Club 2000, Round 7 & 8, Double Header Weekend, 4-5 September 2021

Report by Nathan Blake

Round 7: For the first day of the double-header, we saw some great racing in every class. The weather was ideal for racing; it was slightly cold but stayed dry all day.

Round 8: For the second day of the double-header, yet again, the weather stayed nice all day and the racing was close in every class.

Honda Cadet - Round 7

We had a different line-up this round with, novices, Archie-lee Bullock (14) and Harlie Cooper (82) joining the grid. Overall, we saw good competition up and down the grid between all drivers. Fastest lap was set by Teddie Cooper (79) with a 46.508 in qualifying.

In Qualifying, Kiean Sullivan (26) left the dummy grid but seemed to have his choke on. After doing a lap, Kiean pitted with his dad coming to the rescue. After that, Kiean came back out putting his kart onto the front row into 2nd. Theo Hamilton (30) had a great session qualifying in 4th ahead of the two novices.

Heat 1

Theo (30) spun out on the formation lap just before the grid causing the young driver to start from 6th behind the novices. With Teddie Cooper (97) running away with it, Harlie (82) and Archie (14) were close together. While they were busy battling, Theo (30) started to sneak up on them. Coming round to take the chequered flag, Archie (14) got a great run out of paddock to pass Harlie (82) on the line by 0.007s!

Heat 2

With Archie (14) now starting in front of Harlie (82) for the second heat, Harlie (82) was itching to get a good start and both did, putting them past Archie (14) and Kiean (26) on the first lap. Will Rogers (53) also got the start perfect as he also moved past Kiean (26) coming into the French Curve. Theo, trying to gain on the pack, made a mistake and spun around the Esses, unfortunately, pushing him further back into last. Soon after, Kiean (26) got alongside Harlie (82) past the tower but sensibly backed out. With a better opportunity this time, Kiean (26) passed Harlie (82) into the Esses. With Harlie (82) in front, Archie (14) was close behind looking for an opportunity. Coming around the Esses, Archie (14) performed a switchback onto Harlie (82) but was strongly, and fairly, squeezed out. Into Senna the next lap, Archie (14) lunged inside Harlie (82) and squeezed them on exit. A forceful but good move.

Heat 3

The start of heat 3 was very uniform with everybody keeping their positions. Around the Esses, Kiean (26) moved to the inside of Will (53) but was covered off and stayed behind. A lap later, Kiean (26) tried again on the Warren, passing up the inside and staying ahead. 2 laps from the end, with Teddie (79) coming to lap Harlie (82) and Theo (30), Harlie (82) heavily slowed for the blue flag accidentally letting Theo (30) past. A couple of corners later and now ahead of Harlie (82), Theo (30) was shown a blue for Kiean (26) and Will (53) to come past but he slowed down a bit too much and Harlie (82) passed to regain position.

Final

In the final, we had a lazy start from Theo (30) on the grid. Into Senna, Archie (14) ran a little wide and spun. With nowhere else to go, Harlie (82) ran into the side of them. Both drivers were okay with no stoppage required. Throughout the race, Kiean (26) was close behind Teddie (79) waiting for an opportunity to pass. Meanwhile, Theo (30) was catching up to Harlie (82). Unfortunately, coming to the last lap, Teddie (79) celebrated a lap early with Harlie (82) passing for the lead. After realising, Teddie (79) drove hard to catch Harlie (82) but with a 4s gap, he was hoping for a miracle. With both leaders coming to lap Theo (30) and Harlie (82), Harlie, again, slowed down a little too much for the blue flags allowing Theo (30) to pass fairly for 5th.

1st – Kiean Sullivan (26)

2nd – Teddie Cooper (79)

3rd – Will Rogers (53)

4th – Archie-Lee Bullock (14)

5th – Theo Hamilton (30)

Honda Cadet - Round 8

Again, some close racing for all the cadets. In particular, Theo Hamilton (30) showed consistency and aggressiveness this round. Will Rogers (53) also showed his great defending skills. Teddie Cooper had set the fastest lap overall in heat 2 with a 46.561.

Heat 1

Theo Hamilton (30) put in a good qualifying performance to start in front of Harlie Cooper (82) for heat 1. Everyone had a good, clean getaway from the lights and immediately, coming into the French Curve, Harlie (82) tried the inside of Theo (30) but Theo covered well and stayed ahead. All race, Kiean Sullivan (26) was close to Teddie Cooper (79) but Teddie (79) defended well and Kiean (26) couldn’t find a way past.

Heat 2

For heat 2, Theo (30) started in front of Harlie (82) on the grid. As the lights went green, Theo (30) had a lazy start causing Harlie (82) to pass him before the first corner. Getting a great exit out of 180, Will Rogers (53) moved to the inside of Kiean (26) into the Warren and passed him up the back straight. A few laps from the end, Teddie (79) had a half spin coming out of Paddock and with Will (53) close behind, Teddie (79) lost the lead. However, a couple of corners later into 180, Teddie (79) lunged to the inside of Will (53) and regained his lead. Unfortunately, we saw a technical exclusion for Kiean (26) for non-compliance with engine regulations.

