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“The test day we had on Friday was very valuable” commented Pittard. “We were able to really get to grips with the car, the track and the new paddle shift which had been put in for the weekend – the car felt fast and I was very comfortable with the track.”

A reasonably overcast Saturday morning welcomed David and the Strata 21 team as they entered qualifying, with David taking to the track in a bid to put the Porsche 911 GT3 car on class pole.

“Qualifying was very good for us. Adam put the car on Pole position with a very quick lap. I was frustrated not to have matched him but posted a time just 3 tenths shy. The time was also good enough for 15th overall in the race with a couple of class 3 cars in between us and our nearest rivals. Our problem was that the car was wearing its rear tyres out rapidly and would look like we would have to make 3 changes during the race. As a result it was decided that we should change the rear suspension set up to sacrifice a bit of speed to try and make the tyres last longer during the race”

Despite the set up amendments to compensate there was still concern surrounding the rate of tyre wear the car was sustaining, requiring the Letchworth young gun to find the ultimate balance between outright pace and managing the life in the tyres as the race commenced.

“I started the car in the 3 hour race and made a good start, however I was boxed in through the first few corners as I concentrated on staying out of trouble and looking to pick up any positions where I COUld.”

After starting the race using the newly installed paddle shift system it wasn’t long till Pittard had to revert back to the original sequential shift, following a failure of the system on exiting the Agostini hairpin that cost him the lead.

“The paddles wouldn’t let me shift out of 1st gear. I quickly reverted to using the sequential shift but the delay meant I lost P1 in our class. “

Cautious of not over working the tyres David slowly built into a rhythm and began to gain on the Lotus ahead of him, managing to real in the leader and scythe up the inside to get back into P1 at the Agostini hairpin, only to lose it again on the next lap when giving a position back to a class 3 following a yellow flag sector.

With the bit between his teeth Pittard preceded to hunt down the lead Lotus once again. Sensing his chance as they approached the back of some slower class 3 cars he made his move, managing to pass not only the Lotus down the back straight, but both class 3 cars around the outside of the notorious Coram Curve in one sublime move.

“I saw the Lotus was being held up behind some class 3 cars which allowed me to catch back up again. In one lap I managed to pass the Lotus down the Back straight and then passed both class 3 cars around the outside at Coram giving us a good buffer to second.”

Almost immediately after he had retaken the lead the Safety Car was called out, bunching the pack back up and making the move around Coram even more critical by providing the safety of 2 slower cars between himself and the pursuing Lotus.

At the restart Pittard took full advantage immediately stretching a lead out over the Lotus which grew to an impressive 20 seconds before a second Safety Car emerged, once again backing up the pack. This time however Pittard was without the luxury of slower cars separating him from P2, sticking the Lotus right on the rear bumper of his Strata21 run Porsche. Despite his lack of experience and young age, David kept a strong head and maturely backed the pack up to allow himself to get the jump on the Lotus as the lights went green once again.

“At the re start I left a big gap ahead of me to the safety car chain and just going into Coram I bolted and caught the safety car chain exiting Russells, instantly giving me a 5 second advantage as we crossed the start finish line to go racing ! I then had 4 laps to push as hard as I could to build as big lead as I could over the Lotus before handing over the lead to Morgan racer Tom Jones”

As the driver change took place drama ensued as it was found that the rear left tyre had sustained a slow puncture, requiring an unscheduled change from the Strata21 pit crew.

“As I got out the team were checking the tyre pressures. It was quickly apparent that we had sustained a slow puncture in the rear left. Steve, Jon, Matt and Jack did a brilliant job to get the car up on the air jacks and change the tyre as quickly as possible to get the car back out again.”

Unfortunately, despite the lightning quick stop from the team the car, now in the hands of Tom Jones, rejoined the track having lost the lead and running in 3rd place.

“Tom drove solidly throughout his stint” reflected David “despite receiving a bit of contact from a passing BMW! He pitted the car in 2nd place after stops, with the Lotus and BMW having only made 1 stop so far compared to our 2.”

After a routine pit stop Adam Sharp now took to the track and immediately set out to catch the lead BMW, with the Lotus having now also encountered problems during its pit stop. As Adam reeled in the lead BMW and with time still remaining on the race clock, the Strata21 team looked set to challenge for the win before disaster struck in the form of a drive shaft failure, prematurely ending what would have been the team and David’s first Britcar win in 2012.

