Dynamite had the most dominant and exciting finish to the 2008 Australian AKA Endurance Series. After the Phoenix Enduro chassis (Elvis) scored a 1-2 at Lithgow they were heading into the second last round a mere 3 points behind the defending Champions Road Runner. Newcastle was a team favorite so confidence was high! Preparation and set up would be so important, as a win was the goal. If Road Runner came 2nd (very likely) the Phoenix would go into the final round 1 point ahead. That would be enough as far as they were concerned!

Qualifying was determined by taking the best time (within a 10 min session each) of each of 3 drivers. After 30 odd minutes and some nail biting the Phoenix team achieved Pole (2 from 2 at this track) by 5/100ths of a second.

The kart needed some minor changes, although fast all three drivers worked hard to get the best out of it which is not normally necessary. After the short carby session in the morning it was obvious the changes worked, half a second ahead of the rest of the field and it looked and felt easy!

After leading away the field the Phoenix was unbeatable…..until, within the first two hours of the race it became obvious that very soft brake pads were in, and at the end of the day that would be the team’s downfall. The chassis was so good, that throughout the day with next to no brakes Dynamite continued to set the best times. Every second pitstop though the pads had to be shimmed to provide even the faintest of brakes!

The team performed well enough for the rest of the 7hr race to finish in 2nd position, unfortunately behind Road Runner.

So after a goal of heading into the final round with a 1 point lead Dynamite would go into it with a 7 point deficit. The Phoenix team couldn’t be more confident heading into the final round at Oran. The previous visit to this track saw them dominate practice, qualifying and 1st in the race. Now 7 behind there was only one option – to achieve the same again! The team couldn’t control what the defending champs would achieve though!

A great start with the fastest time in practice, and qualifying on Pole! As planned Dynamite lead the race from start to finish in dominant style. What couldn’t be helped was Road Runners 2nd place (after qualifying 6th). This would earn them enough points to retain the Championship!

What the new Phoenix chassis did though was achieve a trophy for every round of the Australian Championship with 3 x 1st positions, 2 x 2nd positions, 2 x 3rd positions and 4 pole positions along the way!

Elvis is alive and kickin’!