UK Karting - Rissington KC Club Championship Results

Rissington KC - Club Championship
Round 2

Rissington KC - Club Championship
Round 2 - Little Rissington - 07/04/02

Race report by Chris Hartley

Almost 190 competitors were greeted by sunny skies, a cool breeze and some red hot racing, as they arrived for the second round of the club championships. While some drivers continued excellent starts to their title charges, others looked to get some serious points on the board after a disappointing opening round just four weeks earlier. It may still be early in the year, but the race for glory in each class is very definitely on.

In a bumper Formula Cadet field, Lewis Burnett and Jake Farndon qualified on the front row. At the end of lap one, last month's top two, Burnett and Allen, were again at the head of the pack. Jake Farndon, Will Waterman, Nick Smith and Ashley Richardson were in hot pursuit. Second time around, Waterman stole third place from Farndon into Paddock corner, but it quickly went pear-shaped for the young hotshoe, as he dropped out of the fray on lap three. Smith moved into third, followed by Farndon, Dean Hale and Ross Thomas.

The leaders remained tightly knit at mid-distance, with the top five running nose-to-tail through every corner. As Allen shadowed Burnett, the battle for third continued to rage. Farndon took the position from Smith on lap five and just after that, Hale demoted Smith still further. With the race drawing to its climax, Ashley Richardson started to set some hot laps in sixth and closed up to make it a four-way battle for that final rostrum position. Burnett went on to take the chequered flag for the second time in succession, with Allen again taking maximum points as the first Comer-powered finisher home. Farndon just held on for third, ahead of Hale, Smith and Richardson.

James Smith and Dan Hoy were at it again in Junior Intermediates. After pushing each other all the way in March, they again monopolised the front row of the grid, this time with Smith at the helm. Hoy was quicker out of the traps though and the lead, until they approached The Elbow for the first time, where Smith made a determined move to retake the position. Tim Wilson, Russell Small, Adam Grigg and James Rigby were in direct pursuit. Absolutely locked together, the lead trio then began to push away from the rest of the pack. Wilson continued to watch Smith and Hoy like a hawk until mid-distance, when he began to lose his grasp on the leaders.

During the second half of the race, Smith was unable to shake off Hoy, who was every bit as quick as the race-leader, but not prepared to launch an attack. Well, not until the final lap of the race, when Hoy charged down the inside of Smith to take the lead at the Dog-Leg. Smith kept Hoy in check however and was still in with a chance as they approached his favourite corner, The Elbow, for the final time. Aware that he had to brake later than at any other time to stave off the inevitable, Hoy was super-brave into the corner and kept his cool on the exit to secure a clever victory. Smith finished a close second, with Wilson, Small, Rigby and Grigg completing the top six. Rumour has it that Hoy might be moving up to T-Cars. We wish him all the best if that's the case, but it will be a real loss to the club: On the evidence of the last two meetings, the Smith/Hoy rivalry (albeit a friendly one) could prove one of the highlights of the season.

Tom Haines claimed pole position in the Junior Rotax Max encounter, with Rupert Parker directly alongside. Parker fired his way around the outside of turn one, to take the lead from the polesitter, with James Rygor and Leigh Westwood behind. A couple of laps in, Parker had a moment that dropped him to the back of the pack and paved the way for a comfortable drive home for Haines. Rygor held on to finish second, with Parker battling his way back up to third and Westwood fourth.

A large field of Junior TKM racers were in action and returning champion, Scott Allen, took the pole ahead of Shaun Carter. Allen's lead remained in tact at the end of lap one, with Carter second, Nick Miles third and Ashley Harris fourth. Will Miller dropped down to fifth, one place ahead of round one winner, Mark Tisdale. The second, third and fourth place runners shadowed one another during the next few laps, as leader Allen began to pull clear. As the race wore on, Carter and Harris gave themselves a little more breathing space in second and third and it was left to Miles, Miller, Tisdale and Percy to entertain, with a close scrap for the best of the rest tag. While never romping away, Allen was always too quick to be caught and he went on to take his seventh win in eight appearances. An incredible record for a driver who looks increasingly on top of his game. Carter drove well to finish second, with Harris taking the final podium and Miles just pipping Miller and Tisdale to fourth spot.

