C-100 End of Season Review 2007 - Premier Sprint

It’s that time of year again and once again through popular demand I’ve decided to compile the now legendary Sprint championship top 10. As I say every year, the opinions expressed within are solely mine and not that of the rest of the C100 team so it’s me you can thank or me you can argue with about the content of this article!

One thing to emphasise is the basis of my rating which retain to how well a driver does compared to how well I believed they would have done at the start of the season and also I put a lot of emphasis on results (wins and podiums) and less emphasis on consistency although I except this is also important over the course of a season.

I’ve continued the ‘best race’ and ‘worse race’ category for those in the top 10 and this relates to what I consider was that driver’s strongest/weakest race performance of the year. I’ve cut out some of the other categories I used to have on the grounds that we now have three championships so I have more to write than in past seasons but I have added a section within each category that does highlight some key performances from drivers outside the top 10 for those that didn’t make it in this year. I’ve also made some of my now famous predictions about the season ahead based on what I know at the time of writing….

Enjoy…

Current (not final) Championship position in brackets.

1 (1) Marc Craddock
2 (3) Dan Butler
3 (2) Phil Ingram
4 (6) Ant Teal
5 (5) Stuart Symonds
6 (10) Sam Garford
7 (9) Brian Trott
8 (4) Jamie Jakins
9 (14) Trevor Randall
10 (13) Brenton Miller

Just missing out on my top 10:

• Ben Yeomans
• Andy Cowell
• Chris Powell

1. Marc Craddock

The easiest decision of all for me and one that I made back at Whilton Mill in March when Marc disseminated the best of the Premier class during the qualifying heats to secure an easy pole that was just beyond belief given the quality contain within a star studded set of Premier heats! I said at the briefing at round 1 that pole position would be a 10th, a 5th and a 1st (or similar) and yet here was Mr Craddock on pole after taking two podium finishes and a 7th in the heats (and grids of 17/18 no less!). OK, so things didn’t work out in the A final that day but he had made his point in my mind and it was only a matter of time before he started to win A finals after that sort of performance.

Mind you, round 2 was a complete contrast to what was one of his worse performances of all time at round 1 where he found himself in the B final before then crashing out after tangling with Dave Lewis during the opening laps, his Premier championship challenge off to the worse possible start as he lay last after the opening round. As noted above round 2 didn’t bring much respite in terms of results but as always he bagged a relatively easy win after disposing of an early challenge from Dan Mense at Shennington before pulling clear for an easy win. Rye House however was to prove rather less rewarding and along with Jamie Jakins and Brian Trott he found himself pointing the wrong way after being unable to avoid the first lap carnage at the hairpin, another useful set of points gone! Four rounds down, one good result and not the best of starts…….

He charged through to second at a miserable, wet Clay Pigeon in May, catching the long time leader Ant Teal on the final lap but settling for second and a healthy dose of championship points. You would have put good money on a similar performance at Llandow but after a last minute kart change before the final he found himself in serious trouble with a down on power engine that saw a rapid descent towards mid field although he hung on for 14th and these would (incredible) be points that Marc used in his final tally of championship points come the end of the season. I always say it’s the races you don’t win that are the ones that make you champion, and how true this was for both the race at Llandow and a little later at yet another wet Clay where he gallantly rung the neck out of a poorly handling kart for 4th.

Rye House was far more fruitful and after displacing polesitter Jamie Jakins on lap 2, he edged away for win number two of the season, now determined to throw caution to the wind as he chased maximum points knowing that he needed a lot of them to overhaul early season leader Phil Ingran. He valiantly held onto the lead for 10 laps at Buckmore Park a month later before finally having to give best to Andy Cowell (more of that later…!) but this didn’t matter as his fellow championship contenders started to drop points. Third at Bayford turned the championship in his favour, especially when Ingram dropped even more valuable points and hence Marc arrived at the final round having to only finish in the top 8 to secure the title. This he duly did with a sensible and safe drive to second and the first ever Premier title rightfully belonged to Marc Craddock.