“We were just under a lap down with an hour top go. Adam had just set the fastest lap in class by over 1.5 seconds to try and close the gap on the BMW. Throughout his stint he lapped 3-5 seconds quicker than the leader bringing down the gap, however with 20 mins to go a rear right driveshaft let go ending our chances.”

However, despite the mechanical failure and due to the excellent pace maintained throughout the race by Pittard and his team mates the Strata21 Porsche maintained a classified 4th position, going someway to reward the efforts from the weekend.

“With not long remaining in the race we all watching the timing screens as we dropped to 3rd, with a big gap to 4th. We were all hoping that is where we would remain but the 4th placed car overtook us on the last lap, therefore completing 1 more lap than us! It was a shame we weren’t on the podium, but importantly we scored valuable championship points and fastest lap points from the weekend.”

“Massive thanks to Strata Motorsport for a brilliant car and team to get us on the podium, with a 2 hour race next at Brands Hatch Indy we shall be on for the win as the pace is clearly in the car.”

These articles are supplied by you the competitor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Championship

Of all the teams and drivers who have visited Ellough Park with Formula Kart Stars since 2010 you would struggle to find anyone with a bad word to say about the warm welcome and extra effort the host club goes to for us. From hog roasts, live music, an on-site bar, Formula One simulators, paintballing and skydiving displays Richard Lock and his hard working team have consistently pulled out all the stops to make each FKS event at Ellough ‘special’ and this year looks like being no exception.

As far as the circuit goes Ellough Park certainly divides opinion and is exactly the kind of track that any major championship needs. Some drivers love its technical nature and the fact that it isn’t an out and out power circuit while others dislike it for the exact same reason. Some drivers enjoy the abrasive, tyre chewing surface as it brings an element of tyre conservation into play, while others dislike it for the very same reason.

But love it or hate it, to win at Ellough Park you have to have a kart that is extremely well set-up.

Because Formula Kart Stars last visited Ellough Park in September a glance at the results from that weekend provides a couple of pointers as to who might be in good shape come the weekend although, as Kimbolton proved, you can never confidently predict a winner in FKS as you never know where the next surprise might come from.

In the MSA British Cadet Championship Dean Macdonald and Enaam Ahmed may have shared the wins at Kimbolton but it is Josh Smith who heads the points standings after Macdonald’s black flag in Saturday’s final at Kimbolton and Ahmed’s eleventh place finish in Sunday’s final. But it is Macdonald who has the strongest FKS track record at Ellough, having won the penultimate round of last year’s championship and finishing a close runner up in the season finale.

Connor Mills was a race winner at Ellough Park last year in Mini Max but after seeing how things unfolded at Kimbolton it would be foolish to say that he is the favourite to win this weekend. Two years ago Philip Rawson finished in the top five in Cadet while running as an independent driver while Lando Norris ran strongly here as a Cadet last year, ironically as a teammate to Macdonald.

Previous track form and current championship form may be one set of factors but as Inem Coker proved on Sunday at Kimbolton you just can’t factor in an inspired tyre choice or set-up gamble if conditions are mixed. With a small but intensely competitive Mini Max field this year it won’t take much to completely shake up the running order and throw a whole different bunch of names into the hat for victory.

In many ways Junior Rotax could be the hardest class to predict even though Sam Marsh has won his last three FKS starts here (both races in Junior Max in 2011 and the season finale in Mini Max in 2010). Marsh was unstoppable at Ellough last year and won every single heat and both finals over the weekend and it would be easy to say that he had one hand on the winners trophy already. But to say that would be doing his rivals a massive injustice as the quality of competition in Juniors this year is second to none.

Shaun Arnold scored his first FKS victory at Kimbolton on Sunday and returns to his local circuit with plenty of confidence while Bobby Thompson and Luke Whitworth, both podium finishers at Kimbolton, have enjoyed top three results at Ellough Park in the past.

Jessica Hawkins had a torrid time of things at Kimbolton but almost won at Ellough last year and it would be good to see Jess get some of her mojo back this weekend and although and after you take all the above named into consideration you still have current points leader Oli Myers and the continual threat of first corner contact to contend with so while on paper Marsh looks like the strongest contender, as he discovered at Kimbolton, the reality could be far different.

Ellough Park also plays host to Challenges three and four in Cadet Honda and Senior Rotax and both classes proved to be more than worthy additions to the championship at Kimbolton.

