Race Reports

Daytona Championships (31st-6th) June

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SuperChamps – Round Six

Daytona Sandown Park

SuperChamps returned to Daytona Sandown Park for Round Six this weekend, with drivers in both SODI and DMAX taking on the Heats format on the Grand Prix circuit. Heading towards the closing stages of the season, and the drivers’ final time on the GP layout, this was sure to be an exciting day of racing.

In DMAX, Heat One was won by championship leader Charlie Foster, who started his round in style, putting on an impressive early stage of driving. Ellis McKenzie joined him on the podium just a second behind, narrowly edging out Adam Palmer in a drag race to the line. Palmer delivered an almost perfect start, beginning his race on the back row and managing to climb nine places on the opening lap. It was Henry Lopes-Gracey who took P1 in the Heavyweights in Heat One.

Jack O’Neill clinched the win in Heat Two by just half a second, leaving Jamie Warner in second. Tom Williams crossed the line just two tenths behind to take third place. However, O’Neill dropped down to fourth after a post-race penalty was applied for jumping the start. This promoted Foster onto the podium, highlighting yet another impressive drive after starting on the back row. That makes both heats where starting 15th resulted in a podium. Lopes-Gracey backed up his Heat One win by taking another P1 in Heavyweight Heat Two, while battling with the front-runners of the Lightweight class to boot.

The DMAX final was full of drama, with Charlie Foster and Jack O’Neill starting side by side on the front row. The drama began pre-grid, with championship leader Foster’s kart struggling to stay running. After several aborted formation laps and a kart swap from the pit lane team, Foster managed to slot back into the pole position to get the final underway. The aforementioned pair at the front spent the opening laps fighting for dominance. However, it was O’Neill who broke away, creating a massive 9.8-second advantage to take the win in Round Six. Kieran Hyde-Moody took the win in the Heavyweights after a close, race-long battle with Lopes-Gracey.

In the SODI class, Ashton Woogler took the win in the opening heat, creating a four-second gap to Abhay Parmer in P2. Jack O’Neill, looking to assert further dominance in the SuperChamps series, took P3, narrowly edging out George Beauchamp in a race to the finish line separated by just two tenths. Jamie Riches, Solomon Adenji, and James Callan fought for fifth position for the majority of the race. This battle was a feisty one, with Callan dropping down a place due to a contact penalty. Sam Roy took the win in the Heavyweights with a commanding opening victory.

Heat Two was won by James Callan, who asserted his claim to the series with a three-second lead over P2. This position was contested between O’Neill and Ceasar Chen, but it was O’Neill who managed to take the spot, with Chen rounding out the podium. Sam Roy continued his dominant performance, taking another win in the Heavyweight class.

The SODI final saw a close fight between Jamie Riches and Jack O’Neill, who both stormed away from the field early on. The pair battled for the majority of the race, with Riches leading the way. O’Neill made his move for the top position with just two laps left and managed to make it stick. After a quick lesson in defence from the veteran O’Neill, the leaders crossed the line separated by only a tenth, with Callan joining them on the podium after fending off attacks from Abhay Parmer in their own three-tenth gap showdown. The Heavyweight win went to Malachy Prakash after his luck turned when Sam Roy had to bail to the pits after suffering an early puncture.

Round Six was incredibly well-driven, with battles across all classes. We look forward to welcoming the SuperChamps grid back on the 22nd for Round Seven.

Daytona Tamworth

As the SuperChamps season enters its final stages, Round Six at Daytona Tamworth marked a pivotal point in all four championships. With the title battles heating up, every point earned in this round was crucial.

Harry Fitch was the standout performer in the N35-ST Lightweights, delivering two excellent heat drives to earn himself a front-row start in the final. Theo Laverty also produced strong results, with Jayden Forrester not far behind. Keelan Arnold kept himself in contention with consistent form, while Tom Duffy and Kieran Bryant had difficult heats and were left with work to do in the final.

In the fifteen-minute final, Fitch rounded off a perfect day with a well-earned victory. He led from the front but came under sustained pressure from Laverty, who crossed the line just one and a half seconds behind. The real story, however, was the battle for second place, Arnold pushed Laverty to the chequered flag and finished only a tenth behind in a nail-biting finish.

Notable mention must go to Bryant, who recovered superbly from a tough start to the day. Despite weak heat results, he carved his way through the field to finish just off the podium—a gritty and determined performance.

