N.K.R.A.  CLUBMAN CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTHERN AREA -  ROUND  4

One month after the Southern Challenge runners visited Llandow for the latest round of their championship the NKRA Southern Area competitors crossed the Severn Bridge for the fifth round of the 2010 series on the longest weekend of the year.

As was the case in May, glorious weather greeted more than 50 NKRA drivers, who helped swell the overall entry to 120. As the penultimate round of the Southern Championship, this trip to the very technically demanding 1050-metre Llandow circuit would not only be critical in terms of deciding the outcome of the six NKRA classes present but it would also be one of the last opportunities for drivers to experience the track in racing conditions ahead of the NKRA Grande Finals, set to be held at the South Wales venue on August Bank Holiday weekend.

Reigning NKRA points leader, Llandow Club Champion and lap record holder, Welsh Champion and current Super One front runner Robbie Gallier headed an eight strong Cadet Honda entry, which was combined with the club grid to give an extremely healthy 17 drivers in total. Among the eight NKRA drivers present were seven of the top eight in the points standings including Gallier’s closest rival, Southern Champ George Thomson and current Llandow KC points leader Ari White but when the racing began it was clear that Gallier had the edge.

Unfazed by starting in the middle or near the back of the randomly drawn heat grids Gallier was able to smoothly move his way to the front in every heat, passing Thomson in the early stages of the opening race to win by two seconds and then moving ahead of White on the first lap of heat two to win by four seconds. Gallier had his work cut out for him in the final heat as started near the back and had to scramble past Thomson before setting off after duelling duo White and Tristan Carpentier at the head of the field.

Within three laps Gallier had disposed of both to assume his customary position at the head of the pack and although Thomson was also able to force his way into second place, by the time he moved past White and Carpentier, Gallier was three seconds up the road and cruising to his third consecutive heat win and third straight fastest lap.

Gallier aside,  the battle for ‘best of the rest’ was extremely tight with Thomson, White, Carpentier, Charlie Harris and Myles Apps all showing well and Scott Lee improving steadily as the day wore on. Thomson was Gallier’s closet competition in two heats with White finishing second in heat two and feeling unlucky not to take the same place in heat three when his scrap with Carpentier got a little too close for comfort at Chandler’s on lap six, dropping him to eighth.

Harris and Apps were locked together almost all day with Harris finishing fourth behind White but only one hundredth ahead of Apps in heat one and then taking sixth in heat two with Apps in seventh. Harris finally broke free from Apps in heat three and grabbed third with Apps only fifth behind Carpentier.

Thanks to his perfect heat score Gallier sat on pole position for the ten lap final with Thomson alongside and White and Harris sharing row two and Carpentier and Apps on row three. On the run down to the first corner, some distance behind Gallier, local driver Yousuf Ashraf vaulted over several karts and cartwheeled into the barriers, bringing out the red flags and giving the rest of the field an anxious wait.

Once Ashraf had been taken to the ambulance, (where he was OK other than a slight concussion), the race had a complete restart, from which Gallier led away with White, Thomson and Carpentier disputing second.

It soon became apparent that the main race was for second place, as Gallier calmly pulled out a larger and larger gap each lap, eventually crossing the line more than five seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Thomson, who slipped to fourth at the start, fought back to hold second for most of the race despite White briefly getting ahead mid distance. Thomson finally got the place back for good with less than two laps to go and held on by just over one tenth of a second with Carpentier shadowing White across the line in fourth and Harris coming a close fifth. Lee was sixth, Apps seventh and Thomas Alderton, lime green wheel rims and all, in eighth.

In the championship standings Gallier’s perfect score gives him a commanding advantage ahead of the final round of the championship at Clay Pigeon although Thomson minimised the damage with his second place. White made good ground with his third place performance although the title remains Gallier’s to lose.

The Cadet Comer entry was just as strong as their Honda counterparts with the top nine drivers in the standings all present. Combined with the club drivers, the grid totalled a tantalising 17 led by current points leader Harrison Thomas, second place driver Ryan Anderton and newly crowned Welsh Champion Harry Williams, who hoped to use his local track knowledge to close he six point gap to Thomas. In fact all three of the above named had extensive knowledge of Llandow with fourth place driver Bradley Drowne the best placed ‘away’ driver looking to challenge the locals.

