The super-fast Rissington kart circuit would play host to event six of the 2022 Motorsport UK Wera Tools British Kart Championships last weekend [1-3 July], providing a thrilling three days of top-class karting action.
The Cotswold circuit welcomed the IAME, KZ2 and TKM classes as the BKC season clicks over the halfway point. The IAME Cadet, Junior and Senior X30 contenders and KZ2 protagonists would be fresh from a weekend at GYG, whilst the Junior TKM and TKM Extreme drivers returned after a six-week break.
You can re-live all the Finals action in their entirety on the Motorsport UK YouTube Channel HERE.
IAME Cadet
Fusion Motorsport continued their domination of the IAME Cadet category at Rissington, but it was Kit Belofsky who returned to the top step of the Finals podium for the first time since the opening round of the season. Belofsky took maximum points haul in the Heats and second in the PreFinal but would cross the line less than a tenth of a second ahead of teammate and championship leader Jesse Phillips.
Phillips took that PreFinal win to open up a twenty-point lead in the series, despite coming into the weekend with just one point in hand. Jensen Graham recovered from a poor Heats result to take third over the line and maintain that slot in the standings. Riley Cranham bagged fourth whilst Henry Domain offers Oliver Rowland Motorsport some hope with fifth, putting him equal third in the championship heading into their fifth round of the season.
Junior X30
Leo Robinson [Fusion Motorsport] has endured a tough year so far in the hotly contested Junior X30 series but blasted back onto the scene at Rissington with a fine Finals victory. An epic tussle for the top three places during the race saw Robinson stay guarded whilst Fionn McLaughlin [Fusion Motorsport] and Macauley Bishop [DHR] battled hard for the runner up spot. After a late lunge, Bishop would be demoted to third post-race.
Gabriel Stilp [Croc Promotion] had never finished off the podium of a Junior X30 Final in 2022 – until last weekend but was not far behind in fourth and continues to extend his impressive lead. Josh Agambar [Premium Karting] nailed fifth as he continues to progress this season.
Senior X30
A mighty impressive clean sweep of 65 points saw Sam Shaw [Premium Karting] record his best ever BKC result and maiden Finals victory, netting an undeniable Wera Tools Driver of the Day nomination in the process.
And it was a weekend where none of the front-running Senior X30 contenders could get a look in, as Sam Heading [MDL Motorsport] stormed from seventh on the grid to take runner-up spot as Khali Atkins took third for Croc Promotion.
Despite leading the championship Bart Harrison [Mick Barrett Racing] could only manage fourth after a troubled Pre-Final whilst Aaron Walker [Strawberry Racing] took fifth.
Thomas Fleming [DHR] dominated GYG but was left languishing at Rissington, crossing the line 13th and edging into the clutches of Gus Lawrence [PF International Karting] in the standings.
KZ2
With just five rounds in total this season, the KZ2 contenders would see Rissington mark the penultimate event of the season for the impressive gearbox racers and the rapid circuit would offer some superb racing.
With drop scores coming into play, big scores would be important. Sadly, series leader Charlie Turner [Rush Performance] endured a tough weekend with technical issues seeing him fail to finish the final. However, he retains the championship lead from Finals winner and teammate James Will Leon Frost
A masterclass from Glenister in the Final saw him take the win with over a second in hand over second place man Charlie Cole [Jade Racing Team] who was a delighted runner up, his first ever BKC podium; eclipsing his previous best 12th place.
Morgan Porter [Moore Racing] grabbed third whilst Spencer Shinner [Rush Performance] edged out Bradley Barrett [Sodi Vitesse] for fourth.
With the points tables impressively close down the order, predictions will be tricky as the KZ2 head to their final round at Kimbolton in September.
Junior TKM
Leon Frost [TWM] has been a tour-de-force in the Junior TKM series this season and that continued at Rissington. In their third round of 2022, Frost once again dominated the top of the tables to take a clean sweep of Heat and Finals win, extending his lead over Olivia Jakins.
Round one victor Dara McInerney pushed Frost all the way, taking second by just 0.6s and the two contenders were in a class of their own, finishing five seconds up the road from third placed Ollie Rands [TWM].
Jakins secured fourth to keep the pressure on Frost at the halfway point of the season whilst 2021 champion Alfie Garford make a solid comeback in fifth. Garford had finished third over the line but received a post-race penalty dropping him down the order.
TKM Extreme
In an almost carbon copy of Junior TKM, TKM Extreme has witnessed a dominant performance from one karter this season, which continued at Rissington.
Privateer Chris Whitton stormed to a Heats and Finals win to extend his championship lead over Aaron Lask [RSR] who also finished second. However, Lask would be almost three seconds adrift of Whitton at the flag drop, another sign of Whitton’s ability in the hotly contested series.
Joe Fowler [Klassen Motorsport] missed round one but has impressed ever since, winning the Warden Law Heat. He took third place last weekend after gaining five places and edging out teammate Ben Watson. Privateer Jack Saunders rounded out the top five.
Sam Johns [TWM] is third in the standings despite a difficult weekend which was confounded by a front fairing penalty in the final, adding five seconds to his result.
The next round of the season for IAME and TKM is Whilton Mill in August with KZ2 contenders rounding out their season at Kimbolton in September. Next up for the BKC tour, the Rotax and Honda Cadet drivers head for Warden Law at the end of July.
You can find all the championship standings HERE
Registrations are still open for the 2022 Wera Tools British Kart Championships, to register, visit: https://britishkartchampionships.org
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