In both classes the majority of contenders from Kimbolton return at Ellough Park but the beauty of the Challenge format is that drivers can join the series at any time or skips rounds that clash with exams and there will be several new names in both classes this weekend. In Cadet Honda everyone will be out to beat double Kimbolton winner Rory Hudson while in Senior Rotax Sam Ward and Josh Collings will be searching for their second victory of the year after they shared the honours in the opening two challenges.

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With season long points not a factor it was an out and out race for victory on the day again for the 16 competitors with Saturday winner Sam Ward hoping to do the same again and keep his Coles Racing teammates James Singleton and Charlie Turner, and everyone else at bay.

The ten minute timed qualifying session was held on a dry track and Saturday polesitter Singleton was fastest again, this time by one tenth over Ward with independent runner Lincoln Newby an excellent third ahead of Turner and Bobby Neil with CRG UK driver Josh Collings at the back after a kart failure stopped him mid session.

Heat one started dry but a mid race shower made conditions extremely treacherous towards the end but that mattered little to Singleton who led from start to finish and crossed the line with nearly four seconds to spare.

In truth the race was a lot closer for after Turner retired on the first corner Newby, Ward, Callum Pointon (AIM Motorsport) and Ethan Patterson (Vital Motorsport) all fought over second place until Pointon went off to leave privateer Newby with a well deserved result. Patterson, Neil and Ward completed the top five with Collings working his way up to sixth.

Heat two was shortened slightly when the ambulance was required in the paddock but with the rain intensifying the drivers were probably grateful as once again they were all on slicks. Singleton once again led away from pole and was never headed although Ward kept him honest throughout and was less than three seconds back at the chequered flag.

Pointon’s teammate Josh Gollin looked on course for a podium finish until the final two laps when Neil and Collings demoted him to fifth with Turner and the TMR Developments kart of Ryan Norris next up.

There would be no tyre choice dilemma for the final after some fairly consistent rain meant the drivers didn’t have to worry about overheating their tyres over the 15-minute duration.

After his perfect heat score Singleton unsurprisingly held pole with Ward alongside him and Neil and Collings on row two and Patterson and Newby on row three.

Unlike Saturday’s final, this time the poleman was able to hold on to top spot as all the frontrunners tiptoed around turn one cleanly but it was soon clear that Singleton wasn’t as comfortable in the conditions as those immediately following him with both Ward and Collings remaining right on his bumper and Norris and Newby also within striking distance.

Collings was beginning to experiment with a radically tight line through the first corner and he used it to pass Ward for second on lap seven and then to take the lead two laps later.

On his first FKS outing Collins controlled the pace for the remaining eight laps to take victory with Ward 1.3-seconds back in second. Singleton clung to third for a couple of laps but couldn’t prevent Norris from slipping through to claim the final podium position.

Singleton spent the final couple of laps defending fourth place from Newby, which he managed to do by four tenths at the line with Turner completing the top half dozen.

Sam Marsh entered the day on the back of his third consecutive FKS race win for the RL Racing Department and with drivers heading out for timed qualifying on wet tyres everyone had Saturday’s repeated first corner mayhem on their minds and knew that a mid grid starting position for the two ten minute heats could spell disaster.

The weather did serve to shake up the running order if nothing else as Coles Racing’s Steven Handford and Vital Motorsport’s Bobby Thompson led the way in the timed session. Thompson elected to join the session late, allowing everyone else to start to dry the track out and it became clear that the fastest times would come at the very end of the session.

Welshman Handford, revelling in the damp conditions, set a best time of 49.18-secs which was matched by Thompson in the closing moments but Handford was given the nod for pole position as his next fastest lap was three tenths quicker than Thompson’s.

As Handford celebrated his maiden FKS pole position Project One driver Luke Knott also put in a career best FKS performance with third fastest time with AIM Motorsport’s Jake Walker fourth and Saturday runner-up and early season points leader Oliver Myers fifth for Coles Racing.

Saturday winner Marsh simply couldn’t find any grip in his kart in the greasy conditions and wound up in the worst place possible, a massive two seconds slower than Handford and only 17^th on the grid, right in the turn one danger zone.

Conditions were still greasy for heat one and, sadly, there was a repeat of the kind of first corner trouble seen on Saturday for although Handford and Thompson got through without any problems Knott and seventh place qualifier Josh White both saw their qualifying efforts come to nought in the maelstrom. Marsh picked up a dozen places and emerged in fifth place behind Walker and the P1 Racing kart of Harry Campey although Shaun Arnold, one of the fastest drivers on Saturday but completely out of luck when it came to getting through the first corner, was in trouble again and was only 19^th at the end of the opening lap in his Danny Cruttenden Motorsport kart.

