Race Reports ⸱ 3rd June 2026 11:30 AM

Daytona Championships (16th-22nd) May

InKart – Round Five

Daytona Sandown Park

With more entrants than ever before in the series, Round Five of InKart at Daytona Sandown Park marked the expansion to three groups of racing, giving each grid more space on track and creating closer battles between classes. The round was set to run on the Aternate layout, which gripped up steadily throughout the morning Practice sessions. Early pace-setters included Jason Bond, Alexander Nechev and Ejay Barrs-James in the Cadets, with Milan Pillay, Leo Betts and Aleksander Kozuch showing strong pace in the Juniors.

The grids for the Heats were randomly assigned through a fair gridding process, with the groups split according to championship position. That meant the day was set up for close racing throughout the field, and the Cadets delivered exactly that. In Heat One, Jenson Fuller took control to finish ahead of a train of karts led by Alexander Montgomery and Alexander Pecorella. Heat Two saw Ejay Barrs-James prove that his Practice pace was no fluke, winning by over ten seconds from Oliver Thomson and Diogo Dinis. Heat Three was far tighter, with Jack Dodgson and Alexander Nechev fighting hard over the win. When the first group returned to the track for Heat Four, but in reverse order, Fuller surged through the field to take the top step once again, ahead of Pecorella and a hard-charging Ethan Davis. In Heat Five, a few jump starts resulted in penalties, but Joshua Puttick made the most of the race itself, climbing from eighth to the lead by lap three and holding it all the way to the flag. The final Heat of the day saw Frank Mehlberg disappear into the distance at the front, finishing nearly ten seconds clear at the chequered flag.With the grids for the Finals decided by points from the Heats, the Cadet C-Final produced several close battles, with Yasin Ahmed crossing the line first in class to progress to the back of the B-Final. In the Cadet B-Final, Lorenzo Zarella held his nerve to stretch a considerable lead over Jacob Pratt, Caleb Hiles and Ethan Davis. The A-Final then brought the Cadet round to a close with Jack Dodgson taking a relatively comfortable two-second victory. Joshua Puttick finished second, with Alexander Nechev just two tenths further back in third to complete the podium.

The Juniors were equally competitive from the first Heat. Barnaby Ford and Hadi Chaudhry battled over first place in Heat One, with Chaudhry coming out on top after ten minutes of racing, split by Aleksander Kozuch. Heat Two was won by Jack Candasamy, who led from flag to flag, but the drive of the race came from Raphael Villanueva in second. Villanueva delivered a hugely impressive defensive performance, holding off almost the entirety of the Junior field for much of the race distance. Heat Three came down to a three-way battle for the podium, with Leo Betts keeping a squabbling Jason Bond and Callum Law behind by less than a tenth at the chequered flag. Heat Four gave those starting further back a chance to come through the field, but Chaudhry had other ideas, producing a staggering drive to win from the back row, with Barnaby Ford following him through to third. In Heat Five, Milan Pillay took advantage of his front-row start and stayed ahead of Candasamy, who worked his way forward throughout the race. The final Heat was once again dominated by Betts and Law, who fought their way through the field as the race progressed. The Junior C-Final saw Alfie Tallantyre cross the line first to earn promotion to the B-Final. The Junior B-Final was electric, with Raphael Villanueva once again demonstrating his ability to control the traffic behind him. It remained a very close race, with Leo Hyde-Vaamonde and Lucas Fasabi, who finished second and third, both leading at different stages. In the A-Final, Jack Candasamy and Hadi Chaudhry duked it out for the lead throughout, both drivers showing their class as they threaded their way through back markers in the latter stages. Candasamy came out on top, with Chaudhry second and Jason Bond completing the podium just a few tenths ahead of Leo Betts and Barnaby Ford.

InKart – Round Six

Daytona Milton Keynes

Round Six of InKart at Daytona Milton Keynes delivered a full day of close racing, with both the Cadet and Junior fields producing strong performances across the Heats and Finals. With valuable championship points available, the day built steadily towards a dramatic pair of A-Finals.

