Newly crowned Victorian State Champion Mathew Basso was back behind the wheel over the weekend, at round 2 of the Victorian Golden Power Series. Basso is coming off a hot few months to start the 2023 season including the biggest victory of his career, the Victorian State Championship! Mathew was looking to extend his points advantage in the 6-round championship at the Bendigo Kart Club.
Basso used Saturday morning practice to get up to speed with the circuit and was one of the main fancies going into the all-important qualifying session. Mathew hit the track with 20 other drivers for qualifying looking to get as far up the grid as possible. Basso was immediately into the top 5 and was then in a tight battle for pole position, with Junior Top Guns winner Amos Orr and Pro Karting’s Hugo Garraway. Mathew was able to put in a storming lap which put him into pole position for the 2nd round in a row!
Mathew was excited and ready to do battle for race victory in heat 1. Basso got a great lap and was able to lead out of the opening lap of the race. Mathew dropped the lead to Amos Orr when finding some dirt and rocks from an opening lap incident in the mid-pack. Basso put his head down and went to work trying to chase after Orr at the front of the field. Mathew was able to come home in 2nd position by just over a tenth of a second in a close finish.
Basso had his head down and was ready to try and bounce back in heat 2. Mathew got a clean getaway and was able to lead the 1st half of the race, with Amos Orr not far behind. In a tough and tricky battle, both drivers were showing excellent pace and were able to go back and forth in lap speed. Basso was able to hold his nerve and take his 1st heat victory of the weekend by just over 3 tenths of a second!
Heat 3 Basso was once again in pole position and was ready to go to battle once again. Mathew slotted into 2nd position at the completion of the opening lap with Amos Orr jumping into the lead. The times were close and the margin on track was even closer as both drivers traded barbs at the front of the field. Basso set the fastest lap of the race but wasn’t quite enough having to settle in 2nd position just a couple of tenths off victory!
Mathew was off the outside of the front row for the 15-lap round decider and was looking for his first-round victory of the series. Basso was able to slot in behind Orr and the 2 drivers battle across the entire 15-lap journey. Mathew tried everything he could to make a move but was unable to make the pass and settled for an excellent 2nd place!
Mathew’s father Paul spoke of another great showing from his young state champion. “Mathew really drove well all weekend on a track which he found really hard to gel with so overall, we’re happy with the result”.
Mathew spoke of an intense weekend of racing at the front. “WOW, that was a close finish. I kept the pressure on Amos in the final looking for a chance to pass but just wasn’t able to make it happen. He won by 0.09 of a second so it was extremely close in the end. It looks like we’ve actually increased our series lead too so I am super happy with that as we head into round 2 of the Australian Kart Championship in 3 weeks’ time in Western Australia”.
Mathew would like to thank his sponsors Castrol Racing, Unit Clothing, NGK Spark Plugs, MEARTH Electric Scooters, Atlas Neck Braces, Oakley Australia, Platinum Potions, Mayhem Tools, Ethika, PREPD Hydration, Albek Luggage, SAKA Water, 808 Dude, Secure Max & Co, Bakers Delight, Raceline Motorsports Racewear, New Balance and MotiV8 Training.