The Heavyweight class saw a more mixed grid due to the merged heats with the Lightweights. Ben Paines and Will Kenny both looked sharp across the early sessions, but the final remained wide open. Anthony French emerged as a key challenger in the final, getting into a prolonged scrap with Paines as they navigated the lightweight traffic together.

In the end, Paines kept his composure to take a commanding victory, finishing around two seconds clear of French. Bryant completed the podium in third, another example of his resilience after a difficult start to the day.

In the DMAX Lightweights Luke Dodman was in dominant form throughout the day, winning both heats and putting himself on pole for the final. Rhys Barker, Toby Mawdlesley, and Julia Stankowiak all showed good pace and looked like potential threats going into the shootout.

In the final, Dodman and Barker treated the spectators to a fantastic battle. The two traded sectors throughout, staying within a few tenths of each other from start to finish. Dodman held on to take the win and complete the round sweep, bar the fastest lap, which went to Barker. Sonny Zacharias rounded out the podium in third, having elected to race in the Lightweights for this round.

In the Heavyweights, the heat stages pointed to a showdown between Anthony Wypych and Demetri Wade. However, it was Wypych who asserted total control in the final. Making clean work of the early traffic, he opened up a lead and never looked back.

Wade managed to secure second place, though he was a few positions behind Wypych overall. Ashley Mayston-King completed the podium after a tight battle with Wade, the pair separated by just four tenths at the flag.

With just two rounds remaining, the SuperChamps titles are now within reach for several drivers, but none are secure. Dodman’s dominance in the DMAX Lightweights puts him in a strong position, while the N35-ST titles remain wide open.

The penultimate round of SuperChamps returns to Daytona Tamworth in just a few weeks’ time. Expect even more drama as the championship battles reach boiling point.

Thursday Night League – Round Eleven

Daytona Sandown Park

Round Eleven of the Thursday Night League returned to the Grand Prix layout at Sandown Park, with both the SODI and DMAX championships nearing their climax. The points at stake were critical, and drivers were under pressure to produce top results as the final round looms.

Qualifying in the SODI category was incredibly tight. Matthew West secured pole position by the narrowest of margins, just 0.043 seconds ahead of Fin Ions, with Oliver Thornett only 0.094 off in third.

At the start, Ions made a strong move around the outside of West into the first corner to take the lead. Despite gaining track position, he was unable to pull clear, as the top six karts stayed locked in an intense battle for much of the race. The group frequently swapped places and even managed to form a NASCAR-style bump-draft train down the back straight on one lap.

In the final stages, Ions and West broke away from the chasing pack, giving them space to fight for victory. Ions drove a masterclass in defence, soaking up lap after lap of pressure to take the win by just a tenth of a second. West finished second on the road and claimed the Heavyweight victory.

Vivek Bhalla crossed the line third overall and took second in the Lightweight category after holding off Thornett by three tenths. Alfie Pettengell and Ryan Bentley weren’t far behind, finishing fourth and fifth respectively in class, separated by just a couple of tenths. In the Heavyweights, Reece Sheppard and Carlos Roberts completed the podium behind West.

As the DMAX drivers headed out on track, the heavens opened, without a rain suit in sight. The unexpected downpour turned the session into a test of adaptability, as drivers scrambled to learn both the modified layout and the treacherous wet conditions.

Jack Redfern handled it best in qualifying, snatching pole position just 0.024 seconds ahead of Ellis McKenzie. Championship leader Charlie Foster started third, with Liam Duffett lining up alongside him.

Conditions worsened as the drivers formed up on the grid, with standing water across much of the circuit. Redfern got away well and began to pull a gap from McKenzie, while Foster held third. The top three matched each other’s pace in the early laps until the decisive moment came…backmarkers.

Redfern attempted to pass a slower kart quickly but got caught out in the process and spun, dropping him to third. His earlier pace proved crucial as he swiftly reeled Foster back in and overtook him to retake second place.

That set up a thrilling fight for the win between Redfern and McKenzie. The latter defended brilliantly, seemingly having done enough to seal victory, until the final corner. Redfern got a perfect run and launched a clean move up the inside. It was a drag race to the line, with Redfern edging out McKenzie by just a tenth of a second.

Foster had to settle for third but remains the title favourite with one round to go.

Round Eleven was a dramatic affair, with the SODIs enjoying intense dry-weather racing and the DMAX drivers tackling extreme wet conditions. With only one round remaining, everything will come down to the finale.

The Thursday Night League returns to Sandown Park on Wednesday 12th June for Round Twelve, the final event of the championship, on the Grand Prix layout.

