Race Reports

Daytona Championships 29th Jan 2025

Results:

Photos:

For all Daytona Championship photos and more, please click here.

SuperChamps – Daytona Milton Keynes

Round one of the new season of SuperChamps saw the drivers battle it out on a very cold day where tyre temperature was as important as overall pace.

SODI

In qualifying it was reigning InKart champion Tom Justice who took pole position in his first full season of the championship. Last seasons vice-champion Charlie Csepreghi was just behind in second place with newcomer to the series Freddie Burden in third.

In the Heavyweights it was Freddie Jenkins who took pole with Abbie Boyd just three tenths behind in second and David Line a further five tenths back in third.

The sprint race saw Csepreghi take the win after a thrilling battle between the top four in the Lightweight category, with all of them being separated by just eight tenths at the flag. Justice held on to take second place with Burden retaining his podium spot. Thomas Langford narrowly finished off the podium in fourth but set up an exciting grid for the final race.

In the Heavyweights it was Line who managed to make his way from third on the grid to the lead of the race finishing just nine tenths in front of Boyd who held onto her second place. Sailesh Shah took the final spot on the podium just a few seconds off the pair at the front of the field

The feature race saw thrilling racing as well as some chaos and drama. It was an eight-way fight for the race lead in the Lightweights with drivers three wide into the corners almost every lap, inevitably this led to some contact within the back and saw a few of the drivers drop down the field as a result and yellow flags needed to be brought out. However, too focused on their own race, the top seven drivers sped under yellow flags and all received a position penalty, meaning at the flag it was Justice that crossed the line first. Jenkins jumped himself all the way up into first place overall and took the win in the Heavyweight category, Owen Turpin was the other driver that benefited from the penalties, taking the win in the Lightweight category and his first ever win in the series. Justice and Csepreghi despite their penalties rounded out the Lightweight podium with Charlie Fenton and Boyd taking the final two steps on the podium in the Heavyweights.

DMAX

Reigning champion James King started his championship charge off in the best way possible taking pole position by four tenths over Harry Asher who was just a couple hundredths in front of Luka Nik in third. In the Heavyweights Scott Woosey took the pole just nine hundredths in front of the reigning champion Ashley Mayston-King who was looking to try and continue his domination from last season. Tom Duffy rounded out the grid in third.

The sprint race saw a close battle between both King and Nik for the race lead with King just coming out on top by five tenths, taking the sprint win in front of Nik. Asher took the final step on the podium a further three seconds back.

Woosey held on to take the race win by just two tenths over Mayston-King after a thrilling battle between the two drivers. Samuel Spencer who finished in the middle of the two drivers, narrowly missed out on fifth overall by just three hundredths of a second after a drag race to the line. Elliot Davies made his way past Duffy and Myles Bate to take third in the sprint.

In the feature race it was yet again King and Nik that battled for the race win. In the early stages King managed to build up about a three second gap however, a late charge saw Nik catch up to King in the final laps but could quite find a way past, allowing king to hold onto the race lead. Nik did earn himself an extra point after taking the fastest lap. Asher was looking comfortable in third place until a mistake involving a lapped driver saw him on the grass, dropping to fourth while Barry Morris moved into third. Asher managed to close the gap back up and at the final corner of the last lap beat Morris to a drag race to the line taking third by just a tenth.

Mayston-King got past Woosey in the early stages of the race setting up a thrilling battle between the two drivers. Woosey seemed to have a bit more pace, but Mayston-King put up an exceptional defensive drive. Woosey’s constant pressure did eventually lead to a rare mistake from Mayston-King as he locked up into the turn ten hairpin gifting Woosey the lead of the race and eventually the race win. Mayston-King also picked up a position penalty dropping him down to third place and Duffy up into the second spot on the podium.

InKart – Daytona Sandown Park

New and familiar faces returned to Daytona Sandown Park for the first round of InKart of 2025. Over forty drivers took to the circuit to compete for victory in the very popular ‘Cup’ format.

Cadets

In the Cadet class, Sebastian Mejer took pole position in fine style – by far the fastest driver of the morning, though Oscar Bradley was not far behind as he joined him on the front row of the grid. Not everyone was smiling at the end of qualifying, as Arno Nurijanyan narrowly missed out on the A-Final but took pole in the B-Final.

On track, Nurijanyan was not able to secure promotion into the A-Final. There was a nine second gap between himself and race winner Lucio Vaval – he was able to get promoted. This was due to a penalty for speeding under yellows that overshadowed an otherwise superb drive by Vaval, demoting him into second place and giving Nurijanyan the win. Oscar Chamberlain is a newcomer to the series for 2025, starting in the Cadet class in fine style, finishing on the podium.

