Vingoe takes Historic Win

Round 5 of the 2011 Open Grand Prix championship saw 21 drivers take to the starting grid in what has proved an unpredictable campaign so far. The championship leader at this stage was James Barnes, who had claimed two wins from the opening rounds. Returning to the action for this meeting was youngster Luke Dickerson, who had missed Round 4 through illness.

Heat 1 saw Barnes on pole alongside his great rival Andy Horne but it was Ashley Waters who took the lead from row 2 and he led the early stages. Dave Lock had worked his way up to third but then suffered a kart fault which brought him back to pits. He would rejoin the track ahead of the third place battle and on cold tyres he lost control at turn 4 ending up stationary in the middle of track and was hit at full speed by Ollie Thorn, launching both drivers out of their machines. The race was immediately red flagged but thankfully both drivers were unharmed and took the restart. At the restart Barnes retook the lead which he held to the flag ahead of Waters and Steve Algar. Horne was struggling with a stretched throttle cable and valiantly held third until the final lap when he was demoted to ninth.

Heat 2 had Mark Cornell and James Pearce on the front row but it was the young guns Dickerson and Seb Fisher who punched their way into the lead. Ryan Stringer made a blinding getaway from the back of the field and raced his way through to chase down the leaders. Jim Cordner was also running strongly and was up to fourth before a collision dropped him down the order. At the flag it was Dickerson who took the win ahead of Fisher and Stringer.

Heat 3 this time had Alex Vingoe and Michael Brown on the front row and it was the former Cadet champion Vingoe who pulled away into the lead. Behind him Pearce put in a stunning drive to fight his way through from the back of the grid to second, claiming a new lap record in the process. Horne stuck to the back of Pearce and was also under the existing lap record. They couldn’t catch Vingoe however who took the win ahead of Pearce, Horne and Guy Newstead.

Heat 4 had rookie driver Luke Cousins on pole alongside Fisher and the two battle hard in the early stages before Fisher made the break. From there he got his head down and produced yet another new lap record. He took the win, his first heat win of the season, ahead of the impressive Cousins with Thorn, none the worse for his earlier crash, in third.

The B-Final saw a surprise pole-man in Lock, the first time he had failed to make the A-Final. However, with the top two from the B-Final promoted into the A-Final he was favourite to make the jump. Sure enough he pulled away from the field in the early stages but towards the end of the race had to defend from a charging Mick Waters, who so nearly stole the win at the flag. Third went to Mark Cornell ahead of Gary Fisher, Cordner, Abby Parravani, Phil Read and Darren Price.

The scene was set then for a thrilling A-Final with Vingoe on pole ahead of Fisher, Dickerson and Barnes. At the start Vingoe took full advantage of his pole position and led the field round the opening lap. Behind him there was a titanic scrap for second between Fisher, Dickerson, Horne, Newstead and Barnes. On lap 7 Barnes spun for the second Final in a row and dropped behind a charging Thorn. Pearce was not having a good race either, struggling to keep himself in the top 10. The race settled down with Vingoe now well in the lead ahead of Dickerson, who was having to defend heavily from Horne and Newstead. Going into the final lap Horne saw his chance and dived through at turn 3. Newstead stuck to his bumper relegating Dickerson to fourth. At the front though it was Vingoe who took his maiden Open Grand Prix win and with it the accolade of being the first driver in history to win in the Cadet, Junior and Senior leagues at Ellough Park. Horne held on to second with Newstead third and Dickerson and Fisher rounding out the top 5.

Barnes still holds on to the championship lead ahead of Horne and Thorn with Vingoe now up to fourth. For more information on the championship or if you would like to enter you can contact the circuit on 01502 717718.

Pullen Sets the Pro-Kart Pace

Round 4 of the 2011 Pro-Kart Sprint Series saw a field of 4 Pro and no less than 9 Clubmans take to the circuit under ominous skies. After a turbulent fortnight of off-track discussions it was time to let the racing do the talking and it did just that.

Qualifying saw the usual pole position for series leader Shaun Reeve but this time by a mere 4 hundredths of a second from Malcolm Pullen ahead of the father and son duo of Richard and Ben Binder. Fastest of the Clubmans was Ryan Bennett ahead of Mick Goodman and rookie driver Steve French.

Reeve converted his pole into the lead at the start of Heat 1 but he was closely pursued by Pullen. The two eased out an advantage over the Binders with Pullen continuing to try and pressure Reeve into a mistake. The mistake came on lap 7 and Pullen took full advantage with a daring move in turn 2. From there he pulled away to take the win ahead of Reeve and Richard Binder. Ryan Bennett took the Clubman spoils ahead of Goodman and Pete Bennett.