Racing for the first time at Llandow since winning the C Plate Williams was in confident mood and took the opening heat by less than half a second from Thomas with Matteo Zanetti third, Drowne fourth and Anderton fifth. Harry then repeated his triumph in heat two although, from the back of the grid he had to battle past Sam Faulkner, Zanetti and then finally Anderton to once again take the chequered flag with just a couple of tenths to spare as the top four flashed across the line almost as one. Thomas was fifth just ahead of Drowne with Adam Worley, Matt Edon, brothers Harry and Todd Kennedy and Jack Brailsford next up.

In the third and final heat Williams started third and made short work of Edon and Drowne to take the lead on the opening lap. However Drowne, Anderton and Thomas were in no mood to let Williams have things all his own way and spent the next seven laps sitting on his rear bumper. Anderton grabbed third from Thomas with a couple of laps to go but couldn’t make an impression on Drowne who, in turn, could never quite get close enough to Williams to prevent him from taking a clean sweep of heat wins.

The ten lap final was a real nail biter with Williams leading away from pole position and Thomas slotting in behind. Anderton was the real aggressor, passing Thomas for second on lap three and then taking the lead away from Williams on the next tour. Williams struck back almost instantly however as Anderton slipped back to fourth in a five kart lead train that also comprised Drowne and Zanetti. With Thomas and Drowne squabbling over second, Williams managed to make a small break at the front and kept three kart lengths in hand over the final lap to complete his perfect day.

Just two tenths behind the victor, Anderton fought back to finish second, demoting Drowne to third with Zanetti scrambling ahead of Thomas in the closing moments after playing a waiting game for much of the race. Faulkner finished sixth with Edon and Worley leading home the duelling Kennedy brothers (Harry ahead of Todd) and Brailsford.

Mini Max championship leader James Williams faced a race against time to be fit for what was his ‘home’ round after breaking a bone in his hand in practice for the Welsh Championships barely a month previously. With second place man in the standings Peter Griffin not entered and third place man David Wright being a late withdrawal Williams at least had some breathing space in case his hand wasn’t up to the task but fourth place driver Harry Sturt and sixth place driver Macaulay Austin were both present and looking to take advantage of any weakness that Williams might display.

For Austin, an NKRA Champion in Cadet Comer, this event was a chance to maintain his one hundred per cent unbeaten record in the NKRA this year for after missing the first two rounds he took a perfect score from the third round at Forest Edge and would be looking to do the same at his home track.

Mixed in with the local club drivers Austin was a powerhouse all day and won the first heat by more than two seconds, leading every lap en route despite starting from the third row. Williams enjoyed a race long duel with Ryan Beck and Morgan Rose and finished third on the road but second in NKRA with Sturt a couple of seconds further back after a good scrap with Lewis Malin.

Heat two was much the same as heat one with Austin leading from start to finish but on this occasion his overall victory margin was less than a second over Beck with Williams a strong third just a few kart lengths back. Sturt was also several seconds closer to the front than in the previous heat but was still only sixth on the road.

The third and final heat was a stormer with Williams leading away from the start as Austin found himself mired in traffic. Gradually though Austin worked his way towards the front until, with a lap and a half to go, he passed Williams for the lead. Showing great determination Williams clung to Austin’s rear bumper but couldn’t make a move to prevent Austin from taking a clean sweep of the heats. Behind them, an ever improving Sturt finished fifth on the road, completing a train of five karts that crossed the line nose to tail.

Having safely secured pole position for the final Austin knew that, barring disaster, his unbeaten run would remain and so it proved as he led every one of the ten laps to run out an easy winner, nearly five seconds ahead of Williams. Williams held second for the entire distance with Sturt finishing sixth on the road but third in NKRA.

Although missing the first two rounds has made it impossible for Austin to win the championship he goes to the final round at Clay Pigeon favourite to make it three perfect scores out of three attempts. Williams’ second place showing helped keep him in the championship lead with Sturt now his nearest rival.

There were a far more encouraging ten entries for the NKRA Junior Blue event, including all four drivers who had raced at Llandow the previous month. In the points race Ben Pearson led by a single point over Ashley Goodliffe and with third place driver Alexander Morris missing, fourth place driver Ryan Edgecumbe looked in good shape to capitalise, especially after winning Llandow’s Blue Challenge round.

Pearson, Goodliffe, Edgecumbe and novice driver Alana Taylor were all making their second appearance of the year in South Wales with Taylor’s effort the most herculean, flying in from her base in Scotland especially for the racing.

