Club 2000 | Round 5 & 6 | 1 & 2 May
Our double-header started and ended with perfect weather for racing. There was some superb driving from Club2000 regulars and newcomers. With 70 entries on Sunday and 59 on Monday, there was always action on track. The relatively open tyre choice for Rotax (due to the shortage of Mojos) mixed up the grid a bit and actually kept the racing really close.
Honda Cadet
It was a great couple of days for the Cadets. While we saw many new drivers still learning the technical challenges of our track, we had some tough competition towards the front of the grid. There were some brilliant battles especially between the top five. Teddie Cooper's (79) win-streak came to an end on Sunday after an unfortunate early retirement in qualifying. He didn't lose too many points though, with his impressive first heat - starting 15th and finishing 3rd.
In the second heat, Teddie (79) managed to take the lead within a couple of laps. It wasn't without a challenge though, as Max Wheatley (12) battled hard with him. It was raw, close and clean racing! Max (12) also had some good battles with Nathan Gange (89). The pair were very close all day. They set the bar In heat 1 when they were side-by-side around the last corner on the last lap. The young lads managed to keep all their battles clean, including Nathan's (89) impressively deep lunge onto Max (12) on the last lap of the AIM Race.
Hayden Gray (1) joined us for the Sunday and he brought a tough challenge to Teddie (79). From heat 1 to the last lap of the final, the battle for the lead was hard-fought. Teddie (79) looked set to win the final until the last lap when Hayden (1) made a move up the inside into 180, ran a bit deep but stayed ahead through the Warren. Theo Hamilton (30) made one of the best moves of the day in the final. On the first lap around Senna, he swooped around the outside and passed at least 2 drivers once he'd filtered back into the pack for the right-hander.
Round 5 results
1st – Teddie Cooper (79)
2nd – Nathan Gange (89)
3rd – Max Wheatley (12)
4th – Lewis Riley (90)
5th – Kevin Ivanov (50)
Clubman Results
1st – Lewis Riley (90)
2nd – Will Archer (66)
3rd – George Phillips (44)
4th - Jaxon Bugner (7)
Round 6 results
1st – Teddie Cooper (79)
2nd – Nathan Gange (89)
3rd – Max Wheatley (12)
4th – Lewis Riley (90)
5th – Kevin Ivanov (50)
Clubman Results
1st – George Phillips (44)
2nd – Harlie Cooper (82)
3rd – Archie Buchanan (5)
4th - Harvey Bugner (77)
O-Plate Winner
Teddie Cooper (79) - 348pts
Minimax
We were treated to an actual minimax race this weekend! The 2 usual contenders were joined by a few new drivers and they actually had some good racing between them. Once Harry Clogger (72) learned the track, he had some great pace and led most of the races behind the Junior TKMs. Ted Wilkinson (3), Alex Chlebiej (7) and Will Rogers (53) had some decent battles while still being cautious and respectful to each other. From Sunday to Monday, everyone managed to improve their times and became comfortable racing each-other a bit closer.
Round 5 results
1st – Harry Clogger (72)
2nd – Will Rogers (53)
3rd – Ted Wilkinson (3)
4th - Alex Chlebiej (7)
5th - Ben Bourne (12)
Round 6 results
1st – Harry Clogger (72)
2nd – Ted Wilkinson (3)
3rd – Alex Chlebiej (7)
4th - Will Rogers (53)
O-Plate Winner
Alex Chlebiej (7) - 318pts
Junior Rotax
The battle for the top 5 was heavily contested over the weekend and we were treated to some quality racing. Championship leader, Jenson Weston (34) had a less than desirable weekend with Matthew Copsey (97) and Sam Cooper (44) sharing 1st place for the majority of it. Elliot Reed-hughes (95), Jason Ducis (16) and Liam Phillips (3) had a great weekend with the trio mostly sharing third and pressuring the top 2. Matthew (97) managed to break his own lap record on Sunday during the AIM Race, setting an impressive 40.405.