Daytona Tamworth

The penultimate round of the Thursday Night League arrived at Daytona Tamworth with challenging mixed conditions. A wet track gradually began to dry over the evening, setting up a tricky test of tyre temperature, patience and adaptability for both N35-ST and DMAX-GT competitors.

In the N35-ST division, qualifying was topped by Harry Fitch, who set the benchmark time but was later found to be underweight and thus ineligible for points. That handed effective pole position to Joseph Smith, who was a full two seconds clear of the next point scorer, Heavyweight Brandon Gathercole.

In the final, Smith wasted no time chasing down Fitch. It took five laps for him to make the move stick, but once ahead, he immediately began to pull away, eventually building a five-second lead by the flag to take a commanding win in the Lightweights. Alan Litchfield and Serge Harjau completed the podium in class.

The tricky conditions gave an advantage to the heavier drivers, and the Heavyweights locked out the second row overall. James Estrop took a crucial victory over championship rival Gathercole, with the pair separated by two seconds at the line. Jordan Schofield rounded out the Heavyweight podium.

By the time the DMAX drivers took to the track, conditions had begun to improve, though standing water and greasy lines meant it never fully dried. Lucas Gathercole showed his class in qualifying to take pole position, with Ben Foden lining up alongside him on the front row.

Gathercole executed a flawless lights-to-flag drive to take victory by nearly two seconds. Jude Lillyman crossed the line in second but was handed a post-race penalty, promoting Ky Storor to runner-up and dropping Lillyman to third in class.

In the Heavyweights, the mixed conditions played a huge role, several drivers featured prominently in the overall order, with third to sixth overall all occupied by the class. Tom Duffy continued his impressive form, taking yet another Heavyweight win to all but wrap up the title ahead of the final round. Joe Collier followed him home, while Sonny Zacharias secured the final podium spot.

The championship tension is now at boiling point as we head into the final round of the season. With titles still up for grabs and rivalries tightening, all eyes now turn to the grand finale at Daytona Tamworth in just a couple of weeks’ time.

Daytona Milton Keynes

The championship battle tightened further in Round Eleven of the Thursday Night League at Sandown Park, with both the SODI and DMAX categories providing plenty of drama on the National layout. With the season finale just around the corner, every point counted, and every overtake mattered.

In the SODI division, Barry Morris put in another dominant qualifying performance, taking pole position by a remarkable six tenths ahead of Jacob Csepreghi. Jacob’s brother, Charlie Csepreghi, lined up fourth behind Adam Pughe. In the Heavyweights, David Rollins topped the timesheets ahead of Agastya Lahkar.

The race, however, was anything but straightforward. While Morris led for the majority of the running, things unravelled for him on the final lap. At turn seven, he made contact with Charlie Csepreghi and was pushed into the wall, dropping him from the lead to fourth. The drama continued in the penultimate corner when further contact between Charlie Csepreghi and Pughe opened the door for Jacob Csepreghi to capitalise. Having started the lap in fourth, he emerged in the lead and went on to snatch victory in stunning fashion.

Post-race penalties altered the final order once again. Charlie Csepreghi was handed a two-position penalty for the incidents, demoting him to fifth. That promoted Morris back onto the podium in third, with Phil Heath inheriting fourth.

In the Heavyweights, Rollins was untouchable once again. He controlled the race from start to finish to take another commanding win ahead of Lahkar.

The DMAX qualifying session saw a shake-up at the front, with Dawid Sniezko securing his first pole position of the season, just one tenth ahead of championship leader Nathan Boyle. Adam Hawtin was three tenths further back in third.

In the Heavyweights, David Rollins looked to make it a double, and started from pole ahead of Charlie Newman and Harry Mason.

Boyle made the stronger start and led the majority of the race, looking set to claim yet another victory in the Lightweights. But Sniezko had other ideas. In the closing laps, he delivered a stunning charge, closing in on Boyle and launching a well-timed move to steal the win by just a tenth at the flag. It marked the first time all season that someone other than Boyle or James King had taken victory in the Lightweight category.

Mark Wyllie-Mackay also impressed, passing Hawtin late in the race to take third and secure his place on the podium.

Rollins completed a superb evening with a dominant win in the Heavyweights, finishing six seconds clear of Newman. Mason held firm under pressure to complete the podium.

It was an action-packed evening at Sandown Park, with race craft and resilience on full display across both categories. Thursday Night League returns for Round Twelve, the final round of the season, on Wednesday 12th June, once again on the Grand Prix layout.