Now, lets just look at the facts here. Last after round 1, effectively out of contention after round 4 with three dropped scores already. At this point, most drivers would give up or concede defeat. Not Marc and what makes this championship even sweeter is that it was the greatest ever (C100 wise!) comeback and one that others will take heart from in future years. Championships remain wide open until it is mathematically impossible to win them and Marc knew that. He also knew he had nothing to lose and hence he drove 100% all the time through mid-late season when perhaps his rivals were more focused on scoring steady points. He scored a total of two wins but took four podiums from the last 5 rounds, a fourth at Clay in September being his only non podium finish. The only downside for me, well he claims this is the end of an era and he will only contest a handful of summer races in 2008. Whilst I respect his decision, C100 will lose the best driver the club has ever seen but he can semi retire safe in the knowledge that he has set a number of records that are likely to never be broken and also in the knowledge that he won 6 titles fair and square and will be remembered as a clean, sporting and undisputed champion that dominated the sprint season for the best part of 10 years.

Best race Whilton Mill round 2- qualifying heats….
Worst Race Rye House (Buckmore Park Round 1)

2. Dan butler

It was a tough call between Dan and Phil but in the end it came down to two key points. Firstly, this was Dan’s first year of sprinting and of course he landed straight into the most competitive class of all time – the Prems! Secondly, he missed two rounds and still managed to be in contention come the final round and in conjunction with his two superb, dominant race wins I decided to put him slightly ahead of Phil in my top ten. Dan's instant pace and results were less of a surprise to me, he looked outstanding in the few Endurances I watched in 2006 and I knew there and then that we needed Dan in the Sprint series and although he didn’t know it, he needed it as well!

It took Dan just two races to get on the podium, and in fact he so nearly took second at Whilton before being beaten on the final lap to the runner up spot by a charging Ben Yeomans. He missed Shennington but put in a solid performance to take 5th at Rye in April followed by 9th at Clay a month later. Llandow was a disaster and likewise Rye House in mid summer but the pace was there and clear to see. After missing Buckmore Park he retuned in determined mode at a wet and miserable Clay in September and after passing Chris Powell on lap 2 he simply disappeared into the distance to win his first ever Sprint A final by a massive 12 seconds. Having missed Clay, I arrived at Bayford for round 10 and the first thing I heard was endurance drivers talking about how quick Dan Butler had been in the Endurance the day before. Sure enough, that talk was converted into yet another easy race win from pole, and yet again he seemed unstoppable in the final and with two race wins behind him it appeared his late charge for championship glory was starting to pose a very real threat to Craddock and Ingram.

Having been as high as third for a while at the final round, he finally slid back to 6th and third overall but there can be no denying what a talent Dan Butler really is and all this after just 9 Sprint races. Do I think he is as good as Marc Craddock, well no is the simple answer at the time of writing. However, he has all the same star qualities and I think he starts 2008 as the man to beat to the title assuming he keeps his promise to contend all 10 races in 2008. What I like about Dan is that he (like many other front runners) is clean, fair, sporting but damn quick as well. He is still learning about his competitors and the short, sharp shock of Sprint racing but don’t underestimate what Dan has achieved in 2007 and mark my words we are looking at a future champion.

Best Race Bayford Meadows
Worst Race Rye House Round 7

3. Phil Ingram

As noted above this was a close call and made for all the reasons I noted above. When I focused my attention back to the first half of the season, it really was all about Phil Ingram and its my view that he had done all the hard work and yet somehow he managed to let the championship slip through his fingers as the season went on and will maybe regret a couple of below par performances later in the season. However, let us not detract from the fact that Phil was the pace setter early in the season with a podium in the wet at round 1 followed by maximum points score at round 2 where he had led from early on and was on his way to a sure fire win when his brakes failed at the top of the hill. No trophy, but 130 points in the bag! The next three races were a tad tougher with only a hard fought (and impressive) 4th of any significance from Rye House whilst a disastrous Clay Pigeon saw him retiring with a broken exhaust whilst leading the B final.

At Llandow he was outstanding and he timed his start to perfection to jump ahead of pole sitter Trevor Randall into the first turn and thereafter edge away for a superb win that really cemented his position at the top of the points table at mid season. Another 4th at Rye a few weeks later (a track he really doesn’t like) was followed by a 5th at Buckmore in August but at this time Craddock was now wining races and starting to eat into Phil’s lead which was a slight cause for concern. However, the turning point really came at Clay when he came off in the A final whilst a loose engine mount cost him dearly at Bayford in one of his heats resulting in a back of grid start from which he didn’t seem to be able to recover. Two poor rounds had cost him dearly and he arrived at the final round knowing he really had to win the race and hope Marc would be 8th or lower but in reality it was now all down to fete.