Heat 3

With Kiean (26) starting at the back for the third heat, we looked forward to seeing his recovery. Kiean (26) passed Theo (30) into Senna and before the end of the first lap, he also passed Harlie (82) by getting a great exit out of Paddock. Putting in some quick laps, Kiean (26) managed to get close to Will (53) by lap 3. On this lap, Kiean (26) got a great exit out of Paddock and passed Will (53) into the French Curve. Looking to get his position back, Will (53) attempted a move onto Kiean (26) into Senna but spun. Meanwhile, Theo (30) was catching Harlie (82) and soon enough, he was on his tail. Theo (30) looked to pass Harlie (82) onto the Warren but spun.

Final

During the final, it was very close between Will (53) and Kiean (26). Despite Kiean (26) itching to get past all race, Will (53) showed great defending skills and kept his 2nd place finish. We also saw a beautiful move from Theo (30). Building up to it, he put in some great laps to get close to Harlie (82). With time running out, Theo (30) switched from the outside to the inside of Harlie (82) on paddock and passed just 2 laps from the end.

1st – Teddie Cooper (79)

2nd – Will Rogers (53)

3rd – Kiean Sullivan (26)

4th – Theo Hamilton (30

5th – Harlie Cooper (82)

Minimax - Round 7

Again, Alex Beale (43) was the only Minimax with us this round, joining onto the back of the Junior Rotax races. There was great consistency from the driver today, putting in a fastest lap of 42.282 set in heat 2 – 3 tenths quicker than last round. Despite a spin on Senna on the first lap of the final, Alex (43) recovered well to put some clean laps in.

1st – Alex Beale (43)

Minimax - Round 8

Again, the only minimax on the weekend was Alex Beale (43) and again, another good performance from the driver. In heat 1, Alex (43) drove well to place into a theoretical 7th in the Junior Rotax grid and even set his fastest lap of the day with a 42.300.

1st – Alex Beale (43)

Junior Rotax - Round 7

Overall, a great day of racing from these drivers with some great consistency from Matthew Copsey (97) not only finishing 1st in every race but fastest lap in each apart from Heat 3, losing out by 0.002s to Sam Cooper (45). Alfie Campbell (40) with a brilliant performance, cleanly overtaking many drivers who were unfortunate enough to have him behind. Matthew (97) also set the fastest Junior Rotax lap today with a 40.730 in the Final.

Heat 1

To start with, in Heat 1, Alfie Campbell (40) had a bit of a moment at the French Curve on the start. The driver ran wide and onto the grass re-joining onto the back of the pack. With his head down, Alfie (40) was determined, making some great overtakes including a great lunge on Adam White (13) into the left hander of 180 and a pass up the inside of Anthony Ward (33) around the Esses. Alfie (40) ultimately finished 6th. Elliot Reed-Hughes (95) made a great move around the Esses to pass Jenson Weston (34) up the inside. Michael Morgan (54) defended well to hold off Sam Cooper (44) until the chequered flag.

Heat 2

After putting in a good performance in Heat 1, Elliot (95) sadly peeled off into the pits on the first lap. With Sam (44) still looking to pass Michael (54), he performed a lovely switchback into the Warren setting up a pass up the inside around the Esses. Coming into the French Curve, Cameron Pottle (7) passed cleanly up the inside of Alex Beale (43)*. Only 40s before last lap and after a good drive gaining 3 positions, Anthony (33) sadly dropped his chain. Alfie (40), again, trying to make up from Heat 1, made a great move past Michael (54) to finish 4th.

Heat 3

A busy start with Jenson (34) deemed to have moved across on the rolling start however an advantage wasn’t made and no penalty was applied. This was followed by an unlucky spin by Anthony (33) and Cameron (7) on Senna. Making a position on the start, Alfie (40) was still on a charge and got very close to Jenson (34) ready to pounce. Jenson (34) held him off well and kept his spot in 2nd.

Final

Before the race had even begun, Cameron (7) spun on the formation lap but catches the pack to keep his position. Coming into the first corner, Alex (43)* had an unfortunate spin on Senna but stayed out of harm’s way. With a great result on the way for Alfie (40), he was again desperate to find a way past the well defending Jenson (34). Coming into the Warren, Alfie (40) pulled a switchback onto Jenson (34) to pass into the Esses, however, Jenson wised up and held his position around the outside. A few laps later after some very close slipstreaming coming down to Paddock, Alfie (40)’s skill couldn’t help him as Jenson (34) dropped his chain with Alfie within touching distance behind. Jenson’s kart lost drive leaving Alfie nowhere to go but into him. Both drivers were okay.

