Rush Performance made the trek interstate from their base in New South Wales to the fourth round of the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship. Jamie Rush led the team of twelve drivers across four classes into the Emerald Kart Club looking for strong results. Rush Performance was joining forces with Eurotek racing for the weekend, looking to continue their drive to the front of the grid.
X30 was the biggest representation of Rush Performance drivers with former state champion Jaiden Pope, current Supercars driver Jake Kostecki, Angus Wallace, Gabriel Van Jour and Gianmarco Pradel.
Pradel led the way in qualifying coming inside the top ten in position nine.
Van Jour, Wallace, Pope and Kostecki were down in position thirteen, twenty, twenty eight and twenty nine respectively.
Pradel was able to set the tone in the heats running inside the top ten with a ninth in heat one, seventh in heat three and fifth in heat four.
Pope was storming through the field which cumulated in a sixth in heat four after an issue in qualifying, with Van Jour and Kostecki consistent and moving forward across the field.
Pope put in a breath-taking start to his final moving into the top three very quickly.
Jaiden was able to lead the charge and come home on the podium in second position overall.
Pradel put in another consistent driving coming home in the top ten in position seven overall.
Kostecki moved his way into the top fifteen with fourteenth position and Van Jour and Wallace both endured unfortunate DNF results.
Zane Morrison was the sole Rush Performance driver TAG 125 and was looking to race hard. Morrison just missed the top fifteen in qualifying, landing in position sixteen overall.
Morrison moved up and down across the heats but had strong results of thirteenth in heat two and eleventh in heat four.
Morrison put in another stellar drive in the final, just missing the top ten and coming home in position thirteen.
Luca Nici and Jayden Pierce took on the KZ2 gearbox class for Rush Performance.
Nici led the charge in qualifying setting a time just outside the top twenty in position twenty four, with Pierce down in position thirty six.
Nici had great pace burning his way through the field and having three top ten finishes across the heats. Pierce moved forward across his heats also with a top twenty finish in heat two the highlight.
Nici once again led the charge in the final putting in a sensational drive coming home in ninth position overall.
Pierce moved forward eight spots from his qualifying position across the weekend, coming home in position twenty eight overall.
Rush Performance had a quartet of drivers in KA2 with last round podium getter Jett Kocoski, Toby Spinks, Christian Estasy and Ruben Dan.
Kocoski led the way in qualifying putting in a brilliant effort for position thirteen. Spinks and Estasy weren’t far behind in position fifteen and sixteen, with Dan just outside the thirty in position thirty three.
Kocoski was consistent across the heats racing hard on the edge of the top ten, with Spinks, Estasy and Dan all racing around the twenty with either DNF results or bad luck hurting their chances.
Estasy and Spinks were able to lead the charge in the final coming home inside the top fifteen in position twelve and thirteen.
Kocoski had some things not go his way finishing in position twenty with Dan not far behind in position twenty four.
Team owner Jamie Rush spoke post weekend on his outfits results in the Sunshine state.
“Great comeback for Jaiden and some mega pace all around for the team,” Rush said.
“Shame the KA2 finals got cut short but onto the next one”. Rush and his Rush Performance stable will be looking for a big end to 2022.