As popular as ever, the Formula TKM Clubmans needed five heats (three per driver), to sort out the final grid positions and with different winners in every one, it was hard to predict the outcome. With a win apiece, Richard Lacey and Oliver George filled the front row and it was the polesitter who got the best start to take an early, albeit short-lived lead. George tucked in behind, but was quickly picked off exiting The Loop, by the third-best qualifier, Michael Joyce. By the end of lap one, Joyce had progressed further to take the lead from Lacey, George and Edward Giddings. Amy Barker had been running in fifth, until being sandwiched between Paul Cleaver and Ian Blake through the Dog-Leg, on an eventful first lap. On lap two, George reclaimed second spot from Lacey and during the next couple of tours, the top three began to spread out from one another, and pull away from the pack.

It was all change on lap five however, as George tumbled down the order, promoting Lacey back up to second. Giddings was held up slightly by the incident, allowing Cleaver to sweep through to third. Robert Watson and a charging Mark Chalmers moved into the top six for the first time, aided by George's demise and the retirement of an unfortunate Blake. All this allowed Joyce to increase his lead. As things began to settle down again, championship leader Cleaver began to push Lacey hard, with both drivers gradually closing down the leader. Further back, Chalmers continued to advance, demoting Giddings to fifth.

Despite the efforts of the second and third placed men, Joyce's lead remained comfortable until he came up to lap a backmarker, with a little over a lap remaining. As the slower kart clung to the inside line, Joyce swept to the outside as the pair approached the braking zone for the Dog-Leg. Clearly unaware that the race leader was directly alongside him, the backmarker seemed to pull over for the racing line, only to clout Joyce and send him into a disastrous spin. On the same lap, Cleaver finally got the measure of Lacey to move into what had now become first place. With only a lap to hold on, Cleaver ended up with his second consecutive win and an extended championship lead. Lacey was just behind in second and Chalmers' brilliant drive from the eighth row was rewarded with a podium, just ahead of Giddings. Adam Jackson was another charger, finishing fifth despite qualifying down on row nine. Watson rounded out the top six and Joyce recovered to take a disappointing seventh place.

Defending champion, James Holman, set about his quest for back-to-back Formula TKM Premier victories, by claiming pole position, ahead of Ash Whitcroft. In a thrilling first lap, second row starters, David Parker and Adam Constable both shot past their front row rivals. Then, as the pack jostled for position at The Elbow, Constable ran wide on the exit and dropped back down to his original starting position of fourth. Parker held the early advantage then, with Holman second and Jamie Bell flying up to third. Constable, Whitcroft and James Bartlett rounded out the top six. On the second lap, both Constable and Whitcroft moved back ahead of Bell through the Dog-Leg. The two leaders then began to edge away during the next couple of circuits, as first Guy Tolley and then, Nick Passmore moved into the top six chase.

Lap seven saw a lead change, as Holman pounced at Top Bend, while Whitcroft and Constable set about clawing back the top two. Further back, the tremendous three-way scrap for fifth continued as Tolley, Bell and Passmore followed in each other's footsteps. It remained so during the closing stages, until a last lap incident that saw a Parker/Holman collision at the Dog-Leg. A furious Holman ran onto the grass and out of the race, while Parker just about held on to keep Whitcroft and Constable at arm's length during the final set of corners. Bell eventually got the upper hand in the battle for what was now fourth, with Tolley and Passmore right behind.