1st – Matthew Copsey (97)

2nd – Sam Cooper (45)

3rd – Michael Morgan (54)

4th – Adam White (13)

5th – Anthony Ward (33)

*Minimax Class

Junior Rotax - Round 8

Another great day of racing from all the Junior Rotax drivers. We saw a great battle on the last lap of the final between Euan Richards (29), Cameron Pottle (7) and Alex Beale (43)*. We also witnessed a great comeback drive from novice Seamus Cox (3) to recover all of his positions lost. Matthew Copsey (97) was rapid. The driver managed to take the win in every race and taking the fastest lap in each too with his fastest being a 40.533 in heat 1.

Heat 1

A busy start for the first heat with novice Seamus Cox (3) picking up a B/W (Black and White) warning for some contact with Anthony Ward (33) on the first lap. After this, Seamus (3) pulled off some great overtakes to make a comeback and regain the positions he lost on the first lap. Going back to the first lap, Jenson Weston (34) had a good start, exchanging positions with Michael Morgan (54) to move up to 4th.

Heat 2

A mostly clean start this time with the exception of Jenson (34) crossing the track before the start line resulting in a B/W warning and a 5s penalty. A few drivers exchanged positions on the start but this heat was mostly uneventful. On the 5th lap, Alfie Campbell (40) initiated a switchback onto Sam Cooper (44) from the Warren up to the Esses to take 2nd. A few laps later, Cameron Pottle (7) ran wide into Senna and with Anthony (33) and Alex Beale (43)* close behind, they passed.

Heat 3

We saw a great start from Jenson (34) this time with the driver passing both Michael (54) and Alfie (40) by the end of the first lap. Cameron (7) also passed 2 drivers by the first lap, namely Alex (43)* and Anthony (33). However, onto the 2nd lap, Anthony (33) took his position back from Cameron (7). On lap 4, we saw an unfortunate spin for Jenson (34) with Alfie (40) being collected, resulting in the drivers sharing 9th and 10th respectively. After regaining his composure, Jenson (34) passed Cameron (7) and Alex (43)* in quick succession with Alfie (40) following soon after. Just 2 laps from the end, Alfie (40) lunged inside Jenson (34) into Senna and stayed ahead.

Final

Again, another great start from Jenson (34) with the driver making it up into 3rd before the end of the first lap. After exchanging positions with Seamus Cox (3), Euan Richards (29) ran into the back of Seamus (3) coming into 180 and spun. This, unfortunately, dropped Euan (29) into last. Soon after, the driver passed Alex (43)*. A lap later, Sam (44) got past Jenson (34) following a great exit out of Paddock. Coming up to the last lap, a great battle came from Cameron (7), Euan (29) and Alex (43)*. Euan (29) managed to squeeze ahead of Cameron (7) coming into 180 but Cameron pulled a switchback to have the inside into the Warren. However, Cameron (7) got a poor exit and with Alex (43)* close behind, Alex (43)* pulled alongside Cameron (7) up the back straight. With Cameron’s (7) kart staying ahead into the Esses, Alex (43)* backed out leaving the finishing order of the three to be Euan (29), Cameron (7) and Alex (43)*.

*Minimax Class

1st – Matthew Copsey (97)

2nd – Alfie Campbell (40)

3rd – Sam Cooper (44)

4th – Jenson Weston (34)

5th – Michael Morgan (54)

Junior TKM - Round 7

It was very close between all TKM drivers today, with the gaps between each kart being roughly half a second across the line. Freya Woodall (16) demonstrated her skills, performing a great comeback drive in Heat 2. Luke Bate (95) set the fastest TKM lap of the day with a 41.694 in heat 2.

Heat 1

Oliver Bowen (55) was struggling to get going on the dummy grid during the formation lap. After a lap, Oliver (55) got going and joined back into his rightful spot in the pack. On the first lap coming out of Senna, William Briant (97) pulled off onto the grass for a very early retirement. Jessica Fitch-hall (22) was very close behind Charlie Gromett (66) attempting a couple of moves on the Warren and into the Esses. Charlie (66) defended well until a surprise lunge from Jessica (22) into the right hander out of the Esses caught him off guard. With Charlie (66) now behind on the last lap, he followed Jessica (22) close behind until the last corner, Paddock, where Charlie got a great exit almost passing Jessica to the line.

Heat 2

Charlie (66). struggled to start from the dummy grid. After a lap from the field, Charlie still didn’t quite make the start so started from the dummy grid once the pack passed him. Coming into Senna, Oliver (55) attempted to pass Freya Woodall (16) around the outside. With the gap closing, the two drivers came together. Freya (16) sadly lost out four positions dropping into 7th while Oliver (55) only dropped down one position to 5th. Freya (16) put her head down and made some great overtakes, cleanly passing William (72), Oliver (55) and finally Jessica (22) to ultimately finish back in 3rd.

