Club 2000 | Round 4 | 2 April 2022

On the most part, it was a dry round despite the random bursts of hail throughout the day. It made for good racing though, with some being caught out when the track did become slightly damp.

Honda Cadet

For the second time this year, Nathan Gange (89) joined us, drove really well and took away a big chunk of points. However, he couldn't quite take any away from Teddie Cooper (79), though, who scored maximum points for the 4th round in a row in a creative crayon-coloured kart. Every round, we've seen Lucien Smith (43) and Theo Hamilton's (30) pace improving - this round was no exception as the pair drove really well and at a true racing standard. Teddie (79) set the fastest lap - a 46.294 in heat 2.

Heat 1

Theo Hamilton (30) had a great getaway from the lights and passed George Phillips (44) coming up to Senna. Coming around the corner, Herbie Wiggins (58) had a spin which dropped him behind Archie Buchanan (5). After the first lap, Theo (30) was in 4th. George (44) was feeling pressure from Alfie Rich (27) while he had to find a way past Theo (30). It was really close between the three. After a while, Alfie (27) managed to get a good run out of the Esses and passed George (44) on the run down to Paddock. A lap later, Alfie (27) pulled off a nice switch-back around the Esses and took 4th. Theo (30) began defending well from George (44) and he kept 5th for the remainder of the heat.

Heat 2

Again, it was another great launch for Theo (30) but Alfie (27) held him off nicely into Senna. Just like the first heat, George (44) was pressuring Theo (30). Just ahead, Alfie (27) was right behind Lucien Smith (43) and waiting to make a move too. Theo (30) and Lucien (30) defended well from their attackers and kept their positions until the end.

Heat 3

Yet again, a cracking start for Theo (30) but this time, he managed to pass Alfie (27). Harlie Cooper (82) had a great start too, and passed George (44) and Ethan Okoro (34) by the end of the first lap. On the second lap, Alfie (27) re-took 4th from Theo (30). Ethan (34) and George (44) begun a great battle - The pair fought side-by-side from Senna, around 180 and up to the Esses where Ethan (34) managed to stay ahead. Coming out of the last corner, Ethan (34) got a great run and passed Harlie (82) across the line for 6th. At this point, George (44) began pressuring Harlie (82). George (44) was looking desperate to pass but Harlie (82) defended well and kept his position.

Final

Coming through Senna, Herbie (58) had a spin and dropped behind Archie (5). Harlie (82) had a good start and passed George (44) and Ethan (44) by the end of the first lap. Towards the front, Alfie (27) almost immediately began pressuring Lucien (43), especially into Senna. Ethan (34) was also piling on the pressure but onto George (44). After a few laps, Ethan (34) made a good move onto George (44) into Senna as he was trying to find a way past a well-defending Harlie (82). A lap later, Ethan (34) passed Harlie (82) too and took 6th. Another couple of laps later, coming out of Paddock, Harlie (82) ran a bit wide. George (44) was right behind so he pulled alongside, powered away and took 7th. With an unfortunate technical exclusion for Lucien (43), everybody behind him was promoted a place.

1st – Teddie Cooper (79)

2nd – Nathan Gange (89)

3rd – Alfie Rich (27)

4th – Theo Hamilton (30)

5th – Ethan Okoro (34)

Clubman Results

In the Honda Cadet class, any driver who has never finished within the top 5 in a final participates in the Clubman class. Trophies are awarded to the highest finishing drivers within this class alongside their Honda Cadet results.

1st – Theo Hamilton (30)

2nd – Ethan Okoro (34)

3rd – George Phillips (44)

4th - Harlie Cooper (82)

Minimax

It's starting to look like Alex (7) and Will (53) are avoiding each-other as, this time, Will (53) raced on his own with the other Junior 2-strokes. The only bit of bad luck he had throughout the day was in the final when he bogged down a bit coming out of Senna. The issue cleared, though, and he returned to his usual pace. Overall, he did well and was a bit quicker than his last time out in the dry - setting a 44.477 in the final.

Junior Rotax

It was an interesting day for these drivers with tensions rising between some. Matthew Copsey (97) looked much more formidable this round as he gave Jenson Weston (34) a tough challenge. Seamus Cox (79) had a great round and stayed near the front of the pack for the entire day - very consistent, clean driving. It's hard not to mention the tough day Elliot Reed-hughes (95) had, not managing to finish a race throughout the whole day. Matthew (97) set the fastest lap and broke the lap record - a rapid 40.427s in the first heat.