In the A-Final, Sebastian Mejer took a complete grand slam, leading every lap and taking the fastest lap point as well. He was undeterred by any challenges from behind, as Ted Hayward could not quite keep up with the imperious Mejer. Ed Siberry will consider himself a championship contender this year and started the season off strongly in third.

Juniors

Leger Dimitriou got the best of qualifying in the Junior class, being joined on the front row by Andrew Thomson. With twenty-nine drivers in all, there was intrigue behind for the A-Final qualification spots. George Pitch was the unfortunate driver that missed out, the fifteenth of all qualifiers and so just slightly unable to make his way through and would have to battle it out in the B-Final.

There was a brave recovery drive for Zoe Cattett in the B-Final, as she tried to fight her way to the front after starting towards the rear of the field. She ultimately fell short, by only by two and a half seconds; Harrison McNally took victory in her place in what was a very mature drive under a lot of pressure. They were joined on the podium by Dylan Hourican, who had a tricky time staying ahead of George Pitch but was ultimately successful for his troubles.

The finale was won by Leger Dimitriou, who’s start to the season was simply superb – winning by two and a half seconds ahead of Andrew Thomson, being denied the grand slam only by the pace of Daniel Harman, who took fastest lap by just a few thousandths of a second. Harman was lucky to avoid the battling behind, where Sarah Telford and Felix Sheldon-Heywood went at it for the best part of twenty minutes – keeping their scrap remarkably clean in the process. Telford was able to secure fourth, with the most exciting thing about all of this being the prospect of a great championship battle throughout the eight rounds of the season.

We enjoyed welcoming InKart back to Daytona Sandown Park, and look forward to seeing all of our drivers back for the next round as we tackle the heats format for the first time this year.

InKart – Daytona Tamworth

The opening round of InKart at Daytona Tamworth in 2025 saw the largest grids in both classes. With the grids having to be divided in two, the heats format saw each driver complete a ten-minute practice, followed by two of the four ten-minute heats, the results of the heats sorting the A and B-Finals, with the winner of the B-Final in each class getting promoted to the A-Final. The day dawned cloudy and cold but surprisingly dry – who could hit the ground running after several weeks off?

Cadets

Reigning champion George Marriott got off to a near-perfect start, taking a win and a P2 in his heats, as well as the clocking the only sub-67 second Cadet lap of the day so far, to secure pole position for the A-Final. Returning P3-championship finisher Jessica Kirby lined up alongside him on the front row, with the rest of the automatic A-Final places filled with rookies: Rocco Jackson, Lily Catingon and Freya Lally. In the B-Final, returning driver Locke Evans won in convincing fashion to secure the promotion spot to the A race.

The A-Final went on to be one of the best Cadet races in recent memory at Tamworth. A five-way battle for the win, which would have been six if not for a spin for Evans in the opening laps, saw all drivers lapping within just a few tenths of each other. Surprisingly well-behaved for most of the race, the young drivers were seen slipstreaming each other down the main straight, swapping positions throughout, except for Marriott, who was consistent at the front but was unable to break away due to drafting behind.

As the end of the race approached, the drivers behind started to battle more, allowing Marriott to form a small gap and start off his title defence in emphatic fashion, winning by just over a second from Jackson in P2 and the three girls battling for P3, which saw Lally come out on top. Fastest lap of the race went to Kirby in P4, showing just how competitive it was.

Juniors

The top four from last season’s Junior championship, all made a return in Round one in 2025. It was last season’s Champion, Joseph Smith, and Vice-Champion, Alfie Kells, who each secured maximum points in their respective heats, with Kells taking pole via best lap countback. Returning Noah Johnson was P3, with rookies Rory Oldfield-Kelly and Oscar Mallett having good debuts in P4 and P5, with P3 from last season Reuben Potter winning the battle with William Jenkinson to get promoted from the B-Final.

Having been unlucky in the second of his heats to lose multiple positions towards the end, Potter used his B-Final warm-up to storm through the field on the opening laps, quickly getting up into the lead. However, he couldn’t break away, as Kells went with him while Smith and Mallett just a couple of seconds further back. Potter and Kells fought for the lead, the two friends being very respectful throughout, swapping positions lap after lap. It all came down to the final lap, and in the end, Potter managed to make it a fantastic A and B-Final double victory, crossing the line just one and a half tenths ahead of fastest-lap holder Kells in P2, with reigning champion Smith scoring good points in P3.