A welcome addition to the programme at Rissy was the Formula Blue class, which provided some close racing throughout the meeting. Andy Beever claimed pole after battling away at the sharp end all morning, while Duncan McLeod was his front row partner. The poleman was quick out of the blocks, but McLeod was out-driven by Anthony Cleal at the final turn of the opening lap. Chris Derrick, Rich Bracey and Warner Lewis followed. The top four broke clear during the second lap and on the third, there was a brave move under braking from Cleal, which was good enough for the lead. McLeod remained in touch with the two leaders, but Derrick began to drop off the pace during the fourth lap, while Lewis moved ahead of Bracey for fifth.

The second half of the race was largely about the contest for second between Beever and McLeod, as Cleal proved to be too strong for either of them. On lap five, McLeod braked late and hard into the Elbow, but Beever had superior exit speed and immediately reclaimed his place. McLeod then took a lap to recover, before launching a second attempt on lap seven. Again, Beever proved too quick out of the corner and it was status quo. Further back, Lewis - who had been chipping away at Derrick's advantage for a number of laps - was rewarded with fourth place after a sweet move at The Loop. Cleal went on to take a fine victory, with Beever fending off McLeod for second and Lewis, Derrick and Bracey remaining in the top six.

Richard Hughes stormed to pole in Formula Rotax Max, with Richard Palmer as his front row companion. By the end of lap one though, both had been out-driven by a determined Jon Daltrey, already up to first place despite starting fourth. Shaun Fulford, James Clink and Daniel Stacey - heat winners all - rounded out the early top six. Lap two saw Clink darting past Fulford on the way into The Loop. Lap three saw them both firing their way past Palmer, now fifth. More significantly, Hughes threw down the gauntlet as he reclaimed the lead at Top Bend. As the top six remained tightly bunched, Clink moved past Daltrey for second on the fourth lap. Then, as they hurtled towards the braking zone, Daltrey clipped the back of Clink's kart. With more momentum than he'd planned for, Clink went straight on at the corner and rejoined in fourth, behind Hughes, Daltrey and Fulford.

The action continued on lap six, in what was undeniably the most entertaining race of the day, as Fulford out-braked Daltrey into the Dog-Leg. This left Daltrey in third place, with Clink fourth as they approached none other than The Elbow. Oddly enough, Clink appeared to brake a little too late on the way into the corner and there was a second contact between him and Daltrey. Daltrey hung on to make the corner and remained third, while Clink missed the apex and allowed Stacey through to fourth. Barry Walsh was now just behind the pair in sixth. Meanwhile, Hughes was beginning to extend his lead and Fulford too, was pulling clear of the pack in second.

Clink managed to fight his way back up to fourth and then as the leaders approached the Dog-Leg for the final time, he got right back onto Daltrey's tail. Not altogether surprisingly, there was a third and final collision between the pair and Clink moved into the third, as Daltrey was sent spinning out of the race. As Hughes and Fulford crossed the line, Clink struggled to hold off the onrushing Stacey and the resurgent Palmer. He did so, but less than a third of second covered them at the flag. A late charge from Lloyd Williams saw him complete the top six. A highly eventful race then, but it was Hughes who took the spoils after a truly polished performance.

Due to a date clash with the opening Super 4 round at Shenington, there was a somewhat depleted field of gearboxes, which led to a combined Formula 125/Formula 250 contest. The experienced Roy Bennett took pole in the 250's, while two time championship-runner up, Paul Johnson, was the top man in the 125's. As the lights turned green, Bennett struggled to get up to speed and was swamped by brothers, Mike and Rob Wynell-Mayow. By the end of lap one, he'd also dropped behind Kevin Busby and Mark Powell. In stark contrast, the 125 poleman made one of his trademark lightning getaways and had already established a healthy lead over Martyn Turner and Bob Tozer by the end of lap one.

The top four in 250's remained locked together until lap five, when Powell - who was clearly the quickest of the bunch - darted past Busby down the start/finish straight. There then ensued a fascinating contest as Rob Wynell-Mayow set about fending off the former club champion, as his brother started to edge away in the lead. It certainly looked like Powell had the speed the catch and pass the race leader - but the longer he got held up by Rob, the harder it was becoming. It was an excellent display of defensive driving from the second-placed man, who never once resorted to the kind weaving you might expect from say, Enrique Bernoldi. Finally though, Powell got through on lap nine, with a move at the end of the back straight. Within a lap he had caught the leader and Powell then made a decisive move down into Paddock at the start of lap eleven.

