MSA British Karting Championship Preview 4/5 July Whilton Mill
By Karting1 ~ June 25th, 2009. Filed under: Kart Racing News.
Whilton Mill hosts the fourth round of the MSA British Karting Championships, and is renowned as the circuit that tests drivers to their physical limit. The aptly named oblivion is the corner that does the damage, which when taken quickly throws the driver from maximum -3G load on one side and then full +3G in the opposite direction as they negotiate Krook, the next right hander.
The KF1 competitors have been testing early for the Whilton Mill round of the championship and Elliot Burton carried our SmartyCam for a hot lap of Whilton Mill on his TonyKart/IAME KF1 kart, so you can see for yourself how to get round Whilton Mill fast!
On-board Lap Of Whilton Mill with Elliot Burton
Ben Cooper is the man leading the British Championship going into the mid point of the season and 2008 Rotax World Finals winner has had a dream start to his 2009 season with multiple European KF2 victories as well as here in the UK in KF1. However a slight dip in form saw reigning British Champion Mark Litchfield gain some ground in the championship table. Quite a few drivers struggled for grip and power through the Rowrah weekend, but Litchfield now on an RS9 Maranello powered by a TM was dominant. After a torrid few rounds for Litchfield he will be hoping he can continue his good form into Whilton. Both Ben Cooper and Mark Litchfield won their respective classes last year at Whilton Mill so hopefully we should have a battle on our hands.
In pre-race testing it is Elliot Burton who’s looking very quick indeed. He goes into Whilton converting to TM power hoping to improve on his results. As with the 100cc era in the UK the TM power unit seems to be the engine everyone wants to be on.
Mark will want to continue his form into Whilton
Jonathan Walker had a huge crash at Rowrah which saw him with knee damage and will be in some pain for the Whilton round. He hasn’t tested much at Whilton and will need to work on Friday to find a good pace. With the nature of this year’s championship it’s anyone’s game as Walker recognises “The championship has had it’s ups and downs but we are only 12 points off the lead”.
Jonathan Walker will be hoping his knee doesn’t play up too much!
Jordan Lennox-Lamb had an awesome start to the season with a double victory at PFI, but in the last two rounds he has seen himself drop to 3rd in the championship. He is committed to IAME engines it appears and with others free to go for the TM he may find himself struggling for power. He wasn’t too far off the pace at Rowrah so he can go into Whilton with a lot of confidence. When Lennox-Lamb gets it right he is almost unbeatable.
Luke Wright has slowly but surely made himself a figure in this championship. He had a quiet start to the season but is now appearing to be a force. This form was mirrored at Rowrah where he had a desperate start to the weekend qualifying in 11th and not being particulary quick in the early heats. As is ever with KF1 a quick set up change, or driving change can see you leap up the order. This is what we saw with Wright as he bagged two podium finishes in the finals. Very impressive indeed. He will want to hit the ground running at Whilton though.
Wright Kart’s Lee Bell has impressed this season. Once again limited testing hasn’t stopped him from competing at the front. What appeared to be an error regarding pressures in the Rowrah 2nd final saw him lose out on a podium place. But Lee Bell is a smart lad and Whilton requires smart driving.
Elliot Burton was very fast in testing for Whilton.
Robert Foster-Jones will be scratching his head as to why he didn’t have the pace at Rowrah to compete. At the earlier rounds he had suffered from some bad luck but Rowrah saw him lose some pace. Whether it be set up or engine we are not quite sure. But his team Ricky Flynn Motorsport will be working very hard to improve the situation. Foster-Jones has a fantastic pedigree and Whilton is a track everyone has good knowledge of so he should be back up the front! TecnoKart’s Jamie Rush is still working hard to find to improve his speed. But if there is a place to learn fast it’s KF1 and with every race Rush is learning more and more.
Richard Bradley looks to have ditched his Maddox chassis for now and move to something that is more common – TonyKart. He has said that it’s “very easy to drive” and around Whilton comfort with the chassis is vital. Bradley will be disappointed with his 8th place championship position at the moment. The championship has seen sparks of brilliance (last to first in the first heat at Rowrah) but that’s been mixed in with accidents that have cost him big. He should have had a final win under his belt by now. Him and his mech Mark Rose will be working extremely hard to find the winning formula that has so far evaded him this year.
Bradley is now on the TonyKart!
Sam Snell had a quiet Rowrah. He didn’t really have the pace all weekend like we saw at Shenington where he qualfied pole. KF1 is a tough game and the ups and downs are huge. Sam is still on a huge learning curve however and he has decent experience of Whilton from his TKM days. We can expect this local track knowledge to help his chances of getting back on the pace.
British Karting legend Bobby Game hasn’t yet made the impact he would have hoped for in KF1. There is absolutely no doubt Game has what it takes to win at the highest levels though and once he gets back to the form that took him to so many victories we should see some amazing scraps at the front! Hopefully Whilton will be the catalyst for his season!
Dennis Gorman will want to step up his game for Whilton. He’s proven during this season he can mix it with the big boys and he could easily get a good result at Whilton. With two rounds under his belt Will Dendy goes into Whilton with some valuable experience now under his belt. Whilton Mill is Dendy’s back yard and with that experience gained he could perform very well.
Why not come along and watch on 4th and 5th July – Whilton Mill is just off the M1 junction 16 – Whilton Mill directions
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