Oh and the karting’s good too…
Easykart’s annual visit to Dorset’s Clay Pigeon has to be one of the most popular on the calendar. The racing is one thing, but the real purpose of being there – for those who are not actually racing - is the indulgence.
The relaxed nature of the race day schedule means that Dorset’s plethora of excellent pubs and restaurants invite that extra post-prandial Calvados or a large glass of Bordeaux, before climbing the wooden hill and setting the alarm for a civilized hour.
The circuit itself is a gem and last season provided spectators with thrilling racing. As those propping up the bar the night before would say, more of the same is expected, please.
Cadet
“They were great, brilliant!” beamed series promoter John Vigor as he reflected on the action at Teesside. “The Cadets gave us such good racing and it was ‘Birthday Boy’ Matthew Round-Garrido who won. He drove terrifically to claim his maiden win. Lucas Blakely shone at the first round, but ultimately didn’t enjoy the result his performances deserved. I said he’d come back strong and he did exactly that with an excellent 3rd at Middlesbrough.” Just ahead of him was opening round winner, Sam Faulkner. “Matthew, Sam, Lucas and Jordan Sanders were swapping places all day. I’m sure that four-way fight will go on throughout the season.” Novice driver Callum Croxon demonstrated his potential with an excellent 5th and will be well worth watching to see how he builds on this promise at Clay.
Junior
“Terrific again!” says John, before admitting that the Teesside encounter had not been without both drama and controversy. It resulted in Tom Thickpenny’s disqualification for being just 200 grams underweight - and a bizarre incident involving Toby Sowery, AJ Morris, a back-marker, a marshal plus a yellow and a black flag, almost overshadowed what had been another pulsating race. Sowery had been leading by a country mile but was reeled in by eventual winner James Lay, with the impressive Cadet graduates Ronan McKenzie and Zack Nickson in close attendance. Despite the confusion caused by Sowery’s alleged passing of the tail-ender under a waved yellow and subsequent black-flag, E-Plate holder Lay ran out a worthy winner, with McKenzie maintaining his excellent run of form with 2nd. All this only serves to make the prospect of a straight fight between this quartet and a supporting cast including Will Stowell and Morris all the more exciting.
Light
Joe Paterson repeated his 2010 feat, by winning the corresponding fixture in the North East last month. However, he will be keen not to see the nightmare of what followed come back to haunt him. “Joe loves a big, fast, open track,” observes Vigor. “Now he’s won again, will this season be different?” He will have the current points-leader Terry Langley in his sights. The double Easykart Champion has been consisten,t but so far unable to unleash the pace that won him his two previous titles. However, with none of his rivals showing the same consistency, he has to be a very strong bet for another podium and title-favourite status.
That said, Elliot Rice is still in the hunt, as are Luca Hirst and Richard Moxom. Ayrton Hirst’s podium 3rd place has sparked his championship bid. Last year’s winner at Clay, Patrick Lay, will also be eager to return to the podium.
Heavy
“Barnaby has a fight on his hands,” commented Vigor with an impish grin after Will Smith showed the reigning Champion the way home on Teesside. Both are now equal on points and traditionally very quick round the Dorset track’s twists, turns and undulations. Michael Roots’ strong start to the season continued in round two and he will be ready to pounce if either of the leading duo suffers a bad day in the office. Jim Rainbird is now getting to grips with Easykart and looks set to go from strength to strength. Vigor singled out newcomer Neil Fisher for special mention after he performed heroics on his debut.
The action starts from 10:00am on Sunday at Clay Pigeon Raceway, Wardon Hill, between Dorchester and Yeovil. For more information, visit easykart.co.uk
