Mathew Basso made the trip interstate to South Australia for the 2nd running of the Karting Australia Ultimate Club Racer. Basso has had a busy season in 2022 competing hard all over Victoria and the country. Basso has already won a red plate title in the Junior National Heavy ranks and was looking to add the Silver Ultimate Club Racer plate to his 2022 haul!
Basso utilised Friday practice and was showing excellent pace going into Saturday morning qualifying. Mathew was able to quickly put himself to the top of the times in the timed session and was looking to keep his kart at the top of the tree. Basso continued to push hard and set lightening pace and this put him on the all-important pole position for the opening heats!
Mathew was looking for a clean get away in heat 1 and got exactly that leading out of the opening lap! Basso was driving well and setting fastest laps across the whole race to pull away from the rest of the field. Mathew had his kart on rails and was able to convert pole position into a heat 1 victory by a mammoth 9 seconds!
Basso had started the weekend well and was looking to make it 2 from 2 in the 2nd heat. Mathew was able to get another clean get away and was pushing hard to open up margin in the early stages of the race. Basso was able to once again drive away from the field and took another massive 9 second victory which had him on maximum points after 2 races.
Heat 3 was the final race on Saturday afternoon and the Basso camp were looking to make it a perfect Saturday! Mathew was able to get another clean getaway and pull away from the rest of the field in the early stages. Basso was able to look after his kart and the tyres as the day and final race went on. Mathew made it 3 from 3 on Saturday, taking a 6 second victory to finish the day!
Sunday morning was the final heat race of the weekend and Mathew was looking to make it 4 straight victories. Basso had kept his kart in the window overnight and was pulling away from the field in the early stages. Mathew kept his perfect record intact going into the final, making it 4 straight wins and having his number 18 kart off pole position.
Basso had his eyes on the Silver Plate in the final at the Go Kart club of South Australia. Mathew was able to get another clean start and was immediately pulling away from the field and trying to put the race to bed early. Basso completed the weekend in perfect fashion leading every lap, setting the fastest lap in every race, taking all 4 heats and winning the championship final!
Mathew spoke post weekend on his love of the event. “This event was so much fun. Everyone had a great time and winning it was a bonus. I’m looking forward to racing with the Silver Plate for 2023!”
Mathew’s father Paul spoke of the weekend and the team’s preparation for 2023. “We used this event to learn the track for next year’s Round 1 of the Australian Karting Championship and happily walked away with the win and the privilege of wearing the Silver Plate for 2023. While numbers in our class were down, we learned a lot and had a lot of fun at this very cool event. Mathew drove well all weekend with a clean sweep of all 4 rounds and in the final”.
Mathew would like to thank his partners: Melbourne Kart Centre, Castrol Racing, UNIT Clothing, MEARTH Electric Scooters, NGK Spark Plugs Australia, Atlas Neck Braces, Oakley Australia, Platinum Potions, Mayhem Tools, Ethika, PREPD Hydration, Albek Luggage, SAKA Water, 808 Dude, Secure Max & Co, Bakers Delight, Spark Plugs Direct, Raceline Motorsports Racewear, New Balance, Spark Plugs Direct and MotiV8 Training.