After Goodliffe and Edgecumbe had set the pace for the majority of the Llandow weekend the previous month it was Edgecumbe who gained the initial upper hand, winning the first heat from pole with Pearson attached to his rear bumper for almost the entire distance. Goodliffe recovered from a lowly starting spot to take third with Taylor a most impressive fourth just ahead of Ben Sutton. Sutton had a lucky escape when Will Goodhew, Ashley Knight and novice Sam Dible all collided coming across the start/finish line on lap five allowing Sutton to pass all three.

Pearson passed Goodliffe on the opening lap of the second heat and pulled away to take an impressive five second win over Edgecumbe, who made good progress from near the back of the field in the early laps and quickly disposed of Goodliffe to take second. However he had no answer for Pearson and had to be content with a comfortable three second margin over Goodliffe, who was three further seconds ahead of Sutton and Goodhew. Taylor didn’t get the opportunity to repeat her heat one heroics as a mechanical failure sidelined her on the first lap.

Pearson made it two wins out of three in the final heat, taking the lead from Sutton on the opening lap and beating Goodliffe to the chequered flag by two seconds. Edgecumbe held second for a couple of laps but had no answer on this occasion for Goodliffe, who opened up a near two-second advantage on him by the end. Sutton was a lonely fourth, four seconds behind Edgecumbe and four seconds ahead of Dible with Taylor, Goodhew, Knight and novice pairing Dominic Turner and Robert Dudley completing the finishers.

Two heat wins put Pearson on pole for the final but Edgecumbe got the upper hand on lap one. Both Pearson and Goodliffe put up a stern challenge in the early exchanges before Edgecumbe gained control, running out the winner by nearly three seconds for his second triumph at Llandow in as many months. Goodliffe grabbed second by inches from Pearson while Taylor was the star of the show, powering her way into fourth and closing in on the Goodliffe/Pearson scrap in the waning laps.

Novice driver Dible claimed a well deserved fifth just ahead of Sutton with Goodhew, Turner, Knight and Dudley completing the final order.

It was a great disappointment that only two Formula Rotax drivers elected to enter, meaning that Jake Sturt and Luke Gee were lumped in with nearly 20 snarling Llandow regulars. Against a highly competitive field neither driver were outclassed on their Llandow debuts.

Sturt finished a most creditable fifth on the road in heat one with Gee failing to make the finish but Sturt was then disqualified, handing the win to a surprised Gee. Sturt then failed to finish the second heat while Gee took sixth on the road to make it two ‘wins’ out of two in their head to head battle. Sturt finally recovered to take the honours in the third and final heat, finishing eighth on the road to Gee’s eleventh.

Gee started the final some way ahead of Sturt and the result was made academic on the first lap when Sturt went off and fell to last. Gee took 12th place on the road but it was still more than enough to claim NKRA honours and Sturt struggled home some 20 seconds behind his rival.

For so long the banner class of the NKRA the Formula Blue brigade didn’t disappoint with 14 entries providing some close, spectacular and occasionally too close racing.

Craig Copeland came in to the weekend leading the championship and with the advantage of having raced at Llandow the previous month. Mark Wylde was next up in the points standings and was the leading top weight driver while of the top 13 in the championship, only Sam Smithson was missing.

The first heat opened up nicely for Duncan McLeod, who saw poleman Ron Shone and second row starter Wylde both retire with mechanical problems on the opening lap and Kevin Ford retire out of second place on lap two, leaving the path clear for him to grab the win. Copeland, who was mired near the back of the grid, charged through to take second and was closing on McLeod at the end with Steve Cullen, David Washington and Robin Brotherwood completing the top five.

Copeland won the second heat, but only after a lengthy battle with a stubborn Robin Brotherwood who led the first six laps before Copeland, and then McLeod got through. McLeod finished less than a second behind Copeland with Brotherwood and poleman Russell O’Neill next up. Cullen took fifth ahead of Washington, Robin Stoddart-Stones, Ford, Wylde, Ian Branfield, Neil Irwin, Shone, Paul Johns and novice Frederick Powell.

The third and deciding heat easily went the way of Copeland, who led from start to finish and took the chequered flag some four seconds ahead of Washington. McLeod was a distant third, nearly ten seconds behind the race winner with Brotherwood and Branfield rounding out the top five.

From pole position Copeland dominated the final to further increase his championship lead. Untroubled throughout he ran out the winner by nearly seven seconds. While the fight for first was non existent the battle for second place more than made up for it as McLeod fought back to try and regain the second place he lost to Washington on the opening lap.