Myers lost a couple of places but was able to scramble through just inside the top ten but by the end of the opening lap the two leaders already had a significant advantage over the rest and with everyone tip-toeing through the damp conditions, making any significant gains without risking running off track was extremely tricky.

As things settled down Handford established a one second lead over Thompson with the rest already well behind. Walker and independent runner Lemuel Pay both took turns in running third before Marsh and the Advance Motorsport kart of Rob Hodkinson took over as the queue grew to more than a dozen karts. At the front Thompson whittled down Handford’s lead to nothing and as they approached the final corner he made his move, snatching victory away from Handford by two tenths with Hodkinson finally getting the better of Marsh for third.

Conditions were fully wet for heat two and this time Handford made no mistake, leading from start to finish as Thompson found himself behind a fast starting Matthew Arnold (DC Motorsport) at the start. First corner victims this time included third place finisher from Saturday Luke Whitworth (P1 Racing), White again, Myers, Global Karting’s Jack Lang and Walker although everyone was able to continue.

Thompson fought past Arnold for second but couldn’t make an impression on Handford, who won by more than two seconds with the older (but less experienced in Junior Max) of the Arnold twins scoring his best result with third. LT Motorsport’s Sam Smelt finished a strong fourth with Myers and Shaun Arnold completing the top six.

Thompson held pole for the 15-minute plus one lap final with Handford alongside and Myers and Marsh on row two and Hodkinson and Shaun Arnold on row three and with conditions as slippery as they had been all day the start was always going to be a flashpoint.

In fact the start turned into one of the most controversial aspects of the entire weekend as Handford got the jump on the poleman and Thompson found himself off track on the inside with no grip. Handford led on track but was tipped into a spin, causing almost everyone else to block the track and leaving Thompson, who rejoined the track just after the first corner, with a clear lead.

Shaun Arnold gave chase after sneaking through to take to second with Walker and the Campfield Racing kart of 18^th place starter William Fletcher next in line but Arnold, who had been devastatingly fast but out of luck in the heats, was finally able to get into his stride and by lap five he had caught and passed Thompson and moved into an unassailable lead.

Arnold continued to extend his lead to four seconds by the time the chequered flag waved, celebrating his first FKS win in several years of trying thanks to some sublime kart control that drew praise the length and breadth of the paddock.

Thompson followed Arnold home, more than two seconds clear of Myers to equal his best FKS result to date. However after a post race protest Thompson was docked three seconds for cutting the first corner, which promoted Myers to second. Marsh never fully recovered from the first turn crash and finished eleventh with Handford fighting back to seventh after restarting virtually last.

Having started the 2012 season with a victory at the 1000-metre circuit near Huntington as part of his pre-season preparations for the FKS Championship, the same karting series that helped launch the careers of Lewis Hamilton and Paul Di Resta, 15 year-old East Bergholt High School student Shaun was unbeatable in the second half of the double header weekend, taking the chequered flag by more than six seconds in slippery conditions.

Shaun’s brother Matthew, the elder sibling by 15 minutes, may not have had the same results to show for his efforts in the finals but he more than made up for any disappointment with some stunningly fast lap times in his first season in the Junior Rotax class.

Round one on Saturday began under cool but dry skies with timed qualifying and Shaun quickly showed that he would be one of the drivers to beat with second fastest time just six hundredths of a second slower than polesitter Sam Marsh. Matthew was within one tenth of a second of his brother in the second Durapipe Ltd sponsored Danny Cruttenden Motorsport Intrepid kart but such is the competitive nature of the FKS Junior Max class that Matthew was only sixth on the grid.

A pair of ten minute heats followed timed qualifying and with Shaun starting on the outside of the front row there were high hopes in the DC Motorsport awning but those hopes were dashed just metres after the start when Shaun was collected in a multi kart crash at the first corner and had to retire on the spot.

“I was well pleased with my qualifying time but at the start of the first heat I couldn’t get across to the inside,” rued Shaun. “I tried to get round on the outside but several karts spun into me. A kart landed on the back of my kart, punctured a tyre and damaged the wiring loom so the engine wouldn’t restart.”