However, Phil made a demon start and was soon through to second and chased down pole sitter Brenton Miller catching and nearly passing him on the final lap as he looked to finish the season on a high and at least restore himself to the podium where he rightfully belonged. His last corner lunge didn’t quite come off and in true PI style he backed out of it when he thought he might run into Brenton allowing Craddock through to second on that occasion. Had rounds 9 and 10 gone his way then I firmly believe Phil would now be champion but he once again proved that he is a seasoned title contender and proven race winner on his day. I have my fingers crossed that Phil will race once more in 2008 and perhaps fulfil his destiny of becoming a CLUB 100 champion and I think that it will be an interesting battle between himself and Dan. If not, then yet again and as with Marc we will be losing a great competitor who I have so much admiration for and yet another driver who has the respect of his fellow competitors by virtue of his clean, fair and non aggressive approach to driving. Phil, the right decision in case you need it spelled out is to try one more time…..

Best race Llandow
Worst race Clay Pigeon Round 5

4. Ant Teal

I talked earlier about drivers who raised there game and performed above my level of expectation for them in 2007 and no one is higher in this category than Ant Teal. I had real reservations about Ant and felt he would really struggle in the Premier class but despite a rather average start to the season (B final at round 1, mid fields./tail end results at rounds 2 and 3) he raised his game to finish a creditable 7th at Rye House during round 4 before going to cause one of he major surprises/upsets of the season at Clay Pigeon when on a damp and tracerious track he sneaked into a lead he was never going to lose despite a late challenge from the fast closing Marc Craddock. This win was way more impressive than his maiden win at Lydd a few years ago and more importantly it was against the best of the best in the Premier class and I think it really made a lot of people stand up and take notice because this was all down to the driver who thorougherly deserved the victory that day.

A tenth and a 7th cemented his place as a regular top ten driver at the next two rounds whilst Buckmore was little more than a day to forget. At another wet and miserable Clay Pigeon back in September he put it on pole for the A final but didn’t drive a particular great race as he battled with Symonds before sliding off where as another top 6 was probably on the cards had he just settled for a solid result instead of trying to keep up with others who were just quicker on the day. Another solid qualifying performance at Bayford but him down the front and he finished as ‘best of the rest’ behind Butler, edging clear of Craddock for second over the last half of the race to underline his much improved pace in the dry as well. After running as high as second at Rye he eventually dropped back to 11th as he struggled with his kart although this was still enough for 6th overall which truly is a brilliant performance and the outstanding Premier performance of the season in my opinion, His qualifying is excellent and he needs to continue that in 2008 in order to get himself down on the front three rows for the A final. My only criticism is that he needs to learn from drivers such as Craddock and wrestle below par karts into reasonable positions. Sometimes (as hard as it seems) you just have to accept that the kart is just not up to it on the day and hence you fight for a top 6 or a top 10 rather than get involved in a dog fight that just results in your own demise or an unnecessary slide down the field rather than concede a place. Its frustration but that’s the difference between champions and top 10 drivers at the end of the season. That aside, great season, great qualifying performances and a well deserved win in difficult conditions at Clay.

Best race Clay Pigeon Round 5
Worse Race Buckmore Park Round 1

5. Stuart Symonds

If I were to rate Stuart on his wet weather ability then he would be considerable higher whilst his rating for dry weather races would place him on the cusp of my top 10. So, its middle of the top 10 for Stuart but overall this was a good season that netted a 5th overall finish, one win and two more podiums no doubt helped by way too many (my opinion!) wet races which played right into his hands. On the downside, his dry weather performances were rather average with the exception of Bayford Meadows and unless he improves this side of his racing he is never going to be a championship contender. I do wonder if the new karts will play into his hands a little as the steering is supposedly higher and with adjustable pedals he may be able to obtain a seating position where he is more comfortable which I accept is one of the reasons he struggles in the dry.

All that said, I have a lot of admiration for any driver that is quick in the wet on a C100 kart and everyone knows that Stuart is the best pound for pound wet weather driver in the class and this year he made every wet race work for him and delivered when it matter, no more so than at round 1 when he hunted down race leader Trevor Randall and passed him at mid distance before going on to take the maiden C100 Premier sprint win. He went on to secure third at Clay in the wet during round 5 after a race long duel with Jamie Jakins whilst he battled his way through to 2nd on the final lap at the second Clay event, overhauling Powell in the process. Overall, a good season, top class wet weather performances but really needs to up his game in the dry. Also needs to seriously think about the amount of kart changes he makes, I think it frequently goes against him…..

