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FKS Round One Report – Cadet

The opening round of the MSA British Cadet Championship saw 49 drivers and their teams brave the unseasonably chilly Easter weather to take in the breathtaking Lakeland Stadium circuit in Rowrah for a day that played out under increasingly bright and sunny conditions.

With snow peppering the surrounding peaks the first half of Rowrah’s doubleheader weekend got off to a damp start following plenty of overnight rain with drivers split into two qualifying groups for the first part of the revamped FKS race format. Following those ten minute sessions drivers took part in two heats of twelve minutes (plus one lap) which then decided the grid for the 15 minute (plus one lap) final. 26 drivers would automatically qualify for the main event with a further four getting in through the B Final.

On a slippery track Welsh Champion Tom Harvey was quick to pick up where he left off in FKS in 2009 (a winner at the final weekend at Whilton Mill) as he set fastest time in the first session in his Fusion run Zip. Stopping the clocks in a time of 58.44-seconds Harvey was eight hundredths faster than new Zip Young Guns recruit James Kellett with Kellett’s teammate Connor Mills a further tenth in arrears.

SAS Motorsport’s Jake Walker, one of a growing contingent of Wright mounted drivers, was next up and was the only other driver to break the 59 second barrier with Connor Jupp, driving for James Bean’s new Eclipse Motorsport outfit completing the top five.

Darius Karbaley turned a few heads in the second group by being the only driver to venture out on slick tyres but when he soon appeared near the top of the timesheets it seemed to be an inspired decision. However while the Fusion-run driver was fastest of all through the first two sectors of the 1030-metre circuit, the last sector was just a little too slippery for Karbaley to fully capitalise although third fastest time, half a second behind teammate Nathan Aston, was highly creditable.

In fact Aston’s best lap of 58.19-seconds was quick enough to give him combined pole position over the two sessions, pushing Harvey down to second overall. That meant that Aston would start both his heats from pole position with Harvey and Kellett (whose session one time was good enough for third overall) each starting one heat from the top grid position.

Max Vaughan, aboard an RL Race Team run Tonykart, was second fastest in group two and fourth overall ahead of the aforementioned Karbaley, American Santino Ferrucci in yet another Fusion run kart and FKS newcomer Daniel Ticktum in one of the official Team Wright entries.

Aston and Harvey shared the front row of the grid for the opening heat and after both safely negotiated the tricky first chicane the two teammates proceeded to pull away from the chasing pack. After applying some initial pressure Harvey started to fall away by the half way point of what was a 14 lap race leaving Aston to guide his kart home with a 1.7-second advantage.

Harvey too was clear of the rest in second place with Jupp, Ticktum, Luke Barker and Shanaka Clay completing the top six. In eighth place, Scottish Super Series champion Dean Macdonald was the best placed of the championship newcomers although for two other FKS debutants, Tom Weyer and William Taylforth there was less to smile about as Taylforth’s kart failed on the rolling lap and Weyer got bundled up in an incident.

Kellett had top spot for the second 14-lap heat and the race soon developed into a four way tussle with Kellett, Vaughan, Lando Norris and Rory Cuff disputing top spot. All four took turns at the head of the queue before Vaughan dropped back and Cuff charged to the front. Despite some frantic late action Cuff held on for victory by one tenth of Kellett and Norris with Ross Martin taking a superb fourth on his FKS debut narrowly ahead of Dan Zelos and the recovering Vaughan.

Further down the order there was disappointment for Ferrucci, who had to retire when his chainguard flew off with Thanassi Barnicoat, Mikey Doble, Dubai based driver Cyrus Engineer amongst the non finishers and James Manning failing to take the start.

quot;EN-US">The third head saw Aston on pole once more and although he led virtually from start to finish he didn’t have things as easy as the first race he was still able to hold off Cuff and Kellett, all three flashing across the line separated by less than three tenths.

Mills crossed the line in four th, five seconds down on the leading trio with Philip Rawson, Macdonald, Greg McKenzie, Owen Griffiths, Ross Gunn and Clay rounding out the top ten.

The fourth and final heat saw Harvey start from pole and while the Welshman led the early exchanges he soon found his kart lacking the pace to stay at the front and was swamped by Jupp, Vaughan and Zip’s Trevyn Jay Nelson.