Matthew was also delayed in the crash and completed the first lap in 16^th place but showing a real turn of speed he improved to 11^th by the end of the race.

“In the first heat we were very quick on our own without any help from other karts,” stated Matthew, who set a fastest lap that was half a tenth faster than heat winner Oli Myers. “I got collected at the start and had to come through from the back and if I hadn’t been delayed then I definitely would have been further up.”

Heat two saw more first turn contact but this time Shaun managed to limit the damage to a six place loss while Matthew actually benefitted from the chaos and emerged from the first corner in third place. As the race wore on Shaun was able to pick up several places and finished in a strong fourth place with Matthew, whose kart was beginning to feel a little strange, coming home two places behind in sixth.

“After the start I was able to drive up to second but I overheated the tyres and lost a couple of places at the end,” said Shaun. But I was happy that I got through the race and the kart was very quick.”

The twins heat points translated into starting positions of seventh and 13^th for Matthew and Shaun respectively and while Matthew’s hopes of a good result were dashed in turn one when he was caught up in yet another multi kart pileup Shaun was able to get through unscathed and set about getting himself into the top six.

“The carnage happened in front of me,” stated Shaun. “I could pick a piece of clear track and made it through. The group in front of me kept fighting and that brought them back to me.”

Although Shaun was uncharacteristically struggling for pace against the rest of the leaders he was able to execute several decisive passing moves towards the end of the race to elevate him into fourth place when the chequered flag fell.

“I was a bit surprised with my finish as I wasn’t as quick as some of the leaders,” recounted Shaun afterwards. “I didn’t have much grip through the corners.”

For Matthew, his lack of pace only became evident at the end of the day for after struggling home in 21^st position with what he believed to be a bent chassis his mechanic Dave Smith then discovered that the tyre pressure gauge was faulty, which also explained his difficulties in heat two.

“I got smashed off at the first corner but I didn’t realise that the tyre pressure gauge was broken,” said Matthew. “When we checked at the end of the race with Shaun’s gauge the pressures were 20psi instead of 8psi so my tyres overheated by lap five. When we came in they were up to 24psi. I thought the kart was bent but luckily it wasn’t.”

After a mixed day team boss Danny Cruttenden, Matthew’s mechanic Dave Smith and Matt and Shaun’s dad Dave looked at the weather forecast for Sunday’s second round and made some radical set-up changes to the karts.

“We made a decision on Saturday night about the set-up on Sunday based on the projected weather forecast,” said Cruttenden. “We changed the whole set-up, which was a calculated risk, but when you look at how everything played out it certainly paid off.”

True to the forecast Sunday dawned damp and grey and wet tyres were the order of the day for timed qualifying. In greasy conditions grip was tricky to find. Both brothers quickly moved to the top of the lap charts with Shaun holding pole position for several minutes but as the session went on and the track dried slightly both fell down the order and wound up ninth (Shaun) and 20^th on the grid for the heats.

“I was on pole early on but I faded as the track dried,” commented Shaun. “Even though I was mid pack I was happy with that after getting smashed off at the front all day on Saturday.”

Unfortunately for Shaun his optimism about getting a good start to the opening heat was to prove misfounded as he was forced off track to avoid yet another multi kart shunt. However with a nice greasy track and a kart that revelled in the conditions he was soon on the move and began picking up places.

“I was last coming out of the first corner,” he reflected. “But the conditions really suited me as it makes it harder for everyone. If you get past someone they can’t always come straight back at you.”

Gaining more than a dozen places over the course of the race Shaun took the chequered flag in 11^th spot, four positions ahead of Matthew but it was the fact that he set the fastest lap of the race by a clear tenth that gave him confidence for the second heat.

In the wettest conditions seen so far, heat two was Matthew’s turn to shine as he gained an incredible 18 places on the opening lap as others slithered off the track to run in second place for much of the race. Although Bobby Thompson squeezed through towards the end Matthew was still left in a career best third place when the chequered flag fell.

“It was a really good race,” commented Matthew. “We didn’t think we had much pace in the wet but I got my head down and didn’t worry about being caught. To finish third was a great boost.”

Although Shaun finished a couple of places further back in sixth he was also pleased with the result after setting another storming fastest lap, nearly half a second than eventual race winner Steven Handford.

“Even though we had problems at the first turn we were much faster than anyone else in full wet conditions and I was able to come through the pack,” stated Shaun.