Three laps in and McLeod took the place although he couldn’t shake Washington, Brotherwood or Cullen as they began the final lap almost as one. Coming into the final corner Washington made his move with Brotherwood following him through to push McLeod back to fourth as the flag fell. However it was later discovered that Brotherwood had put the wrong engine number on his scrutineering card and was excluded, handing McLeod the final podium place and moving Cullen up to fourth.

Wylde completed the top five on a disappointing day for the second place man in the championship ahead of Branfield and a lively battle involving Shone, Irwin, Johns and Ford, which was settled in Shone’s favour.

The NKRA runners will now complete their season at Clay Pigeon  in July before returning to Llandow for their Grande Finals in August.

For more info.  and  results please view  www. planetkarting.co.uk.

RESULTS

CADET COMER
1.         N.  Williams                0 pts.
2.         R. Anderton                4 pts.
3.         B. Drowne                  7 pts.

CADET HONDA
1.         R. Gallier                    0 pts.
2.         G. Thomson                4 pts.
3.         A. White                     6 pts.

MINI MAX
1.         M. Austin                   0 pts.
2.         J. Williams                  4 pts.
3.         H. Sturt                       6 pts.

JUNIOR BLUE

1.         R. Edgecumbe            2 pts.
2.         B. Pearson                  5 pts.
3.         A. Goodliffe                5 pts.

FORMULA BLUE

1.         C. Copeland                0 pts.
2=        D. McLeod                 5 pts.
2=        A. Washington            5 pts.

FORMULA BLUE MASTERS       

1.         D. McLeod                 5 pts.
2.         S. Cullen                     9 pts.
3.         R. Stoddard-Stones    19 pts

FORMULA BLUE VETERAN

1.         R. Stoddart – Stones  19pts.
2.         R. Shone                     20 pts.

FORMULA BLUE TOP WEIGHT

1.         D. McLeod                 5 pts.
2.         M. Wylde                   9 pts.
3.         S. Cullen                     16 pts.

ROTAX MAX

1.         L. Gee                         0 pts.
2.         J. Sturt                        4 pts.

FORMULA BLUE  & JUNIOR BLUE CHALLENGE SOUTH – ROUND 5 at LLANDOW  on May 23rd

The NKRA’s Victory Racewear Southern Challenge for Junior and Formula Blue headed to Llandow for the fifth round of its 2010 season where the Blues joined the Welsh Championship weekend on what turned into the hottest weekend of the year so far.

With the 1050 metre South Wales venue set to host this year’s NKRA Grande Finals on August Bank Holiday weekend it was a slight shame that the lure of extra practice for the NKRA’s biggest event of the year wasn’t enough to attract more Junior entrants but the Senior runners were joined by Alan and Kirsty Young, who travelled all the way from Scotland to sample some fine Welsh hospitality, weather and hard racing.

Despite just four Junior Blue’s lining up, the three major players in this year’s challenge were all present in the form of current points leader Ashley Goodliffe, Ben Pearson and Ryan Edgecumbe. With a packed paddock and a large number of spectators watching on, the Blue quartet set the ball rolling with a dramatic first heat.

As the drivers thundered away from the start Alana Taylor spun going into the first corner, leaving Edgecumbe and Goodliffe fighting for the lead with Pearson watching on intently just a couple of kart lengths behind. After trading top spot several times Edgecumbe grabbed the advantage as the eight lap race entered its second half but coming into the tricky Dell complex on lap five contact between the lead pair was made, sending Goodliffe into a spin and knocking Edgecumbe’s exhaust off.

Pearson watched as the track opened up before him and swept through into an easy lead while Goodliffe scrabbled back onto the track in front of Taylor but some eight seconds behind the new leader. Although Goodliffe closed the gap to Pearson in the final three laps he was never going to catch up unless Pearson made a major error, which he didn’t as he took the chequered flag first by a shade over seven seconds.

The battle between Goodliffe and Edgecumbe was rejoined in heat two as they both scythed past front row starters Pearson and Taylor on the opening lap with Edgecumbe’s smart Vodafone backed kart just edging Goodliffe for the first half of the race. On this occasion Goodliffe timed his winning move to perfection, passing Edgecumbe on lap five and opening up a two second advantage in the closing stages. Pearson was a further two seconds down in third with Taylor less than half a second behind Pearson in a close fourth.

