Basso Wins Victorian Golden Power Championship
The final round of the 2023 Golden Power Series dawned in sunny style at Albury over the weekend, with Team Mathew Basso Racing returning to the circuit where they claimed state title glory earlier this very year.
Once again in prime position to seal yet another trophy in his ever-impressive resume, #18 pilot Mat Basso was on a mission to clinch the series early into the weekend, however, the racing didn’t go without its challenges at the fast-flowing Albury track.
Having laid claim as the driver to beat in 2023, Basso was looking to continue his hot run of form in qualifying. With one of the larger fields at the Golden Power Series this year, Mat was heavily impeded by traffic as the 24-kart field jostled to find clean air – Mat claiming a dismal 11th. With an axe to grind in the heats, Basso turned on the afterburners as he carved his way up the order, gliding past competitors with ease as he took a sixth and fourth place in heats one and two – with fastest laps to boot. Having worked tirelessly on both the kart and Mat’s race craft throughout the year, the team claimed their dividends with Basso starting out of fourth for heat three, utilising the slipstream to make light work of his competitors and take the victory.
Eyes were firmly set on the final, Basso lining up out of third alongside national frontrunner, Sam March. Could anyone find the speed to stop the Basso Bullet? Lights out and Basso quickly emerged in the lead, hitting the front towards the end of lap one. Mat kept his head down and tail up, nailing lap after lap with a Senna-like consistency to keep the ensuing karts at bay. As the laps count down, Basso demonstrated his suave ability of race management to lead the 24-kart field across the line for the final lap, a mere 0.5s separating the top three! Basso proved yet again too good, going two from two at Albury this year to take victory at round six of the Golden Power Series and reign supreme as series champion!
Rapt with his championship win, Mathew struggled containing his elation, commenting: “Winning the Victorian Golden Power Series means so much to me and my fantastic team and partners that make my racing possible! We have slogged it out for six rounds over 2023 and I’m so happy to come away with the series championship. This weekend we had James Sera back which was fantastic! The guy is a legend and I’m really looking forward to what the future holds”.
Mathew and team would like to thank the following for their support: James Sera, Castrol Racing, UNIT Clothing, NGK Spark Plugs, MEARTH Electric Scooters, Atlas Neck Braces, Oakley Australia, GANT Karting Gloves, Platinum Potions, Ethika, PREPD Hydration, Albek Luggage, SAKA Water, 808 Dude, BODIE’Z Protein Water, Raceline Motorsports Racewear, New Balance and MotiV8 Training.
Photo – Tim Francis