Heat 3

It was a very tidy but busy start, both Jessica (22) and William (72) lost two positions on the start leaving Luke Jarman (18) to move from 7th to 5th after the first lap. After following very closely all day, Luke Bate (95) then took the lead away from Jake Cox (26). On lap 5, Charlie (66) got a great run on Jessica (22) to pass up the inside of the French Curve. With Freya (16) looking to pass Jake (26), she made a lunge into the Esses but Jake defended well and the move didn’t stick. Unfortunately, not the best race for Jessica (22) as she was passed by William (72) on lap 7.

Final

The day was completed with a very close but uneventful final. William (72) got a great start to move past Charlie (66) and Jessica (22) on the start. Luke (95) made a few moves onto Jake (26) but, with Jake gluing his kart to the inside of each corner, Luke (95) couldn’t find a way past. Luke (95) attempted a great dive to the inside of Jake (26) into paddock. With Jake (26) leaving minimal room, the 2 rubbed together and Jake (26) stayed ahead. Onto the last lap, Charlie (66) had been patiently waiting all race to pass Jessica (22) when a gap opened. Charlie (66) lunged Jessica (22) into Senna and stayed ahead to finish 7th.

1st – Jake Cox (26)

2nd – Luke Bate (95)

3rd – Freya Woodall (16)

4th – Oliver Bowen (55)

5th – Luke Jarman (18)

Junior TKM - Round 8

Again, some more good racing between all. Some very close battling and some great defending. Jake (26) had some great pace being ahead of the pack all day. The driver also set the fastest lap of everyone in qualifying with a 41.605. Some of the best racing came from the back, with Charlie (66) always being involved both defending and attacking well.

Heat 1

For the first race of the day for these drivers, they gave us a very clean start to set the standard. Charlie Gromett (66) got past William Briant (97) on the start leaving William (97) to catch him for the whole race. Charlie (66) was never any more than 0.3s ahead of William (97) until the 9th lap where Charlie (66) finally got a little breathing room. This is because Luke Jarman (18), behind the pair, managed to get a great run out of the Warren and pass William (97).

Heat 2

It was a close and tight start. After exchanging positions on the start, Charlie (66) drove hard and gained back his position from Luke Jarman(18). However, a few laps later, with Luke (18) desperate to get past again, he moved to the inside of Charlie (66) into the Esses. Charlie (66) held his line and stayed ahead. Soon after, Luke (18) tried again and made it stick, moving up into 6th. Just after this overtake, Liam Bermoy (127) sadly retired on the grass adjacent to the Esses. During the race, we also saw some great defending from Freya Woodall (16) to keep her place on the podium.

Heat 3

Again, another good and close start with quite a few drivers exchanging positions. Although the start was busy, it led to a rather uneventful race. It was very close between 3rd and 6th with a rough average of a 0.6s total gap between them. At the front of the pack was Oliver Bowen (55) keeping his cool and holding the drivers behind. He left no room for error and stayed ahead to take 3rd by the end. Liam (127) had a moment on 180 running wide but he held it nicely and kept his composure. William (97) defended well from Charlie (66) all race up until the last lap. Charlie (66) lunged up the inside of William (97) into Senna. It was a forceful but fair move and Charlie stayed ahead (66).

Final

For the last race of the day, we unfortunately saw Luke Bate (95) start from the dummy grid, setting the driver up to show his attacking skills. Following another clean start from all, William (97) lunged onto Charlie (66) into Senna but pushed him wide resulting in a B/W warning. Before the end of the first lap, Liam (127) unfortunately retired due to a snapped throttle cable. With Freya (16) in 2nd, she was very close to Oliver (55) just waiting for an opportunity to arise. After defending from Luke (95) for a few laps, Charlie (66) got passed and sadly retired just a few laps later. Coming onto the second to last lap, after reeling William (97) in, Luke (95) attempted a pass into the Warren but ran wide and stayed behind. Onto the last lap, coming into Senna, Luke (95) lunged to the inside of William (97). The move stuck, and Luke (95) stayed ahead.

1st – Jake Cox (26)

2nd – Oliver Bowen (55)

3rd – Freya Woodall (16)

4th – Jessica Fitch-Hall (22)

5th – Luke Jarman (18)

Junior Prokart - Round 7

Very close racing up and down the grid. William Bloom (56) looked on form today giving Reece Bright (27) a hard time. Harvey Cursley (44) had some great starts today gaining a combined total of four positions on the starts.

