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Super 1 Report - PFi 21/22
March 2009
Round 1 of the MSA Junior and
Senior Karting Championship including the ABkC KF2 and Cadet Championship
organised by Super 1 was held at the fantastic PFi Kart Circuit
in Lincolnshire. Newly appointed Super 1 Marketing and PR Director
John Hoyle has successfully added a few features like a driver parade,
grid formation procedure, and timing screens that have all added
up to make a better event. It's certainly an improvement from previous
Super 1 weekends.
KF1 - The start to a new season!
The new qualification system
which means racing starts on Saturday also improves the weekend's
flow. Unfortunately independent spectator attendance was low. With
4000+ kart license holders (potential spectators) in the UK it would
be nicer to see a few more people watching the racing on Sunday.
It would certainly make for a brilliant atmosphere with full crowds
filling the spectator areas.
The drivers, and parents seemed
pleased with how the new-look Super 1 is structured and it should
be an excellent year.
The new driver parade adds an element
of professionalism
The weekend wasn't concern free
however as many KF drivers appeared to have issues with the new
standard clutches. The reliability and fairness of the clutches
does appear to be an improvement, however some engines struggled
to get of the grid as they weren't able to idle at low revs. Some
drivers had to have the rear of their kart lifted to get the engine
started. Also, the officials wanted very slow starts and many drivers
fell victim to oiling plugs.
The headline class of the weekend
- KF1 - started off in the scrutineers office as
teams and drivers discussed regulations for the year. With the announcement
of Super KF, and the fact no one runs KF1 in Europe anymore some
teams were confused about which rules to follow. They all agreed
to run the same rules as 2008 KF1 but with 11cc head volume, and
standard clutches. This situation is not ideal, and slightly confusing
but hopefully it will provide a great year's racing. Even though
the KF1 grid numbers aren't massive the actual quality of the grid
is insane. It includes the Rotax World Finals Winner, 2008 British
Karting Champion, and 2008 UK KF2 Champion.
The KF1 grid may be small but full
of quality!
In timed qualifying for the heat
grid positions Robert Foster-Jones took top time from Ben Cooper.
Both drivers are new to KF1 but certainly made their mark early
on. Reigning Champion Mark Litchfield struggled and could only manage
6th. Just .3 of a second covered the top 10!
Lennox-Lamb doubled up with 2 final
wins
After consistent heat performances
Richard Bradley lined up on pole with Ben Cooper on second for Final
1. At the start Bradley got the jump with Elliot Burton
slotting into second. Cooper soon attacked and got back to second
place with Lennox-Lamb coming through not too far behind. Cooper
had showed supreme pace and soon was in first with Lennox-Lamb chasing.
Ben Cooper had a large gap but Lennox-Lamb was slowly chipping away.
Suddenly with about 4 minutes left until the finish Cooper's engine
let go and had to retire from a nearly great debut win! Lennox-Lamb
took the lead and wasn't going to let it go. Foster-Jones battled
his way into second with Bradley 3rd.
Final 2's grid
is determined by Final 1 results. Bradley avenged his Final 1 disappointment
by slotting into first at the start. Foster-Jones and Lennox -Lamb
battled and as this stage Foster-Jones looked like he had the speed
to catch Bradley who had now built a gap.
Reigning Champ Mark Litchfield will hope
for a better performance at Shenington
Unfortunately the unreliability woes that appeared to affect many
drivers over the weekend hit Foster-Jones as his engine let go.
Lennox-Lamb now in a clear second started to hunt down Bradley.
Slowly chipping away Lennox-Lamb deposed Bradley into the first
hairpin. It was a resurgent Ben Cooper who slowly came from the
back of the grid to find himself in second and in contention for
first place. However Lennox-Lamb had enough in the bag to hold for
the win.
KF1
Final 1 Results
KF1
Final 2 Results
In KF2 Jake Ball
was on pole for Final 1 after superb driving in
the heats. The first start was interrupted when two karts literally
married themselves together at the first hairpin bringing out the
batenberg flag. The karts somehow stuck themselves together and
the marshals and drivers couldn't break them apart! After the restart
it was Charles Bonsey who charged into the lead followed by Shaun
Carter. Jake Ball however was not to be denied and his kart just
got stronger and stronger and with 5 minutes left of the race he
was in the lead, and he simply wasn't going to give it up. He took
the win from Josh Fielding, and then Charles Bonsey.
Jake Ball was in superb form
In Final 2 it
was much of the same. Jake Ball lost a couple of places at the start
but was soon on the hunt for the lead. He picked off Tom Joyner,
Shaun Carter, and Josh Fielding one by one. Some manic racing occured
behind Ball. But it was Ashley Sutton who drove to a fantastic second
with Steven Napier taking third!
KF2
Final 1 Results
KF2
Final 2 Results
In KF3 Final 1
Alex Walker slotted on pole with Senna Fielding on second. At the
start Walker must've been gutted as he lost the lead and fell down
the field. Senna Fielding took the advantage and set out to build
a commanding lead from the rest of the pack. Macauley Walsh battled
hard but it was a rapid Jake Dennis who fought his way into second.
He tried hard to catch but Fielding held on to the lead and took
the race win.
Albon battled hard for his Final
2 win in KF3
In Final 2 we
were treated to a fantastic race! Jake Dennis took the initiative
at the start and slotted into first place closely followed by Fielding
and Walsh. It was Alex Albon who started to make his presence known
and somehow managed to battle his way into first. With several laps
to go Albon had built a gap, and an extremely fast Dennis battled
hard to catch. It was a last lap thriller as Albon and Dennis tried
every trick in the book to win. It was close but Albon defended
superbly and took the win!
KF3
Final 1 Results
KF3
Final 2 Results
In Cadets Alex
Gill was the pole man for the Final 1 with George
Russell second. The usual frantic opening laps soon sorted themselves
out as Gill and Russell paired off and pulled away into the distance
from the rest of the pack. Sam Vanderpump and Josh White tried to
catch them but it was a two way battle for victory. Russell attacked
in the closing laps, but it wasn't enough as Gill took the win.
There was some classic cadet racing
Final 2 was
classic cadet racing! Trevyn-Jay Nelson was the early man to look
good for the win as him, Gill, and Russell grouped together and
pulled away. However at turn 1 something happened that saw Nelson
fall back. There was a crazy amount of overtaking in the closing
stages between the Cadets but once again Alex Gill came out on top
and took the victory.
Cadets
Final 1 Results
Cadets
Final 2 Results
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Next round – Shenington
May 9/10 |