Despite starting sixth (Shaun) and 13^th for the final, both brothers felt confident that with conditions still very damp, provided they could both get through the first corner without any damage they had the pace in the karts to move up the order. While Matthew would endure a tough race, Shaun would prove beyond doubt that he is going to be a main contender in the championship with a stunning victory.

“I had a big touch from behind going into turn one,” explained Shaun, who was able to keep his kart pointing the right way and emerged from turn one in second place behind poleman Thompson. “I saw I had a gap behind me so I focused on catching Bobby.”

By lap four Shaun was on the leader’s tail and, using his knowledge of Kimbolton in the rain, it wasn’t long before he was in the lead.

“I made a move out of Stow Corner,” smiled Shaun. “I used a sneaky line by going half off the track into turn one where the concrete is very grippy. It allowed me to turn in better and get a better run out of the corner.”

Once in the lead Shaun proved to be simply unstoppable, easing away from the field with apparent ease with a tremendous display of kart control. By the time the chequered flag waved after 16 gruelling laps Shaun was more than four seconds ahead of his nearest rival and celebrated his first national level victory in style, his points haul for the day helping to move him into third place in the early season points standings.

“It dawned on me that I could win and I got a bit excited,” concluded Shaun. “I had to calm down and stay focused but when I crossed the line I was overwhelmed with happiness. My dad was almost in tears but my mum was surprisingly calm. I’m really happy with being third in points. I’ve got my home round next and it’s a great chance to make an impact on the top two.”

Sadly there wouldn’t be a fairytale ending for Matthew, who finished a distant 19^th after struggling to gain traction out of the corners. But Matthew was quick to shrug off his own disappointment and was full of praise for his brother and the entire DC Motorsport team.

“It was a disappointing end to the day but I’m proud of Shaun. The next two rounds are at our home track so hopefully I’ll be able to capitalise on my pace and avoid any first corner problems.”

Rounds three and four of the Formula Kart Stars Championship take place at Ellough Park in Beccles, where Matthew and Shaun began their karting careers and with plenty of circuit knowledge they are hoping for a double Arnold podium this time.

These articles are supplied by you the competitor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Championship

Buoyed by his maiden FKS win in Saturday’s opening round Lando Norris picked up where he left off in a damp qualifying session, convincingly taking pole position in his RL Racing Department kart with a time of 47.88-secs, two tenths quicker than the driver he beat to the first corner in Saturday’s final, AIM Motorsport’s Philip Rawson.

Continuing his strong weekend with third fastest time was Coles Racing’s Harry Williams who edged out pre-season title favourite Connor Mills in the extremely smart looking Chris Rogers Motorsport kart. Ryan Anderton (Coles Racing) was sixth fastest ahead of Jack Constable (Protenza Motorsport) and Ellis Hanks (Advance Motorsport).

One of Saturday’s main players, Zip Young Gun Alfie Brown was only tenth fastest, just one place ahead of FKS newcomer Inem Coker who suffered persistent engine woes with his Campfield Racing kart on Saturday that prevented him from completing more than three laps in any of the session. With his engine problems now solved, Coker’s day was going to get a lot better.

A rare fully dry opening heat gave Norris another chance to show the rest a clean pair of heels and he duly obliged, getting through turn one cleanly and leading the rest of the way to win by nearly five seconds. Once again the battle for second was the best of the race with Mills edging Hanks and Brown on the line in a three abreast finish. Rawson initially formed part of the scrap for second but went off and fell to last on lap four and crossed the line eleventh.

The rain returned with a vengeance for heat two and with it went Norris’ chances of a daily double after some robust first corner dramas saw the early season points leader facing the wrong way and returning to the race long after the leaders had departed.

Mills now led the way and with clear track ahead of him he was able to stretch out his advantage to five seconds by the end. Norris staged a magnificent comeback and passed Rawson for second with two tours to go but then the pair clashed, handing Hanks second place with Rawson getting demoted to fourth, behind a frustrated Norris.

A protest regarding the severity of Rawson’s heat two penalty meant the Mini Max final was the very last race of the day and after some fairly heavy rain throughout the afternoon the skies had finally brightened as the drivers got themselves ready for the 15-minute plus one lap race. Although the track looked fairly greasy, nearly everyone was convinced that with no further rain on the horizon slick tyres would be the way to go as wets would get chewed to oblivion before the chequered flag.

