Ferguson Wins on Senior Debut

The penultimate round of the 2011 EPKC series took place with another bumper entry field of drivers with some notable returnees in the Senior Rotax class. Multiple BDKC Junior champion Clark Randal was back in action after eight years out of the seat. With only a short test session under his belt before the meeting it would be an uphill struggle but would surprise many with his pace throughout the day. Also back at Ellough after a three year layoff was former Senior Max champion Tom Morfoot racing under the Flash Racing banner. With the kart still in pieces in the back of his dads car and no prior experience of a Gillard chassis it would be a tough return for Tom.

The Libra Cadets saw Bradley Kent and Tommy Weyer battling for supremacy during the day with Kent coming out on top in the three heats but each time by only a kart length from Weyer. In the Final Kent again led early on but when they came up upon the Honda backmarkers Weyer saw his chance and dived through to the lead which he would never relinquish to score his maiden victory at the circuit.

The Honda Cadets, as ever, provided some of the closest racing of the day with 23 drivers chasing down runaway championship leader Archie Albone. Heat 1 however would go the way of the in-form Sam Fitzpatrick who just snatched victory from Formula 6 champion Christopher Lulham with Jean Sammut right in the mix in third. Matt Round and Oliver Grantham rounded out the top 5 but it was a bad race for reigning champion Ben Kasperczak whose run of bad luck continued with mechanical failure. Heat 2 saw the same three drivers battling at the front but this time it was Lulham who took the win ahead of Fitzpatrick with Sammut in third. Albone picked up more important points in fourth with Kasperczak making up for his Heat 1 disaster in fifth. Heat 3 started badly with a multiple pile-up eliminating Perry Cooke, Cameron Maskell and Jason Hutton. Cooke and Maskell were able to make repairs for the restart but Hutton would have to sit out Heat 3. At the restart it was Albone who got down to business taking a hard fought win ahead of Fitzpatrick and Grantham. The consistent Sammut crossed the line fourth ahead of Round. The Final got underway with Fitzpatrick converting his pole into the lead and he soon raced away from the pack headed up by Albone. Albone was under massive pressure from Grantham and when the backmarkers came into play Grantham took the initiative and soared through to second. Behind them a big incident between Sammut and Lulham took the former out of contention, a bitter result for Jean as he had looked good for another top five finish. The incident allowed Cooke through to fourth with Round snapping at his heels. At the front Fitzpatrick had pulled out a ten second lead and duly took his maiden, and long overdue, victory in the series. Grantham held of Albone for second with Cooke and Round making up the top five finishers. Behind them Hutton put on a stunning display on his debut in the class to come through to thirteenth and with it taking the top novice award. Fitzpatricks win now puts him well in contention for the runner-up spot in the championship with only appalling luck at the final round likely to oust Albone from the top spot. Grantham’s drive in the final also earned him the coveted ‘Driver of the Day’ award given out by the marshals.

The Junior classes saw a mix of Junior Rotax, Minimax, Junior TKM and the lone KF3 of British GP WTP champion Gaby Weyer making her debut in the category.
The Junior Max class was dominated from start-to-finish by Chad Shiner who took the honours ahead of Charlie Starsmoore and champion-elect Benjamin Bee.
The story was the same in the Junior TKM class with reigning BDKC Libra Cadet champion James Clarke stepping up to the category for the first time with devastating effect by claiming a clean sweep of wins for the day ahead of rookie driver Jack Rutter.
The Minimax races were more closely fought with newly crowned champion Harry Holdbrook being pushed hard by Ellough returnee William Bennett. The opening exchange went to Bennett by half a second from Holdbrook with Adam Hatfield in third. Heat 2 didn’t go as well for Bennett after an early clash left him without a nose cone forcing him into retirement. Holdbrook took full advantage to take the win ahead of Hatfield and Lee Edwards. Heat 3 saw Bennett back to form but he couldn’t quite overhaul Holdbrook who took the win with Hatfield again in third. The Final got underway without Hatfield who was out with mechanical trouble. It was again Holdbrook and Bennett who stole the show at the head of the field with the two drivers locked together for the whole race. At the flag it was Bennett who held on to win ahead of Holdbrook with Edwards an impressive third. Behind them Ronnie Hirst, in his first Minimax outing, took fourth ahead of rookie Tye Mason.

