Mini Max
BBR Karting Mini Max Saturday Report
This year’s Mini Max category is strong, packed with young pilots
who are really starting to come into their own. The field is the largest
Mini Max line-up in the history of the Challenge, and it is filled with
drivers who have spent the past few years honing their skills running
in the series. One of these competitors is Jacob Blue Hudson (Ener-
gy), and he put in a superb performance on Saturday, sweeping the
day.
Qualifying was led, for the most past, by Trenton Sparks, (FA), as
his 56.498-second lap stood for a majority of the session. It wasn’t
until the very end of the 15-minute run that Hudson made his move,
laying down the exact same time as Sparks to steal away the pole,
thanks to a quicker second fastest time. Trey Brown (Tony Kart) was
third in the timed run, out-gunning young Micro Max graduate Marco
Kacic (CRG) for the inside of row two for the prefinal. It took Payton
Durrant (Birel) most of the session to work his way up the chart, but
he would end up fifth when the checkers flew, just over three tenths
behind Hudson.
The prefinal was all Hudson, as he ran away with the win by over
two seconds, leaving his challengers to fight it out amongst them-
selves for starting positions in the final. Sparks, Durrant and Brown
ran nose-to-tail for most the event, swapping their positions back and
forth as they decided who was going to lead the chase. Kacic got
shuffled back early, but scraped his way back to the top-five, putting
in the fast lap of the race in the process, running a strong 56.778.
Of note, Dylan Tavella (Tony Kart) battled back from problems in
qualifying to advance from 17th to ninth in the 13-lapper, setting up
the remainder of his recovery in the final.
From the very drop of the green flag in the main event, Hudson
made it known that this was his race as he took control, quickly pull-
ing away to a three-second advantage. The fight behind him was
a great one, Sparks, Brown, Tavella and Durrant set about dicing it
out for the final positions on the podium. Tavella and Brown would
eventually decide it amongst themselves, after Durrant slipped back in
the order. Tavella and Brown swapped the runner-up spot on the final
lap, with Tavella eventually take second, over four seconds behind
the dominant Hudson. Sparks finished up with an impressive fourth,
while Connor Wick (Kosmic) completed the top-five after turning the
fast lap of the race. Durrant rebounded back to sixth after dropping
to eighth following his off-track excursion.
J