Nelson, who picked up some unique backing from Irish Artist Bradley during the off-season, was a man inspired after qualifying outside the top twenty and he scythed up the order, passing Ferrucci, Harvey, Jupp and Vaughan to take the win by less than half a second. Jupp scrabbled through to take second spot with Vaughan a close third, Harvey two seconds back in fourth and Ferrucci fifth.

Twenty six drivers automatically qualified for the A Final with four more set to join at the conclusion of the 14-lap B Final.

In the B Final itself it was Luke Barker who escaped into a comfortable lead with Connor Hall and Sterling Forster disputing second. Jamie Caroline initially held the fourth and final transfer spot but was eventually swamped by Cameron Roberts and James Manning who, after some dreadful luck in the heats, started from the back of the 23 strong grid.

With the top three clear it was Manning who eventually claimed fourth place, holding off Roberts by a kart length with Caroline, Harry Torpy, Thanassi Barnicoat, Lewis Taylor and Ryan Anderton completing the top ten.

In the 15-minute (plus one lap) main event Aston took full advantage of his hard earned pole position to take and early lead and after all the usual early race shuffling it was Jupp who emerged as his closest threat as the race wore on.

Working in perfect tandem Aston and Jupp pulled a two second lead over the rest of the pack with Jupp looking just as confident as the leader. After narrowly missing out on victory in the final round of 2009 at Whilton Mill Jupp appeared to be playing the waiting game to perfection as they started their 18^th and final lap.

But as the duo raced through the tricky uphill first chicane Jupp got a little too aggressive over the kerbing, clattering across the middle portion of the complex, unsettling the kart and giving Aston a couple of critical kart lengths advantage. Although Jupp did everything he could to try and regain those lost lengths over the subsequent corners, Aston refused to let him back in the game and crossed the line two tenths of a second ahead for a hugely popular maiden FKS win.

Jupp was somewhat disappointed with second place, but with a new team around him and a good points haul to start the season, his emotions were somewhat tempered.

Two seconds behind Jupp Vaughan claimed the final podium spot just holding off Kellett, who claimed his best ever FKS result. Nelson completed the top five just a fraction behind Kellett with Cuff, Harvey, Rawson, Callum Ilott and Gunn rounding out the top ten.

Among those who looked like contending for a top placing but who missed out were Walker, who finished 14^th, Ferrucci, who was 17^th and Norris, who was challenging for a top five place until one of his sidepods broke free of its fixings which led to a mechanical flag and a heartbreaking DNF.

 

 

 

FKS Round One Report – Mini Max

The 2010 Formula Kart Stars Mini Max Championship began with 29 drivers (one shy of a maximum grid) venturing out onto a slightly damp but drying Rowrah circuit for their ten minute qualifying session.

Having watched the other classes establish something resembling a dry line slick tyres were the order of the day for everyone and after a couple of exploratory laps the quick times came thick and fast with a good mixed of experienced names and championship newcomers all showing pole position capabilities in an exciting session.

Springing a major surprise in the opening minutes was FKS debutant Lemuel Pay who, on the only RK chassis in the field and without the benefit of a team behind him, set the pace and Pay remained the quickest kart of all through the first sector.

However each time Pay improved, TMR Developments’ Ryan Norris carrying the number nine plate from 2009 would go a little quicker and the Tonykart shod driver was able to capitalise on his superior speed in sectors two and three to take pole position with a time of 49.58-seconds just eight hundredths quicker than Pay.

Last year’s eleventh seed Oliver Myers, driving for new team Global Karting wound up third fastest with a time of 49.74-seconds with fellow series returnees Jay Goodwin, Sam Oram Jones and Adam Glear rounding out the top six.

Ethan Patterson, new to Mini Max and making his first FKS appearance since 2006, was seventh fastest, just three tenths of a second slower than Norris while reigning MSA British Cadet Champion George Russell briefly held top spot but was eventually shuffled back to eighth, one place ahead of Zubair Hoque with Welsh Champion Sam Marsh completing the top ten.

Qualifying gave a hint of just how close the class was shaping up to be and the heats certainly didn’t disappoint with up to a dozen drivers showing race winning pace during the course of the two twelve minute (plus one lap) races.

