The Wera Tools British Kart Championship would reach a thrilling climax for the IAME, TKM and Bambino classes last weekend [8-9 October] as Paul Fletcher International (PFi) hosted their much-anticipated final round of the season. Each class would be on a knife edge heading to the Lincolnshire circuit with every one of the attended categories set to crown a champion by the close of play on Sunday.
Contenders in the IAME classes could look forward to rounding out their season with an all-important double-header, with Saturday offering up a plentiful point scoring opportunity, setting up Sunday as a true BKC showdown and race to their respective titles.
PFi is the only international grade licensed kart circuit in the country and was the perfect setting for the 2021 curtain call, with overtaking opportunities and nose to tail racing guaranteed through the two-day meeting.
After Saturday’s penultimate round for the IAME contenders, Sunday hosted the grand finals for all classes with championship set to go down to the wire. As the sun shone down on the title protagonists, each class would reach a thrilling climax out on track. Whilst some were able to seal the deal in the Pre-Finals or even heats and making the final a formality, others had a tantilising wait until the last lap of the final – in true British Kart Championship style.
Class Round Up
IAME Cadet - Champion – Zac Drummond
This season has seen a scintillating battle between Fusion Motorsport’s Zac Drummond and Oliver Rowland Motorsport’s Lewis Wherrell. That contest would continue into the weekend with a closely fought two days of action – both drivers trading places lap after lap. However, Drummond sealed the heat wins to claim pole position for the final, accumulating enough precious points to ensure he could no longer be caught. The Scotsman would therefore wrap up the title with a race to spare and Drummond could make the long trip home with the prestigious IAME Cadet number one plate.
Final Race Result - Saturday
1st Noah Wolfe (Fusion Motorsport)
2nd Roman Kamyab (Fusion Motorsport)
3rd Daniel Sofronea (Oliver Rowland Motorsport)
Final Race Result – Sunday
1
st Kit Belofsky (Fusion Motorsport)
2
nd Lewis Wherrell (Oliver Rowland Motorsport)
3
rd Noah Wolfe (Fusion Motorsport)
IAME Mini X30 – Champion – Leo Robinson
Mini X30 has provided hard fought, respectful, racing rivalry this season with Leo Robinson battling Macauley Bishop throughout 2021. With a closely fought two days at PFi, Robinson built an insurmountable points advantage by the time the second final of the weekend came around. The Fusion Motorsport driver crossed the line with a large team celebration and was handed the coveted Number One plate to celebrate his success. Robinson secured the title by a slender 12 points over Bishop after a thrilling season of racing.
Final Race Result - Saturday
1st Macauley Bishop (PMR Driver Program)
2nd Henry Joslyn (Mick Barrett Racing)
3rd Taylor Orridge (Croc Promotion)
Final Race Result - Sunday
1st Jack Hobson (MLC Motorsport)
2nd Henry Joslyn (Mick Barrett Racing)
3rd Leo Robinson (Fusion Motorsport)
IAME Junior X30 – Champion - Daniel Guinchard
Going into the final race of the weekend knowing you are already champion is a feeling not many British Kart Championship contenders can experience. However, Daniel Guinchard could savour that very moment as the Argenti Motorsport ace scooped the Saturday Final victory and subsequently the sought-after Junior X30 title after a blistering year behind the wheel.
Sunday saw Premium Karting’s Sam Shaw scoop his and the squad’s maiden BKC win, whilst Bart Harrison (Mick Barrett Racing) Guinchard rounded out the podium.
Final Race Result - Saturday
1st Daniel Guinchard (Argenti Motorsport)
2nd Bart Harrison (Mick Barrett Racing)
3rd Sam Shaw (Premium Karting)
Final Race Result - Sunday
1st Sam Shaw (Premium Karting)
2nd Bart Harrison (Mick Barrett Racing)
3rd Daniel Guinchard (Argenti Motorsport)
IAME Senior X30 – Champion – Clayton Ravenscroft
A British Kart Championship final is rarely without drama, and that’s exactly what IAME Senior X30 delivered. With Clayton Ravenscroft (KR-Sport) looking to fend off Thomas Turner (Strawberry Racing) and Thomas Fleming (DHR) for the top spot, all three were looking for a strong result. In the Sunday’s Final, Ravenscroft looked to have the measure of the chasing pack. However, just a few laps into the race his carburetor developed an issue and after taking several laps to clear, he had fallen to the back of the field. Luck would be on Ravenscroft’s side as neither Turner or Fleming could get themselves close enough to the win and take the championship from Ravenscroft.
Final Race Result - Saturday
1
st Caden McQueen (Croc Promotion)
2nd Aaron Walker (Strawberry Racing)
3rd Lewis Mackie (Fusion Motorsport)
Final Race Result - Sunday
1st Caden McQueen (Croc Promotion)
2nd Gus Lawrence (PF International Karting)
3rd Thomas Turner (Strawberry Racing)
Junior TKM – Champion – Alfie Garford
Coming into the weekend in second place, Alfie Garford (Privateer) needed a strong set of results to stand a chance of taking the title, and he duly delivered. Championship contender Alistair Cresswell (Privateer) suffered heartbreak with two engine failures during the weekend forced him to skip the all-important Final. Watching from the sidelines, his only chance of taking the title was for Garford to finish off the podium. But Garford returned a strong drive to cross the line in third, taking the Junior TKM Championship title in the process.
Final Race Result:
1
st Tyla Harris (Privateer)
2
nd Aditya Kulkarni (TWM)
3
rd Alfie Garford (Privateer)
TKM Extreme – Champion – James Pashley
James Pashley (Privateer) headed into the weekend with a guaranteed battle royale against Joe Fowler (Klaassen Motorsport) and Joe Reeves-Smith (Litchfield Motorsport) for top honours in TKM Extreme.
Pashley’s points advantage would be a useful buffer and his nearest challengers would need strong results to stand a chance of knocking him off top spot. A tense Pre-Final saw Pashley retire with a broken exhaust, but he had already done enough in 2021 to prevent his rivals from denying him the result he needed to become champion ahead of the Final. With the Final just a formality and starting from the back Pashley clawed back a remarkable 15 places in the process to round out his season in style.
Final Race Result:
1
st Chris Whitton (Privateer)
2
nd Theo Hesketh (TWM)
3
rd Joseph Reeves-Smith (Litchfield Motorsport)
Bambino – Champion – Austin Newstead
Not many drivers can claim they have won every British Kart Championship round they have entered, but Austin Newstead can do just that in 2021. Continuing his dominant winning streak at the final round at PFi, he had to work hard to earn that credential with a move from Colbe Pattison on the last lap looking likely to force Newstead into second. But a drag race to the line gave Newstead the victory by 0.01 of second and the perfect way to celebrate his Bambino title.
Final Race Result:
1st Austin Newstead
2nd Colbe Pattison
3rd Max Gilman
Contenders in the Rotax and Honda classes will also play out their final rounds of 2021 at PFi as this weekend [16-17 October] sees the remaining categories crown their champions in the last meeting of the year.
Check out the championship points HERE
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