Heat 1

On the start, a slight jump was noticed from James Drabwell (5) but with no advantage gained, no penalty was applied. Onto lap 2, Cassidy Beeton (66) moved to the inside of Alfie Wilkes (22). Cassidy (66) got past and Harvey Cursley (44) followed through. With Cassidy (66) compromised on exit, Harvey (44) passed her too. On lap 4, Cassidy (66) made a move up the inside of Harvey (44) but passed with contact made resulting in a Black and White (B/W) warning flag. Alfie (22) now close behind Harvey (44), got a lovely switchback into 180 on Harvey (44) to move around the outside of the hairpin. With Harvey (44) squeezing Alfie (22), some bumper to tyre contact was made resulting in Harvey’s (44) nearside front tyre de-beading. Waiting until the last lap, William Bloom (56) made a lunge onto Reece Bright (27) into the Esses. Reece (27) held his line to stay ahead and take 1st.

Heat 2

A great reaction to the start from Harvey (44) saw him climb two positions by the time the pack reached 180. Cassidy (66) was looking to grab her position back as she passed Harvey (44) coming into the French Curve. With Alfie (22) trying to follow suit, he put some quick laps in and caught Harvey (44) with three laps to spare. Alfie (22) passed Harvey (44) on exit of the Esses with Harvey (44) almost out-braking into paddock trying to catch him. On the weighbridge, it was discovered both Alfie (22) and Cassidy’s (66) karts were running T1 emulsion tubes on T2 engines resulting in exclusion due to non-compliance with Club 2000 regulations.

Heat 3

After starting in 4th, on the first lap, Harvey (44) passed James Drabwell (5). Meanwhile, William (56) made a last-minute lunge onto Reece (27) on the exit of the Esses to take the lead. A lap later, James (5) took his position back coming into the French Curve. With Reece (27) hot on William’s (56) heels, two laps from the end, Reece (27) moved inside William (56) into the Esses, held his line and stayed ahead.

Final

Harvey (44), yet again, made a great start and passed Cassidy (66). After 7 laps of brilliant defending, Harvey (44) was passed by Cassidy (66) through Paddock as she made a great switchback. For the last lap, Alfie (22) was desperate to pass Harvey (44) and coming out of the last corner, he got a great run, pulling alongside Harvey (44) and missing out by only 0.043s.

1st – Reece Bright (27)

2nd – William Tilden Bloom (56)

3rd – James Drabwell (5)

4th – Cassidy Beeton (66)

5th – Harvey Cursley (44)

Junior Prokart - Round 8

Another great day of racing for the Prokart drivers. William Bloom (56) drove very well managing to get past the formidable Reece Bright (27) and staying ahead for the day. Alfie Wilkes (22) and Harvey Cursley (44) were very close with the drivers exchanging positions many times with some good moves. Reece (27) set the fastest lap in heat 1 while he was defending from William (56) behind – a 43.776.

Heat 1

Alfie Wilkes (22) got a great start to move past Harvey Cursley (44), however, Harvey (44) held it around the outside of Senna and took his position back. All race, William Bloom (56) was applying pressure to Reece Bright (27) who had the lead. Harvey (44) defended well from Alfie (22) and kept his position to finish 4th. With 2 laps to go, William (56) moved to the inside of Reece (27) into Paddock to take the lead.

Heat 2

For the start, again, Alfie (22) moved off well and passed Harvey (44). This time, he stayed ahead. On lap 5, Cassidy Beeton (66) attempted a dive up the inside of Harvey (44) but she locked up and spun almost collecting Harvey (44).

Heat 3

After a good start, Harvey (44) moved up the inside of Alfie (22) into the French Curve but Alfie (22) seemed to panic and spun. His kart backed into the boundary tyre wall which knocked his chain guard loose. After being shown the Mechanical flag, Alfie (22) came in, quickly fixed the guard and re-joined. While he was leading, William (56) put in some great laps to keep Reece out of his tow. On lap 7, after catching Reece (27) bit by bit every lap, James Drabwell (5) got a great exit out of Paddock, and passed Reece (27) into the French Curve.

Final

Again, Alfie (22) and Harvey (44) traded places on the start into the French Curve with the former losing out. William (56) got into a great rhythm and pulled away from Reece (27) leaving Reece (27) to defend from James (5) without a tow. By lap 4, James (5) was just 0.17s behind Reece but, unfortunately, the driver made a mistake allowing Reece (27) a bit of room to relax. Harvey (44) was also pushing hard to catch Alfie (22). On the last lap, Harvey (44) looked up the inside of Alfie (22) into 180. Alfie (22) held his line around the outside, had the inside for the Warren, and stayed ahead.

1st – William Bloom (56)

2nd – Reece Bright (27)

3rd – James Drabwell (5)

4th – Alfie Wilkes (22)

5th – Harvey Cursley (44)

Senior Rotax - Round 7

We had a good turn-out this round and some very tidy and close racing up and down the grid. Lewis Fagg (64) put it in a great performance, turning his bad luck around and managing to finish 2nd in the Final. We saw some great pace from Arundel Hughes (24) despite not being able to make many positions of it. He also grabbed the fastest lap in Heat 1 with a 39.799. Thomas Parker (72) drove exceptionally well pulling off some great overtakes putting his kart exactly in the right places at the right times.

