Ballarat kart driver all go, go, go

A STEP up to adult age competition has done little to slow down 16-year-old go-kart racer Ash Quiddington.Just over a year ago Quiddington returned from Tasmania as the state junior national heavy champion.Last weekend, he topped that performance with victory in the Tasmanian senior national heavy title, and came within a lap of taking out the senior national light championship as well at Richmond, north-east of Hobart."It's a big step up because I'm racing against adults now," Quiddington explained."I think it is the biggest result of my career so far."In the senior national heavy class, the apprentice builder dominated, earning a clean sweep.He qualified on pole position twice, then won two heats and the pre-final easily.The final itself was much tougher. Quiddington said that by the time the final came around, the rest of the field had narrowed the gap, resulting in a fight to the finish with fellow Victorian Nicholas Ellen and Jonathan Males from Tasmania. All three crossed the finish line at the same time."I won by two hundredths of a second. We didn't know who'd won it at the time," Quiddington said.Not everything went Quiddington's way in senior national light.He qualified third but disaster struck in heat one when a chain snapped in the first corner, resulting in a DNF (did not finish). The Smythes Creek driver then won the second heat, finished second in the pre-final and was leading the final on the last lap before coming together with Jackson Evans from Tasmania, forcing Quiddington off the track. Quiddington recovered to finish third behind Evans and Ellen. On the weekend Quiddington raced a Formula Vee at Phillip Island, qualifying 10th, but had to retire with an engine problem.Next year he intends to compete all Victorian Championship rounds in Formula Vee and state championships for go-karts, in addition to working to his day job working for Severino Homes. * The Courier Sportz Biz junior Sports Star of the Week receives a $50 voucher courtesy of Sportz Biz, Ballarat. Details on how to nominate someone you know are on the entry form.