Llandow Kart Club summer championships: Round 5 (From Penarth Times)

Llandow Kart Club summer championships: Round 5

7:30am Thursday 28th June 2012 in Sport

AFTER the high profile Welsh Championships, it was back to business as normal for Llandow Kart Club as round five of its summer championships arrived in June – complete with a return to unsettled weather.

Despite the conditions, the entry was boosted by the addition of drivers from the RAF Premier class and both the Kartmania TKM 4-Stroke and Honda Challenge series, taking the total number of drivers to 107 for the weekend.

Five drivers got things underway in the Bambino class, all now accomplished pilots with several meetings under their belts, and it showed as Brooklyn Thomas, Shayne Clarke, Jakob Chamberlain, Oliver Thomas, and Jack Broughton all got below the weekend’s target time to earn themselves the gold certificate and medallion.

No fewer than 27 karts were on track for the Cadet class, with both Honda and Comer running together as a result of the congested programme. Tom Rawlings and Kieran Clarke appeared to be the ones to beat in the smaller Comer contingent, despite both picking up penalties in the heats. When the silverware was on the line, it was Rawlings who came out on top, leading the entire pack, but with Lewis Griffiths following him home to claim second, with Clarke a little adrift in third.

Cadet Honda was fought out between Hugo Holmes and Ross Thomas, who each tasted victory in the heats before proving hard to split in the final. Holmes eventually got the verdict by a scant half-second, with Jenson Butterfield rounding out the podium, ahead of Ross Deal and Stuart Ferguson.

Honda Junior welcomed another brace of newcomers in Christiano Nardone and Patrick Hill, boosting numbers to seven, but there was no denying Ben Stevens, who swept all four races including the final to increase his championship advantage. Once again, Thomas Croydon and Tom Ford provided Stevens’ main opposition, and duly completed the podium.

The combined Junior Rotax and Minimax grid also boasted seven drivers and, without the interlopers who stole the glory and C plates in May, Rob Ellis and Ben Davies were able to battle over Junior class honours. Davies held the advantage after winning two of the day’s three heats, but it was Ellis who emerged on top when it mattered, with his rival retiring on the penultimate lap. That allowed two of the category’s four novices – Toby Allen and Thomas Stride – to join Ellis on the podium, with Elliot Hagerty only just missing out in his challenge for third. Rookie Ceran Sokhi claimed Minimax honours ahead of Jodie Handford, despite the latter taking two of the three heats.

The Junior TKM remained in double figures, with ten karts taking to the circuit, but reigning champion Ross Chell was in no mood to be beaten, claiming victory in all four races. Ryan Edwards and Yousuf Ashraf led the chase throughout the heats and it was fitting that the pair shared the podium with Chell, with Ashraf coming out on top by a matter of tenths as the flag fell.

Having added another Welsh title to his collection, Simon Evans rightly started the weekend as favourite for the Senior Honda class, and delivered another consummate performance by sweeping all four outings, including an eight-second victory in the final. The Lewis name proved to a constant in the fruitless pursuit of the champion, although former club and Welsh title holder Gareth had to give best to namesake Alex in one of the heats. Ferdinand Ball and Danny Griffiths both took top three finishes in the qualifying races, before Ball rounded out the podium in the final.

Senior Rotax numbers were a little down on their peak, with just eleven karts turning out for the weekend, but that did not deter Matthew Dowers from stamping his mark on proceedings. Two heat wins – the other went to David Entwistle – were the precursor to another in the final, where he led home Entwistle and Ashley Lewis, with Sebastian Hutchinson taking fourth spot. Simon Wheeler claimed Max 177 honours from Wayne Stone and rookie Nicky Coombs.

The guest championships also provided a little glory for the Llandow club, as Entwistle swept the board in the RAF Premier rounds, dominating at every turn to claim the final by a sizeable 16secs. Kevin Meynell, Paul Heyhoe and David Dean took it in turns to give chase, with Dean heading Meynell on the final podium.

The Kartmania series both staged double-headers in South Wales, with Thomas McMurray and Miles Murphy taking the two Senior TKM 4-Stroke finals, and Steve Welsh twice coming out on top in an 18-strong Senior Honda field.

RESULTS

BAMBINO – Gold Award

Jack Broughton (Birel)

Jakob Chamberlain (Birel)

Shayne Clarke (Topkart)

Brooklyn Thomas (Birel)

Olly Thomas (Birel)

CADET COMER

1. Tom Rawlings (Zip)

2. Lewis Griffiths (Zip)

3. Kieran Clarke (Zip)

CADET HONDA

1. Hugo Holmes (Zip)

2. Ross Thomas (Wright)

3. Jenson Butterfield (BRK)

JUNIOR HONDA

1. Ben Stevens (7Kart)

2. Thomas Croydon (Jade)

3. Tom Ford (Biz)

JUNIOR TKM

1. Ross Chell (Jade)

2. Yousuf Ashraf (Jade)

3. Ryan Edwards

MINI MAX

1. Ceran Sokhi (Kosmic)

2. Jodie Handford

JUNIOR ROTAX

1. Rob Ellis (Tonykart)

2. Toby Allen (CRG)

3. Thomas Stride (CRG)

SENIOR HONDA

1. Simon Evans (7Kart)

2. Gareth Lewis (7Kart)

3. Ferdinand Ball (MS)

SENIOR ROTAX

1. Matthew Dowers (Kosmic)

2. David Entwistle (Kosmic)

3. Ashley Lewis (CRG)

ROTAX 177

1. Simon Wheeler (CRG)

2. Wayne Stone (Tonykart)

3. Nicky Coombs (Tonykart)

RAF PREMIER

1. David Entwistle (Kosmic)

2. David Dean (Solo)

3. Wayne Ditcham (Gillard)

KARTMANIA TKM 4-STROKE

Rd.3

1. Thomas McMurray (TalKo)

2. Liam Jones (Jade)

3. Joel Saunders (Arrow)

Rd.4

1. Miles Murphy (TalKo)

2. Joel Sauders (Arrow)

3. Zach Jones (Jade)

KARTMANIA HONDA CHALLENGE

Rd.3

1. Steve Welsh (MS)

2. Nathan Read (7Kart)

3. Charlie Bingham (BRM)

Rd.4

1. Steve Welsh (MS)

2. Nathan Read (7Kart)

3. Charlie Bingham (BRM)

Best Novice: Ceran Sokhi (Minimax)

Driver of the Day: Patrick Hill (Junior Honda)