Welcome to the CSMA Club Karting Group Championship page!

This is an 'Exclusive to CSMA Club Members' Karting Championship contested over five events between March and September and a grand final event held at Rye House in October.

On this page you will find all the latest news, standings and information. You can also view details of the 2008 Championship, 2009 Championship and 2010 Championship, including final points and standings.

2012 Championship Dates

Round 1 - Mon, 12th March, Rye House, Herts.
Round 2 - Mon, 16th April, Berk-Sur-Merm, France (As part of away trip 15th - 17th April)
Round 3 - Mon, 28rd May, Daytona Sandown Park, Surrey
Round 4 - Mon, 16th July, Whilton Mill, Daventry
Round 5 - Sat, 18th Aug, Thruxton, Hants
Round 6 - Mon, 3rd September, Daytona Milton Keynes
Grand Final (Rounds 7+8) - Mon, 8th October, Rye House

2011 Season Report and Presentation

Well, the 4th CSMA Club North London Centre Karting Championship is over. The 2011 events were more competitive than ever and for those who have been at this game for a while now, we’ve seen the gradual overthrow of the “old guard”, with some new faces gracing the podium more often than not.

This year we saw 35 drivers score points in the championship. It’s great to have so many people actively involved in the events we put on through the year and, although it makes the points admin a nightmare, that’s a pain I’m willing to put up with.

It seems an awfully long time ago now, but the season started at Rye House, in March, with their nicely new paved entrance. The new season always brings with it new hope! In some cases, swiftly dashed!

The A final was a corker, with James O taking the win on the last lap after John Y and Russ H slowed each other down fighting for the lead. Chris was next up, winning the battle of the heavy weights, ahead of James N. Drew’s season started with a little splutter, when he made contact with Oli early on and really, it never quite recovered from that moment on. So, in the championship, Chris, Russ and James were out front all on a perfect 14 points by scoring fastest lap as well. Oli, John Y and James N were next up with 12 points apiece.

Round 2 was a first for NLC Karting. We went on tour! A trip over to France saw the karters faced with the challenge of the tight and twisty Berk-sur-Mer circuit. Although the karts were a little lower on power than perhaps we are used to, they suited the track brilliantly and the times through the day were incredibly close through the whole field. The weather was great to boot.

With not everyone able to take part in this round of the championship, it was time to make hay for those lucky enough to be there. After a shaky start in the morning, largely due to a few many alchopops the night before, Oli took the win in the final ahead of Alan W. James N took 3rd after a great battle with Rick M, Martin N and Chris.

With Russ and James O both not at the event, the table now saw James N and Oli atop with 26 points. Chris 1 point back and Drew a further spot down. Alan and Martin N were also still in the hunt with 23 points apiece.

Round 3 took place at Daytona Milton Keynes, the longest track we visit through the year, and with the exception of the brakes, normally good, even paced karts as well! A fantastic early showing in qualification for newcomer Tanzi and for relative new member and our very own Northerner, Kieran were cruelly penalised with a surprise reverse grid. Unfortunately, it transpired that some people had an incling that this was in the offing and “altered” their pace in qualification to aid a front spot for the heats. With the pace so close in the field, this didn’t give those at the back a chance to get to their rightful spots and we saw Drew, Alan and Tanzi all dropped into the B final. With only 2 recovery spots, this was always going to cause disappointment for someone and that person was Drew on this occasion. Early contact meant he could never get back to the front, even with obvious pace.

However, the A final was also a contentious affair at the front. Oli ended up in the barriers around the flat out sweeper at the end of the long straight, and with differing versions of the same event dependent on who you listen to, it was the marshals who sided with Oli and called James O into the pits for a penalty. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of the bumper cars, with lots of pushing and shoving taking place through the field.

Oli picked up the pieces from the earlier incident to come home first, with Russ up next and a great podium finish for Nick B. Dave B cemented a great meeting with a solid 4th and Rob R had a great showing in 5th place.

It wasn’t the nicest of events to be a part of however, and we certainly felt the need to remind some drivers that CSMA Club is about fun, enjoyment and respect on track.

The fall out was that Oli had solidified a lead in the championship with 40 points. 4 points clear of James N and 6 clear of Chris. Alan was now faced with a deficit if 8 points and Russ was now 14 points off the lead.

Dropped scores were going to become important later in the season, so there was still all to play for.

Round 4 saw a hugely welcome return to the Whilton Mill circuit, near Daventry. It’s a bit of a trek up to this track but it is well worth the effort and, with the exception of one year, the karts here have been excellent. This time was no different. Brand new karts on offer. This was also the round we saw Ross Gunn, a junior karting champion, join us for the first time. Weighing about as much as my left buttock helps with speed for sure, but he showed everyone how it was done all day. His fastest lap was 1.5seconds clear of anyone else. Lucky for some, he was in it for the points!