Heat 1

Sam Cooper (44) had a bit of a slow getaway on the start and fell behind Elliot Reed-hughes (95) and Jenson Weston (34). For the right-hander exit, Jenson Weston (34) moved up the inside of Elliot (95), tapped him around and picked up a B/W warning. After being underweight in qualifying, Euan Richards (29) was at the back of the pack but had a good first lap - passing 4 drivers to take 8th. Elliot (95) started making a good comeback, passing a couple of drivers within the next 2 laps. Jason Ducis (16) was the next driver ahead of Elliot (95) but he was determined not to lose out to him. After weaving along the straight to block Elliot (95), he was shown a B/W warning. Elliot (95) seemed frustrated and had some contact with Jason (16), giving him a B/W too. Shortly after, Elliot (95) retired from the race.

Heat 2

After starting at the back due to his retirement, Elliot (95) had a good first lap and passed 4 drivers for 8th. Jenson (34) had some good pace on the start too, pulling ahead of Seamus Cox (79) and then passing Matthew Copsey (97) for the lead into the Esses. After a lap of pressuring Jason (16), Elliot (95) found a way past but, coming into Senna, he spun onto the grass and retired from the race. At this point, it started sleeting and the lap-times started tumbling. Coming around the Esses, Sam (44) was caught out by the conditions and ran off into the tyres. Anthony Ward (33), a couple of positions back, followed and went into the tyres too. The battenberg flag came out and both drivers were checked and brought off. The racing continued on the last lap however, nobody managed to make a move.

Heat 3

Coming into the first corner, Euan (29) and Elliot (95) drove straight on and parked on the grass. Euan (29) seemed to have a throttle issue but I'm unsure about Elliot (95). The pair unfortunately retired. After passing Adam White (13) on the first lap, Liam Phillips (3) was in 5th and Sam (44) had passed a couple of drivers and took 7th. Coming around Paddock, Anthony (33) had an unfortunate spin and dropped to the back. Meanwhile, Seamus (79) passed Matthew (97) for second and began defending well. Matthew (97) was keen to get past and on lap 7, he made a move to his inside into Senna but passed with contact - giving him a B/W warning. Sam (44) was pressuring Liam (3) hard but by the end of the race, he couldn't find a way past his defence.

Final

Matthew (97) managed to keep his lead around the first lap despite the pressure from Jenson (34). Seamus (79) wasn't able to hold onto his position, though, as Jason (16) passed him on the first lap for 3rd. On the second lap, Elliot's (95) day went from bad to worse as he went off onto the grass on Senna and retired from the race having not reached a chequered flag all day. After passing Euan (29) on the first lap, Liam (3) was behind Adam (13) and began pressuring him. Some laps later, nothing come of it and Euan (29) found a way past Liam (3) and retook 7th. Matthew (97) was quick, managed to pull a gap on Jenson (34) then cruise it home to win.

1st – Matthew Copsey (97)

2nd – Jenson Weston (34)

3rd – Jason Ducis (16)

4th – Seamus Cox (79)

5th – Sam Cooper (44)

Junior TKM

William Briant (97) was the only Junior TKM this round and he did really well. He suffered a similar fate to, Minimax driver, Will Rogers (53), bogging down during heat 2. Unfortunately he couldn't manage to clear the issue and he had to retire from the race. Despite this, I'd say he a had a good day overall. In heat 3, he set a 42.364.

Junior Prokart

The Junior Prokart boys suffered the same fate as last round with all 3 drivers being a different pace to each-other. The gap is closing, however, as Rocky (23) and Oscar (62) have been improving. Novice, Oscar (62) has had more time in the wet than in the dry so when he was testing the limits, he did have a couple of spins. The trio drove well though despite the lack of action.

1st – Alfie Campbell (40)

2nd – Rocky Clements (23)

3rd – Oscar Coughlan (62)

Senior Rotax

Charlie Pinkney (15) & Adam Forrester (18)

It was tough and close competition this round. Joshua Taylor returned to Club2000 after a long hiatus and proved he still knew the track well - scoring a 1st and a 3rd against the regulars. Stuart Smith (92) couldn't quite take that many points this time after suffering a retirement in heat 2 and a spin in heat 3. Bryn Evans (77) had a very consistent day but he must've been kicking himself in the final after giving away the lead just a few laps from the end. Impressively, Adam Forrester (18) set the fastest lap while he was pushing to make up lost time in the final - a 39.901.