Two drivers who stayed on their wet rubber were Campfield Racing teammates Coker and Stef Charalambous, who started on the sixth row of the grid, well behind poleman Mills and fellow front row starter Norris. Hanks and Brown shared row two with Williams and Constable on row three and Anderton and Rawson on row four.

When the lights went green Mills scrambled through turn one cleanly as everyone else fought for grip on the greasy track. Norris got hit from behind and was turned around while Rawson bolted through to snatch the lead from Mills on the opening tour. Norris resumed in 11^th with Hanks 13^th and Anderton 16^th and it soon became clear that in the early stages Coker and Charalambous would have the advantage.

In his first national level event Coker calmly charged into the lead on the third lap with Charalambous grabbing second from a helpless Mills two laps later. But by this time Coker was already eight seconds in front and was trying desperately to establish as big a lead as he possibly could before the slick shod runners inevitably closed the gap.

On lap nine, with seven circuits still to go Mills re-took second place from Charalambous but was still eleven seconds behind Coker and it began to look as though Coker might hang on. In fact it wasn’t until lap 12 of 16 that Mills began to take time out of Coker’s lead and even with Coker’s tyres now well past their best not even Mills could make up that sort of deficit in only four laps.

Coker drove with extreme maturity to keep his kart on the island and crossed the line with a five second margin to score the most popular win of the day and one of the most surprising in the history of the FKS Championship. Mills could do nothing but shrug his shoulders and congratulate the winner, whose result shocked everyone, not least Coker himself.

Norris staged a magnificent recovery to finish third; passing Charalambous on the 12^th lap but Coker’s teammate was able to hold on to fourth by an ever decreasing margin over Williams. Brown completed the top six although Hanks should have featured in that battle right until the end had he not been forced wide at The Bus Stop. Adding insult to injury Hanks was then docked a lap for missing part of the circuit leaving him 14^th while Rawson retired with mechanical problems six laps from home.

But despite everyone’s individual trials and tribulations there was not one person in the field who begrudged Coker his moment of glory as he proved that someone’s, he who dares wins.

Marking the 20-year-old’s first ever attempt at an endurance running event of any kind, the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Scholar completed the 13-mile (23-kilometre) course through the centre of Leeds in a fantastic time of 1 hour 39 minutes, placing him in the top 12 per cent of the huge 4,600 person entry.

Racing against elite professionals and fun-runners in equal measure, Daniel was delighted with his performance which equated to an average of seven and a half minutes for each mile. With online and off-line donations combined, he’s so far managed to raise £1,100.

“I absolutely loved it, I got such a buzz when I crossed the line and saw the time I’d managed – I’m over the moon with that”, said Daniel, “I’m really grateful to everyone who supported me by donating to the hospice, it’s a fantastic cause and it was a really fantastic day. I definitely want to try and do more of these, it’s hard work but so rewarding when you cross that finish line.

“Being in the top 12 per cent is an amazing feeling for my first ever run like this, my plan going into it was to try and aim for 1 hour and 45 minutes but everyone seemed to think that was really tough so I wasn’t sure if I was aiming a bit too high!”

He added: “At about the 14 or 15 kilometre mark I really started to feel it in the top of my legs but when I got to the last mile I really pushed on. There were so many people cheering the runners on, it was a fantastic atmosphere and over the last 500 meters everyone really got behind us. It was a mega day, thanks again to everyone who supported me.”

Daniel’s thanks also go out to the staff of Porsche Human Performance at the Porsche Experience Centre, based at Silverstone, where he trained rigorously for the half marathon.

While extremely grateful for all of the charitable donations received so far, Daniel says there is still time for people who may not have had chance to make pledges prior to the weekend to help support the incredible work of the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice. You can still donate towards his superb run by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/daniellloydracing-halfmarathon

With the running shoes back in their box for the time being, Daniel’s focus now returns to the next two rounds of the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship which will take place at Oulton Park in Cheshire on 9th/10th June. He’s currently third in the driver standings, with one race victory to his credit.

These articles are supplied by you the competitor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Championship

Founded and run by young entrepreneur Tom Kennett, in an effort to further broaden its burgeoning popularity and appeal, the ambitious and eponymously-named timepiece company is branching out into the sporting sector.

Kennett has targeted the realms of motor racing, golf and polo amongst other high-end disciplines – and having been impressed by Ingram’s title-winning prowess in both the Ginetta G50 Cup and Ginetta Junior Championship in recent years, the 18-year-old MSA Academy member was an obvious choice to help propel the business into the fast lane.