Elliot (95) started his great weekend off with a 3rd place finish despite suffering with a sticky throttle in qualifying. At the start of heat 2, he got piled into around Senna but he kept his head down and managed to take 8th. He finished the day off with a 2nd place finish after a beautiful battle with Seamus Cox (79) who'd held second all day. Even Sam (44) got involved and began putting pressure on Elliot (95) until the end.
Also enjoying the racing toward the front was Liam Phillips (3). Him and Euan Richards (29) avoided the pileup at the start of heat 2 and inherited 3rd and 4th. With Euan's (29) drop-down, Liam (3) took third. In heat 3, he drove well and held 3rd all the way until the end where he was just a tenth ahead of Elliot (95) across the line.
Jason Ducis (16) had some great pace on Monday. He was noticeably quick on the starts, managing to pass Matthew (97) twice on an opening lap and even Jenson (34) who's known for his quick first laps. His pace didn't end there, as he held his place quite well despite the pressure from the championship front-runners.
Round 5 results
1st – Matthew Copsey (97)
2nd – Elliot Reed-hughes (95)
3rd – Sam Cooper (44)
4th – Seamus Cox (79)
5th – Jenson Weston (34)
Round 6 results
1st – Sam Cooper (44)
2nd – Matthew Copsey (97)
3rd – Jenson Weston (34)
4th – Jason Ducis (16)
5th – Seamus Cox (79)
O-Plate Winner
Matthew Copsey (97) - 346pts
Junior TKM
Oliver Bowen (55) joined us for the first time this year on Sunday, bringing a healthy challenge to William Briant (97). Oliver (55) held 1st with William (97) tailing closely behind until the final. William (97) managed to get ahead on the start and defend from Oliver (55) until the very end. On Monday, it was just William (97) but he drove nicely, just in front of the Minimax grid.
Round 5 results
1st – William Briant (97)
2nd – Oliver Bowen (55)
Round 6 results
1st – William Briant (97)
O-Plate Winner
William Briant (97) - 354pts
Junior Prokart
On Sunday, we were blessed with the presence of Edward Gordon (2) in juniors and, in seniors, James Drabwell (5) and his dad. Although we were missing Rocky Clements (23) it was still a good day of racing. In the first heat, Oscar Coughlan (62) had a good start and launched past Edward (2). Coming around the Warren, though, Edward (2) pulled off a nice switchback and took 2nd back. In the second heat, Oscar (62) passed Edward (2) on the start but after a deep lunge into Senna, Edward (2) took his position.
The following day, it was just the usual trio racing again. On the most part, they drove uniformly. In the final though, Oscar (62) had a great start and passed Rocky (23) into Senna. He then began defending well. Soon, coming into the French Curve, Rocky (23) moved to the inside. Into Senna, Oscar (62) braked late and held his position around the outside as the pair caught bumpers. Rocky (23) began to look desperate. Down to Paddock, Rocky (23) pulled ahead and stayed ahead across the line. Into the French Curve, Oscar (62) fought back but he was too far behind.
Round 5 results
1st – Alfie Campbell (40)
2nd – Edward Gordon (2)
3rd – Oscar Coughlan (62)
Round 6 results
1st – Alfie Campbell (40)
2nd – Rocky Clements (23)
3rd – Oscar Coughlan (62)
O-Plate Winner
Alfie Campbell (40) - 330pts
Senior Rotax
Once again, the battle for the top positions were close throughout the day. Arundel Hughes (24) joined us for the second time this year and he was here for both days challenging Bryn Evans (77) and Harvey Hollick (55) who was here on the Monday. Charlie Flux (86) had some good pace on the Sunday with a couple of 3rd place finishes. Thanks to his aggressive driving style, Harvey (55) managed to win 3 out of the 4 races on Monday. He made a couple of deep lunges and a nice switchback to take the lead early in the second heat. He also managed to break Ben Maxim's lap record with a 39.529.