The Seniors provided the last action of the day with a strong field of 17 drivers. The opening heat of the day went the way of Craig Pollard, who surely would have been in the hunt for the title had he not missed the opening rounds of the series. He was chased all the way by Simon Steady with Liam Ferguson, making his Senior debut, a brilliant third. Heat 2 got underway without Pollard and Teddie Harvey who were late to the grid, missing the warm up laps which ruled them out of the race. Morfoot also was left on the grid with mechanical trouble but he would make it onto the track, although from the back of the grid. At the head of the field Ferguson blasted away from the field to pick up the win ahead of Steady with championship leader Vince Mallett rounding out the top 3. Jak Warner continued to impress in only his second race meeting in sixth sandwiched between the returnees of Randal and Morfoot, both proving they had lost none of their touch despite their long layoffs. Heat 3 saw Steady and Ferguson at the front again and this time it was Steady who took the win with Pollard making the grid this time and finishing third. Ben Kidd continued his strong run of form with fourth. The Final got underway with Steady converting his pole position into the lead ahead of Ferguson. Morfoot got out of the traps brilliantly running up with the race leaders. On lap 7 Ferguson fought his way into the lead but Steady came straight back at him resulting in the extremely rare sight of him spinning. He gathered it back up losing just one place to Morfoot but Ferguson was now away and clear. At the flag Ferguson picked up his maiden Senior win with Steady fighting back to second ahead of the highly impressive Morfoot, taking a podium after a long time out of the sport and no prior knowledge of the kart. Pollard crossed the line fourth ahead of the equally impressive Randal. It was another bad day for championship leader Mallett who was taken out of the final in an early crash. Despite this Mallett is still odds-on favourite to take the title with Steven Knowles currently his closest challenger.

The final meeting of the season takes place on Saturday 10th December with double points up for grabs. To book in for the meeting or for more information on the 2012 season please call 01502 717718.

December Offers!

Book an Iron Man Challenge, Grand Prix, Team endurance or Urban Combat Game and get a FREE PIZZA* for every two participants.

Offer available from 1st December 2011 until 31st December 2011 only! Minimum of 10 people are required*

Iron Man Challenge – 30/50/75 or the ultimate 100 lap race! 10 to 20 drivers will race for a 10 minute qualifying session to determine your grid position.  Then you will race for the length of the chosen event distance! No pit stops!! Trophies will be awarded to the top three drivers with a bottle of bubbly to spray on the podium. From £45pp

Team Endurance – 8—20 teams with 2—5 drivers in each team. You can race for 1 1/2,  2 or 3 hours all with a 15 minute timed qualifying session. Teams will have to work out their race strategy with driver changes and fuel stops to outwit the other teams.  The top three teams receive individual trophies and the winning team champagne. From £140.00 per team

Grand Prix – 10—20 drivers all on track at once (If numbers go over this then a series of heats and an A & B Final will be run). 5 minute practice, 3 x 10 lap heats and a 15 lap final. Trophies for the top three driver will be awarded with a bottle of bubble to spray on the podium. £67.00pp (Discounts are available for 21+ drivers)

Urban Laser Combat – 10 to 28 players, start from 8yrs+. The site has a theme similar to that of modern warfare games such as a post battle run down urban town.  Once here you and friends or colleagues can take part in multiple game scenarios. Perfect for corporate events. £20per child and £25per adult.

The Pizzas are Italian style based with four different delicious toppings.  All of our pizzas are oven baked to order.

Please contact us to book you event in and please quote ‘PIZZA EVENT’ when booking