SuperChamps – Round One
Daytona Sandown Park
Season Two of Superchamps began at Daytona Sandown Park, with dominant victories, last-lap drama and impressive comeback drives across the Lightweight and Heavyweight classes on the Grand Prix circuit.
Tom Reed set the N35-ST Lightweight benchmark with a 51.634-second lap in Practice before producing a commanding lights-to-flag victory in the 15-minute Shootout. Reed crossed the line 9.164 seconds clear, but the remaining podium positions were fiercely contested. Daniel Harman found himself at the centre of the battle while defending third, with Sarah Telford eventually emerging in second and Alfie Gordon taking the final podium place, just 0.143 seconds behind. In the Heavyweight class, only 0.153 seconds separated Tobias Robinson and Dylan Firth in Practice. Robinson extended that advantage once racing began, winning the Shootout by 3.884 seconds ahead of Firth, while Kireth Kalirai completed the class podium.
The Final followed a similar pattern at the front of the Lightweight field, with Reed immediately breaking clear while another close podium battle developed behind him. Harry Banks provided the comeback story. After starting second, Banks dropped as low as 10th before charging back through the order. His recovery continued until the final lap, when he reclaimed third place to complete an impressive drive through the field. Telford secured another second-place finish, while Reed crossed the line a remarkable 26.949 seconds clear to complete his sweep of the meeting. Robinson matched that achievement in the Heavyweight class with an emphatic drive, finishing an entire lap ahead of runner-up Firth. Kalirai again completed the podium, leaving the Heavyweight top three unchanged throughout the meeting.
Just 0.135 seconds covered James Callan, Mikhail Sitnikov and Jack Redfern in Practice, setting the tone for a closely matched DMAX Lightweight field. Callan went on to win the Shootout ahead of Redfern and Sitnikov. In the Heavyweight class, Warren Gomm converted his Practice pace into victory, while Charlie Foster marked his return after 14 months away from karting with an impressive second-place finish.
The Lightweight final developed into a race-long duel between Callan and Redfern. The pair ran nose-to-tail throughout, with Redfern leading as they began the final lap. Callan fought back to reclaim first place before a subsequent mistake from Redfern finally created some separation. Callan’s eventual winning margin of 5.161 seconds disguised a battle that had remained undecided until the closing moments. Gomm completed a clean sweep of the Heavyweight class by winning the final by 12.141 seconds. Foster secured his second runner-up finish of the meeting, while Malachy Prakash took the final podium place, just 0.496 seconds ahead of Fabio Souza.
Daytona Tamworth
Torrential conditions greeted drivers for the opening round of SuperChamps at Daytona Tamworth, setting the stage for a demanding event on the Grand Prix circuit.
Jayden Baker secured a comfortable victory in the Lightweight shootout, finishing 4.591 seconds ahead of Noah Fortune. A further 5.4 seconds separated the leading pair from third-placed Thomas Lewis as the drivers battled to keep their karts on the circuit throughout the 15-minute race. James Stevenson was the sole Heavyweight competitor, but his pace placed him firmly among the leading Lightweights. Despite starting behind the entire Lightweight field, Stevenson recorded a best lap of 1:22.965 and charged through to claim the overall victory by 18.583 seconds.
The Final proved more competitive, with just 11.430 seconds covering the top three overall at the end of the 25-minute race. Stevenson once again led the entire field home, completing the first overall grand slam of his storied SuperChamps career. Behind him, Baker kept his composure to secure another Lightweight victory, maintaining a 6.860 second advantage over Fortune. The latter showed flashes of strong pace but was unable to mount a sustained challenge for the class lead. Jamie Chadwick Series driver and Inkart graduate Elli Henneman completed the Lightweight podium, improving upon her fourth-place finish in the Shootout and crossing the line five seconds ahead of Archie Satchwell.
The DMAX Lightweight shootout produced a remarkably close finish as debutant Theo Laverty defeated championship favourite Joseph Smith by just 0.036 seconds. Their battle culminated in a desperate lunge from Smith at Turn 11, but Laverty bravely held on around the outside to secure victory and his first points of the day. Fellow championship contender Jake Garret completed the podium, finishing only 1.747 seconds behind the winner. In the Heavyweight class, a five-second penalty was not enough to deny Keelan Arnold victory over the battling Kieran Glover, putting Arnold in an excellent position heading into the Final.
What followed was a dramatic closing race in which Jake Garret’s eventual winning margin of 16.423 seconds told only a fraction of the story. The closing stages featured an absorbing battle between Shootout winner Laverty and fellow InKart graduate Reuben Potter. The pair made contact at the final corner of the race, sending both drivers into the wall. Neither was deemed at fault, and Laverty held on to his podium position by the narrowest of margins to complete an impressive DMAX debut. Leonidas Platanopoulous enjoyed a more comfortable run to second place. His best lap of 53.776 earned him the fastest-lap point, while he finished 4.3 seconds clear of the chasing pack. Arnold completed a sweep of the Heavyweight class with another assured drive, taking the Final victory by 20 seconds from runner-up Glover.
Thursday Night League – Round One
Daytona Sandown Park
Thursday Night League produced four contrasting contests at Daytona Sandown Park, where 10-minutes of Qualifying set the grids for the 20-minute Sprint Races. While some drivers converted pole position into victory, others charged through from further back to take the top step.