On Monday, we unfortunately saw one of the biggest incidents we've had in a while; In the first heat, coming into the French Curve, Josh Twitchen (25) moved to the inside of Matt Davey (85). As the gap tightened, Josh (25) backed out and and clipped the tyre wall. The kart ejected him onto the solid tarmac and pirouetted over him. With the red flags out, the paramedic rushed out to check him over. Thankfully, he wasn't seriously injured but he had to sit out the rest of the day and be extensively checked.
With a relatively small grid, the Seniors had quite a consistent Monday. The racing was still there though, with Bryn (77), Harvey (55) and Arundel (24) having some great battles. In heat 3, Arundel (24) passed Bryn (77) on the start and was under pressure from him almost immediately. After a few laps, into 180, Bryn (77) lunged Arundel (24) into 180 but the door was firmly shut. Arundel (24) then sportingly let Bryn (77) through on the back straight. On the last lap, Bryn (77) seemed to let Arundel (24) through to take 2nd.
Round 5 results
1st – Bryn Evans (77)
2nd – Josh Twitchen (25)
3rd – Charlie Flux (86)
4th – Lewis Fagg (64)
5th – James Saville-stones (51)
Round 6 results
1st – Harvey Hollick (55)
2nd – Arundel Hughes (24)
3rd – Bryn Evans (77)
4th – Jenson Holloway (3)
5th – Matt Davey (85)
O-Plate Winner
Arundel Hughes - 341pts
Senior TKM
Ex-Youngstarz driver, Jemma Kiddy (52) raced at Club2000 for the first time on Sunday and she coped well, driving at the back of the Senior Rotax grid. Despite a serious meeting with a tyre-wall in heat 1 which bent her axle, she sourced a spare and kept driving. Jessica Fitch-hall (22) joined her on the Monday and the pair traded positions as they both got used to the karts. In the final, the pair came together into the Esses. Jemma (52) ran wide coming through the Warren and picked up a lot of dust on her tyres allowing Jessica (22) to pass. Into the Esses, with dust on her tyres, Jemma (52) unfortunately lost traction, ran into Jessica (22) and then into the tyre wall. Both drivers were okay and Jessica (22) managed to finish her last lap.
Round 5 results
1st – Jemma Kiddy (52)
Round 6 results
1st – Jessica Fitch-hall (22)
2nd - Jemma Kiddy (52)
O-Plate Winner
Jessica Fitch-hall - 178pts
Senior Rotax 177
With a grid of 15 on Sunday and 14 on Monday, there was never a dull moment when the 177s were out on track. Jay Ford (99) was with us for the first time this year and had some pretty decent pace. On Sunday in heat 3, he had a proper waft on and made some great moves until he unfortunately tangled together with George Friday (52) just a couple laps from the end. David German (29) joined us too and won 5 of the 8 races over the weekend so the top three championship runners didn't manage to take many points away.
After missing Sunday due to his rock-star lifestyle, Phil Patience (46) raced alongside his son, Sol (66) on Monday. The pair had some good battles with each other and Sol (66) came out on top at the end of the day taking away just 5 more points.
Stavros Athanasopoulos (55) had a great Monday, taking away more points than champ leader, Rob (15). In heat 3, he had a mega start, had a great battle with Sol (66) and passed Trevor Palmer (36) for 3rd just two laps from the end. With Phil's (46) drop-down, he was promoted to 2nd.
Round 5 results
1st – David German (29)
2nd – Rob Reeve (15)
3rd – Sam Yaxley (97)
4th – George Friday (52)
5th – Jay Ford (99)
Round 6 results
1st – David German (29)
2nd – Nick Aitken (21)
3rd – Stavros Athanasopoulos (55)
4th – Rob Reeve (15)
5th – George Friday (52)
O-Plate Winner
David German - 334pts
Standings
All photos are courtesy of Sprocket Photography.
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