[Back to events archive]

Location	Whilton Mill, Near Daventry
Date	19/05/2008
Cost	£95
Spaces	12
Deadline	12/05/2008
Event Information	This event has now taken place.

Event Results Available

View results from this event

Event Report

> Check out the latest championship positions
> Check out the full results for the day

There's a general buzz within the club when we go to Whilton Mill. It's our second home after Rye House and it offers a great track, if not lavish facilities.

Still, who cares about sofa's when a brand new fleet of karts, the remnants of the delivery wrapping still present, is sitting in the pit lane just waiting to be taken out on track.

After the disappointment of the first attempt to get this event running in April, the day proved to be the perfect antidote.



As expected, the karts were very evenly matched and the drivers equally so. Across every session, the difference between the fastest and slowest on track was 1.5 seconds. Over a lap of 1 minute in length, this is testament to both the karts and also everyone bringing their A-game.

After the practice and qualifying in the morning, the B-finalists took to the track for the rolling start. Unexpectedly in the field was Gary, who had been black flagged in the qualifying race for, shall we say, optimistic endeavours? A black flag was pretty harsh punishment but Gary took it on the Chin and was at the front of the field for the start. Also in the field was Phil due to another black flag incident. Now, I didn't see the actual misdemeanour but when Phil pulled into the pit lane I and everyone around a half mile radius was informed by Phil that it shouldn't have resulted in a flag! When he rejoined, even the marshals saw the funny side of his go-slow protest. With the top 2 spots of the B-Final designated as "recovery" spots, places in the A-final were still available.



A really tight battle was fought at the front of the field with the top 4 drivers battling too and frow through the 3/4 of the race. Gary was in front for the majority of laps but was under fire until the final few laps where he had pulled a small gap as the others fought for the second recovery spot. It looked as though Phil had this spot covered early in the race but Tim pulled him back in and eventually got passed into second. Steve G ended in 4th having been in the mix through the race but one failed move a little earlier in the race had meant that he had to spend valuable laps catching back up again.

So, Gary and Tim progressed to the back of the A-Final. Arms a little tired no doubt at this stage! With the customary reversed grid being used for the final, it's always eventful and with the slower drivers from the earlier rounds only being marginally so, it wasn't just the usual suspects making all the running. From the front of the field at the start, Ian and Chris maintained the status quo for a couple of laps. Further back, incidents meant that some of the faster drivers had been compromised on their progress through the field. However, Terry had found his way through the mêlée to the front (or is that causing the mêlée on his way through to the front?) and Alan was in close company. Chris was just about hanging on to their tails in 3rd.



Further back, Dave M was now through the thick of the field and setting out on a charge, dragging Tony along with him. Would they catch 3rd place by the end of the
race? Well, yes! But only just. Dave took 3rd place (cruelly!!!) from Chris on the penultimate lap but Tony ran out of time, probably needing one more lap to get the job done. 3rd, 4th and 5th covered by under a second at the finish.

Championship wise, in the light-weight class, Alan's Win helped him to the front alongside Tony with Mark in 3rd. Dave M now in 4th having missed the first round. In the mid-weight class, Terry extended his lead with his second win and Chris coming in second once again keeping him just about in touch. In the heavy-weight class, only Ian was in the running. However, making the A-final and also charging towards the bottom of the weight band means that he's got to be favourite at this stage to take the overall honours.



So, after a very pleasant lunch in the Mill house, we moved on to the afternoon endurance event. With Allan Goddard having only had a few hours sleep before arriving at the event, he didn't feel his usual "finger to the wind" team calculations would be up to much, so instead a random draw was made.

OK, so when Alan W was drawn with Terry C the result wasn't in much doubt, but all the other placing were very much up for grabs.

Indeed, the racing proved to be very even throughout the event. Again, testament to the great karts and the high standard of driving. Many of the teams chose to get off sequence with their stops to gain track space. This meant that often, drivers were not racing on-track with the people they were competing with for position. It also meant that any small mistakes were crucial to the end result.



As expected, Terry and Alan came home first but the two Gary's were best of the rest, with Jack and Tony following home closely in 3rd. However, 4th, 5th and 6th were covered by a second at the line! One and a half hours racing, split by a second. Great stuff..

Fastest lap for the day went to Alan W, the only person to dip below 57 seconds. 56.97s was a great time that even Drew would have struggled with!

So, that was the day that was. Great weather, great atmosphere and great fun. Thanks to Allan Goddard for his hard work and also the track staff who always make the day enjoyable.

See you at the next one.

[Back to events archive]