RL Racing drivers ensure S1 title fights will go down to the wire
A victory for Mini Max ace Lando Norris and twin runner-up finishes for Junior Max protagonist Sam Marsh virtually guarantees the RL Racing Department pair will be fighting for their respective Super One class titles right up to the final round.
Britains fastest track, Three Sisters near Wigan, provided the backdrop for the fifth round (25/26 August) of one of the hardest-fought championships in recent memory.
Having already put the Formula Kart Stars Mini Max title beyond dispute, Lando now had his sights firmly set on adding the Super One crown to his belt. A series of mature performances, in which he avoided any unnecessary risks, saw him qualify for the pre-final in 5th place overall. Team-mate Flashman Finneran enjoyed his best ever weekend by claiming a sixth-row starting position.
Another canny drive saw the Norris finish 4th with Finneran roughed up at the start and eventually crossing the line in a frustrating 2th spot. Saving his best for last, Lando produced another superb drive to take his third victory of the campaign. In stark contrast to Landos joy, Flashman again came unstuck and ended his race on the sidelines.
Lando did another really good job, said RL Racing Department owner and team principal Steve Armstrong. Im almost running out of supelatives to say about him because he just gets on with the task in hand and does it. Even when he makes a mistake, he can pull something out of the bag and is there or thereabouts when it really matters. Brilliant!
Despite Flashman being reduced to a spectating role, Armstrong was delighted with his progress: In the heats he achieved everything on merit. He didnt fluke anything. He caught people and then just drove away from them. His inexperience showed when he was at the sharp end, but he knows now he can race up there with the best of them.
Just 17 points separate Sam Marsh from the top of the tree in the Junior Max battle for top honours and he left the Lancashire circuit having out-pointed his immediate championship rivals. Fellow RLRD stars Josh White and Oli Norris had what can only be described as character building experiences in the finals after competitive drives in the heats.
Sam however was enjoying a more consistent event and duly converted his third place on the per-final grid into a fine 2nd place. He repeated the result in the main race, making it his third straight podium in as many races and making him the in-form challenger as the series heads towards its conclusion in October.
Sam did the best job of the title contenders, stated Armstrong. Oli made progress after some set-backs and was fast. He was denied a far better result by a crash at the start of the second final and had to drive around with a bent kart after that.
He added: Josh had an up and down weekend. Our main focus for him is the European Max Challenge. His form overseas has been fantastic, but at home Lady Luck has deserted him.
The teams sole Senior Max campaigner, Lewis Plato, had been quick in pre-race testing but his pace evaporated once qualifying got underway. We lost bottom-end power, explained Armstrong. We think it may have been due to possible fuel issues. Lewis didnt qualify well and had no sparkle after that. There were a lot of grumbles about the fuel elsewhere in the paddock, but that doesnt alter the end result. Weve just got to dust ourselves down and bounce back in style in the remaining two races.
Steve concluded: In terms of drop scores, Sam is third overall and edged further towards the top after Three Sisters. Lando is probably leading when you take drops into account. It is all nicely balanced still but RL is marching on.
