March 2010 Round 1 FEKC Club Championship
Round 1 of the 2010 Forest Edge Kart Club Championship welcomed a cold brisk day with cloudless skies, the sun desperately trying to shine through to warm up competitors and spectators alike. Round 1 of the Championship will prove to be the last time the drivers get to run through the "Esses", with April looking to dramatically change the track to offer one of the fastest and most technical sections of tarmac in the UK!
First final out was Senior Rotax and the grid has swelled massively with quick and light Juniors moving up, buoyed by evacuees from Senior TKM that has created a mouth watering prospect that could see any one of ten drivers challenge for the 2010 Championship! Scott Smart freshly shod on the latest BRM sat on pole with Dean Hale moving across from TKM sitting alongside. Forest have abandoned the 25 metre "pre start" line for 2010 and this has energised the starts, for this race Hale got the best of starts taking the inside line away from Smart into "Haynes Loop", at this stage Smart was stranded wide allowing through Dan Bushell and Michael Kent, allowing Hale a clear run through the Esses on lap 1. Michael Cheek, recently "promoted" from Juniors looked the danger man throughout the day and coming through from grid five he gradually started to pick off the drivers in front, first Smart on lap 2, then Bushell and finally easing past Kent to set after Hale. With two laps to go Cheek was finally on the bumper of Hale, yet Hale showed a tremendous final unruffled last laps to hold Cheek at bay and take his first win in Rotax with cheek having to settle for second, Kent took the final podium just ahead of another TKM evacuee, Dan Bushell. Andy Yelland took first placed Novice with impressive lap times throughout the final, yet it was the raw pace of the top ten that looks to present Forest Edge with a stunning challenge of who will win the Rotax grid this year!
Minimax looks to have the spectators salivating for 2010 with many graduates from Cadet making a great move into the Rotax class, adapting to the class like seasoned pro’s. Maculay Austin sat on pole, surrounded on the front two rows by Sam Cassidy, Elliot Hall and newest Minimax graduate David Wright. Austin utilised his vast experienced with a nice tight start into Haynes Loop that saw him emerge from the Esses firmly in the lead, Cassidy tucked in behind with Hall and Wright in close proximity nose to tail. As the race evolved Austin could not lose Cassidy and traded fastest lap after fastest lap, Hall eked away from Wright and that remained the case right through to the chequered flag, Cassidy pushed as hard as he could yet it was an old head on young shoulders that saw Austin take the top step across the line.
TKM saw Stewart Morris take lights to flag victory, but the times of the top five, Joshua Waters, James Farrow, Daniel Watson and Martin Kirby look remarkably close, proving so with a close race right to the flag which shows a great season’s racing in TKM to come.
Robin Stoddard Stones held off the old stager Ron Shone in Formula Blue although today Shone proved the quicker man on track.
Forest Edge continues to promote the Cadet Libre grid with the three engines of Honda, Comer and WTP all mixed amongst each other to provide different power curves making the youngsters think above different race tactics. The BRM Comer shod kart of Ryan Anderton on pole gently eased away from early Comer challengers Brandon Hague and last year’s Champion Jordan Gilbertson. Robbie Gallier’s Honda looked quick all day, however George Thomson had other ideas and the two Hondas pushed each other through the grid nose to tail the whole race. Anderton’s Comer looked to have the race won, with two laps to go Gilbertson dived up the inside at Midgetts and with contact taking place Anderton dropped down three places allowing Gilbertson through and into a resulting judicial. After the final flag and following stewards result the Comers came out with Gilberston first, Hague second and Anderton having to settle for third place. The Hondas had no controversy with Gallier just easing into third place on track to secure first Honda home from smallest of margins from Thomson and Jason Duffett in third. Marcus Boyd took his first win in WTP and finished well up field in the mixed field. Harry Mailer took first Novice home to finish mid field in the A final with a promising drive.
The Junior Rotax grid continues to grow, Archie White on pole looked across to see last year’s Junior Club Champion Matt Duffett alongside, a good start by White allowed him to exit the Esses ahead of Duffett with Jorgan Tveit behind. Duffett started to fade with carb problems allowing Tveit to mount the challenge to White for the whole race, coming close to squeezing through mid race, the last quarter of the race White took complete control and eased slightly away to win at the line from Tveit by a couple of kart lengths. Third placed finisher Jack Mayle had it all to do in the final having to come through from grid 13 and progressively picked his way through the traffic, but with the top seven finishers lap times separated by only two tenths it promises to be an action packed Championship for 2010.
The 177 grid for the season opener showed quantity and quality and with the addition of 177 Masters to the class it looks set to provide quality racing. Poleman Nick Maton had everything his own way with a good start to leave the battles behind, a first corner incident involving 6 Novices just cleared by the time Maton made his way round for lap 2. Steve Pratt had a solid drive, after snapping an axle earlier in the day had the challenge of moving through the pack to secure a well deserved second place to Maton. Pete Thomas took third place with Master Charlie Watson closing up to Thomas in the closing laps to outline how close the class will be in 2010.
A mixed gearbox grid saw a battle royal at the front for the whole race between James Mudd and O plate winner Daniel Borton, Borton had to make up some ground from earlier and at the finish was across the finish line on Mudd’s bumper! With Super 4 due in April these two looked to familiarise themselves to the track with ease, first 250 home was the Jade of Kenton Ashforth and with track changes due in the coming weeks it promises to provide a new challenge that will be ideally suited to the Gearbox classes.
Last race of the day was the traditional cadet "Devil take the Hindmost", by the last lap three drivers were left in the running, Novice Matthew Edon had a great drive for the whole race only succumbing to the Hondas of Fletcher Trueman and Robbie Gallier in the latter stages, one lap to go, Gallier took Trueman and accepted the chequered flag and his second trophy of the day.
Big track changes are now underway for the next event at Forest Edge to provide what looks to be possibly some of the best corners in the country, book early for next month!