Last weekend, 11 – 13 September 2020, marked the third event of the revised 2020 British Kart Championships calendar. The event, which hosted six IAME and TKM classes, was held at the Cambridgeshire venue, Kimbolton. The track has a rich 50-year history within the motorsport community and is a firm favourite among karters who love the fast, technical nature of the circuit.
Dominating the open practice sessions, heats and most of the races in the IAME Cadet class was Macauley Bishop. Pipped to the post during the timed qualifying session by Noah Wolfe, Bishop qualified 2nd in the timed qualifying session. Bishop won the first heat but Nathan Tye was victorious in the second heat. Starting on pole for the final after winning the pre-final, Bishop finished 3rd in the final, behind Nathan Tye and Zac Drummond claimed the top step of the podium.
In the Mini Max class, many drivers were at the helm during this weekend, including Gabriel Stilp, Leo Robinson, Ethan Symonds. It was Ella Stevens who qualified on pole for the pre final, but Vinnie Phillips claimed victory to start on pole for the final. After an impressive drive during the final, Phillips lead the grid to claim another victory, ahead of Leo Robinson and Ethan Symonds.
It was Daryl Taylor, Bart Harrison and Archie Walker who made up the podium after Sunday’s Junior X30 final. Spindlow, Burgoyne Jnr and Taylor were victorious during the heats. A stunning performance from Taylor saw him climb seven places to claim the top step during the final despite Aaron and Archie Walker leading the way during the pre-final.
The competition really heated up during the Senior X30 classes over the weekend. Danny Keirle and Morgan Porter battled throughout the weekend. Porter, Keirle and Harry Platten secured the first three places on the grid during the pre-final. Putting Keirle under pressure, Platten made a brave overtaking move that saw him claim 2nd place during the final. Despite gaining on the leader, it was last year’s champion, Danny Keirle who was victorious in the final. Clayton Ravenscroft made up the third step of the podium.
For the first time this year, the TKM classes returned to competitive racing in the British Kart Championships. The event hosted two TKM classes, the Junior TKM championship and the TKM Extreme championship.
The Junior TKM class was mostly dominated by Harvey Cole. His race wins during heat 1 and 2 saw him placed in pole position for the pre final, but a move from Alistair Cresswell saw Cole slip to 2nd place and Cresswell take the victory. During the final, it was Louis Harvey and Jack Saunders that fought their way to the front of the grid to claim 1st and 2nd place. Harvey Cole still claimed 3rd place, earning him some vital championship points.
During the weekend, it looked likely that Joe Fowler was to be victorious in the TKM Extreme class. Qualifying fastest, winning both heats and qualifying pole for the pre final, it seemed that Fowler was on form. However, both Adam Sparrow and Kye Springfield overtook Fowler to claim 1st and 2nd place in the pre final race. Qualifying in pole position for the final, Sparrow lead the pack to claim the 1st place trophy, followed by Theo Hesketh, who climbed up four positions, and James Pashley. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be for Fowler, who finished 14th place.
Full results are available at: https://www.apex-timing.com/goracing/results.php?path=/sports-timing-uk/2020/20200913&group=1
The championship returns this weekend, 18th – 20Th September, at Warden Law for the Rotax classes. All the action will be live streamed on Sunday 20th via the British Kart Championships’ Facebook page.