Some incredible racing in the opening round of the season – truly one of the best InKart rounds in recent memory. If this is what the rest of the season is going to be like, we’re in for an absolute treat! And it’s not too late to get involved.

Thursday Night League – Daytona Milton Keynes

SODI

The latest round of the Thursday Night League here at Daytona Milton Keynes took place under wet and tricky conditions on the Linkback Cliff-Drop variation of the circuit. In qualifying Tudor Geanta claimed pole position with an impressive lap time 1.4 seconds quicker than the rest of the field, leading the charge from the lights. Richard Danby, the Heavyweight leader, started in P2 and Max Michalski took the third spot.

As the race began, Geanta wasted no time building a commanding lead, crossing the line at the end of lap one with a two-second advantage. Danby, showcasing remarkable wet weather driving skills, managed to hold off the Lightweight drivers, staying two seconds ahead of Michalski.

Scott Woosey, starting from the back of the field, made an incredible charge, gaining five positions by the end of lap two, climbing up into ninth place.

Midway through the race, a thrilling battle for the overall podium unfolded between Noah Willis and Max Michalski, who were locked in a fight for P3 and P4, respectively. Meanwhile, Ash Chivers was battling to defend his second-place position in the Heavyweight category against Adam Pughe, with less than a second separating them.

Woosey’s charge continued as he moved up to eight, now hunting down David Rollins in seventh, the next Heavyweight driver ahead. Close behind, George Benson and Phil Heath were locked in a tight contest, staying within a second of each other as they navigated the difficult track conditions, all while aiming to secure fourth place in the Lightweight category.

Charles Hollinshead, known for his consistency in the wet, was putting in solid lap times, though he struggled to match the pace of the Heavyweights ahead. Nathaniel Stebbings was hot on his tail, eager to secure some extra points in the Lightweight category.

As the race neared its conclusion, Tudor Geanta continued to extend his lead, crossing the finish line nearly seven seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Richard Danby held onto second overall, securing the Heavyweight win with a dominant eight-second gap to third on the track, Noah Willis.

The race ended with Tudor Geanta taking first place in both the overall and Lightweight categories, followed by Noah Willis in second and Max Michalski in third.

In the Heavyweight standings, Richard Danby claimed the top spot, with Ash Chivers in second and David Rollins rounding out the podium in third.

Fastest lap in the Lightweight category was taken by Tudor Geanta with a 01:47.097 and Richard Danby took the fastest lap in Heavyweights with a 01:47.804

DMAX

DMAX Thursday Night League saw another thrilling round on the Linkback Cliff-Drop layout here at Daytona Milton Keynes, with the drivers battling both the wet track and intense competition. Nathan Boyle set the pace in qualifying, posting the fastest lap, a remarkable 1.5 seconds quicker than anyone else. Lee Schnitzler followed in the second spot, despite losing traction at turn nine halfway through the session, while Paul Studd jumped up into the third grid spot on the final lap.

As the race began, Lee Schnitzler seized the race lead at the first corner, holding it through the early laps. Both Boyle and Schnitzler quickly found themselves under pressure from track limits warnings, a theme that would continue throughout the race.

By the third lap, Boyle was right on Schnitzler’s tail, bumper-to-bumper up the back straight. The pressure proved too much for Schnitzler, who spun at turn one, dropping behind Boyle. With the lead now in hand, Boyle extended his advantage as Schnitzler fought to regain his position.

Paul Studd held on to P3 at the race’s midpoint, with Mark Wyllie-Mackay and Niklas Stieper engaged in a fierce battle for P4 overall. Studd also led the Heavyweight class, showing solid consistency in the wet conditions.

Schnitzler ended up receiving a one-position penalty for excessively exceeding track limits, which further hindered his chances of a podium finish. With just four minutes remaining, Nathan Boyle held his lead with a eleven second gap to the finish.

In the end, Nathan Boyle crossed the line, securing the win. Lee Schnitzler finished in second, but was relegated to third after his penalty, with Wyllie-Mackay taking the second spot overall. Paul Studd claimed the top spot in the Heavyweight category, with Niklas Stieper rounding out the Heavyweight podium in second.

Fastest lap in the Lightweight category was taken by Nathan Boyle with a 01:35.112 and Paul Studd took the fastest lap in Heavyweights with a 01:37.900.

Thursday Night League – Daytona Sandown Park

A slightly damp track was the stage for the second round of Thursday Night League at Daytona Sandown Park, and with four different classes competing over the evening it was set to be an entertaining event.