Heat 1

A very clean and busy start from the drivers today with a lot of position trading on the first lap. Sam Yaxley (97) had an incredible start making his way from 11th up into 5th by the first lap. However, a lap later, he bumped Dylan Tatham (55) into Senna, picking up a Black and White warning and dropping Dylan two positions. Sam (97) lost this great momentum losing out to a few drivers to drop back to 10th by lap 3. Now on the charge, Sam (97) passed Charlie Flux (86), Dylan (55) and Lewis Fagg (64) respectively. Just two laps from the end, Dylan (55) looked to pass Sam (97) into Senna but locked up forcing Sam (97) wide and leaving him vulnerable to Lewis (64) and Charlie (86). Stuart Smith (92) also got a great start moving from 4th up into the lead and staying there the whole race. Chloe Kunjasic (14), started 2nd, lost out on the start dropping down to 5th within 2 laps. Both Arundel Hughes (24) and Adam Forrester (18) got a great start moving up four positions each within three laps to respectively finish 2nd and 3rd.

Heat 2

For this race, Thomas Parker (72) put in a blinding performance. Starting in 11th, the driver made a grand total of seven overtakes including a beautiful lunge into 180 on Vincent Anderson (21) to make his way into 3rd. Stuart Smith (92) also had a great race starting in 10th following Thomas (72) through and making a great overtake passing Vincent (21) into paddock and ultimately finishing 4th. We saw a good comeback from Lewis (64). He had lost three positions between lap 2 and 4 but made a couple of great overtakes. Namely, a lunge into Senna on Charlie (86) and a pass up the inside of Matt Davey (9) around the Warren.

Heat 3

In Heat 3, we saw another blinding performance, this time from Adam (18) to start from the back and finish in 5th. We saw some great overtakes including a good battle with Matt Davey (9). Adam (18) got alongside Matt (9) into Senna but backed out at the last moment. Soon after, Adam (18) lunged Matt into Senna again and the pair fought side by side through to 180. Matt (9) stayed ahead, however, Adam soon passed around the Esses albeit with slight contact. Thomas (72) had a great start taking the lead by the end of the first lap past Lewis (64) and Arundel (24).

Final

For the Final, we saw a textbook, uniform, start from all the drivers. After a great performance all day, it was sad to see Stuart (92) not participating in the Final due to injury. Almost everybody kept their positions on the first lap, apart from both Charlie (86) and Matt (9) making up one position. Coming into the left hander of 180, Arundel (24) moved up the inside of Adam (18) but locked up causing Arundel (24) to spin, Thomas (72) got collected and dropped to 7th while Lewis (64) squeezed past and moved up to 2nd. With Thomas (72) on the grind to get back to where he was, he attempted a great move lunging Sam (97) into 180. Sam (97) defended well and stayed alongside Thomas (72) around the outside. Having the inside into the Warren, Sam (97) stayed ahead. Soon after, Thomas (72) pulled the same move again, however, with more speed as he managed to stay ahead of Sam (97) coming into the Warren.

1st – Adam Forrester (18)

2nd – Lewis Fagg (64)

3rd – Matt Davey (9)

4th – Vincent Anderson (21)

5th – Thomas Parker (72)

Senior Rotax - Round 8

A great performance today from Lewis Fagg (64) to make a great weekend all round for him. Thomas Parker (72) also drove well from what we saw which was a shame as the driver didn’t participate past heat 1. Chloe Kunjasic (14) put in a great performance in the final to start 6th and make up enough places on the start to move up to 3rd and defend well. Thomas (72) set the fastest lap in 2nd practice with a 40.030 - a whole 0.3s faster than anybody else could do throughout the day.

Heat 1

We saw a textbook start from the Seniors with a few drivers shuffling on the start. Vincent Anderson (21) had a good start, moving up 2 positions by the first lap. Starting from second to last, Arundel Hughes (24) was set up for an exciting race. After passing Thomas Parker (72) on the start, Arundel (24) pulled to the inside of Charlie Flux (86) into the French Curve. Thomas (72) followed by moving to the inside of Charlie (86) into 180. The next driver for the pair to overtake was Lewis Fagg (64) however, it wasn’t a fair fight as Lewis (64) got severely bogged down exiting the Warren. Arundel (24) attempted to get past but got held up allowing Thomas (72) to sneak alongside. Arundel (24) switched back to the inside and passed Thomas (72) up to the Esses. Arundel (24) put in a stellar performance to pass 3 more drivers and take 2nd.