The reverse grid for Heat 2 placed Jamie French on pole alongside brother Steve. At the start it was Steve who took the lead which he held for half a lap before Pete Bennett stormed by, stretching a massive advantage over the rest of the pack. Pete Horrod held third round the opening lap but was soon engulfed by the Pro class drivers. The opening lap also saw an uncharacteristic spin for Reeve, which set up a stunning drive through the field. At the front Bennett held on to his advantage with Pullen now chasing him down having worked his way up to second. At the flag it was Bennett who made history by claiming the first overall heat win by a Clubman ahead of Pullen with Reeve a stunning third having been last at the end of lap 1.

The final got underway with Pullen on pole ahead of Reeve and the clouds threatening to burst at any moment. With light drizzle falling it would come down to who dared to go faster without making a mistake. Pullen and Reeve shot away from the start and soon pulled away from the pack. Pete Bennett continued his great form running for third overall with Richard Binder. Ben Binder was having a torrid time falling back through the field. The backmarkers soon came into play and it was Pullen who found his way through to stretch out a three second lead. By this stage Richard Binder had won his battle with Pete Bennett who was now struggling to hold on the Clubman lead from his son Ryan. At the flag it was Pullen who took his second win of the campaign with Reeve second and Richard Binder third. Pete Bennett held on to the Clubman win ahead of Ryan Bennett, both finishing ahead of a disappointed Ben Binder with Mick Goodman claiming third in Clubmans.

Round 5 takes place on Monday 6^th of June with open testing available from 4pm-6pm and the meeting starting at 6pm. For more information on the series you can contact the circuit on 01502 717718 or visit the forum at http://elloughpark.proboards.com/

Holdbrook Weathers the Storm

Round 2 of the 2011 Junior League saw 16 drivers take to the track with Harry Holdbrook looking to stretch his advantage after a brilliant win at the opening round. Matt Baisley, who celebrated his 15^th birthday on the night, was hoping to give himself a great birthday present and close the gap to the championship leader. Aiden Durrant and Cameron Rutledge both returned to the action having missed the first round through injury.

Just before the opening race the heavens opened making the track resemble a swimming pool rather than a race track. Dominic Oliver lead the field off from pole position but it was Arnold Lincoln who got the jump from row 2 to take the early lead. Baisley made a tremendous start from 13^th and was soon chasing down the leader. Jak Warner also made a rocket start and found himself in third by half race distance. Holdbrook was having a harder time in the traffic and lost touch with the leading pack. With two laps to go Baisley caught and passed Lincoln for the lead which he held to the flag. Warner maintained third with Holdbrook fighting his way through to fourth.

Heat 2 saw Holdbrook on pole with Baisley alongside and the two drivers soon broke away at the front to have a private battle for the lead. Rookie drivers Alex Ready, Rutledge and Charles McGregor were enthralled in a race-long battle for third. Warner meantime was having a luckless race struggling with handling difficulties after a clash with Lincoln, he would end the race in 10^th. At the front Holdbrook got the better of Baisley to take the win ahead of Baisley with Ready winning the battle for third.

Heat 3 and it was Rutledge leading from pole this time with Lewis Fenn on the front row. At the start Rutledge flew into the lead followed by Ready and Durrant. They were soon caught by Holdbrook and Baisley who found their way through to once again run 1-2. Warner was again struggling in the traffic but soon found a clear route to finish sixth at the flag. Lincoln, who had changed karts following his heat 2 crash, had a difficult race and could only manage 13^th place. At the flag it was Holdbrook who clung on for his second win of the night ahead of the consistent Baisley and Rutledge.

The final saw Baisley on pole alongside Holdbrook but at the start it was Ready who stormed into the lead which he held round the opening lap. On lap 2 Holdbrook and Baisley both passed Ready and once again pulled out a big advantage. Warner had more work to do from seventh on the grid and he found himself in a large squabble for third with Ready, Durrant, Rutledge and McGregor. Ready spun out of third on lap 4 and was followed by Rutledge, who would suffer a number of spins which would ultimately drop him to tenth at the flag. The battle for the lead was eventually decided by the backmarkers with Holdbrook finding a clearer route through and pulling out a 5 second lead. He would hold that advantage all the way to flag to make it two out of two and stretch his championship lead. Baisley maintained second with Warner prevailing in third. McGregor took another fourth place ahead of Durrant, Lincoln, Ready, Sam Cordner, Fenn and Rutledge rounding out the top 10.

Round 3 takes place on Thursday 30^th June with the annual ‘Dads and Lads’ event at 7pm on Saturday 18^th June. For more information on either event please contact the circuit on 01502 717718.

Fitzpatrick Secures Record Breaking win

Round 2 of the 2011 Cadet League Series saw a strong field of 9 drivers take to the track with perfect conditions greeting them once again. Championship leader Sam Fitzpatrick came into the meeting looking to build on his excellent form from the recent Non-MSA Honda Cadet meeting and extend his early lead. Snapping at his heals would be his main challengers from Round 1 Henry Dixon and Oliver Grantham along with the long awaited return of British Mini-Moto star Ryan Folkes.