Best race Buckmore Park Round 1
Worst Race Shennington

6. Sam Garford

If you go back to May then Mr Garford was looking a very likely Premier champion but ultimately his inability to keep his weight close to 83KG meant he was flogging a dead horse and in the Premier class (and despite his impressive karting CV) he knew it was game over as his weight edged towards 90kg!! However, its also for that reason that I have Sam up in 6th place because I was mightily impressed how he managed to finish in the top 6 at the first three rounds given that he was already 4 KG’s over weight and it was obvious how he was struggling against those weighing in at around 83KG’s. Whilst those early race performances were impressive, he lined up on pole at round 4 at Rye and dominated the early part of he race before having to give best to Brenton Miller who subsequent spun off handing the lead and the race win back to Sam! At this point in proceedings and despite his weight Sam was the championship leader and looking every inch the title contender.

However, at Clay it all went wrong and after a blistering opening lap that saw him up into the top three he clipped the back of a spinning Trevor Randall and bent the rear axle. Had he avoided Randall I firmly believe he would have won that day but this setback was the start of his decline. He struggled to 7th at Llandow and at Rye and Buckmore his driving seemed a little desperate as he really started to struggle with the weight difference, both events resulting in none too impressive mid field finishes! Sam felt that enough was enough after round 8 and he opted to pull out and not contest the final three races, instead focusing on making a possible return in 2008 when the weight limit will be a little higher (85KG’s). So, no debating Sam’s ability to win races and be a contender but I still question what I perceive to be a slightly too aggressive approach to C100 sprinting at times although some of this I put down to frustration during 2007.

Best race Whilton Mill Round 2
Worst race Rye House Round 7

7. Brian Trott

In reality, Brian Trott should be up in the top 3 and he was of course my number 1 rated driver in 2006. However, Brian had a dreadful season that really went from bad to worse but as always he demonstrated his pace and ability on numerous occasions which kept him in the championship hunt for the first half of the season. The season started well with a fourth at round 1 followed by a win at round 2 where he sliced through the field, closing down race leader Phil Ingram, inheriting the lead when the latter suffered brake failure towards the end of the race. Brian is adamant he would have caught and passed Phil that day (in true Brian style!!) but none of it really mattered as Brian secured the win and the trophy that day. He struggled into the top 10 at Shenny before having a couple of disastrous rounds at Rye (off with Craddock, Jakins, Randall and co on lap 1) and Clay.

He was blistering quick at Llandow and fought his way through to third place as he looked to rebuild his championship challenge whilst 6th at Rye in July was good enough and valuable points in the bag. Buckmore, Clay and Bayford were all disastrous for Brian, each event resulting in Brian getting knocked off or hustled out of the way and by the end of Bayford Brain had had enough and called it a day, not competing at the final round in protest at what he felt was some inexcusable and unnecessary aggressive driving from his peers. I can only hope to entice Brian back to the track in 2008 because he a great talent and we need the likes of Brian in C100 and Dan and Phil need the competition as well! On his day, Brian is as good as any driver in C100 and the results don’t do his talent justice although his previous successes count as testimony of his true ability. I’m telling you now Brian, Sundays can be awfully boring without C100 and you won’t have any big tales to tell if you don’t come back and race in 2008!

Best race LLandow
Worst Race Buckmore Park round 8

8. Jamie Jakins

Ill be in for some stick from the Jakins camp about placing Jamie 8th but the hard facts are that the 2006 HW champion didn’t deliver the results and didn’t perform as well as in previous years so I just couldn’t justify a place any higher in my top 10. Now, it’s fair to say he was Mr consistent and finished in the top 8 from round 5 onwards. He actually amassed the most points of any Premier driver but unfortunately consistency does not always win titles. He looked on top form when the season finished, putting in a couple of storming drivers at both Bayford and Rye House but I had to ask myself why he was so far down the grid in the first place and I think that this has been one of the prime issues all season long. He seemed to suffer from having at least one duff heat at every round with the exception of Rye House in July when he was on top form and secured pole and looked like the JJ of old.