Heat 1

It was a quick start - the pack seemed to accelerate just as they came out of Paddock. Matt Davey (85) had a good first lap, having passed Joshua Taylor (78) and Josh Twitchen (25) for 3rd. Stuart Smith (92) almost immediately began pressuring Bryn Evans (77) for the lead and after passing Joshua (78), Josh (25) was pressuring Matt (85) for 3rd. Adam Forrester (18) had a good first few laps as he made his way from 9th to 6th past his mate, Vincent Anderson (21). After a few laps, the leaders closed in on David Duncombe (46) to lap him. Coming through 180, Stuart (92) took a tight line while Bryn (77) opted for the outside. After sandwiching David (46), Stuart (92) stayed ahead of Bryn (77) and took the lead.

Heat 2

It was an unfortunate start for Stuart (92) as his kart bogged down as the lights went green. Coming around Senna, he couldn't resolve the issue and he parked it on the grass. On the other hand, Joshua Taylor (78) had a good start, inheriting a position from Stuart's (92) retirement and passing a couple of drivers for 4th. After the second lap, Bryn (77) passed Vincent (21) through the inside into the French Curve and took 2nd place. Shortly after, Joshua Taylor (78) passed Vincent (21) too, for 3rd. A bit further back, Charlie Pinkney (15) was pressuring Adam (18). On lap 5, coming around Senna, the pair came together leaving Charlie Flux (86) to inherit 6th. On the last lap, Adam (18) managed to pass both Charlies and took 6th.

Heat 3

Joshua Taylor (78) had pole this time and for the start, he took it nice and slow. With the pack bunched up, he floored it and gapped them up to the first corner. After the first couple of laps, the top 5 were really close and nobody was giving up their position. 5 laps in, Stuart (92) went a bit deep into 180 and ran into the back of Josh Twitchen (25). Stuart (92) spun around and when he recovered, he was down in 10th. Just a couple of laps from the end, Bryn (77) made a move and passed Matt (85) for 3rd.

Final

Coming into the French Curve on the start, Charlie P (15) ran deep and into the pack ahead. Jenson Holloway (3) capitalised from this and found himself in 7th at the end of the first lap whereas Adam (18) was on the back-foot as he had dropped to the back. After the start, everyone stayed in position up until lap 6 when Jenson (3) made a move onto Vincent (21) and took 6th. Adam (18) started making somewhat of a comeback and began battling Charlie Flux (86) for 8th. After a few laps of exchanging positions, he stayed ahead and, shortly after, he passed Vincent (21) for 7th. After leading for a while, coming through 180, Bryn (77) ran wide, donating his position to Matt (85). Meanwhile, Stuart (92) passed Joshua Taylor (78) and began pressuring Josh Twitchen (25). He defended well, though, and kept 3rd up to the chequered flag. Joshua Taylor (78) seemed to be quite tired and on the last couple of laps, he was under pressure from Jenson (3). After the race, Matt (85) was given a 5s penalty for a dropped bumper, giving Bryn (77) the win.

1st – Bryn Evans (77)

2nd – Matt Davey (85)

3rd – Josh Twitchen (25)

4th – Stuart Smith (92)

5th – Joshua Taylor (78)

Senior Rotax 177

There was some really close racing this round, with a different winner in every heat. One of them was Peter Smith (22) who joined us for the second time this year and, after heat 1, he was constantly up at the front challenging the top 3 championship leaders. Jamie Allen (34) had a good round too with a hard-fought win in heat 3, maintaining a nice gap ahead of Peter (22). Paul Pinkney (5) took the fastest lap this time while he was chasing Phil Patience (46) in heat 2, setting a 40.626.