Heat 1 saw Fitzpatrick starting from pole position and he tore away from the start chased hard by Dixon. The two soon broke away from the pack and set an astonishing pace to both smash the lap record, with Fitzpatrick finally lowering the mark, held for more than a year by Arnold Lincoln, by half a second. This pace took him to the win with Dixon in second and Grantham third.

Heat 2 began with Grantham blasting into the lead with rookie driver Harry Weaver showing his best form of the season running in second. Fitzpatrick was having a challenging race this time and would only make it up to fourth place at the flag. This left Grantham clear to take the win ahead of Dixon with Weaver taking a stunning third place.

Heat 3 this time had Folkes starting on pole and he converted this into the lead in the early stages. Fitzpatrick, again coming through the field, found his run a lot smoother this time and soon caught and passed Folkes for the lead. He carried this through to his second heat win of the night followed home by Folkes with Grantham taking another good haul of points in third.

The Final got underway with Fitzpatrick on pole joined on the front row by Grantham. Fitzpatrick took full advantage of his pole position to pull away into the lead with Grantham struggling to keep in touch. He was soon overhauled by both Dixon and Folkes, who set off in pursuit of the race leader. However, despite their best efforts Fitzpatrick drove a measured race to take his second win from two rounds and put himself firmly in the lead of the championship. Dixons second place sees him close the gap to just 14 points to Grantham and Folkes’ third place saw him step onto the podium for the first time since 2008. Grantham soldiered on for fourth place ahead of Mitchell Fenn, Regin Masters, Callum Goldmsith, Louis Skoyles and Weaver.

Round 3 of the series takes place on Wednesday 29^th June with the annual ‘Dads & Lads’ event taking place on Saturday 18^th June at 5pm. To book a place for either event for more information contact the circuit on 01502 717718.

Holdbrook Returns to the Top

The opening round of the 2011 Junior League Summer Series saw a field of 15 drivers take to the track all vying to get the best start possible to what promises to be the most competitive championship for many seasons. Returning to the action was last years runner-up and rookie champion Harry Holdbrook, looking to go one better than last year. He wouldn’t have it easy though with Winter champion Jak Warner still looking to take his maiden victory and the on form Matt Baisley odds-on favourite to make it three in a row. Unfortunately missing from the action though were Aiden Durrant and rookie sensation Cameron Rutledge who both suffered non-racing related injuries leading up to the season opener, both will be fighting to be fit for Round 2.
Heat 1 began with rookie driver Chris Chilvers on pole position, who held on well round the opening lap but was soon passed by Warner and Holdbrook. Baisleys meeting didn’t get off to the best of starts with brake issues forcing him into the pits to change his kart. At half race distance Holbrook fired into the lead but couldn’t shake off the attention of Warner. Charles McGregor continued to impress, locked in a battle with Andrew Curtis and Arnold Lincoln for third place. On the final lap it was still Holdbrook in the lead but found himself blocked by a backmarker which allowed Warner to sneak by to snatch the win. Mcregor won the battle for third ahead of Lincoln and Curtis.
Heat 2 saw another rookie on pole, Luke Collins, who also ran well with the leaders early on before slowly dropping down the order. Holdbrook was the early race leader but was soon reeled in by Baisley. This time though there were no backmarkers to stop Holdbrook who held on for the win ahead of Baisley and Warner.
Heat 3 this time had Curtis starting on pole but it was Warner who stormed into the lead at the start from third on the grid. He led all the way to the flag ahead of the usual suspects Holdbrook and Baisley. Another rookie driver, Alex Ready, impressed many with an unbelievable manoeuvre to go from seventh to fifth at the final corner.
The Final saw Warner with another pole position alongside Holodbrook, would Jak finally take his maiden victory. From the outset it was clear he wouldn’t have it all his own way as Baisley took advantage of the leading duo battling to blast into the lead. All three set a blistering pace to edge away from the pursuing pack which at this stage was headed up by Ready. On lap 7 Holdbrook weaved his way to front and left Baisley and Warner to scrap over second place. Lincoln was also on a charge, moving up from a sluggish start to find himself in a lonely fourth place but gaining on the leaders. With a couple of laps to go it looked as though Baisley would catch Holdbrook as he put in lap times close to lap record pace but Holbrook responded to hold on the lead and take the chequered flag in first place. Baisley came home second ahead of Warner with Lincoln, Ready, McGregor, Curtis, Tom Moore, Sam Cordner and Dominic Oliver rounding out the top 10.
Holbrook holds a slender championship lead at this early stage ahead of Warner with Baisley well in touch in third. Alex Ready leads the rookie standings ahead of McGregor and Collins. Round 2 takes place on Thursday 26th May, to book a place or for more information please call 01502 717718.