It was business as usual for Prima Racing in the second round of the 2011 Super 1 Series at Shenington, with an utterly dominant double podium lock-out in the Super Cadet class and some starring performances from the team’s quintet of Comer Cadet combatants.

In the season curtain-raiser at PF International seven weeks earlier, only plucky privateer Owen Griffiths had spoiled the Prima Racing symmetry up on the Super Cadet rostrum, but at Shenington, front-running trio Billy Monger, Gaby Weyer and Harrison Thomas would not let anyone get in their way – or, to be fair, even remotely close to them.

A 2.7-second advantage over their nearest pursuer at the chequered flag in the opening final was multiplied to a margin of nigh-on ten seconds in final number two, as Prima’s three warriors established a frenetic pace at the head of the field before indulging in some energetic and entertaining duelling over position in the closing stages.

Championship leader Monger prevailed in both encounters, but not by much, with the rapidly-improving Weyer tracking him across the finish line a scant two hundredths of a second in arrears in the first final, and Harrison only nine hundredths adrift to snatch the runner-up laurels later on. Prima’s feisty young female also set a brace of fastest laps for good measure, with fellow lady racer Esmee Hawkey running as high as fifth in an encouraging showing.

“We were really pleased with our performance in the Super Cadet class,” affirmed team manager and former European factory Birel star, Jamie Croxford. “Our drivers showed good pace in the heats, and the two finals were pretty much carbon-copies of one another.

“They were all under instruction to be sensible for the first three-quarters of the race to get away from the pack, and then we said the last three minutes were down to them to sort it out, provided there was no crashing-and-bashing, of course!

“It was a great team performance, and they were good, fair races, which in the end is what it’s all about. Billy, Gaby and Harrison plugged away, used their brains and worked together well to break the tow. The pace of all three of them was identical to within thousandths of a second, which is why the racing in the Super Cadet class is so close. It’s just a shame it hasn’t taken off better.

“The order shuffled about a few times as they determined the respective places on the podium. Each driver went out there to win the race, not to finish second or third; I would expect them all to have a go, and they did. They each drove really well and learned a lot from the weekend, but Billy’s relative experience ultimately showed.

“Over the last seven weeks, Gaby has made a big improvement pace-wise and in terms of understanding and feedback. That was evident throughout the weekend at Shenington. She was a bit upset after the second final, which I think is good; it proved she’s not happy with finishing third when she had the pace to win – her attitude is spot-on. I’ve been really pleased with her progression, and I’m sure it will continue.

“Esmee’s performance was a massive step forward, too. It was only over the first lap or two that she lost the tow a little bit, but from that point onwards, she demonstrated great pace and learned a huge amount again. She is continuing to go forward, which is great to see.”

Prima’s five Comer Cadet competitors encountered differing fortunes at Shenington. Alex Stott led both finals, but found his victory hopes dashed by the strength of the tow around the high-speed Oxfordshire circuit that enabled his pursuers to reel him back in, and he wound up fourth and seventh; Dan Zelos’ bid to replicate his magnificent breakthrough PF triumph was scuppered by engine and carburation woes; and Tommy Weyer, Ethan Hawkey and team debutant James Manning all battled hard further down the order.

“It was a good team showing again,” summarised Croxford. “In the first final, Alex unfortunately spun out of the lead; he had actually broken the tow at the time, and but for that mistake, in my opinion he would definitely have won. In the second final, he was caught by a train of ten karts who all pushed each other along and towed right up to him, and he ended up getting swallowed by the pack. The most important thing is that he was on the leading pace throughout.

“Dan obviously didn’t have as good a weekend as at PF, but he’s still right up there in the championship and will fight back. Tommy started the first final from 12th on the grid, which was another sign of amazing improvement for him and a fantastic achievement at this level – and for Ethan to finish inside the top 20 first time out in Super 1 was superb. He is coming on in leaps-and-bounds, which is really good to see.

“James suffered quite a lot of bad luck over the course of the meeting, but when everything was working right, he showed great pace. He had a puncture in the first final and got involved in a crash in the second, but in one of his heats, he came through from last to third, which was brilliant. Even though things didn’t go his way in the end, James showed a lot of potential and for sure there will be some good results to come from him.

“We also had Tom Harvey running in KF3, but sadly, he was unable to compete in the finals due to being ill. That was obviously a shame, because his pace was good in both wet and dry conditions in practice and in the rain he was down the road from everyone else – but he’ll be back!”

Prima still has two drives available in Comer Cadet, and two in WTP Cadet. For more information, please contact Jamie Croxford on 07889 981631 or at: jamie.primaracing@yahoo.co.uk‏