our 2023  bLU cRU SA Junior Cup sponsors :

Road Race SA, led by the Sports Manager, Kym Bolto, along with his trusty bLU cRU SA Junior Cup crew, including Andy Hiscox, Allan Bolto, Shaun Bancroft and Chris White, as well as coaches, Will Strugnell, Kylie & Chris Collins, Cooper Rowntree (assisting), put (most of) the 2023 SA Junior Cup riders through their paces over the weekend of March 18 & 19 at the Monarto Go-Kart circuit in readiness for the fast approaching season!

Also a huge thanks to one of the SA Junior Cup dads, Daniel Amoy, for helping with the paperwork, as well as jumping in to assist with coaching duties, not only did the weekend maybe un-earth some future champions, it also unearthed a cracken coach in the making for riders at this level – huge well done Daniel.

Run in conjunction with a Road Race Come N Try Day(s), the ‘Class of 2023’ spent both days cutting laps and fine tuning their techniques under the watchful gaze of the SA Junior Cup Coaching Crew, with all riders showing vast improvement over the 2 days of on track action.

The riders present for season 2023 were as follows;

Returning from 2022;

Lucas Warren

Cooper Pitt

Archie Schmidt

Xayvion Amoy

Ghage Plowman (wildcard at 2022 final round)

Brand new for 2023;

Payton Kemp

Joshua Schiller

Jai Strugnell

Missing were Jamie Gregory and NSW’s Boyd Cole.

Biggest improvers though, were the rookies, Jai Strugnell, Joshua Schiller and Payton Kemp, with Josh and Payton, as raw road race rookies, also being allowed to head out in the Come N Try sessions to get more laps under their belts.

The difference from start to finish was there for all to see, with knees, having been high in the air at the start of the weekend, were skimming the tarmac by the end of it, although Payton was finding it a bit difficult to get his lanky frame behind the screen of the small-ish 150 Yamaha. ‘Struggy’ is a second generation rider with good pedigree and is showing a bit of natural talent, but it was still good to see him hitting apex after apex, and riding as smooth as his dad as the weekend went on.

Of the returning riders, all showed that they are more than following on from the great finish to the inaugural year in 2022, with Archie Schmidt also showing the benefit from being a part of the Oceania Junior Cup field this year (and good luck in NSW this weekend), while Lucas Warren and Cooper Pitt continue to push each other each time out on the track, with even the odd elbow scrape starting to happen.

With all this in mind, the second season of the SA Junior Cup should see the racing as close as what the end of 2022 did, and especially between the returning 5 riders, although, it wouldn’t be too long to see some of the rookies start to mix it with the established riders.

Also present on the day was Dan from AMX Superstores, who presented all the riders present with their AMX Vouchers as part of the AMX Superstores sponsorship of the Series, with Kym thanking Dan, as well as all of the Series sponsors for their continued support of this great Series.

The 2023 Series sponsors are;

Sponsor banner thanks to Marty Renshaw from Underground Designs – with thanks!

In more exciting news for 2023 sees the bLU cRU SA Junior Cup expand from 4 to 6 rounds, but with riders able to drop their ‘worst’ round. Riders will also get to ride The Bend International Circuit this year, like the ASBK and Oceania Junior Cup do, with all riders excited to get onto this track in July.

There are also 2 rounds at the iconic MacNamara Park circuit at Mount Gambier, one season ending visit to SA’s oldest track, Mallala, in November, as well as 2 rounds at the Go-Kart Club of SA’s brilliant facility at Monarto. The SA Junior Cup crew can’t thank the team at the GKCSA enough for opening their gates to junior road race in SA.

The full bLU cRU SA Junior Cup calendar is below – print it off, put it on your phone – lock them in now, so you can go and watch the future of road race in SA – and they are ‘heaps good’!

THE 2023 bLU cRU SA JUNIOR CUP CALENDAR

Round 1        *April 7-9 (Easter)                         Mac Park (Mount Gambier)

Round 2        June 3-4                                            GKCSA Monarto Kart Circuit

Round 3        *July 7-9                                           The Bend International, Tailem Bend

Round 4        August date to be confirmed     GKCSA Monarto Kart Circuit

Round 5        *September 29-October 1          Mac Park (Mount Gambier)

Round 6        *November 17-19                         Mallala Motorsport Park

* Rounds 1, 3, 5 and 6 are being held in conjunction with the 2023 South Australian Road Race Championships.

** With 2023 now a six (6) round Series, riders will be able to drop their ‘worst’ round from the points table – so only 5 out of 6 rounds will count towards the Series placings.

Enquiries are always welcome on how to get your child(ren) into the Series, all you need to do is contact the Road Race SA Sports Manager, Kym Bolto, roadrace@motorcyclingsa.org.au and he will email out all of the details on the how, what and how much to you.