Heat 1

George Friday (52) took the lead early as he started 2nd and shortly passed Dan Jones (11). Coming through 180, Dan (11) and Phil Patience (46) bashed wheels but the pair managed to continue racing. Nick Aitken (21) had a cracking start and passed 5 drivers by the end of the first lap. His efforts were halted, though, as the next driver to get past was Rob Reeve (15). Ahead of the pair was Robert Peachey (8) and, on lap 3, Rob R (15) got a good exit out of Paddock to pass him. Shortly after, Nick (21) passed Rob P (8) too. Meanwhile, Jamie Allen (34) who'd started quite far back, made a nice switchback onto Mike Boswell (77) for 9th. Towards the front, Stavros Athanasopoulos (55) was holding 3rd with pressure from Phil (46) behind. On the 5th lap, Stavros (55) bumped into Trevor Palmer (36) in 2nd, letting Phil (46) through to pass the pair. Over the next three laps, despite Trevor's (36) pace, he dropped behind Phil (46), Rob R (15) and Nick (21) in that order. With some good defence, Phil (46) held off the championship leaders and kept second. After the heat, Phil (46) and Rob (15) both had drop-down penalties and were demoted to 4th and 5th respectively.

Heat 2

For some reason, Tony Cohen (23) sat out this heat but it did mean he missed the tangle around 180 between Andy Goodwin (85) and Stavros (55). Peter Smith (22) managed to pass Mike (77) and Rob R (15) on the start and had the lead by the end of the first lap. Nathan Cullabine (19) had a good start too, passing Phil (46), Stavros (55) and Dan (11) for 8th. Almost immediately, Rob (15) began pressuring Peter (22) for the lead, holding the gap to around 3 tenths consistently. On lap 3, Nick (21) passed Mike (77) and a lap later, George Friday (52) followed. Meanwhile, Paul Pinkney (5) made a move onto Nathan (19) and passed for 9th after starting in 14th. Stavros (5) started making a bit of a comeback and passed Andy (85) for 12th. A few laps later, Rob P (8) passed Nathan (19) and Stavros (5) followed him through. Another couple of laps later, Trevor (36) made a brave lunge to the inside of Mike (77) through the French Curve. Phil (46) followed him through close behind. On the last lap, you could see Rob R (15) was desperate to pass Peter (22) as he almost went over him coming into Senna. Peter (22) drove well and kept his lead.

Heat 3

On the first lap, coming through 180, there was a bit of a "squeaky bum moment" as Mike (77) ran deep and span in the middle of the track. Luckily, all 7 drivers behind managed to narrowly avoid him. George (52) had a great first lap and made up 4 places. On the next 2 laps he then passed Nathan (19) and Rob P (8) to take 5th. A bit further back, Rob R (15) was making his way through the field with Paul (5) following close behind. Coming out of the French Curve, Rob R (15) ran wide onto the grass. Once he'd re-joined, he was second to last. Meanwhile, Nick (21) up in 2nd made a mistake too, running wide out of Paddock allowing Peter (22) to inherit his position. A lap later, coming out of 180, Mike (77) had a coming together with another driver. He pulled over onto the grass with leg pain so the red flag came out. Once Mike (77) was brought off and checked over, the race continued with a single-file rolling start. A couple of laps after the restart, Trevor (36) span coming out of the French Curve. Nathan (19) then ran into him and unfortunately bent his axle. After passing Rob P (8), Rob R (15) was in 8th at the end of a difficult heat for him.

Final

Phil (46) had a tough first lap - coming out of 180, his kart seemed to bog down and he dropped 6 positions down to 12th. Coming through Senna on the next lap, he made some places back with an impressively brave lunge to the inside of Andy (85) and Nathan (19) to take 9th. Towards the front, Peter (22) had got ahead of George (52) on the start and began pressuring Nick (21) for the lead. Meanwhile, Trevor (36) had a spin through paddock and unfortunately retired. After a couple of laps, Stavros (55) got back past Rob P (8) and another few laps later, Paul (5) passed him too. At this point, Phil's (46) chain guard had come off. After being shown the meatball (Mechanical) flag, contrary to the rules, he didn't come in. Meanwhile, Rob R (15) had passed George (52) and was putting pressure on Peter (22) for second. After being shown the meatball a couple of times, Phil (46) was shown the black flag for not coming in. Rob R (15), at the front, passed Peter (22) and took 2nd. Phil (46) still didn't come in and when he'd come back onto the weighbridge, he apologised profusely to Jared, the scrutineer.

1st – Nick Aitken (21)

2nd – Rob Reeve (15)

3rd – Peter Smith (22)

4th – George Friday (52)

5th – Jamie Allen (34)