Heat 2

Unfortunately for heat 2, Thomas (72) didn’t participate. The start was very uniform with most drivers keeping their positions. Into Senna, Chloe Kunjasic (14) pushed into the rear of Dylan Tatham (55) and gained position resulting in a Black and White flag. Lewis (64) managed to capitalise from this and pass the pair to move up into 5th. On the third lap, Dylan (55) peeled off into the pits and retired. A lap later, Lewis (64) moved up into 4th by passing Matt Davey (9). Arundel (24) also made his way past Vincent (21) for 2nd and soon after, he passed Charlie (86) to take the lead. Another lap later, Matt (9) ran wide into 180 and with Chloe (14) close behind, she took the position. Onto the last lap, Charlie (86) defended well from Lewis (64) and coming up to the line, Lewis (64) got a great run out of Paddock but was just short on the line by 0.009s.

Heat 3

Another textbook start from the Seniors even keeping it clean three-wide into Senna. Vincent (21) and Matt (9) had a good start to both pass Dylan (55) by the first lap. On lap 2, coming around the Esses, Dylan (55), Vincent (21) and Matt (9) had a coming together but all drivers were okay and racing continued. This worked out for Charlie (86) as he passed the trio unscathed to take 4th. After defending well from Arundel (24) for 7 laps, Lewis (64) lost the lead as he was passed up the inside of the French Curve. Matt (9) retired soon after due to a damaged radiator with Dylan (55) retiring a lap later.

Final

For the final, we had an interesting start. Arundel (24) started on pole, however, he didn’t accelerate off the line when the lights went green. Unfortunately, this was down to a bit of a misunderstanding with the start rules. Arundel (24) put his head down and was set to take the positions back. Arundel (24) made a move past Bradley Carlton-Smith (8) after a couple of laps. Close behind Vincent (21) was Matt (9). Trying to make a move, Matt (9) tagged the rear of Vincent (21) into 180 but gave him the room to keep the position. Matt (9) tried again soon after and made the move stick. Meanwhile the leader, Lewis (64), was defending really well from Dylan (55) to keep the lead. Onto the last lap, Vincent (21) attempted a lunge onto Matt (9) into Senna but was held off around the outside. With the pair battling, Arundel (24) close behind got past and moved up into 4th. After a great start, Chloe (14) made her way up into 3rd by the first lap and stayed there until the end.

1st – Lewis Fagg (64)

2nd – Dylan Tatham (55)

3rd – Chloe Kunjasic (14)

4th – Arundel Hughes (24)

5th – Matt Davey (9)

Senior Rotax 177 - Round 7

We had a very busy grid for the 177s this round which made for some close racing between almost every driver. With the previous record being a 40.83, we saw a new lap record set by Lloyd Bell (100) – a 40.367 during Heat 1. Not only did he beat the record once, but was setting sub-40.5s laps the whole day. If Lloyd (100) hadn’t been in attendance, David German (3) would have beaten the record too with a 40.800 in Heat 2.

Heat 1

Before the racing was even underway, we had a retirement from Nathan Cullabine (19) on the dummy grid. When we did start, we saw a very scrambled start. Coming into Senna, Matthew Hunting (50) was late on the brakes and piled into the pack. Everyone was okay and Matthew (50) picked up a Black and White (B/W) warning. With the line-up very mixed up, it made for great racing. Coming into lap 4, we saw a great overtake from Lloyd (100) to pass up the inside of Nick Aitken (21) for first. Meanwhile, after a great start making up 4 positions, Oliver Moss (44) lost the chain and went into the pits. David German (3) and Miles Williams (628) got a good start too. The pair had a lovely battle side-by-side from Senna up to 180 with David (3) staying ahead. Soon after, David (3) pulled off some great moves passing both Mike Boswell (27) and Simon Hilton (65) consecutively into Senna.

Heat 2

It was a more uniform start second time around with only a slight bit of contact into the first corner. This was between Stewart Hunting (55) and Simon Hilton (65) with Stewart (55) getting up onto 2 wheels. A couple of laps later we saw a move from Rob Reeve (15) past Oliver Moss (44) into the lead. On lap 3, Nick Aitken (21) passed Jamie Allen (34) up the inside of the French Curve, soon after Lloyd (100) passed Jamie (34) around the outside of 180. Having the inside into the Warren, Lloyd (100) stayed ahead. Another couple of laps later, with some great pace, Lloyd (100) passed Nick (21) into the inside of the Esses. However, as Lloyd (100) was looking for a way past Miles Williams (628) into Paddock, he tapped Miles’s (628) nearside rear almost sending him into a spin. Lloyd (100) picked up a B/W warning for this. Meanwhile, Oliver (44) up in 2nd had been putting in some quick, consistent laps to catch Rob (15). 3 laps from the end, Oliver (44) got a great exit out of 180 to pass Rob (15) just before the Warren. Still on his charge a lap later, Lloyd (100) passed Miles (628) with Nick (21) making a move soon after. Onto the last lap, Lloyd made another move onto Mike Boswell (27) to finish 5th.

