And so here we are, at the end of a long and winding road that has taken us through nearly every region of the UK, and yet, incredibly, there have been no scandals. No £1,200-a-go sexy cuddles with, er, professional ladies. No drivers in cahoots with dodgy gambling syndicates, no spying, hooning or spanking on the bum with a leather paddle.
Despite all this, the 2010 Easykart season has been far from dull. Quite the opposite. It has been peppered and spiced with some superb racing, eye-wateringly brave and daring overtaking moves and a raft of different winners throughout the classes. Consequently, three out of the four categories remain up for grabs.
In the Heavy class, Barnaby Pittingale already has both hands on the trophy and it would take a cosmic event to prevent him from adding the UK title to his recent European crown. Tim Hill is in line for his best ever championship finish, but cannot afford to take his foot off the gas – quite literally – as Mark Lawrence maintains the pressure on him.
Fresh from scoring his first ever Easykart triumph, Owen Jenman has made the fight for the Light honours a four-way tie. The Prime Minister’s favourite racer and last year’s Junior champion, Patrick Lay, has won twice and took a podium at Rowrah to keep himself in the mix and, on dropped scores is, so far, just a point behind Kieran McCullough. Like Patrick, Kieran is looking to make history by winning back-to-back titles in separate classes. Last year’s Heavy champion possesses a phenomenal will to win and with everything still to play for, is definitely a threat to Jenman, Lay and current leader Elliot Rice’s chances.
Junior stars Toby Sowery, Luca Hirst and Thomas Grainger have chased each other around the kart tracks of Britain all summer long and it is testimony to the closeness of their equipment and abilities that not one of them has managed to break clear. Possible entry into the World Finals will keep these young men’s minds focused always the way to the chequered flag on Sunday afternoon.
Do Andy Cox and John Vigor have a script writer bashing out ‘Easykart Cadet: The Movie’? Surely they do. After seven rounds, Tom Thickpenny and Ronan McKenzie are tied on points. Both were triumphant at Rowrah and Forest Edge could well provide the perfect level playing field – the championship has never visited the circuit before. However, after the FIA sanctioned team orders, Thickpenny would be forgiven for sweating a little on the thought of McKenzie calling on William Stowell for a favour. Both are on the Easykart Driver Programme, are intelligent and work well. Despite his tender years, Tom is an experienced driver and a very cool customer. He has been under pressure before and responded in the best possible manner.
The action starts from 10:00am on Sunday at Forest Edge, Barton Stacey – just off the A303 between Andover and the A34
