UK Karting - Rissington KC Club Championship Results

Rissington KC - Club Championship
Round 1

Rissington KC - Club Championship
Round 1 - Little Rissington - 03/03/02

Race report by Chris Hartley

Despite being held on the same day as the first qualifier for the Super One series, the opening round of the club championships still managed to attract an impressive 180 drivers. It was particularly refreshing to see the gearbox drivers out in full force, with the Formula 125 grid close to capacity and the 210's competing for a round of their popular National Challenge. It was the 250 National class that took centre stage though, as some of the country's leading five-speed exponents contested the annual Dave Hockey Memorial Trophy.

With many of last year's championship regulars having moved up to the Junior categories, the Formula Cadet field was a largely unknown quantity. Last year's runner-up, Marcus Allen, was one of only a handful of familiar faces and qualified second on the grid. He was outdone by the Honda-powered Lewis Burnett, who claimed pole. Despite pressure, Burnett managed to keep his nose in front early on, with the third best qualifier, Gary Henderson-Keizle, storming though to snatch second place from Allen. Will Waterman, Richard Raymond and Jordon Chamberlain completed the top six at the end of lap one.

The leading pack remained locked together until lap three, when Allen retook Henderson-Keizle for second place. Next time around, he cleverly squeezed past the race leader, as the pair exited the Dog-Leg side by side. With only a couple of laps remaining, it looked as though Allen - four times the bridesmaid in 2001 - might be on for his first ever victory at the circuit. But Burnett was having none of it and he darted back into the lead on the penultimate tour. The last lap was extremely tight - the top eight runners circulating as one - and Allen did his best to steal victory in a sprint finish to the flag, but Burnett clinched it with just over a tenth of a second in hand. Still, Allen ended the day with his first Comer class win at Rissington and confirmed that he will be a key championship contender this season. Less than one second covered the top seven, with Henderson-Keizle and Waterman third and fourth. Michael Hall stormed from 13th on the grid to finish fifth and Raymond rounded out the top six.

Having won the opening round of the Cadet championship in 2001, Will Miller was one of several Junior TKM debutantes disproving the theory - at least temporarily - that it takes half a season to make the transition from 60cc to 100cc racing. He qualified on pole, with Mark Tisdale as his front row companion. The pair of them almost rubbed shoulders on the charge into turn one and Tisdale's persistence was rewarded when he emerged from the corner as race leader. Further back, Matthew Allnutt moved into third, Michael Watton dropped to fourth and Adam Shipstone progressed to fifth. After some promising heats, last year's third best Cadet, James Birch, was unlucky to be dumped out of the race during a first corner melee.

Both Tisdale and Miller set a scorching pace during the opening laps and quickly put some air between themselves and the rest of the pack. Allnutt, Watton and Shipstone stuck together, as 2001 Cadet champion, Tysoe, worked his way up to sixth spot. After a few laps, it looked like Miller was struggling to maintain the pressure, as he dropped back slightly from the race leader. However, with a few laps remaining, Miller turned the wick up and was quickly back on Tisdale's case, setting the fastest lap of the race en route. To his credit, the race leader never looked like losing his lead and went on to take the chequered flag, albeit by a whisker. Allnut took the final podium spot, just ahead of Watton, Shipstone and Tysoe.

With last year's unbeaten champion, Adam Constable, moving up to the senior category, the Junior TKM Intermediate race was wide open. Three out of three heat wins gave Dan Hoy a largely uncontested pole, although fellow front-row man, James Smith looked capable of making a race of it. And so it proved, as Smith got good momentum exiting the Dog-Leg and charged into the lead at the Elbow, before the end of lap one. Just behind, Tim Wilson and Adam Wood moved into third and fourth places respectively.

The leaders quickly pulled clear to make it a two-horse race, leaving Wilson and Wood to wage their own private battle for third. A fascinating struggle for victory ensued, as it became apparent that Smith was much faster than Hoy through certain corners and vice-versa. Overall, their lap times were virtually inseparable and this was always going right down to the wire. As they approached the Elbow for the final time, Smith anticipated Hoy's attack and held a tight line into the corner. The detrimental effect was a slower exit speed and it was all Hoy could do, to hug the kerbs through the final turn, as Smith swept around the outside. It was a dramatic finish to a great race, with Smith winning by just two one-hundredths of a second. In the end, Wilson claimed a relatively comfortable third ahead of Wood. Russell Small worked his way up to fifth, while Chris Grundy fell back to sixth. Further back, Tom Haines won a closely contested Junior Rotax MAX duel, as Rupert Parker went into a late retirement.

Paul Cleaver signalled his arrival as potential championship by claiming pole in Formula TKM Clubman. A resurgent Mark Chalmers started alongside. They ended the first lap in that order, with Scott Davenport holding onto third and Michael Joyce fourth. On lap two, they were both ousted by two hard-chargers; Ian Blake and Matthew Cardwell.