Drew again found himself down in the B final and made things worse for himself by making an ‘enthusiastic’ move for the lead when is a secure A final recovery spot. Spinning himself out and finishing in 3rd.

Kieran had the first of his excellent showings at Whilton Mill. He really took the battle to Russ and they traded blows through the whole day. Russ has to resort to ‘robust tow breaking’ (some would say weaving, but I couldn’t possibly comment!!) exercises at times to keep Kieran at bay. But at bay he was held and Russ pipped the time-sheets as well to gain the extra bonus point. Tanzi had a great showing in 4th, just ahead of Alan W and Chris. Dave G finished a great 7th.

With Oli not at this event, Chris ended up top of the championship pie with 48 points and 6 points clear of Drew, Alan and Nick B. Russ recovering some of his points gap and tieing with Oli on 40 points.

Moving into Round 6, taking place at Thruxton during the CSMA Club Big Weekend, the system of dropped scores would now start telling. Only 4 of the 6 opening rounds count towards the championship to keep things fair for those that can’t attend all events. Thruxton is a tough track, hard on the arms and because we race in the evening, it’s also tough on the eyes as the light fades!

Ross Gunn was again on hand to show us all how to drive - so he would surely take the win again? Not this time. In another event where there seemed to be a good deal of un-sportsman like on track antics, it was again survival rather than speed that seemed to count more. James O pulled off a great move on Ross and took a storming win and setting an awsome club record time into the bargain.

Russ and Kieran were best of the rest from a championship point of view, taking up their battle just where they left it at Whilton Mill. Oli and Alan finshed high up the points and in the heavier classes Rob finished ahead of Chris with some robust defense and some tired arms from Chris who had been continuously on track for over an hour due to being shunted into the B final. James N had an uncharacteristically slow event, not helped by an early incident and an ill handling kart.

Leaving Thruxton, Russ had re-taken the lead of the championship on 53 points. A single point ahead of Chris and Oli. Drew up next with 48.

Daytona Sandown was next up. James O was back on the scene and right at the top of the pile come the end of the A final. However, an inspired James N was on song at his home track and finished an excellent second, just ahead of Alan W and Drew was next up on a return to the kind of form we are used to seeing. Oli took 5th overall and Rob R had a good showing in 7th. Russ had a shocker of a kart and chose to abandon part way through the race.

While the top 3 scores didn’t change, the rest of the field closed the gaps with James O on 51 points and James N and Drew just 1 point further back. Rob R and Dave B also keeping things honest in their respective weight classes.

All to play for then going into the grand final event at Rye House.

The final event of the year is a double header event with morning and afternoon sprint racing and full points on offer for both. For those in the championship, it’s a must attend race and, unfortunately for the 2010 champion, James O couldn’t make it. New karts were on offer at Rye House for the first time in over 2 years. There was therefore the hope that the results wouldn’t be all down to the kart that you got allocated!

The morning event set the scene for the day. Being collected in an accident in the heats pushed Chris out of place and he was never able to recover back through the field. James N carrying on where he left off from Sandown and showing huge speed and Oli and Russ continued their year long battle at the head of the field.

It was Russ that came out on top and also pulled out the fastest lap in class to make it a perfect 14 points. Oli limited the damage by finishing second and James N clawed some ground back by sweeping the heaviest class of points. Chris was left down in 4th in class (9th overall) meaning that he was now well out the running. Drew, aided by the fact that there was only one other middle class contender in the A final, collected good points.

When the dust settled and the half time points were added up Russ now had a 3 point lead over a gaggle of James N, Oli W and Drew G with Chris a further 2 points behind.

Surely Russ couldn’t be caught now? It would certainly have taken a freak result that’s for sure. As it goes, the final race of the year was a a corker. Drew had suffered during the heats and found himself in the B final. He eventually retired from this and effectively put himself out of the running in the overall. At the front of the A final, Russ, Oli and James N made a break from the front 2 rows. They had a race-long battle that was epic to watch. Places swapped out on several occasions and they were never more than a few tenths apart. Russ, starting in the slightly off pace kart 1 did eventually lose out to James and Oli. But 3rd was easily good enough to secure the title and he knew it! Oli was in the lead going into the final corner, but James pipped him to the line by 0.12 secs and took a fantastic win that secured his class championship. Chris tried his best to defend from James but 4th just wasn’t enough today.

So, when the points were finally totted up, Russ had secured his win, with 80 points. 2 clear of a resurgent James N and a further point in front of Oli W. Chris was 4th with 74, Drew 5th with 73 and Rob came home in 6th after a good performance through the day.

