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| May 22, 2009 |
| Formula Kart Stars - Round 3 Report |
| Article by: Graham Smith |
The little used North Wales 1100 metre circuit is now firmly established on the championship map, with firstly a Super One visit, and now the Formula One Management and Lewis Hamilton backed FKS UK having its second outing of the year. Drivers loved the picturesque circuit, undulating through what used to be fields of sheep. It starts off with a right-hander into a long uphill straight sweeping into a long Spoon corner before coming into the Carousel then down through a challenging twisty section and a ninety right onto the pit straight, the scene of many last minute dives. Promoter Carolynn Hoy was elated with the Welsh welcome, saying: "They have been so supportive, I'm sure we'll be back again next year." The entry dipped a little, put down to School SATS exams, and the KF2 class was cancelled for the moment.
MSA British Cadet Championship
Heats:
Seven hard-fought heats were needed to break down the sixty entrants into C, B and A Finals, with mixed weather throughout keeping mechanics on their toes. Straightaway George Russell sprang into prominence, sporting his newly won ABkC 'O' Plate. He won all his heats with Adam MacKay, Harry Webb, Matthew Graham and Harry Woodhead scoring in the others. Torrential rain punctuated the early Sunday heats, before the sun unexpectedly shone through again. But by the finals, the rain had set in again.
C Final:
After his earlier heat exclusion, Toby Sowery wasted no time in heading to the front, tracked by Luke Barker throughout. Although on pole, Stuart Middleton faded right back, leaving Ellis Hanks to keep ahead of the battle for the last B Final place. Scottish champion Lewis McNab nipped ahead of Sterling Forster but the latter swooped down the Carousel to grab that vital fourth back again.
B Final:
Straight to the front past Connor Mills, Josh White stretched a gap leaving Mills to deal with Tom Harvey and Jacques Morley. A neatly executed pass at the last corner carried Morley into second then Harvey and Greg McKenzie clashed, leaving Mills fending off Stephen Letts for third.
A Final:
Looking confident on pole, George Russell easily converted that to first heading a long train up the hill. A great exit from the Spoon built the beginnings of a massive six second lead, the kart set up superbly for the greasy drying track. So all the action was behind, Harry Webb leapfrogging over Harry Woodhead before dealing with Matthew Graham in a similar manner. A bit of battling between Woodhead and Webb allowed the impecunious independent Jake Walker, up from eighth on the grid, to construct a pass on both. Working together with Webb, they dropped Woodhead who luckily found Graham too far back to threaten. But for the intervention of Max Vaughan and Alex Gill, sixth from eighteenth would have suited Sam Vanderpump just fine. All three were swept aside by a late spurt from Rory Cuff, as he took sixth ahead of Gill, Vaughan and Vanderpump with Connor Jupp rounding out the top ten.
 | Junior Max winner Andy King
(Photo: Chris Walker - kartpix.net) |
KF3
KF3 Pre-Final:
A superb qualifying effort had put Max Cornelius on pole position, with Alex Albon alongside, Ben Barnicoat and Russell Danzey behind. Cornelius duly grabbed the lead but it was dry now, seemingly handing the advantage to Albon, the Red Bull backed driver shooting past Barnicoat at the Spoon and taking the lead two laps later. Callum Bowyer had fallen back into the clutches of Russell Danzey whilst Barnicoat would also find a way past Cornelius for a formation finish. Meanwhile Albon just kept putting distance behind him, nearly six seconds by the chequer. "I just couldn't get the start to work, but this is definitely one of the best tracks in Britain, very grippy," said the winner. Macaulay Walsh crept ahead of Danzey at mid-distance but Bowyer came back to split them, and would follow Danzey up to the tail of Cornelius whilst Walsh fell behind Jack Vanderpump.
KF3 Final:
As the young competitors paraded out to the pit straight the rain was coming down in stair-rods, a completely different race to the pre-final. Alexander Albon looked in difficulty from the outset, as he struggled in vain to hold off Ben Barnicoat up the hill on the second lap. Before long Max Cornelius was through as well, at the aptly named Devils Elbow. Before long Russell Danzey had made up all the ground lost at the start trapped behind Callum Bowyer, and with five minutes remaining, vaulted over Albon and joined the leaders. Cornelius and Danzey were ganging up on Barnicoat, and after hounding him for two laps, Cornelius took the lead. Barnicoat had one last try on the last lap on the way into the Devils Elbow, pushing Cornelius wide and crossing the line first. By the time Cornelius recovered, Danzey was through into second, which became the win when Barnicoat was penalised two places.
Junior Max
Pre-Final:
Half the entry had qualified in a dry session and half in a wet session, with the fastest twelve from each lining each side of the Pre-Final grid, another four joining on from the Pre-Final B. That put Lee Napolitano on pole next to Ollie Varney, Henry Hunter and Andy King close behind. The GP plated Napolitano was in trouble almost straight away, as a fuel pipe split and he resorted to holding it onto the pump. Andy King was quick to take advantage, chased by Declan Jones initially until Alex Magee came up to threaten King for the rest of the race. Unfortunately he was found to be underweight and thus excluded, elevating Matt Parry and Jones.
Final:
Andy King led the pack up the hill, never to be headed except for a brief moment on the first lap, when Matt Parry led for a few yards. Parry had to accept third behind Ollie Varney after that, with Will Hunter snapping at their heels until he had to pit to replace his chain guard. Varney put pressure on Parry, without finding any chinks in the defence, then Jamie Fegan flew up to join in. He had run wide at the Spoon on the first lap, and soon split the second place fight. A quick flurry of place changes with Parry left him having to accept the last podium place. A very happy Andy King thanked his ASR team, saying: "On the first lap Matt went past but I got him back with the switchback, then it was getting greasier as we went through the race."
Mini Max
Pre-Final:
Timed qualifying this time put Danny Sweeney on pole from the faster group, then next was Harry Crawley, quickest in the wetter group. Crawley did make the better start, but Sweeney held the advantage in the dry, leaving Crawley and Jack Barlow trading second place. As the field strung out, Crawley made one last effort to snatch second, whilst behind them James Singleton had fallen away to a distant fourth. Luke Hughes came out on top of a battle with Oliver Myers.
Final:
The wet weather returned for the final, where Jack Barlow sneaked past the front row pair to lead a long train round the first few laps, Harry Crawley hard on his bumper. James Singleton leapfrogged Luke Hughes for third, the latter becoming embroiled in a fight with Samuel Oram Jones, Danny Sweeney, Oliver Myers and Jody Fanin. Hughes fell behind all of them, but Jones was penalised four places at the end. Mid-race, Crawley executed a winning move up the hill and round the Spoon, then shook off his challengers to the tune of three seconds. Barlow had his hands full fending off Singleton, with Sweeney coming up at the end to join in. But Crawley has put himself firmly into title contention, a brilliant win. |
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