In heat one Norris led from pole but was overhauled by Myers and the two began a titanic tussle that allowed Glear and Russell to join the fray. All four took turns at heading the pack before Glear, moving up to the Wavertree Motorsport team that guided Jack Barlow to FKS title honours in 2009 finally edged ahead.

Myers tried everything to break Glear’s defences on the final lap but had to settle for second with Norris crossing the line less than a second behind Glear in third. Russell, driving for Strawberry Racing, finished fourth with Pay proving that his qualifying performance was no fluke with a fine fifth place effort.

Norris’ TMR Developments teammate Hoque claimed sixth place ahead of Patterson, Marsh, Bobby Thompson and Seth James with just six seconds separating the top ten finishers.

Mindful of the intense battle that developed in the opening heat Norris took an early lead in heat two but was happy to let Myers lead when he came charging through. Norris’ tactics appeared to be working as he and Myers pulled out a handy lead over Pay and the rest of the field, which was now minus Callum James and Jed Jeffreys who were early retirees.

Norris’ plan may have been working as far as breaking away from the pack was concerned but as far as winning the race things weren’t going to plan with Myers proving a tough nut to crack. Into the final lap and Norris applied maximum pressure but Myers had an answer for every question the Liverpudlian based driver asked and took his first FKS win by eighteen hundredths of a second.

Pay claimed third, nearly three seconds behind the top two with Hoque just getting the better of Patterson for fourth and Thompson heading home a six kart train in sixth. Heat one winner Glear had to make do with eighth while Russell was only twelfth, two places ahead of his fellow Cadet graduate Josh White.

The final was a cracker with nothing to choose between heat winners Glear and Myers and the consistent Norris. Russell briefly joined the fray but had a moment and slipped back behind Hoque, who led the chasing pack but all attention was focused on the three way scrap at the head of the field, which sadly didn’t include Pay who was one of three victims of a first lap pile-up at McRae’s hairpin.

Poleman Myers was eventually shuffled back to third behind Glear and Norris although Norris worked his way around Glear and held on for his first FKS win by just four hundredths of a second with Myers less than three tenths back to complete the podium.

The top five was rounded out by Hoque and Oram Jones with Russell, Thompson, Goodwin, Josh Cornwell and Marsh completing the top ten.

 

FKS Round One Report – KF3

Although the entry list for the fastest class run under the Formula Kart Stars umbrella was significantly down on the previous two years with a number choosing to miss the first weekend to race in Europe, leaving just a dozen contenders vying to emulate outgoing champion Alex Albon, there was enough draama and excitement during the opening day of the season to suggest that 2010 will be just as hotly contested as the previous two campaigns.

The Saturday of Easter weekend dawned damp and cloudy at the picturesque Rowrah circuit in Cumbria but after the Cadets had done an excellent job of creating a largely dry line around the rolling 1030-metre circuit all twelve KF3 contenders elected to qualify on slick tyres in the hope that, with enough warmth in them, the treadless rubber would have enough grip to carry them around without undue problems.

Despite the scarcity of numbers, two of the classes powerhouses were well represented with Mick Barrett Racing and Fusion Motorsport supplying two thirds of the grid. It was one member of the MBR quintet, last year’s sixth seed Xavier Warburton who managed to steal a march on his rivals with a best lap of 47.64-seconds some three minutes before the end of the ten minute session.

Although Warburton didn’t improve in the last couple of minutes his margin seemed secure although in the dying moments class debutant Matthew Graham, a winner at Rowrah in 2009 as a Cadet, got mightily close to causing a major surprise with a lap of 47.75-seconds aboard his AMT Racing run machine. Graham’s last lap flier was enough to push Warburton’s MBR teammate Ben Barnicoat and Fusion’s Charlie Robertson down to the second row of the grid for the two twelve minute (plus one lap) heats.

Jacob Stilp (Fusion) and Sam Macleod (MBR) shared the third row with Cadet graduate Ricky Collard (Fusion) and Alex Hamilton (MBR) next up and the field being completed by the Energy Corse of Harry Woodhead, the Wright of Alex Gill, Blitz Racing’s Dylon Phibbs and the final member of the Mick Barrett stable Oliver Norris with the latter the only driver not to qualify within a second of Warburton’s pacesetting time.

