The Snowdonia mountains offered the perfect backdrop for event five of the Motorsport UK Wera Tools British Kart Championships last weekend [17-19 June] as the Glan-Y-Gors circuit near Bala hosted contenders in the IAME, KZ2 and Bambino classes.
The unique track in North Wales is one of the most technical on the BKC tour and its undulating nature and narrow width, ensured each karter would need to be precise and clean to ensure the best possible result for their championship aspirations.
The weekend offered the second round of the Bambino season, but the third of IAME and KZ2 categories and you can watch all the Finals action in their entirety on the Motorsport UK YouTube Channel HERE.
Classes
IAME Cadet
Jorge Edgar [Fusion Motorsport] followed up his PreFinal win with the all-important Final’s victory to see him close in on the championship lead, now trailing by just a single point from team mate Jess Phillips.
Edgar led all but one lap of the final to cope perfectly with the undulating track and battling back from sixth spot in the Heat standings. Closest across the line was Riley Cranham, less than a tenth behind at the drop having made up seven places from his original start position. Likewise third placed Lewis Islin also made inroads on his grid slot, climbing eight places to take the final podium spot.
Jensen Graham fought back from a poor run in the Heats and PreFinal to sixth, but loses the lead of the championship to fourth placed Jesse Phillips. Henry Domain took fifth for Oliver Rowland Motorsport and the first non-Fusion run kart home.
Junior X30*
Gabriel Stilp [Croc Promotion] won last time out at Warden Law and enjoyed the maximum 65 point haul from the Heats, PreFinal and Finals.
The only blot on that copybook at GYG was the PreFinal where he took second, but it was all 65’s again in the Heats and Final to extend his championship lead. In almost a carbon copy of round two, it was polesitter Fionn McLaughlin [Fusion Motorsport] and Brandon Carr [ KR-Sport] who were chasing hard, but could only finish some 2.3 second down on Stilp at the finish.
Macauley Bishop led DHR home in fourth and fifth with Cameron Pratt-Thompson finishing just a second behind his team mate.
The Junior X30 results remain provisional due to a technical investigation*
Senior X30
Thomas Fleming [DHR] has seen his season progress with an upward trajectory, and GYG saw him take his first victory of 2022 in fine style, not only taking the Heats, PreFinal and Finals win, but by storming home with almost two seconds in hand over the line.
Harry Platten [BMR] and Gus Lawrence [PF International Karting] were locked in a battle of their own, but it was Platten who got ahead on the second tour and managed to fend off his rival by the narrowest or margins.
Fleming was in a world of his own however – his performance netting him a Wera Tools Driver of the Day nomination to boot.
Bart Harrison [Mick Barrett Racing] started the final on the front row but fell away to fourth early in the race, but still finished four seconds in front of Sam Shaw [Premium Karting] in fifth.
Harrison has seven points in hand over Platten in the standings, heading to Rissington in just over a weeks time.
KZ2
A star-studded KZ2 entry assembled in Wales with guest appearances from FIA Formula 3 racers Reece Villagomez and Reece Ushijima, GT4 ace Stefan Bostandjiev and FIA Formula 2 star Jack Doohan all piloting PSR karts around the narrow and undulating circuit.
Whilst some struggled to adapt, it was Ushijima who stole the show, storming to the maximum score for the heats, which ultimately turned into a Finals win for the American.
Morgan Porter [Moore Racing] returned an impressive Finals drive to climb from 10th on the grid to claim runner up spot, albeit two seconds adrift of the winner. Warden Law Finals winner Charlie Turner [Rush Performance] took the final podium spot to strengthen his series lead.
Privateer Derek Morgan took a close fourth whilst Bradley Barrett [Sodi Vitesse] was fifth.
Bambino
Riley Murro headed into the weekend with the championship lead after the opening round of 2022, and would leave Wales still well in command of the Bambino points tables.
Winning both Heats and the Final saw a dominant performance from the newcomer, which would also see him secure a nomination for the Wera Tools Driver of the Day Award from the panel of judges.
The closest challenge in the Final would come from Austin Oman who was hot on Murro’s heels all race long, even managing to briefly lead on the penultimate lap. But Murro was firmly in control to take the win by a staggering 0.1sec across the line.
Chester Forkes took second in the Heats and third in the Final, climbing to second in the championship in the process. Ethan McClelland and Lewis Kirkaldy took fourth and fifth respectively.
The next round of the season for IAME and KZ2 contenders takes place at Rissington in July, whilst Bambino are next in action at Whilton Mill in August.
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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