Cleaver started to pull clear of Chalmers on lap three and it wasn't long before Blake and Cardwell were closing in on the second place man. On lap four, Blake found a way past Chalmers as Joyce retook Cardwell for fourth. Down the road, Adam Jackson joined the fray in sixth position. With two laps to go, Joyce continued to make progress; a neat move down the inside of Chalmers at the Loop promoting him to third. As Cleaver took a comfortable win, Blake and Joyce battled all the way to the flag for second place, with Chalmers, Cardwell and Jackson concluding the top six. A great attacking drive saw B-final winner, Edward Giddings, move from grid 27 all the way up to 11th place.

In Formula TKM Premier, club champion James Holman claimed pole position ahead of British number two, David Parker. Neither gave an inch in a nail-biting run through the opening corner, Parker eventually emerging as race leader, despite Holman's best efforts. Then, shortly after the pair completed the first lap, Holman struck back with a daring move down the inside of Paddock corner to recapture his lead. Guy Tolley, Adam Constable, Eddie Thompson and Clubman champion, Jamie Bell were close behind. Having got back into the lead, Holman - determined to prove his worth as serious British Championship contender - proceeded to pull away from Parker, who was now more concerned with holding Tolley at bay.

On lap three, Bell braked super-late into the Dog-Leg to relieve Thompson of fifth place. On lap four, it was Tolley's turn to nip past Parker at the Elbow. Parker stayed hot on the heels of the new second-place man however and two laps later, he executed a crisp move to reclaim the position at the Dog-Leg. It remained close, but Parker held onto finish as runner-up to Holman, with Constable a solid fourth, Bell fifth and Thompson sixth.

Former TKM club champion, Richard Hughes, looked immediately at home in his new role as Formula Rotax Max racer, claiming a deserved pole position. However, former British Champion, Jon Daltrey, started right alongside and blasted his way into the lead as the lights turned green. The equally brisk Gerard Moore tucked in behind the leaders, followed by former 125 gearbox racer, Richard Palmer. Sean Fulford and Tim Claydon rounded out the early top six.

As Daltrey gradually elongated his lead, Hughes' second place came under attack at the start of lap four, as Moore surged down the inside of Paddock Corner. Tim Claydon's demise on lap five promoted Adam Harris to sixth, although a charging Lloyd Williams was quickly bearing down upon him in seventh. Two laps later, Williams had won that particular battle. Meanwhile, there was an exciting final lap in prospect as Moore, Hughes and Palmer remained locked together. Having survived most of the lap, Moore understandably opted to hold a tight line on the way into the Elbow. Risking losing his third place to Palmer, Hughes swept to the outside under braking, turned full lock and floored the accelerator on the exit, as Moore struggled with the much narrower apex he'd given himself. The result was a breathtaking dash to the flag, with Hughes just stealing it at the line. Palmer finished a close fourth, with Fulford and Williams a safe distance behind. The race, however, belonged to Daltrey, who began to erase the memories of a disappointing 2001, with a typically spirited drive to first place.

Nathan Freke was the class of a bumper Formula 125 Open grid; dominating the heats to claim pole ahead of Chris Grieve and reigning British Champion, Carl Millington. It was however, Grieve who snatched an early lead, with Freke, Mark Simpson, Chris Williamson and Mick Glasby in tow. A poor start from Millington saw him dropping to sixth by the end of lap one. As the leaders started their second tour, Freke had an exploratory look down the inside of Grieve at Paddock, but thought better of it. The pair were already beginning to creep away from their nearest rivals. By the conclusion of the lap, Williamson had worked his way up to third, pursued by Glasby, Millington and a charging Nick Smith. With five laps complete, the order was reversed, as Smith slotted into fourth, ahead of Millington and the newly demoted Glasby.

Back up front, Freke finally pounced on lap six, as superior drive out of Top Bend enabled him to dive past the leader at the end of the back straight. On the same lap, both Smith and Millington fired their past Williamson, moving up to third and fourth respectively. The order remained thus during the closing stages, although there was a heart-stopping moment for Freke as he got tangled up with a backmarker on the penultimate lap. Even that couldn't stop the British number four though, and he went on to take a fine win, ahead of Grieve, Smith, Millington, Williamson and Glasby.

Although Mike Davies' three heat wins meant he started from pole, the real star of the Formula 210 heats was Novice Dan Bury. Despite his lack of experience and the fact that this was his first ever visit to the circuit, Bury drove like an expert to qualify second, just ahead of Paul Fowler. In a chaotic start, John Knott hooked it up nicely to project himself from the third row of the grid to challenge the leaders at the first corner. However, it all went horribly wrong as the advancing Knott clashed with Bury and hitched a piggyback into Paddock Corner. Luckily, they untangled to survive lap one, running in close formation behind race leader, Davies. By lap two, the fast starting Edward Reeves had moved from eleventh to fourth, ahead of Nick Stanley and Fowler, who had slipped down the order after a poor first lap.