While Warburton made good his escape at the start of the opening 17-lap heat there was consternation for Barnicoat who, after having trouble getting started from the dummy grid, had to slot in at the tail end of the field. While Barnicoat’s path towards the sharp end of the field was aided by Woodhead’s lap two retirement his progressed slowed after a stunning two laps that saw him move from twelfth to sixth.

Warburton was in a class of his own at the front, opening a two second lead and maintaining the gap as teammates Stilp and Robertson and a determined Graham disputed second. Stilp’s extra year of experience in KF3 eventually paid dividends as he came through to take second place at the flag with Robertson and Graham just behind.

In fifth place Barnicoat was some ten seconds adrift at the end, paying the prixce for abusing his tyres too much in the early laps and last year’s fourth place driver was unable to get within four tenths of Warburton’s pace leaving him somewhat frustrated at the end of the race.

Hamilton followed Barnicoat home in sixth while Macleod held on to seventh over the chasing duo of Phibbs and Gill.

Warburton was similarly untroubled in heat two as he comfortably secured pole position for the final although on this occasion Stilp was able to stay within two seconds of the lead throughout the race. Barnicoat, once again frustrated at being unable to quite match the pace of his teammate, at least had the consilation of claiming third and beating a squabbling Robertson and Graham to the chequered flag.

At the back of the field Woodhead’s day got worse when his kart broke down on the rolling lap while Collard’s up and down day took a bit of a dip when he spun to eleventh.

The final, which would run to a total distance of 21 laps, was always going to be a tough test of man and machine but after a slightly tame start to the day, the on track action also picked up considerably for although Warburton got away from pole position and into the lead, Stilp, Barnicoat, Graham and Robertson were all in contention right from the outset.

With Warburton’s tyres taking a few laps to come in Stilp and Robertson saw their chance and went for it and coming down to St John’s bend on the fourth lap both Fusion drivers dived to the inside. Warburton saw the threat and adjusted his line accordingly but unfortunately found the ‘marbles’ off line and slithered helplessly into the infamous Rowrah woodchip. With the kart buried Warburton was unable to get back on track and was out, leaving the Stockport based driver to sit forlornly on the barriers and watch the rest of the race unfold without him.

Spurred on by Warburton’s unscheduled departure Stilp set about opening up an advantage although Robertson clung to him like the preverbial Jack Russell to the postman’s ankle. However little by little Stilp’s extra experience in the class began to tell and as the marathon race wore on the gap between the top two grew until Stilp took the chequered flag some 2.84-seconds to the good.

Behind Robertson a splendid mature drive from Gill netted the young Doncaster based driver, the only one in the field running without backing from a team, a well earned third place. Conserving his tyres like a KF3 veteran Gill gradually picked off his rivals one by one after slipping back to tenth in the early stages and finally overtook Graham for third with two laps to go.

Graham led home Barnicoat, Macleod, a relieved Woodhead who finally got some decent race mileage under his belt, Phibbs and Norris. Collard and Hamilton joined Warburton on the list of non finishers with Collard’s eventful day ending when his steering column broke on lap eight, depositing him in the same bark trap that had earlier claimed Warburton.

 

FKS Round One Report – Junior Max

Formula Kart Stars 2010 Junior Rotax championship started on a drying track on Easter Saturday at Rowrah with 27 karts heading out for timed qualifying all hoping to match 2009 champion Matt Parry’s previous dominance of the class.

Right from the word go P1 Racing’s GP Plate holder Ash Hand set the pace, trading fastest times with his teammate Fraser O’Brien and Vital Motorsport’s Josh Parker who, along with Hand, were the only pair in the field to have won an FKS round previously in this class.

Hand saved his best for last, lapping the 1030-metre Lakeland Stadium circuit in a best time of 48.11-seconds on his 13^th and final lap, twelve hundredths quicker than O’Brien and just over two tenths ahead of Parker.

Dave Smith Racing’s Declan Jones was third fastest with FKS newcomer Callum Pointon fourth for AIM Motorsport and reigning FKS Mini Max champion Jack Barlow rounding out the top six for Dan Holland Racing.