The Cadet Heats began with Sean Chan delivering a commanding performance in Heat One, taking victory by over 2.5 seconds ahead of Teddy Mullan. Jed Khoza completed the podium after a consistent drive to third place. Heat Two brought the second half of the grid into action, and Leo Sibthorpe emerged victorious after another strong drive, finishing over two seconds ahead of Joshua Pink. Aaryan Devani completed the top three, crossing the line a further ten seconds behind the leading pair.

Heat Three provided close competition in the Cadet field, with Teddy Mullan securing the win after a strong drive under pressure. Charlie Marden finished second, just under two seconds adrift, while Sean Chan added another podium to his tally in third. Heat Four then produced one of the closest Cadet battles of the day, as Joshua Pink claimed victory after a superb fight with championship rival Leo Sibthorpe. The pair were separated by only three tenths of a second at the chequered flag after racing nose-to-tail throughout the Heat. Ernest Sztuba completed the podium a further one and a half seconds behind the leading pair.

The Cadet B-Final gave drivers one last opportunity to secure promotion into the A-Final. Winslow Potgieter claimed the race win and the final transfer spot after holding off sustained pressure from Leo Foster, with only seven tenths separating the pair at the finish. Noah Martin completed the top three, four seconds behind the leading battle. The Cadet A-Final proved equally exciting, as Joshua Pink emerged victorious. Leo Sibthorpe crossed the line second after pushing Pink throughout the race, while Teddy Mullan completed the podium in third after a close three-way fight that kept the pressure on from start to finish.

The Junior field opened with a commanding performance from Jack Dowding in Heat One. Starting from pole position, Dowding controlled the race from lights out and built a clear advantage over the rest of the pack, eventually crossing the line more than eight seconds ahead of Oliver Catchpole. Behind them, Gillen Townshend fought hard to secure the final podium spot, finishing just four tenths behind Catchpole after a closely contested battle for second. Heat Two saw Daniel Maruatyak prove untouchable throughout the race, taking the chequered flag more than six seconds ahead of Dominik Gulbis, with Hugo Brabin rounding out the podium after a solid performance.

Heat Three produced one of the standout races of the entire event. The Junior field witnessed an intense battle for victory between Gillen Townshend and Ryan Cafferkey that lasted from start to finish. In the end, it was Cafferkey who narrowly came out on top, taking the win by just two tenths of a second as the pair crossed the line almost side-by-side. Jack Dowding claimed third place, four seconds behind the leading duo. Heat Four rounded out the Qualifying Heats with another tightly contested Junior race. Daniel Maruatyak continued his excellent form, but this time he faced heavy pressure from Holly Sabin and Toby Meredith throughout. Maruatyak eventually secured the win by just over a second from Sabin, while Meredith finished only nine tenths behind in third after an incredibly competitive fight for the podium positions.

The Junior B-Final saw Josh Tiller make his intentions clear immediately. From the moment the lights went out, Tiller controlled the race at the front and rapidly extended his lead over the chasing pack. By the time the chequered flag fell, he had built an astonishing advantage of more than eleven seconds to secure both victory and his place in the A-Final. Behind him, Jahrane Jushaya narrowly held onto second place, edging out Amaree McKenzie by just six hundredths of a second in a dramatic sprint to the line. The Junior A-Final brought the day to a fitting conclusion, with Jack Dowding capping off an outstanding round by taking the overall race victory. Behind him, Gillen Townshend and Daniel Maruatyak produced a thrilling battle for second place, running nose-to-tail throughout much of the race. Townshend ultimately secured second, with Maruatyak forced to settle for third after an intense contest right to the flag.

Daytona Tamworth

Despite it being a mild and dry morning, the threat of rain loomed ahead of Round Six of InKart at Daytona Tamworth. With just three rounds left in the season, everything was still to play for.

Oliver Benton stood out in the Cadet Heat races, taking victory in both and putting himself on pole position for the A-Final. It was a close-run affair behind him, with Nathan Grech and Jack Mills finishing their two Heats on the same number of points. Grech secured his place on the front row by virtue of his fastest lap across the two races. Rather unluckily, Cristiano Guedes was left on pole for the B-Final despite taking fifteen points from his two Heats, with Lennon Smith starting alongside him on the front row.