So, well done to Russ for a very consistent year and for surviving the pressure of the final event and coming out on top.

Another ‘nearly’ for Oli and how would it have ended if James O had also been in the mix in the final event! For all the drama of Drew’s year, he was still up there in the running. Rob was again up near the front everywhere and Dave B had a great year, consistently picking up points at every round.

Alan W had an off season compared to normal and with Oli and Russ in his class there was always going to be one driver who lost out on points at each round.

Martin N and Nick B both had seasons of highs and lows. Class wins for each at times through the year show that they had the pace, if not quite the luck/consistency.

Kieran, surely the most dedicated karter amongst our ranks! Often times travelling down from Yorkshire to race with us! Epically fast at times, just needed a bit more luck, and probably a shorter commute!

Gary had an off season. There were rounds when he was the wrong side of the A final cut off and this lost him points but he was just a crucial couple of tenths off the top of his class. Perhaps next year will see more luck.

Tony A had an improving year over 2010 and Ian W again consistently scored good points but couldn’t quite compete at the sharp end this time round.

Tanzi had an eventful year at times, right in the mix, at times slightly off pace, sometimes not helped by the actions of others around her.

James O... Oooh for not being able to make it to the final event. Shame, but we all know that he would have been right up there fighting for the wins and 2012 will surely see another strong year.

Of the remaining drivers who scored at all rounds, Ian B and Peter S were often just not able to quite make it to the front of their class standings. Probably only a matter of finding an additional second or so on lap times - but the final second is always the hardest to get!

Daniel C is one to watch for 2012. If he could gain a bit of consistency in his lap times, he could be very quick indeed - and proved it on occasion in 2011.

And of course, 2012 will see the return of Kev... the race reports just didn’t quite feel the same without him!

Thanks to everyone who took part in the 2011 championship and especially to AG and Drew, who’s tireless work moves everything along seamlessly. It’s been a pleasure (most of the time) racing with you and I very much hope that 2012 will see more of the fun and respectful on track action that we pride ourselves on.

See you on track in the new year.

 

2011 Championship Dates

Round 1 - Mon, 14th March, Rye House, Herts.
Round 2 - Mon, 18th April, Berck, Cote de Opale, France
Round 3 - Mon, 23rd May, Daytona, Milton Keynes
Round 4 - Mon, 25th July, Whilton Mill, Daventry
Round 5 - Sat, 13th Aug, Thruxton, Hants
Round 6 - Mon, 12th September, Sandown Park, Surrey
Grand Final (Rounds 7+8) - Mon, 17th October, Rye House

The 2011 CSMA Club NLC Karting Championship Winners

From left to right: Allan Goddard (AG) - Championship Co-ordinator, Oli Wakeman - Winner Up to 75Kg, Russ Hortin - Winner Overall, James Northfield - Winner 86kg and over, Drew Goodspeed - Winner 76kg-85kg

Points and Standings - Overall

The latest points and standings.

Driver	Round
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7/8		Total
Russel Horton	13 + 1	-	12	13 + 1	13	8	13 + 1	12 + 1	80
James N	12	13 + 1	10	-	10	13 + 1	13 + 1	13 + 1	78
Oli Wakeman	12	13 + 1	13 + 1	-	11 + 1	12	12	13	77
Chris Hutchinson	13 + 1	11	9	13 + 1	12 + 1	11	10	12	74
Rob Reynolds	10	-	12 + 1	11	13	12	11	11	71
Drew Goodspeed	11	12 + 1	6	11 + 1	12	12 + 1	12 + 1	8	71
Dave B	9	-	13 + 1	13	10	10	11	11	69
Alan Williamson	11	12	9	10	10	13 + 1	11	11	69
Martin Nelson	10	13	-	12	9	11	8	12	66
Nick Bray	11	8	13	10	-	10	12	10	66
Kieran White	9	-	10	12	12	-	10	9	62
Gary Martin	9	10	6	9	11	8	9	9	57
Tony A	10	-	7	8	9	10	9	10	56
Ian Wyatt	6	9	8	-	8	-	10	13 + 1	55
Tanzi B	-	-	8	11	7	11	8	8	53
James O	13 + 1	-	10	-	13 + 1	13	-	-	51
Peter Silvester	8	-	7	-	9	8	8	8	48
Ian Benns	4	-	7	10	5	8	7	9	46
Daniel Cross	6	-	6	9	8	9	7	7	46
John F	7	9	5	8	-	-	7	7	43
Simon I	7	11	-	9	7	9	-	-	36
Tony H			12	-	-	-	13	10	35
Ashley M	-	8	11	-	11	-	-	-	30
Paul C	5	-	9	-	-	-	9	7	30
Dave G	-	-	8	12	-	9	-	-	29
Richard M		12	11	-	-	-	-	-	23
Max N	-	10	-	-	6	-	-	-	16
John Yalden	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12
Simon Co	-	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	11
Bryan D	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	11
Alun Rowe	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
Iain Grant	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
Yvon D	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
Simon J		7	-	-	-	-	-	-	7
Kevin Whiting	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7