Joao Matiello claimed Lightweight pole position with a 52.601, beating Joe Brown by just 0.130 seconds. Kai Tipler qualified third with a 52.923 but proved to be the driver to beat once racing began. Tipler climbed from third to first before pulling clear of the field, eventually taking victory by 10.357 seconds. His 52.062 also secured the fastest-lap point and was more than half a second quicker than the pole time from Qualifying. Matiello converted pole position into second place, while Freddie Foreman completed the podium after finishing just 0.436 seconds ahead of the next driver. James Smaggsagale led the way in Heavyweight Qualifying with a 53.168, placing himself ahead of George Scott and Serhat Tas. Smaggsagale went on to dominate the race, crossing the line an entire lap clear and adding the fastest-lap point with a 52.945. Scott maintained second place, while Tas completed an unchanged top three from Qualifying.
DMAX Lightweight Qualifying was exceptionally close, with Jack Redfern taking pole position with a 46.025. Ellis McKenzie finished just 0.049 seconds behind in second. Redfern converted pole into victory, but there was little room for error as Callum Bendelow crossed the line only 0.719 seconds behind. Adam Palmer completed the podium a further 1.064 seconds back, with just 0.130 seconds separating him from the next driver at the chequered flag. Despite missing out on the podium, McKenzie demonstrated his pace by securing the fastest-lap point with a 45.942. Warren Gomm claimed DMAX Heavyweight pole position ahead of Ike Wilson and Yaseen Khan, with only 0.289 seconds covering the leading three drivers. Khan overturned the Qualifying order in the race, climbing from third to first and recording a 46.526 to secure the fastest-lap point. Eyston Vaughan-Huxley finished 2.903 seconds behind in second, while Pier Filippo Paoletti completed the podium a further 0.825 seconds back.
Daytona Milton Keynes
Close Qualifying margins and commanding race performances defined the meeting, with both the SODI and DMAX grids producing a mixture of dominant victories and tightly contested podium battles.
George Benson set the benchmark in SODI Lightweight Qualifying, securing pole position with a 1:20.133. Adam Aksamitowski joined him on the front row after recording a 1:20.444, while Mark Smith finished just 0.020 seconds further back with a 1:20.464. David Rollins topped the Heavyweight Qualifying session with a 1:20.970. Harry Gurney qualified second with a 1:21.141, while Liam Jackman completed the top three with a 1:21.330. Benson converted his Lightweight pole position into a commanding lights-to-flag victory, crossing the line eight seconds clear of Edward Thurgod. Aksamitowski completed the podium, finishing just 1.5 seconds behind Thurgod in third. The Heavyweight Sprint Race produced a much closer finish as Rollins held his nerve to defeat Gurney by only 0.500 seconds. Gurney remained within striking distance throughout but was unable to find a way past before the chequered flag. Ash Chivers completed the podium, finishing eight seconds behind the leading pair.
Charlie Csepreghi produced the standout lap of DMAX Lightweight Qualifying, storming to pole position with a 1:11.853. Cordell Hayles secured second with a 1:13.183, while Matt Thompson was just 0.099 seconds further back with a 1:13.282. Rollins continued his strong Qualifying form by also taking pole position in the DMAX Heavyweight class, recording a 1:13.812. Mckenzie Senior qualified second with a 1:14.279, while Lucasz Stankiowiak completed the top three with a 1:14.966. Csepreghi made the perfect start from pole and never looked back, taking a dominant Lightweight victory by 13 seconds. His brother Jacob secured second place, narrowly holding off Thompson by just 0.100 seconds in a closely fought battle for the remaining podium positions. In the Heavyweight class, Senior capped a strong meeting with an emphatic victory. He crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Stankiowiak, while Andy Stobart completed the podium in third.
Daytona Tamworth
Mild conditions greeted two sold-out grids at Daytona Tamworth for the second round of Thursday Night League. With the summer now firmly behind us, the stage was set for an enthralling evening of floodlit racing.
Heavy rain began to fall at the end of Qualifying, creating a fascinating wet-to-dry challenge for the N35 drivers. Just 1.663 seconds separated the leading pair at the end of the 20-minute race, with reigning champion Charlie Walmsley-Ryde keeping his composure to hold off Jaysse Radu. Radu secured the fastest-lap point with a 56.961, the only sub-57-second lap of the day. Reigning N35 Heavyweight Superchamps champion James Stevenson completed the podium. Despite competing in a lower weight class than usual, Stevenson produced another impressive wet-weather performance following his remarkable display at SuperChamps the previous weekend. In one of the largest Heavyweight fields in recent memory, Dylan Morrall secured victory by just 0.700 seconds from Luke Thomas. The class developed into a three-driver contest, with Chris Morrall completing the podium as the only other Heavyweight to finish on the lead lap. His best time of 58.904 was only a few tenths slower than that of Thomas, who claimed the fastest-lap point.
Championship contender Reuben Potter produced a commanding drive to win the DMAX Lightweight race by 8.373 seconds. Potter also secured the fastest-lap point with a 52.275, a time close to his own lap record. He steadily built his advantage over reigning champion Lucas Gathercole, despite the pair running almost side by side when the early full-course yellow period ended. Fin Imber completed the podium after carefully managing his gap to Ben Smith, who had received a five-second penalty for breaking formation at the start. Smith crossed the line ahead on track, but the penalty promoted Imber to third by an adjusted margin of just 0.500 seconds. In the Heavyweight class, Dan Knowles produced a confident drive to victory as the only driver in the category to finish on the lead lap. Knowles benefited from misfortune for his main rival, Brandon Gathercole, who spent much of the race recovering through the order. Gathercole fought his way back to third and claimed the fastest-lap point with a 53.242. Between them, a composed drive from Jacob Smith earned him second place and his first silverware of the season.
Results:
Daytona Tamworth
Daytona Milton Keynes
Daytona Sandown Park
Jamie Chadwick Series
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