Almost at the same instant however, something broke on Powell's kart, smoke started to below out of his power unit and it seemed inevitable that he was going to slow right down, or retire permanently. Sure enough, with just a couple of laps remaining, Powell waved his pursuers by and we were treated to a Wynell-Mayow one-two. Two brothers first and second and not a German flag in sight! It's doubtful there are any records to back this up, but there can't have been many other occasions in the past where brothers have finished first and second in a race at Rissington. Answers on a postcard please. Despite his problems, Powell managed to struggle home in third after both Bennett and Busby had retired, the latter spinning out in spectacular fashion, when one of his wheels sheered off. Johnson proved untouchable in the 125 race and went on to take a dominant victory - even beating most of the 250's to the flag. Turner and Tozer finished second and third in class.

Final Results

Drive of the Day:
Richard Hughes (Rotax Max)
The biggest compliment one can pay is to point out that Hughes made this one look easy. As he approached the chequered flag, he even had time to offer the crowd a cheeky grin and gave the distinct impression he could have gone even faster if he'd needed to. His best ever drive at the circuit.

Formula Cadet

1. Lewis Burnett (ARC/Honda)
2. Marcus Allen (Tony/Comer)
3. Jake Farndon (Zip/Comer)
4. Dean Hale (Zip Puma/Comer)
5. Nick Smith (Wright/Comer)
6. Ashley Richardson (Topkart/Comer)

Formula Junior TKM

1. Scott Allen (Jade/TKM)
2. Shaun Carter (JKH/TKM)
3. Ashley Harris (Jade/TKM)
4. Nick Miles (TKM)
5. Will Miller (Venom/TKM)
6. Mark Tisdale (Jade/TKM)

Junior TKM Intermediate

1. Dan Hoy (Venom/TKM)
2. James Smith (Gillard/TKM)
3. Tim Wilson (Venom/TKM)
4. Russell Small (JKH/TKM)
5. James Rigby (Project One/TKM)
6. Adam Grigg (Wright/TKM)

Junior Rotax Max

1. Tom Haines (Mike/Rotax)
2. James Rygor (Solo/Rotax)
3. Rupert Parker (BRM/Rotax)

Formula TKM Clubman

1. Paul Cleaver (ARC/TKM)
2. Richard Lacey (Ultima/TKM)
3. Mark Chalmers (Venom/TKM)
4. Edward Giddings (Venom/TKM)
5. Adam Jackson (Project One/TKM)
6. Robert Watson (Jade/TKM)

Formula TKM Premier

1. David Parker (Venom/TKM)
2. Ash Whitcroft (Project One/TKM)
3. Adam Constable (Jade/TKM)
4. Jamie Bell (TKM/TKM)
5. Guy Tolley (Jade/TKM)
6. Nick Passmore (ARC/TKM)

Formula Rotax Max

1. Richard Hughes (Arrow/Rotax)
2. Shaun Fulford (Mike/Rotax)
3. James Clink (CRG/Rotax)
4. Daniel Stacey (Mike/Rotax)
5. Richard Palmer (LRG/Rotax)
6. Lloyd Williams (Tonykart/Rotax)

Formula 125

1. Paul Johnson (Wright/TM)
2. Martyn Turner (Swift/SGM)
3. Bob Tozer (Jade/TKM)

Formula 250

1. Mike Wynell-Mayow (Jade/Honda)
2. Rob Wynell-Mayow (F1/Honda)
3. Mark Powell (Jade/Honda)

| Results & Reports |
| UK Karting Main Index |


News	Karts & Karting	Notice Board	Market Place	Companies Directory	Tracks Directory	Events Calendar	Race Results	Photo Gallery	Links