SODI

Previous winner Fin Ions kept his momentum up in qualifying, taking a relatively comfortable pole position ahead of Jonathan Fuschel. Most of the intrigue was in the Heavyweight class, however, where Carlos Roberts took a very comfortable pole position, over a second ahead of his main competitor, Matthew West.

In the race, Ions absolutely blew the competition away in a drive that was reminiscent of his performance just two weeks ago. His winning margin was twenty-two seconds ahead of Olly Thornett, who drove well after capitalising on an entanglement between Carlos Roberts and Fuschel, which demoted Fuschel from the podium places and resulted in a penalty for Roberts. Vivek Bhalla rounded off the podium after doing just enough to fend off Connor Elmore in a tightly contested battle. Roberts was the standout performer in the Heavyweights, finishing second overall on the road but being demoted into fifth thanks to the aforementioned entanglement. This did not deter him, however, as he still won the Heavyweight class very comfortably.

DMAX

Charlie Foster held the top spot for basically all of a tight qualifying in the DMAX class, getting himself just ahead of championship rival Antonio Sholin. Yaseen Khan was the shock of the night, as he spent most of the session sitting in the midfield, a sensational late lap promoting him onto the second row of the grid. As for the Heavyweights, Thomas Mountford was able to take pole position.

An otherwise dominant drive from Charlie Foster ended in absolute disaster, despite his nearly twelve second winning margin he received a one-place position penalty at the death for an overtake made under full course yellow conditions just after the chequered flag. This gave victory to Yassen Khan, who would certainly see himself as fortunate but be delighted with the twenty-five points all the same. The good news for Foster was that he outscored round one victor Antonio Sholin, meaning the gap at the very front of the field has been cut in half – though of course the season is still in its infancy. As for the Heavyweight class, Thomas Mountford mounted a dominant and simple drive to take an easy victory.

A new challenge awaits on the sixth of February when we take on the alternate circuit in the third round of Thursday Night League.

Thursday Night League – Daytona Tamworth

The second round of Thursday Night League at Daytona Tamworth saw the drivers greeted by a slippery track once again, although thankfully, unlike Round one, this was due to water and not ice.

N35-ST

Recently at Tamworth, we’ve seen a trend of drivers who exclusively do either Thursday Night League or SuperChamps, they have started to dip their toes in the water with the other championship. This was the case tonight, with Lightweight N35-ST SuperChamps driver Lucas Gathercole taking overall pole position by just over a tenth of a second from rival and Round one winner Jude Lillyman. These two were literal seconds clear of the rest, with Fin Imber nevertheless delivering an impressive performance to be P3 overall and in Lightweights. It was a different Gathercole in pole position for Heavyweights, with Brandon P5 overall.

Gathercole and Lillyman continued their rivalry with a fantastic race-long battle, leaving the rest of the field far behind, over fifty seconds clear of P3 by the end of the race. It was Lillyman who was the more consistent of the two, winning by just over two seconds, putting himself well clear at the top of the standings with two wins out of two. Behind, Alan Litchfield was an excellent P3, winning the battle for the podium with Kacper Rybacki.

In Heavyweights, it was Anthony Delaney who took the win, finishing P5 overall. He was several seconds clear of B. Gathercole in P2 (P7 overall), with championship regular Brent Deeley’s P3 (P10 overall) seeing him rise to the top of the Heavyweight standings.

DMAX-GT

It seemed the N35-ST win wasn’t enough for Lillyman, who went on to take a dominant pole in DMAX qualifying. Defending champion Ben Foden was P2, but nearly two seconds off Lillyman, whose track knowledge from the N35-ST race seemed to be paying dividends. L. Gathercole, like Lillyman, also featured in DMAX qualifying, P3 overall and in Lightweights. Overall Vice-Champion from last season Tom Duffy took Heavyweight pole (P5 overall).

Despite losing out on pole, Foden’s experience showed in the race, with him able to quickly get ahead of Lillyman, and eventually take the race win. However, he didn’t run away with it like we’ve seen from him in the past – Lillyman kept him honest for the whole way through, finishing P2 by just 1.5 seconds. Debutant Thomas Shaw gave a very good account of himself, finishing P3 in Lightweights, less than ten seconds off Foden.

In the Heavyweights, Duffy took a dominant and expected victory. Finishing P3 overall, he was more than fifty seconds clear of his nearest Heavyweight, with semi-regular Yiran Liu taking a well-earned P2 in class, keeping it on the track in a race of attrition. The battle for P3 in Heavyweights was fierce throughout the race, but it was championship regular Sonny Zacharias who eventually won out from James Estrop and N35-ST Heavyweight winner Anthony Delaney.