VIEW FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

The final round of InKart took place at Daytona Tamworth on the 28^th July, and whilst only one of the championships was still up for grabs – there was plenty to race for.

Group One

Heat one saw the closest race of the season, where all five juniors were within a few tenths of each other on pace throughout the race.  Joseph Smith eventually took a spectacular victory, showing how well he has adapted since his mid-season switch into the junior karts.  He showed lots of courage to keep Harry Fitch behind, who only ended up about five tenths behind.  Zachary Smith put one hand on the trophy by placing in third.  As for the Cadets, Henry Gordon returned after a very difficult round six and absolutely smashed the heat, winning by a significant margin ahead of a very speedy George Marriot.  They would be joined in the top three by William Jenkinson.

Group one’s next heat was dominated by Zachary Smith, who now probably put one hand and four fingers onto the championship trophy in his first attempt at the Junior title.  His runner-up was Rhys Kings, a driver who had just about not done enough to get into the A-Final with this performance – but certainly would be encouraged to be going toe-to-toe with some of the top junior names.  They were joined in the top three by Harry Fitch, who just about kept Theo Laverty behind.  It was a different story than the first heat for the cadets, where Jayden Steatham took a great victory as all five of them battled along.  George Marriot was runner-up, with Henry Gordon and Jack Charles-Bailey getting the worst of a very unfortunate racing incident to finish fourth and fifth behind Jenkinson.

Group Two

Group two was all Juniors, and the grid proved to be very well balanced.  In the first heat, Reuben Potter showed the most pace he’s had all season to win the race – with a pretty incredible lap time to boot (the second fastest of all the heats).  He was joined in the top three by Alfie Kells and Noah Johnson, those two battling really intensely throughout the race but eventually sorting themselves out into that order.

In the next heat, Alfie Kells got himself onto pole position for the A-Final with a sensational victory ahead of Sebastian Simmonds.  Most of the battling actually happened away from the top three, where Seb Thompson and Noah Johnson were side by side (and remarkably clean) for virtually all of the ten minutes, Thompson just pipping Johnson to the post by four tenths – with Reuben Potter claiming third.

B-Final

The all-Junior B-Final was won by Rhys Kings thanks to a very brave two-kart overtake into turn five that propelled him into the lead ahead of Theo Laverty and Sebastian Simmonds.  There were no complaints from a driver who has shown a lot of class this season, and despite missing out on the top three in the championship can realistically set his sights upon it heading into next season.  There were just three tenths separating the top three, with a bump-and-pass penalty for Sebastian Simmonds promoting Theo Laverty into second.

A-Final

The championship was clinched by Zachary Smith on first attempt in the A-final, with him winning by nearly fifteen seconds ahead of Alfie Kells – who probably had the round of his season with that second spot.  Most of the action involved Kells, who battled hard with Harry Fitch.  They were nearly side by side heading up to the line, but Kells was just able to sneak through and take that second spot.

Final result - Juniors

After plunging into the B-final during a shaky start to the season, Zachary Smith soon showed absolutely no mercy to the rest of the field and won the championship in the Juniors pretty comfortably.  You simply cannot fault his talent, and it will be exciting to see him eventually move up into SuperChamps at some point in the future.  This is not to say that the championship was absolutely dominated, as Harry Fitch gave Smith a very good run for his money – eventually finishing in second position.  There were only five points separating himself and Theo Laverty, which is a margin that could easily gone either way at any point in the season.  Alfie Kells’ highlight was definitely towards the end of the season, he finished fourth and is another driver to look out for.  Honourable mentioned also go to the likes of Rhys Kings, who’s always fighting for podiums, and Cordell Potter-Hayles – who is now excelling in N-35 SuperChamps.

Final result - Cadets

The absent Ethan Guest’s eight point championship victory was ensured before the final round took place, but that’s not to say that runner-up Henry Gordon did not push him right to the end.  Guest and Gordon are both fantastic drivers, and their first and second spots definitely a sign that perhaps we’ll see them at the front in the Junior class in eighteen months time or so.  As for third, there was a cracking fight between Jayden Steatham and George Marriot, two drivers that were really good throughout the year.  We also have to give honourable mentions to series regulars like Jack Charles-Bailey and Harry Kennedy, who are always there and there about in this championship.