With the score level at one apiece the third heat, which ran to ten laps, would go a long way to deciding who would start the final from pole and Goodliffe wasn’t to be denied, passing Edgecumbe on the opening lap for the lead and never looking back. Despite the blazing sun being at its hottest as the afternoon wore on Goodliffe also coaxed his Zip chassis to the fastest lap of the entire day as he won by a consummate six seconds.

Behind Edgecumbe the main point of interest was the battle for third between Pearson and an increasingly confident Taylor, who actually snatched the place away from the heat one winner on the final lap, the pair of them just a few tenths of a second behind Edgecumbe all the way.

Goodliffe started the 12 lap final from pole position and took the lead as the quartet of drivers sped through the cut-through and barrelled towards Surtees Corner for the first time with Pearson briefly tucking into second place from third on the grid. Despite starting from the unfavoured P2 on the grid Edgecumbe fought back brilliantly to muscle past both Goodliffe and Pearson before the opening lap was complete.

On the run down to Surtees on lap two Goodliffe managed to squeeze the nose of his kart inside of Edgecumbe but as they rounded the double apex left hander contact was adjudged to have been made that forced Edgecumbe wide and allowed Goodliffe into a lead he wouldn’t relinquish. But the clerks and stewards on the day saw things differently and despite running out a six second winner on the road Goodliffe was demoted to second place behind Edgecumbe in the final classification.

Once again the main scrap was between Pearson and Taylor for third and although Taylor shadowed Pearson throughout she was unable to find a chink in Pearson’s armour and missed out on a podium place by a mere two tenths of a second.

In the main Formula Blue class a 14 strong entry was led by current championship leader Craig Copeland although sadly Sam Smithson, second in the standings, had to make a late withdrawal. Also in attendance in the paddock but sadly not on the track was Serita Shone, who was suffering with a niggling injury. The entry was boosted by the late arrival of Jamie Rush and despite missing testing on Saturday Rush soon proved that he is a quick learner.

The first heat of the day saw the experienced Duncan Macleod lead the early running but from the fourth row Copeland was making good progress and moved into second place after just three laps. A lap later Copeland was through but Macleod wasn’t letting him get away. The very rapid Scotsman Alan Young soon joined the party to make it a three way dice and as he fought past Macleod for second on lap six. Copeland capitalised to put a critical couple of kart lengths between himself and his rivals which meant Young was unable to mount a last lap banzai challenge.

Robin Brotherwood enjoyed a rather lonely run to fourth with David Washington fifth and Rush initially sixth until he was demoted five places for a driving offence. That promoted Kirsty Young, Kevin Ford, Steve Cullen, Russell O’Neill and Robin Stoddart Stones into the top ten.

Somewhat peeved at his earlier penalty Rush reacted in the best way possible in heat two as he translated pole position into victory in a highly exciting race. Keeping Copeland, Alan Young and Brotherwood behind him he took the chequered flag less than a second ahead of the heat one winner, who finally dispatched Brotherwood with two laps to go. Young also passed Brotherwood on the final tour to take third with Washington scoring another top five and Macleod sixth after starting from the seventh row.

The final heat was all about Copeland, who won by nearly four seconds although had Alan Young not been forced to retire with a puncture after leading the opening two laps the results may have been much different. In his place, Kirsty Young upheld family honours with a battling drive to second place ahead of Macleod with Rush a close fourth and the ever consistent Washington fifth for the third race running. Brotherwood chased Washington home in sixth with Ford, O’Neill, Paul Johns and Cullen completing the top ten.

Having earned pole position for the final it was always going to be a tough task to deny Copeland overall honours and so it proved as the current points leader padded his championship lead with a lights to flag victory.

Brotherwood chased hard in second place but was nearly five seconds behind Copeland at the conclusion of the twelfth and final lap and had the race gone another couple of laps duelling trio Rush, Alan Young and Macleod may well have got past him.

From second on the grid Macleod briefly dropped to fourth behind Brotherwood and a fast rising Alan Young but when Young lost ground with a grassy moment Macleod was promoted back to third with Rush hot on his heels. Soon Young closing in again to make it a three kart scrap for the final podium place and on lap nine Rush made his move. With Young following him through a couple of laps later Rush got his head down and almost caught Brotherwood at the end but fell short by a couple of tenths.

Young was fourth with Macleod fading in the closing stages. Washington almost caught Macleod on the final lap but had to settle for sixth with Kirsty Young only fractions behind in seventh. Cullen had a lonely run to eighth with Ron Shone keeping Ford and O’Neill at bay for ninth.

OVERALL    TOP  10  RESULTS

JUNIOR BLUE