Lap four saw the retirement of Knott, promoting Bury to second place with Reeves now in a rostrum position. Fowler was back up to fourth, with John Thompson moving into fifth, having fought his way past Stanley. Just behind the top six, Rob Perkins was the man on the move, lapping over two seconds quicker than most. Having been a non-player in the heats, Perkins had started the race at the back of the grid. On lap seven, his progress was made easier as the unfortunate Bury was forced out of the race, due to damage sustained in that first lap incident with Knott. By lap eight, Perkins was our new race leader and he never looked back. Davies held on to finish second - and the only man unlapped by Perkins. A good drive from Novice entrant, Thompson, saw him move up to third, having passed Reeves late on. Fowler retired on lap nine, so it was left to another Novice, Les Lownes, and Stanley to complete the top six.

A quality field of 250 Nationals was on hand to contest the Dave Hockey Memorial Trophy. Local hero and British number two, Gavin Bennett, was the polesitter. Former Club Champion, Mark Powell, and reigning Midland Champion, Scott Emberson, kept him company on the front row of the grid. As the lights turned green, Bennett and Powell crowded each other into the first corner, with the poleman coming out on top. Emberson dropped right back however, allowing Don Kennedy, Mally Witts, Dave Preston and Chris Baldwin into the top six. Bennett began to pull away during the next few laps, although not at the rate of knots some might have expected. The running order behind remained unchanged.

Then on lap eight, Kennedy decided he'd had enough of staring at Powell's gearbox and pulled out a first-rate out-braking manoeuvre into Paddock corner. With Kennedy having nosed his way into second place, it looked like we might be in for a cracking finale. During the next couple of laps Kennedy proved to be as quick as the race leader, but not quick enough to close the gap. Bennett was therefore first to reach the chequered flag; a deserving winner. Kennedy finished second, having been unable to shake off Powell, who tried to the death to reclaim the position. Witts was fourth, with Baldwin fifth. Both had overtaken Preston, who was unlucky not to finish sixth after retiring on the penultimate lap. Andrew Walker was on hand to claim that position, after a good drive through the field.

Final Results

Drive of the Day:
Nathan Freke (Formula 125 Open). Displayed an awesome combination of unbridled speed, controlled aggression and outright flair to finish King of the castle.

Formula Cadet

1st - Lewis Burnett* (ARC/Honda)
2nd - Marcus Allen (Tony/Comer)
3rd - Gary Henderson-Keizle (Comer)
4th - Will Waterman (Topkart/Comer)
5th - Michael Hall (Zip/Comer)
6th - Richard Raymond (ARC/Comer)

* Denotes Honda Cadet entrant

Formula Junior TKM

1st - Mark Tisdale (Jade/TKM)
2nd - Will Millar (Venom/TKM)
3rd - Matthew Allnutt (Ultima/TKM)
4th - Michael Watton (Project One/TKM)
5th - Adam Shipstone (JKH/TKM)
6th - Ross Tysoe (Venom/TKM)

Junior TKM Intermediate

1st - James Smith (Gillard/TKM)
2nd - Dan Hoy (Venom/TKM)
3rd - Tim Wilson (Venom/TKM)
4th - Adam Wood (Kestrel/TKM)
5th - Russell Small (JKH/TKM)
6th - Chris Grundy (Ultima/TKM)

Junior Rotax Max

1st - Tom Haines (Mike/Rotax)

Formula TKM Clubman

1st - Paul Cleaver (ARC/TKM)
2nd - Ian Blake (Jade/TKM)
3rd - Michael Joyce (Venom/TKM)
4th - Mark Chalmers (Venom/TKM)
5th - Matthew Cardwell (Venom/TKM)
6th - Adam Jackson (Project One/TKM)

Formula TKM Premier

1st - James Holman (Venom/TKM)
2nd - David Parker (Venom/TKM)
3rd - Guy Tolley (Jade/TKM)
4th - Adam Constable (Jade/TKM)
5th - Jamie Bell (TKM/TKM)
6th - Eddie Thompson (Venom/TKM)

Formula Rotax Max

1st - Jon Daltrey (Gillard/Rotax)
2nd - Richard Hughes (Arrow/Rotax)
3rd - Gerard Moore (Rotax)
4th - Richard Palmer (LRG/Rotax)
5th - Shaun Fulford (LRG/Rotax)
6th - Lloyd Williams (Tony/Rotax)

Formula 125

1st - Nathan Freke
2nd - Chris Grieve (F1/TM)
3rd - Nick Smith (Kosmic/AFR CRS)
4th - Carl Millington (F1/TM)
5th - Chris Williamson (TM)
6th - Mick Glasby (F1/AFTM)

Formula 210 National (210 Challenge)

1st - Rob Perkins (Jade/Rap Villiers)
2nd - Mike Davies (Anderson/AMR)
3rd - John Thompson (Stratos/Villiers)
4th - Edward Reeves (Invader/SPV)
5th - Les Lownes (Zip/Villiers)
6th - Nick Stanley (Anderson/Villiers)

Formula 250 National

1st - Gavin Bennett (F1/Honda)
2nd - Don Kennedy
3rd - Mark Powell (Jade/Honda)
4th - Mally Witts (Jade/Honda)
5th - Chris Baldwin (Jade/Honda)
6th - Andrew Walker (Anderson/Honda)

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