Heat 3

For this heat, we saw Oliver (44) struggling to get going from the dummy grid. After the pack went round the circuit twice, he managed to fire his kart up and start from the dummy grid. Another clean start with the order being a little shaken up by lap 1. Stewart Hunting (55) didn’t get a great start as he dropped down 5 places to 10th by the end of the first lap. David (3) made his way past Phil Patience (66) into the lead. Both Nick (21) and Rob (15) made their way past 3 drivers to take 8th and 9th respectively by the first lap. Again, a good few opening laps for Lloyd (100) with the driver taking 2nd by lap 3. On lap 5, Simon (65) ran wide into Senna collecting Mike Boswell (27) plummeting both drivers into 12th and 13th respectively. A lap later, Lloyd (100) finally took the lead as he passed David (3). Meanwhile, Jay Ford (99) unfortunately pulled over on the straight next to the café and retired. A few laps from the end, Simon (65) passed Stewart (55) into Senna with Mike (27) following through.

Final

On the first lap there was a good move from Simon (65) passing around the outside of Phil (66) and Matthew (50) into the French Curve. Starting in 7th, Oliver (44) had a great race making some great overtakes particularly onto Rob (15) up the inside into 180 for the bottom step of the podium. Jay (99) also had a good race making his way up into 6th with an overtake on Justin Clarke (48) on the last lap. Unfortunately, just 3 laps from the end Jamie Allen (34) peeled off into the pits and retired.

1st – Lloyd Bell (100)

2nd – David German (3)

3rd – Oliver Moss (44)

4th – Nick Aitken (21)

5th – Rob Reeve (15)

Senior Rotax 177 - Round 8

Not as full as Saturday’s grid but still a lot of drivers and a lot of close racing. Jay Ford and Rob Reeve (15) were really quick and managed to put their karts in all the right places to pass. Jamie Allen (34) suffered with a bit of bad luck but showed some good skill. Nic Carlton-Smith set the fastest lap in heat 1 with a 40.912 – again another driver with bad luck today.

Heat 1

For the first race of the day, there was a lot happening. It was a very close start between all. A few drivers had a shuffle on the start with Rob Reeve (15) in particular getting a good start moving up to 4th from 7th. After this start, Rob (15) was putting the pressure onto Jay Ford (99) in front. After a few laps, Jay (99) lunged to the inside of Simon Hilton (65) into the French curve to take 2nd. Rob (15) followed behind by then lunging inside Simon (65) into 180. Jay (99) and Rob (15) were then close behind Nick Aitken (21) in the lead. Coming into the French Curve, Jay (99) moved to the inside of Nick (21) and was left as little room as possible. Jay (99) still made his way through and Rob (15) close behind followed him through.

Heat 2

Rob (15), again got a good start and immediately overtook Phil Patience (66) for the lead. Nick (21) also got a good start gaining 2 positions by the end of the first lap. Around the Esses, Jamie Allen (34) and Simon Carlton-Smith (6) had a coming together, resulting in Jamie (34) spinning off and creating a tidal wave of dust. Jamie (34) unfortunately then came into the pits and retired. Jay (99) had a great first 4 laps making a pass every single lap but settled into a 4th place finish. Mike Boswell (27) had a stroke of bad luck when his bumper came loose, was shown a mechanical flag and had to pit. At the same time, Simon Carlton-Smith had a breakdown and had to pull over on the Simpson straight.

Heat 3

After suffering from some bad luck, Jamie (34) started on pole for this race and managed to stay there up until the 8th lap. Into the first corner though, Rob (15) got tagged on his right rear sending the driver into a slide. Rob (15) held it beautifully around the outside and re-joined. Nic Carlton-Smith (7) had a rough start with a spin on 180. The driver then pulled off and retired. Rob (15) had a great fight through the pack passing each driver cleanly and ultimately finishing 4th. Jay (99) also made some clean passes and ultimately passed Jamie (34) up his inside into the French Curve for the lead.

Final

A relatively tidy start for everyone. Jamie (34) tagged the rear bumper of Justin Clarke (48) in front resulting in Justin’s (48) bumper coming loose and the driver having an early retirement. After this contact, Jamie (34) sadly dropped down the order into last. Strangely, Nic (7) again pulled off to the side of 180 on the first lap and retired. Simon Hilton (65) on the 5th lap passed Nick (21) for 3rd coming out of paddock. Jamie (34) had a great recovery and made a few moves to make it back up to a 7th place finish. Onto the last lap, Rob (15) passed Jay (99) for the lead as Jay made a mistake. With Jay (99) also picking up a 5s penalty for his front bumper, he finished 3rd.

1st – Rob Reeve (15)

2nd – Simon Hilton (65)

3rd – Jay Ford (99)

4th – Nick Aitken (21)

5th – Mike Boswell (27)