At the heart of the problem seemed an early and mid season lack of outright pace although he battled hard for third at Clay in the wet only to lose out to the Symonds (the rain master) towards the end of the race. At Rye in July he was on great form but he was powerless to stop Craddock powering past on lap 2, but second place was just reward and the best finish of the season which must seem hard to believe given the amount of races he won in 2006 and the fact that he came into this season as the pre season favourite. As noted above, he stormed through from mid field to take 4th at Bayford and 5th at Rye and looked like the fastest man on track at both events but it was all a little bit too late…. The run of form continued with a win at round 1 of the winter series on the new karts which sets him up nicely for the new season. A season to forget, but ill give him credit for keeping his chin up and being positive about bouncing back in 2008.

Best Race Rye House round 7
Worst Race Shenington

9. Trevor Randall

I had to think long and hard about the last two drivers and I had to consider early and mid season form for Trevor which actually wasn’t that bad. The reason I gave Trevor the nod over a few of the others was that he had three pole positions and three podiums in the first half of the season and not a lot of other drivers (outside the eight folk noted above) had that sort of record. It all started well with pole and second at Round 1 but he was not able to fend off Symonds which is no disgrace given that the latter is the renowned wet weather expert. He got involved in a number of opening lap incidents at round 2 and faired little better at Shennington but qualified well at Rye before seemingly running into Jay Elliot at the hairpin on lap 1, causing a multiple accident that left him the least popular man in the paddock after the race!

Undeterred, he secured pole at Clay a month later and looked odds on to run away with the race but un unexplained spin on lap 3 saw him throw away a likely race win. He bounced back again with pole yet again at Llandow but let Phil Ingram get the better of him into turn one although he hung on adequately for second yet again. He was third at Buckmore Park in August, thus completing a trio of podiums which could have been so much more but for events at Rye and Clay. However, it all went a tad peer shaped after that and the last three rounds saw him looking off the pace and a tad average at times, none more so than at Rye when he qualified on the back row, failing to make much progress and looking dejected and confused after the race. So, a great start and mid season but what happened at the end? I think he was struggling a little with the weight but did this really cause such a drastic dip in form. Time will tell and let’s see what happens in 2008.

Best Race Llandow
Worst Race Rye House round 11

10. Brenton Miller

At last! Finally, after 3 years of trying Brenton Miller achieved his maiden race win but as always he threw away a cracking early season opportunity which unfortunately is the trade mark of Mr Miller. He missed just one round (Clay round 9) and by this time his season was effectively over in terms of a championship challenge but he saved the best till last and secured pole at the final round and looked determined to win the race whilst his colleagues were battling away for the championship. Sure enough he led from pole and pulled out a one second cuisine but as the race drew to a conclusion Phil Ingram closed him down and it looked likely that the latter would steal it away on the final lap but Brenton was not to be denied. As he said afterwards, there was no way that Phil was coming past and he shut the door hard enough to keep Phil at bay and go on to take his maiden win.

A third at Rye back in July had suggested that C100’s home track was his favoured venue and he really should have already won a race by then after sneaking into the lead at round 4 after a long dual with Sam Garford but somehow and inexplicable he threw it away by dropping a wheel off the circuit whilst braking for hairpin two with just a handful of laps to go! The win and the podium aside there were yet again too many mistakes and far too many lost opportunities but there is also no doubting that when he hooks it up he is a real threat and is actually the man feared most by one front running Premier driver. So, having got the first win out the way maybe we will see a slightly more restrained Brenton Miller in 2008 where he can finally string together a serious championship challenge and channel his pace into race wins and top 6 finishes. Great to finish the season on a high, long overdue and a popular win.

Best Race Rye House Round 11
Worst Race Rye House Round 4 (what a wally….)

Just outside my Top Ten.

• Ben Yeomans
• Andy Cowell
• Chris Powell

One particular driver that will feel really aggrieved at not being in my top 10 is Ben Yeomans. His early season form was about what I expected especially at Whilton Mill (2nd) and Shennington (3rd). After that his season seemed to fall apart (apart from 4th at Llandow) and he was another driver that opted out of the final round. I’d hate to lose Ben from C100 and I’m hoping to see him back in 2008 and I also hope he recaptures that early season form from 2007. Andy Cowell caused the biggest upset of 2007 when he won a Premier A final and did it on merit. He qualified well up at Buckmore Park and latched onto Cradock’s bumper for the first 2/3rds of the race before making the pass with a few laps to go and stunning both the staff and other drivers as he broke free for his first ever win!!! It wasn’t necessary a flash in the pan either and he looked much improved at both Shennington and Rye House where he again finished in the top 10 and overall he was one of a number of drivers that really raised their game whilst racing in the Premier class and he certainly got the biggest cheer of the season when he won at Buckmore back in August.

