D’OILY KART WIN SEALS CHAMPIONSHIP

Well indeed it was just a blip and a stay of execution, victory in round 10 crowned D’Oily champions again, as more machine misery rendered Essex TT hamstrung throughout the event. A competitive race, none the less, even with Essex AWOL, which D’Oily took with a 10secs win over Carpe Diem and Steel London, D’Oily legend, team captain Marc Craddock, “Bayford was quite a good race actually. Wasn't a walk over for us at all and up until the last stint either D'Oily, Steel or Carpe Diem could have won it. Jamie Jakins started from 6th and soon had the lead. From then on in it was all about the differing pit stops and tactics of which driver was out for each team at the same time. Dan Butler pulled Steel away from us mid race and Carpe Diem grabbed second from us for a while, but come the last stint we'd done enough to get back in the lead and keep the gap.” Steel London were back to their full strength, a slow start from Lee Clackett, and their race finished in an uncomfortable, smelly, burning problem solving exercise, Lee Clackett, “Dan went out after my first stop and blitzed everyone else on the track at that time, gaining time on everyone and put the kart in the lead.” Andy Hinder entered the 2nd hour with an 11secs lead over a chasing Carpe Diem and D’Oily, showing little rust from his lay off Hinder was still a few seconds clear of D’Oily and Carpe Diem 40mins later, Lee Clackett again, “As I was getting ready full the final stint, Dan said it would be close with D’Oily but I should go all out for the win. No pressure then on a circuit that I hate with a passion, as I cannot drive It! Exiting the pit lane, Marc was just driving around the top bend and off into the distance. Second place was still on the cards though, but as I'm driving around I can feel my leg becoming damp, the fuel pipe was flapping about in the wind soaking me in petrol. So as I'm trying to secure the pipe back to the tank I can see Phil Ingram taking great chunks of time out of me for. On the second to last lap Phil comes past me into one of the hairpins due to more cock driving by myself. So third, Dan not happy, Andy and I covered in petrol as it turns out he drove his stints with the same problem after Dan knocked the pipe off on his change over but never mentioned it... Team mates!!!” Butler, “Hang on, hang on, hang on... I never said I DID knock that petrol tube off, I just said I might have. Ah well, my legs are ship-shape - enjoy lotioning lads.” Andy Hinder, “Dan in his first stint was in a class of his own and deserves to be higher up the championship than we are this season.” And I‘m sure he will be next season, he’s winning in sprints. But D’Oily dominance looks assured.

Best of the rest, Team Hazard finished 25secs further back, in what had been a tight squeeze with Tanked Up Racing and Cartman at halfway. A squeeze that also included Wolfie at the time, however their exhaust fell off with 40mins to go, while they edging this group, Hazard were on their bumper at the time, Rob Venn, “With 30mins to go we were still in a 3 kart race for 3rd, and as racing drivers do Daren Stanley and I started complaining about the kart, that it felt like it had a left rear puncture. Luckily for us it got us to the finish, Cartman had a brake problem near the end and we got the better of Tanked Up in the last stop. It’s our best result ever in Prems.” Cartman’s Alan Hindley, “We’d been having a steady race and towards the end we were running a real 5th with me doing the last stint. I could see Hazard behind me and did not think they’d be a problem in the time remaining but 4 laps from the end I went into turn 3, applied the brakes and there was nothing. I went straight on, took to the grass and just managed not to spin it. Rejoining the track I presumed I had run low or out of brake fluid, pumping the pedal did nothing I decided to carry on at the end of the race I found out it was actually one of the brake pads had actually parted company from the calliper. It cost us 4th but we’re reasonably happy to bring it home in 6th.” Tanked Up coming through to the top 5.

Billy Whizzers came through 7th the last kart on the lead lap, steady is not good enough now, Essex TT have secured runner up spot, the race for 3rd is a veritable showdown, Whizzers were sitting 3rd they are now 5th, Carpe Diem lead, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, Whizzers, Wolfie and Steel London, in a five cornered fight into the last round for 3rd overall the group separated by just 17points. With a really bad current 8th score to drop, Carpe Diem must be favourites, though they’ve gone 5 races without a major breakdown, so I’ll say Steel instead. It’ll be Butler’s farewell!

In Clubman, HB Racing won the Clubman class, a little too late to matter to the Clubman Class crown, they are nearly a hundred points behind FB, who look odds on, even if one good result for rivals Red M1st would be enough to overhaul FB if they have another poor result like this one. HB Racing’s Stuart Brierley, “During the race our pit stops seemed quite poor as we struggled to push out. Surprisingly, the times later showed we weren't that bad. Chris Heaton had a spin mid race whilst have a dice with 'The Good, The Bad...' which cost about 30secs. Aside from that the kart felt good. During the last stint I thought a podium would probably be on the cards, we fortunate it was a clubman win and 11th overall.” In the opening hour it had been HB’s championship rivals RBB Economics making the Clubman running, while Ha Ha, Jenny Tools and Red Mist rattled around at the rear. It kept going RBB’s way for 95mins, where they were a lap ahead of HB, RBB’s Simon Young, “As so many times this year (but so few last year), we suffered a mechanical problem – this time an exhaust. While the Jay Elliott Collective managed a fuel stop and exhaust fix in 45 seconds, and Wolfie were in, refuelled, fixed and sent back out in a slow and disorganised looking 95 seconds, it took 3 minutes for RBB to receive the same service. I’ll let you infer what we think about that (No. I’ll let you -Bard). At Rye House we’ll be hoping to make it 2 out of 11 races this year without something going wrong.” HB Racing were a lap ahead of Red M1st and the other Clubman pretenders, save for FB Racing, Darran Clackett, “I got a good start and managed to get up the order and after 1st pit stop we were behind a slow running Essex TT, around middle order, then I went a little to tight over the yump in the bus stop which threw the chain. I managed to coast into the pits to find a row of untested karts, we had no choice to jump in one, which drove like a three-legged dog. So its on to he final round!”

Speaking canine, Kieran McCullough on the none championship event, “No practice for Ben and I, as Trevor had a few laps in dogs but spent nearly all of the time queuing for the lack of testers. Dog 1 Niki couldn't get to within tolerance. Dog 2 Marlon allegedly got to within tolerance just as practice ended, though I struggle to believe that as it was shee-ite. (Yee Hah! Bard – Nice accent) Trevor qualified us 16th. We struggled around in about 11th-13th, 0.6-0.8 off the pace. We were very long on fuel so a last lap ‘Wolfie’ was on which would have rescued us to the lead lap, about 8th it would have turned out. When the throttle cable decided to add insult to injury and snapped. Dog 3, well wasn’t a dog, Ben was bang on the pace but it was all a bit irrelevant by then wasn’t it! Bring on the new fleet of karts, I say...”

I think that’s covered it. Broadstrokes.

P.S. Tanked Up started on pole, Wolfie led into the first fuel pit stops.

That’s definitely covers it.

Happy days.

Contributors
Jamie Jakins
Kieran McCullough
Trevor Randall
Alan Hindley
Tim Hill
Dan Butler
Marc Craddock
Stuart Brierley
Lee Clackett
Rob Venn
Darran Clackett
Simon Young
Andy Hinder
Liam Hegarty

Contributions & photos needed for future rounds to chris-simpson@ntlworld.com