VIEW FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Both of the Lightweight championships were up for grabs heading into the final round of SuperChamps at Daytona Tamworth, and with the Heats format returning it was set to be a blockbuster finale.

N-35 ST Final Round

During the first heat, Eduardo Pozo marked his championship debut with a victory in both the lightweight and overall category, winning by about a second and a half ahead of Finley Ahmad-Hambling.  Cordell Potter-Hayles was under a lot of pressure for third by Lucas Gathercole, but eventually held on by a few tenths.  The margin was much more significant in the heavyweights, where Kristine Kolodziejski dominated again, finishing significantly ahead of a very quick Lee Schnitzler.

Pozo continued to show his pace in the second race, going within a few tenths of the lap record and winning this time by nearly six seconds.  Sinclair Potter-Green was under a lot of pressure to perform with the championship situation as is, and a second-place finish in this race would do him the world of good.  Leo Jackson seemingly secured top three in the championship with another top three in the heat.  There was more dominance from Kolodziejski here as well, this time being comfortably ahead of Chris Parkes at the top of the field.  Lee Schnitzler was third, continuing a very strong round.

The championship came down to the wire in the final, but it was someone not involved who stole the spotlight.  Unsurprisingly, Pozo won again – with the fastest lap once more and a round sweep of sixty-one points on his season debut.  Leo Jackson climbed into second, with Cordell Potter-Hayles unable to get passed and having to settle for third, something he will absolutely take at this early stage in his SuperChamps career.  There was drama in the battle for the championship, where Nikodem Benonski received a three-place penalty during the race that ended up with him finishing just a hair ahead of Potter-Green.  This was enough to win the championship though, by a solitary point.

In the heavyweights, Kolodziejski secured yet another round sweep on her way to the championship, a dominant drive this time ahead of James Estrop – who did really well to secure second.  There was a bit of a battle further behind, as Xiaofeng Yang fought to cling onto third spot ahead of Ivan Norris, something he was just about able to achieve at the line.

DMAX-GT Final Round

Jacob Holley was fighting hard for second in the championship heading into the final round, and started the day off in the best fashion possible, winning the heat by six seconds ahead of champion elect Alex Jackson.  Alex’s second made it seem like he had done just enough to take the victory on that front.  Unfortunately for Holley, his main rival in Jack Middleton was right there in third, making the final two races an interesting prospect.  Unlike in N-35’s were Kolodziejski dominated, it was William Hitchcock who won the first DMAX heat here, ahead of Lee Schnitzler and Kolodziejski – who was hoping to secure the championship.

In the next heat, Alex Jackson returned to winning ways – this time a comfortable and uneventful win of about two seconds to Tom Duffy.  Duffy had a bit of hassle from former N-35 champion Neil Hampson, who did finish third but was not able to really challenge Duffy.  Kolodziejski also returned to winning ways, but was under pressure from Schnitzler throughout the course of the race – eventually pulling a gap towards the end of the heat.

A champion’s drive followed in the final for Alex Jackson, who took a stunning twelve second victory ahead of Jack Middleton.  Middleton’s second place was just about enough to take the second spot from Jacob Holley, who was really unfortunate throughout the round due in part to an incident in the second heat.  Making up the rest of the podium was Neil Hampson, another stunning drive from a consistent frontrunner.  As for the heavyweights, Kolodziejski took victory once more to secure herself a championship crown, this time being joined by Schnitzler and William Hitchcock on the podium.

N-35 Lightweights - Season Review

The story of the season was certainly the titanic fight between Nikodem Benonski and Sinclair Potter-Green, two drivers who showed their class.  For Potter-Green, his season was definitely marked by his total consistency – whereas Benonski’s countless round wins allowed him to snatch the title by just a single point.  Leo Jackson was a worthy third place runner, but could have easily lost that spot to a very quick Zak Bolton, who we’re sure to see at the top in the future.

N-35 Heavyweights - Season Review

A fight that at first appeared to be between Jake Connellan and Kristine Kolodziejski soon turned into total dominance from the latter after the reigning champion’s withdrawal from the series after two rounds.  Consistently doing both championships, Kolodziejski showed immense endurance throughout some of the tougher formats and adapted to outdoor karting very well despite her relative inexperience.  Since fighting for this championship, she has also won driver of the month and become a staple at other Daytona venues as well.  That’s not to say she was the only protagonist, as the likes of Kieran Bryant (in second) and Chris Lomas (third) did very well throughout the championship.  Lomas had a cracking rivalry with another regular, Ivan Norris, and we hope that we can see their fight continue into next season.

DMAX-GT Lightweights - Season Review

After struggling to find his feet in the first round or two of the season, Alex Jackson worked on his game remarkably well to end up winning the championship comfortably.  The turning point was certainly round three, where he suddenly found all the pace – going on to win every other round for the rest of the season.  We look forward to him returning alongside second-place Jack Middleton next season, Middleton being such a quick driver but possibly struggling to find that consistency that he maybe desires.  That being said, as a regular of the round podiums Middleton’s second place is well deserved.  His great rival, Jacob Holley, finished just behind in third, equal on points but separated by three on dropped rounds.  Holley is another driver we expect to be at the top more often in the coming seasons.  Honourable mentions also go to the likes of Neil Hampson, who graduated to DMAX this season and adapted immediately in fourth – we must also mention Tom Duffy who remains a top figure in our championships.

DMAX-GT Heavyweights - Season Review

Kolodziejski became the first driver at Daytona Tamworth to win the championship at the same time in both classes, and she was remarkable throughout the season – finishing twenty or so points ahead of the next best driver.  Speaking of, William Hitchcock was the only other driver to compete in all of the rounds but pushed Kristine right to the end, and showed lots of guts to recover from a spectacular crash in the second round and then start competing with the lights on his move up into the DMAX karts.

Final round pictures to follow...