 

Points and Standings - Up to 75Kg

	Round
Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7/8		Total
Russel Horton	13 + 1	-	12	13 + 1	13	8	13 + 1	12 + 1	80
Oli Wakeman	12	13 + 1	13 + 1	-	11 + 1	12	12	13	77
Alan Williamson	11	12	9	10	10	13 + 1	11	11	69
Kieran White	9	-	10	12	12	-	10	9	62
Tony A	10	-	7	8	9	10	9	10	56
Tanzi B	-	-	8	11	7	11	8	8	53
Daniel Cross	6	-	6	9	8	9	7	7	46
Simon Co	-	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	11
Bryan D	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	11
Iain Grant	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
Kevin Whiting	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7

 

Points and Standings - 76Kg - 85Kg

	Round
Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7/8		Total
Drew Goodspeed	11	12 + 1	6	11 + 1	12	12 + 1	12 + 1	8	71
Dave B	9	-	13 + 1	13	10	10	11	11	69
Martin Nelson	10	13	-	12	9	11	8	12	66
Ian Wyatt	6	9	8	-	8	-	10	13 + 1	55
James O	13 + 1	-	10	-	13 + 1	13	-	-	51
Ian Benns	4	-	7	10	5	8	7	9	46
Simon I	7	11	-	9	7	9	-	-	36
Tony H			12	-	-	-	13	10	35
Ashley M	-	8	11	-	11	-	-	-	30
Paul C	5	-	9	-	-	-	9	7	30
Max N	-	10	-	-	6	-	-	-	16
John Yalden	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12
Alun Rowe	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
Yvon D	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	7

 

Points and Standings - 86Kg and over

	Round
Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7/8		Total
James N	12	13 + 1	10	-	10	13 + 1	13 + 1	13 + 1	78
Chris Hutchinson	13 + 1	11	9	13 + 1	12 + 1	11	10	12	74
Rob Reynolds	10	-	12 + 1	11	13	12	11	11	71
Nick Bray	11	8	13	10	-	10	12	10	66
Gary Martin	9	10	6	9	11	8	9	9	57
Peter Silvester	8	-	7	-	9	8	8	8	48
John F	7	9	5	8	-	-	7	7	43
Dave G	-	-	8	12	-	9	-	-	29
Richard M		12	11	-	-	-	-	-	23
Simon J		7	-	-	-	-	-	-	7

 

The Rules in Brief

• Each contender must be a full member of CSMA at the time of registration*.
• The best 4 results from the opening 6 rounds will be added to the points from the double header "grand final" event for each registered driver.
• The championship will be free to enter for members but there will be an entry fee for each round of the championship. The entry fees will be negotiated by CSMA with individual circuits and will represent excellent value for money.
• Points will be awarded to each participant attending an event and the top 10 finishers in each class will receive additional points in descending order from 10 points for 1st place to 1 point for 10th place.
• All events will be preceded by a driver weigh in. This will determine the weight category in which that driver will race during the event.
• There will be 5 weight categories in operation at each round.
• Up to 75Kg
• 76Kg - 85Kg
• 86Kg and over
• A bonus point will be awarded for fastest lap in class from the final at each round.
• Points awarded at each round will go towards 3 weight class championships and also towards an overall championship table.
• At any event, should the number of drivers in any one weight category drop below 3, the points gained by the drivers in that category will not go towards their overall championship total.
• In the event of a tie in points after the final event of the season, the following will be used as a tie-break in order (in the case of a tie-breaker in the overall championship, only results were 3 or more drivers were competing in class will be counted):
• Greatest number of class wins in the opening 6 rounds.
• Greatest number of class second places in the opening 6 rounds.
• Greatest number of class 3rd places in opening 6 rounds.
• Greatest number of class fastest laps in the opening 6 rounds.
• Trophies & awards will be presented immediately following the Grand Finale to be held at Rye House, Hoddesdon at the end of 2011.
• In the unlikely event of a dispute of any kind regarding the Championship and/or its heats, the judgement of the Championship co-ordinator will be final and absolute.

* Non- Members, friends or family who may wish to join the Championship should contact Allan Goddard as soon as possible.