Race Reports

Daytona Championships 31st Jan 2025

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SuperChamps – Daytona Sandown Park

SuperChamps made its eagerly anticipated return to Daytona Sandown Park this weekend, with drivers in both SODI and DMAX karts taking on the Grand Prix format. Reigning series champion Archie Bullard had earlier confirmed that he would not be taking part in the new season, meaning that we are guaranteed to be opening our doors to a brand-new champion.

SODI

The shootout was won by Abhay Parmar, who drove dominantly on his way to a victory of just under five seconds. Max Miller was second, having an interesting battle with Harry Pickles throughout the race but eventually managing to stay well ahead. In the Heavyweights, Frederic Navaro (making his first appearance in the heavyweight class) took victory – though it became evident that Kireth Kalirai would be good competition for him throughout the day.

In the final, Harry Pickles strolled to an impressive victory despite Parmar holding the lead throughout the first lap. His winning margin was just under six seconds ahead of Max Miller, though Miller’s second place finish would not stand – due to being found as underweight after the race. This gave way for Fin Ions, to take the runner-up spot in Miller’s place – a good result for a driver that wants to kick on to win the championship this season. George Beauchamp joined them on the podium, though was behind dominant Heavyweight Frederic Navarro, who finished fourth overall. Sam Roy and Kalirai had a wonderful battle, with Kalirai’s better pace being what was able to get him into that second spot.

DMAX

Mystery surrounded the winner of the DMAX shootout, with a driver known only as ‘the faceless driver’ taking victory by three seconds. No one knows his identity, but what they do know is that he’s evidently pretty good in a go-kart. Thankfully, we do know the identity of second-placed series veteran Antonio Sholin – who was aided in gaining the runner-up spot by Thomas Williams and Jamie Warner having an incredibly close battle, Williams just managing to squeeze into the top three. The Heavyweight shootout was won by Henry Lopez-Gracey – who just simply had the pace ahead of rival Kieran Hyde-Moody.

There was a surprise winner in the final, as Charlie Foster drove bravely from the very back of the grid to take Lightweight victory at the end of the race. He won by two seconds ahead of Antonio Sholin but was not the overall winner – as that crown went to Heavyweight Henry Lopez-Gracey, who pulled off a stunning wet-weather drive in a victory of about six seconds. He was joined on the Heavyweight podium by Kieran Hyde-Moody and Mike Bennett. The battle for the final Lightweight podium spot was intense, as Thomas Williams and Jamie Warner fought intensely to try and get passed the faceless driver, though they were ultimately unsuccessful. He therefore took the final podium spot, though was not present to collect his trophy.

SuperChamps – Daytona Tamworth

A new year, a move from Saturday evenings to Sunday mornings, and a plethora of returning drivers and rookies – Superchamps is back! The format for the opening round is ‘Grand Prix’, a ten-minute qualifying, which would then set the grid for a fifteen-minute sprint, the fastest laps from each driver then setting the grid for the twenty-five-minute Feature Race. A slippery track met the drivers, with conditions worsening as the morning progressed.

N35-ST

Despite technically being SuperChamps rookie, Zachary Smith is no stranger to Daytona Tamworth. Having won three back-to-back InKart titles (two Cadet, one Junior), he marked his debut in the adult championship with a fantastic pole position, eight tenths clear of anyone. In fact, all three of the most recent InKart Junior champions were present in the top three, with reigning champion Joseph Smith in P2, and former Champion Theo Laverty in P3 – a fantastic advert for our kids’ championship. Ben Paines was the highest-placed Heavyweight driver (P5 overall), multiple seconds clear of his nearest competition.

The InKart party continued throughout the sprint shootout, with Z. Smith taking a fantastic win on debut. He was just under four seconds ahead of Laverty, with J. Smith able to hold onto P3 in class, impressive considering the quality of this N35-ST Lightweight field. After a round podium at his N3ST SuperChamps debut in the final round of last year, Paines continued to show impressive form, taking an even more dominant race win in class than his pole – P3 overall and more than ten positions ahead of any other Heavyweight.

The twenty-five-minute Feature was truly a race of attrition. Incredibly, Harry Fitch, who finished a lowly P11 overall in the sprint, slowly fought his way up through the order. He battled with Z. Smith for the race lead, before disappearing up the road and taking a truly exceptional sixteen-second win. After penalties for Z. Smith, Laverty and Sam Makinson, it was Rhys Barker, who seemed genuinely surprised when his name was called for the podium, who finished P2 in class, with Z. Smith P3. In Heavyweights, Paines made it a perfect round, finishing P2 overall after penalties, with the class podium rounded out by Anthony French (P13 overall) and Tamworth regular Ivan Norris (P17 overall).

