Nikola takes it to the max

Teenage sensation Nikola Mitic won the inaugural junior max State championship in thrilling fashion after the two leaders crashed out with half a lap remaining in Sunday’s 28-lap final at Albany City Kart Club.

An epic battle between Karratha’s Nicholas Rowe and Bunbury’s Tayla Dicker emerged in the championship decider with Mitic forced to sit behind the leading duo for 27 laps, until turn two on the final lap where things went horribly wrong.

Rowe, after leading for the first 15 laps, ran wide on his next circuit and was shuffled back to third before slipping back past Mitic on lap 17 for second, with Dicker powering to the lead, where she stayed until the final lap.

Dicker entered turn two of the Albany circuit under brakes, Rowe driving to her inside, but the pair made contact and both spun, with Mitic racing past to a State championship victory by 3.253 seconds over Jason Betts and Thomas Schou.

Dicker recovered to finish fourth ahead of Maverick Cuthbert while Rowe could only manage sixth, despite dominating all weekend.

Following his fifth State crown, Mitic said he knew a mistake was coming from the two rivals in front of him.

“A few laps earlier the same thing almost happened to me,” Mitic said. “I was waiting and waiting, (Rowe) took a big dive and they got together and I just slipped past.

“I knew it was going to happen, I was just waiting for it.”

The Hurricane Kart Club members win was even more incredible given it was only his second race in the junior max division.

“This is awesome, amazing,” the 13-year-old said.

“I was pretty much the quickest all weekend, I didn’t have a great first or second heat, but then in the pre-final I drove from eighth to second.”

Mitic set the quickest time in the race on lap seven with a 30.698 second lap while Albany’s Mitchell Perrella finished a gallant tenth place in the final.

Earlier in the weekend, Rowe won both the preliminary heat races and the pre-final to start off pole position alongside Mitic.