King claimed wins in two classes on his home track, clubman heavy and TAG heavy, in the series opener at Portland go-kart track on Sunday.

He led home a Portland trifecta in clubman heavy. Brad Anderson was runner-up,  while Daniel Rethus took third spot.

But success was harder to come by for other south-west drivers, with Geelong, Melbourne and South Australian raiders taking the honours.

Hamilton’s Andrew Hayes won TAG restricted super heavy, while Horsham-based Portland member Ashley Lear took out TAG light.

Portland District Karting Club president Neville Tapscott said 165 drivers raced at the meeting, a figure the club was rapt with.

“We were really pleased with that and the weather was good,” he said.

“We started our qualifying at 8am and we were all done and dusted by 4.05pm. We had a really good run.”

Tapscott said the addition of qualifying to the schedule — a Karting Australia directive introduced this year — did not drag out the meeting.

“It won’t for the rounds we’ve got significant daylight or we’re not likely to have weather problems,” he said.

“If we have a wet day, the racing is a lot slower, potentially there will be time restraints around qualifying.

“It wasn’t an issue for our round and it’s not likely to be a problem for the Wimmera, but rounds during the year that are short on daylight, it could be an issue.

“Portland was a lesson to see how we went time-wise. We did have a red flag (for a crash). We lost a bit of time there. 

“But in the scheme of things, we shouldn’t be too bad, weather-dependent, as far as time goes.”

Other winners on Sunday included South Australian Tyler Craig in cadet 12s and Melbourne’s Cody Donald in junior national heavy.

Melbourne’s Nicholas Wortley made it a double for the Eastern Lions Kart Club with victory in TAG restricted heavy.

Geelong members Will Harper and Brayden Flood enjoyed success in cadet 9 and TAG restricted light respectively.

South Australians Max Vidau, in junior clubman, and Jack Hutchins, in junior national light, rounded out the winners’ list.

The Victorian Country Series continues with round two at Horsham on April 11 and 12, hosted by Wimmera Kart Club.