DMAX-GT

With the absence of both defending champions for this round, it was all to play for in an ultra-competitive DMAX-GT grid. After just missing out on the overall Lightweight podium last season, Luke Dodman returned with pole position by nearly an entire second. SuperChamps regular Toby Mawdesley lined up alongside him on the front row, with reigning vice-champion Joseph Simcock in P3. In the Heavyweights, it was truly the return of Greg Chapman, as the former Heavyweight champion took pole position in class.

In the shootout, Dodman converted his pole in dominant fashion, winning by over fifteen seconds. This was partly due to the large amount of battling behind, which was eventually won by Simcock, with Mawdesley and current lap record holder Jack Middleton close for P3. Chapman was also involved, finishing P3 overall and P1 in Heavyweight.

There was drama in the feature race, with polesitter Dodman suffering a spin on the first lap, dropping him to last and causing him to have to fight through the field for most of the race. He eventually made his way all the way back to P3 in class – a sterling effort. After spending much of the most recent seasons being the bridesmaid but rarely the bride, it was finally the turn of Simcock to start his championship bid in style. Him and Chapman were together for most of the race, working together to secure the win in each class. Antony Wypych was a fantastic P3 overall and P2 in Heavyweights, with Demetri Wade and Middleton rounding out the Heavyweight and Lightweight podiums.

InKart – Daytona Milton Keynes

The second round of the Inkart Championship at Daytona Milton Keynes, features the challenging Linkback/Cliffdrop layout, providing a thrilling spectacle for both Cadet and Junior drivers. This is the first time the drivers have driven this variant, and with the track being wet, it made for a slippery and demanding race.

In the practice sessions, both Junior categories were dominated by Jacob Kent and Jacob Noble, with Kent setting the fastest time overall. The Cadet class saw Gillen Townshend and Leo Sibthorpe showing their pace. Townshend was particularly impressive in the wet conditions.

Heat one kicked off the day with the Junior category containing some notable names from the top five in the championship. Rayaan Malik took the win in the Junior category, securing valuable points ahead of Jacob Kent in second and Arel Kesimgil in third. Leo Sibthorpe won the Cadet category with Lily Catignon in second and Caden Kavanagh taking third.

Heat two saw Jacob Noble take the Junior win, with Noah Johnson and Dominik Gulbis completing the podium. In the Cadets, Townshend showed his class, taking the win ahead of Charlie Marden and Ryan Cafferky.

Heat three was led by Kent in the Juniors, Kesimgil in second and Ethan Steng taking his first podium of the day in third. Townshend secure a second victory in the Cadets, this time ahead of Sibthorpe and Catignon.

During heat four, Nathaniel Garai triumphed in the Juniors, followed by Michael Oxtoby-Page in second and Noble in third. The Cadet race saw Kimi Densham, returning to the championship after some time away and taking the win, with Cafferkey in second and George Dickinson in third.

The B-Final provided its own drama, particularly in the Junior field, as many drivers received penalties for spinning on their way to the grid in the wet conditions, which meant several started further down the order. Dominic Fleming led for much of the race but lost the position following a penalty for overtaking under yellow flags, which allowed Clark Ferris to take the win in the Junior B-Final, promoting him to the A-Final. Declan Pires secured third. In the Cadet B-Final, Amelia-Alice Barreau demonstrated exceptional wet weather driving, finishing first ahead of Caden Kavanagh and Jess Kirby, securing her place in the A-Final.

The A-Final began with Kent on pole for the Juniors, alongside Noble in second and Malik in third. The Cadets lined up with Townshend on pole, fresh off two heat wins, while Sibthorpe and Densham in second and third, respectively. The Junior battle was intense, with Kent, Malik, and Arel Kesimgil all fighting for the top spot in the challenging conditions. Meanwhile, the Cadets were not far behind, Townshend quickly overtook some of the Juniors, and Sibthorpe and Marden also made impressive moves to close the gap. By the end, the Juniors finished with Malik taking the win, Kesimgil in second, and Kent in third. In the Cadet race, Townshend claimed his second-round victory of the season, Sibthorpe took second, and Marden rounded out the top three.