The other driver who really impressed me but was perhaps a little inconsistent at times was Chris Powell. He put in some storming drives and actually led the A final at Clay back in September before finally slipping back to 3rd his one and only (but very impressive) podium of the season. He stormed through from the back of the grid to 6th at round 2 and also took 5th at Rye back in July. Like a few others he missed the final round but looked unstopping in the LW’s when he romped away for an easy win at round 1 of the winter series perhaps throwing down the gauntlet to those that didn’t spot that he really is a major emerging talent within the club.

And what about the rest?

Outside the above, there were a number of other notable performances over the course of the season including Lee Clackett’s second place at Rye back in April. He refrained from a serious attack on race leader Sam Garford and admitted as such afterwards but he proved that his 2006 form was no fluke although the rest of his season was a tad hit and miss. Jay Elliot took a season best 5th at Clay (which really should have been 4th) but the rest of his season seemed marred by unnecessary incidents that more often than not involved other innocent Premier drivers! Kieran McCullough was consistent but not really on the pace but his consistency secured him a place in the top 10 (7th) although I think he will be disappointed not to have secured a podium finish all year.

Chris Bell had a difficult season but should take heart from an excellent qualifying performance at the final round where he lined up second whilst Martin Bond took a season best 6th at Buckmore Park back in August proving that there is life in the old boy on his day! Graeme Coombes looked off the pace all year although I was super impressed by him qualifying on the front row at Whilton and beating Garford to 4th at Shennington after which his season fell apart along with his back! Dave Pethers and Tim Hill both struggled over the course of the season, Pethers with his weight and Hill from probably mixing his season with a full Easykart season as well although he enjoyed the racing at times (those being the times when he didn’t storm off in a rage!!).

Simon Lloyd had the odd impressive performance and remains a C100 Sprint faithful whilst Gavin Knight failed to build on his 2006 form. Darren Teal really started to find his form late in the season with a 4th at both Buckmore and Rye House and let’s hope this continues into 2008. The two biggest disappointments of the season were losing Rob Hart who got disillusioned at what he felt was overly aggressive driving and nothing has saddened me (and others) more than watching Rob walk away from a sport he loved and a club that he helped build over the course of the years. Equally sad is the news that Lee Pilcher is retiring, probably inspired by the broken wrist he picked up whilst playing the dangerous game of football but I still expect to see him doing the odd race here and there in the coming years.

A few other folk to mention include the 2003 HW champion Paul Hicks who took a 10th and 11th during his two outings and this was impressive given his lack of track time compared to the others in the class. Dan Mense had a single outing at Shennington and looked really rapid en route to 3rd place, actually leading the race for a while before giving best to Marc Craddock. Peter O’Connor is a star of the future and must do a full season in 2008, he looked really impressive on his two outings and is a certain top 6 driver for the future.

Finally, I wanted to acknowledge that despite the tougher opposition presented to them in 2007 I was impressed at how Richard Lacey, Derek Beckley, Mike Bodnor and Jon Lisseter battled on, showing flashes of true form at times whilst battling hard for mid field finishes at other times. Respect….

2008 Predictions.

Perhaps a tad easier than in 2007 when there was no combined form book and I think I now understand who is and isn’t racing in 2008. It looks like we have lost Marc Craddock, Graeme Coombes, Lee Pilcher whilst Brian Trott will only do a handful of races this season. Given the above it looks like the men to beat will be Dan Butler and Phil Ingram which will once again to make it a real head to head between two potential deserving champions. I think we can add Jamie Jakins and Sam Garford (provided he keeps his weight down) to the equation but both have to up their game from 2007 if they want to challenge Phil and Dan.

Now, I’m sure there are a few others who fancy there changes none more so than Ant Teal and Brenton Miller and perhaps even Pete O’Connor and Chris Powell whilst we would be fools to write off seasoned campaigners and pervious champions such as Ben Yeomans and Trevor Randall and maybe just maybe the new karts will give Stuart Symonds a chance to shine. I think we will see race wins for Butler, Jakins, Garford, Symonds, Ingram (assuming the latter two race) whilst expect to see many of the others noted about plus Darren Teal and Chris Bell on the podium at some point during the season. The dark horse could be newcomer Bradley Philpot who is an ex TKM extreme driver and all eyes will be on him at round 1 to see how good he really is….

As for a champion, well it’s a tough call but I think Dan Butler is the man to beat in 2008.