DF Motorsport locked out the fourth row of the grid with Charlie Turner and Charlie Streather with Jack Taylor and George Cosgrove completing the top ten while down in the P1 awning there were even more smiles with Luke Whitworth, in just his 14^th MSA event, a stellar 13^th fastest, less than seven tenths behind Hand. Less fortunate after the chequered flag flew were Jones and Turner, who were both excluded.

From pole position Hand was able to steer clear of the usual first chicane confusion with Parker squeezing O’Brien out to move into second. Now on the dirty part of the track and off-line for the rest of the complex O’Brien spun and was lucky not to be collected by the oncoming pack. The Welshman was able to continue undamaged, but was now back in 24^th.

Half a second ahead of the end of the first lap Hand was already out of Parker’s grasp and despite putting in a near-faultless drive that saw him pull six seconds on his nearest pursuer the Vital Motorsport man was still more than four seconds adrift of Hand at the end of the 17-lap race.

There was little change at the sharp end of the field, unusual in itself in Junior Max with third place Streather and fourth place Cosgrove finishing the race in the same place they completed the opening tour. Chad Ryan overcame Chris Middlehurst for fifth three laps from home with Jones recovering well from his enforced place at the back of the grid to take seventh.

FKS debutants Archie White, Jessica Hawkins and Liam Kelly completed the top ten with O’Brien managing to salvage eleventh. Barlow’s Junior debut came to a premature end when he lost his nosecone while Whitworth’s good work in qualifying was undone when he made contact with the barriers on the opening lap.

Like heat one, heat two was a slightly strung out affair with Hand just holding off O’Brien at the start and Barlow edging out Parker to take third. Forced down the escape road, Parker re-emerged in fifth place but was soon passed a fast starting Middlehurst and back into fourth by the end of lap two.

Some 15 laps later and the first four crossed the line in the same order with Hand 2.28-seconds ahead of O’Brien and a further 1.5-seconds clear of Barlow. Parker took the chequered flag a full eight seconds behind Hand in fourth with Pointon matching his teammate Ryan’s fifth place finish from heat one.

Streather, Turner (from 25^th on the grid), Ryan and a fading Middlehurst were next up with Hawkins keeping up her one hundred per cent top ten record in tenth. Among the non-finishers after another robust first two corners were White, Jones and Jacob Hunstone.

Two heat wins meant Hand had an easy passage to pole position for the final with Parker alongside on row one. Streather’s smooth run through the heats saw him start from grid three and thanks to being on the inside line going into the first chicane he was able to squeeze inside Parker and take second place. Parker lost a couple of places in the early running as he recovered while both O’Brien, Hawkins and Barlow, from grid 15 were also early movers.

Hand was quick to pull a decisive gap on the field but O’Brien was in no mood to surrender and moved passed Streather to take second some three seconds behind the leader. Over the next five laps O’Brien chipped away little by little at Hand’s lead but as he started lap twelve the young Welshman pushed a little too hard going through the first chicane and clattered over the kerbs, knocking his chain off and putting him out of the race.

O’Brien’s retirement allowed Parker back into second place although his journey had been an eventful one to that point. Running fourth on lap eight behind an inspired Hawkins, Parker suddenly found himself the meat in a sandwich as Barlow closed in. Heading down to McRae’s hairpin Parker jinked to the inside of Hawkins just as Barlow was making his own move on Parker. This forced Barlow to the very inside of the track where there was no grip and he cannoned into the side of Hawkins just as the Atomic Racing lady turned in to the hairpin. Parker steered past them both and while Hawkins was able to continue at the tail of the field Barlow was black flagged.

Unaware of the shenanigans, Hand cruised home to take a ten second victory with Parker holding off Jones for second. Pointon was delighted with fourth place in his FKS debut as was Ryan who followed him home in fifth. Cosgrove was next home with Streather seventh, Jack Taylor with his beautiful Gulf liveried crash helmet in eighth, Turner ninth and Dominic Gorrett rounding out the top ten.

Hawkins was a distraught 18^th while Hunstone and Middlehurst were among the non-finishers along with Barlow and O’Brien.