PORTLAND District Karting Club has celebrated some strong results at the recently completed 2023 Victorian Country Series, with a number of strong finishers across the board.

The series is comprised of six rounds which take place across regional Victoria, with events hosted in Cobden, Hamilton, Warrnambool, Horsham and Portland this year, with the final round taking place in Cobden on the weekend.

Scott King’s performance was a highlight for the club, as he came first overall in the TaG heavy division, while Jayden Christensen, Brocklan Parker and Beau Chambers all came in the top four in TaG Restricted Light, KA3 Senior Light and Cadet 9 respectively.

King has been a dominant performer on the track and as a result claimed $500 in prize money with his trophy to be given out on December 9 at an awards night in Melbourne.

In the other classes, 27-year-old Christensen raced in a field of 32 competitors, and as such was right up in the top of the category to be coming in fourth place overall.

Christensen is one of the newest local members to the sport and said it was a great series for the entire Portland contingent who participated.

“A majority of the Portland members came in the top 10 (of their class) which was a fantastic outcome and hats off to them,” he said.

“It’s a big commitment to load up and hit the road for these events, it’s a family thing but yeah, it’s a task.”

Christensen is a relative newcomer to the sport of go-karting, having only gotten his start during the previous season.

“I started last year in a lower class, and I figured it wasn’t fast enough, I wanted to chase the speed and the adrenaline which meant going faster,” he said.

“It’s only my second season really of racing competitively, I did the Country Series last year and I believe I would have placed around 11th.

“This year it just came down to a bit more practice and time in the seat to get used to what I had to do.”

Christensen said the biggest factor that influences performance is ensuring the kart is set up correctly for the specific environment he’ll be racing in, something he credits the team around him for helping with.

“I’m lucky to have a great team around me which handles all the ins and outs of the kart and allows me to just get in and focus on the racing,” he said.

“The set-up is certainly not my strong suit so I’m thankful those guys are willing to be there to help me get the kart right so I can be at my best.”

As for what’s next, Christensen said he’ll take some time to “regroup” with the big event for the year now in the rear-vision mirror.

“This Sunday is our last club day for the year, then there’s 11 weeks after that till the series starts up again back over in Cobden,” he said.

“It’s a quick turnaround to do what you need to do and then you’re back out there again.”