The Cadet B-Final had a chaotic opening stage, which shook up the order early on. Greyson Scandrett emerged in the lead and managed to build a five-second gap to runner-up Guedes over the following fifteen minutes. Scandrett also took the fastest lap of the race on his way to victory and promotion, despite only being a few tenths of a second per lap faster than Guedes. The two at the front both built a comfortable gap to third-placed Lennon Smith.

The Cadet A-Final was fiercely competitive, with just seven tenths of a second separating the top four. For context, the total number of drivers on the grid was six. The battle for the lead lasted for the entirety of the fifteen minutes and came to a tense conclusion on the final lap. Jack Mills and Nathan Grech were side-by-side on the run up to the line, with Grech bravely holding his line and taking a stunning victory by just two tenths of a second. They were joined on the podium by B-Final promotee Greyson Scandrett, who drove a very mature race to finish two tenths ahead of fastest driver Oliver Benton.

Tyler Shanks continued his absolute dominance of the Junior championship in the Heat races, taking victory in both and putting himself onto a very secure pole position for the final. He was joined on the front row by a Junior debutant, as Hugo Macmillan impressed in his first event after moving up from the Cadet category. PonePone Htet also looked very competitive, lurking in third place.

In the Junior Final, Shanks blew the competition away with the fastest lap of the race and a twenty-eight second margin of victory. Over a fifteen-minute Final, that was a remarkable achievement. With the win came yet another sixty-one point round, almost putting one hand on the championship trophy already. Continuing from his promising start in the Heats, Hugo Macmillan converted his front-row start into a runner-up finish, though he had to battle Noah Fortune for the position. Fortune ended up just nine tenths of a second behind, but still secured silverware to take away from the round.

Thursday Night League – Round Eight

Daytona Milton Keynes

A highly competitive Round Eight of the Thursday Night League saw close battles across all four classes, with Qualifying proving crucial in several categories while others delivered dramatic fights right through to the chequered flag.

In the SODI Lightweight class, the drivers were separated by less than half a second in a fiercely contested Qualifying session. Just when it appeared the front row had been decided, George Benson produced a stunning late lap of 1:14.515 to secure pole position. Valentina Rossi claimed second with a 1:14.768, while Adam Aksamitowski completed the top three on a 1:14.933. Benson converted his Qualifying pace into a flawless race victory. Once the lights went out, he established an early advantage and steadily pulled away from the field, eventually crossing the line an impressive eleven seconds clear of the competition. Behind him, Aksamitowski worked his way into second place, while Adam Hawtin completed the podium after a strong drive to third. The SODI Heavies Qualifying session was equally competitive. Ash Chivers continued his excellent form by taking pole position with a lap of 1:15.233. Josh Grady pushed him all the way, finishing just 0.028 seconds behind on a 1:15.261, while David Rollins secured third with a 1:15.466. The Sprint Race provided one of the closest finishes of the evening. Michael Bowles emerged victorious after a hard-fought battle at the front, taking the win by just three tenths of a second from Rollins. The fight for the remaining podium places was equally intense, with Grady finishing a mere three hundredths of a second behind Rollins to secure third place.

The pace stepped up considerably in the DMAX Lights category, where Charlie Csepreghi claimed pole position after setting the benchmark lap of 1:06.527. Kenneth Boulton secured second with a 1:06.820, while Jacob Csepreghi joined his brother near the front by taking third with a 1:06.942. The headline battle of the evening came in the DMAX Light Sprint Race, where Charlie and Jacob Csepreghi went wheel-to-wheel throughout the session. Neither driver could break clear, and the brothers remained locked together until the chequered flag. In the end, Charlie held on to claim victory by just two tenths of a second over Jacob, capping off one of the closest contests of the night. Joshua Hamilton completed the podium in third place. In DMAX Heavies, Ash Chivers once again demonstrated his Qualifying speed, securing a second pole position of the evening with a lap of 1:07.364. Stefan Lenasecu was his nearest challenger on a 1:07.582, while Michael Bowles rounded out the top three with a 1:07.661. Chivers completed a perfect DMAX Heavies outing by converting pole position into victory. Maintaining control of the race from the front, he never relinquished the lead and secured another important win. David Rollins continued his strong evening with second place, while Charlie Newman claimed the final podium position in third.