“To be the first racing driver to be selected as a sports ambassador for Kennett is both a tremendous honour and a huge opportunity for me,” enthused the former British Karting Champion, already a race-winner in 2012 in his JHR Developments-run Ginetta G55 in the ITV4-televised, British Touring Car Championship-supporting Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup.

“Kennett is a relatively new company, but also one that is proving to be extremely successful, and I’ll be proud to be wearing one of their watches on my wrist. Hopefully, we can help to raise each other’s profile and go on to enjoy a long-term relationship together.”

“It is great to have Tom Ingram as an ambassador for the Kennett brand,” concurred Tom Kennett. “His passion for motorsport and other outdoor, high-thrill pursuits is a great fit with our brand. On the track, he has been a serial champion throughout his career and has been rightly awarded a British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star. We think he has the potential to go right to the top of the racing ladder, and we look forward to getting behind him every step of the way.”

You can follow Tom on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tomingram80 and keep up-to-date with his latest career news and results at www.tom-ingram.com

To view Kennett’s full selection of watches, please visit www.kennettonline.com

These articles are supplied by you the competitor and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Championship

After a fleeting appearance during Saturday’s second heat the rain was more of a permanent fixture on Sunday and following his superb wet weather heat win on Saturday Mechtech Motorsport driver Yukinori Ishii once again revelled in the slick conditions to snatch pole position in timed qualifying. Even though Ishii and Global Karting’s Max Wieteska shared the same time, Ishii’s second best lap was quicker than Wieteska’s with the reigning Welsh Champion having to settle for a place on the outside of the front row.

Saturday winner Hudson would start his Project One kart from third on the grid for the two ten minute plus one lap heats a fraction over one tenth slower than Ishii and Wieteska with Harrison Huggan fourth and the first of the Ambition Motorsport karts fifth in the form of Mark Kimber.

Sunday’s weather was a mechanics worst nightmare as brief showers peppered the circuit with regularity only for the brisk and chilly wind to dry things out just as quickly. Tyre choice was a constant headache but for every race all drivers at least chose the same compound so that everyone was in the same boat.

Heat one was a thriller as poleman Ishii went off to leave Hudson and Wieteska disputing the lead. Kimber tagged along with fourth place man Christopher Lulham gradually fading in the sister Ambition kart to Kimber. Wieteska led the first half of the race but Hudson crept through on lap nine of 13 and as the top three approached Kimbolton Corner for the final time Wieteska went for the inside line which was rapidly being occupied by Hudson’s kart.

Kimber, sitting a couple of kart lengths behind, took advantage of Hudson being run wide and emerged with his nose in front for the drag race to the line, finishing one tenth ahead of Wieteska for his first FKS victory. Wieteska crossed the line second but was later demoted to third behind Hudson with Lulham fourth and Huggan rounding out the top five.

There was a similar grandstand finish in heat two and on this occasion it was Huggan who saved the best for last, passing Ishii on the final lap to win by one hundredth of a second with Wieteska just a kart length behind in third and Project One driver Ewan Bennett putting in his best showing of the weekend with a fine drive to fourth. Kimber consolidated his race one win with sixth place and with track conditions slightly worse than in heat one Hudson struggled and finished eighth, just behind Harrison and ahead of Wesley Mason.

Hudson started the final on the outside of row two, alongside Wieteska and behind poleman Kimber and outside front row man Huggan. With his kart now much more in tune with the slippery conditions Hudson first had to avoid a first turn pileup that cost Kimber two laps and pushed Wieteska back to 13^th.

Next Gen Motorsport’s Elliott Harvey, second overall on Saturday, emerged from the frantic first coupe of corners in front with Lulham and Bennett in hot pursuit. Bennett grabbed the lead briefly as Hudson found himself in fifth but he quickly deposed of his nearest rival Huggan before moving into the lead on lap five as Bennett and Harvey fought over second.

Hudson continued to drive away from the chasing pack and finished nearly six seconds ahead of everyone else to complete the weekend double. Harvey held on to second and eventually dropped Huggan, who clinched third under pressure from Zip All Stars driver Keaton Samra with Wieteska fighting back to fifth. Lulham took sixth with qualifying pacesetter Ishii seventh, Harrison eighth and Bennett ninth.

But the day once again belonged to Hudson. Despite not having the fastest kart all day he was able to tune the kart in to the conditions when it mattered the most and went away from the weekend with two winners trophies.