Triumphant Hall, Zhou and Eastwood seize Super One initiative
The Tony Kart EVK chassis and Cream-prepared engines are proving to be the perfect combination, as Strawberry Racings Connor Hall, Guan Yu Zhou and Charlie Eastwood demonstrated at Rowrah (4/5 May).
The trio monopolised the top step of the Super One podium in their respective classes, putting Strawberry Racing firmly on top of the Mini, Junior and Senior Max points tables.
Connor Hall proved too hot to handle in Mini Max, winning both finals in emphatic style. Having taken back-to-back wins in his two heats, he started the pre-final from pole position. From the start he made a clean getaway, leaving his rivals to dispute who would be the first of the runners-up, as he opened an unassailable 11-seconds lead.
Another great start, aided by crashes behind him, put Hall in charge of the main final. His winning margin was cut to a shade over four seconds, but it was an indication of the maturity and professionalism Connor is driving with, that he conserved his equipment and brought it home without unnecessarily pushing it.
Darren Keane battled gamely in the midfield to earn a top twenty finish on only his second visit to the Lakeland venue, whilst Finlay Hutchinsons first race with the team was rewarded with a thoroughly-deserved 9th.
Connor is in top form at the moment, said Strawberrys team manager Warwick Ringham. He seems to have everything under control, whether it is in wet or dry conditions. Darren flew in from the USA midweek and did not really get going until the final, when he showed the same speed he had at last months club event. Finlay did far better than we could have hoped for. He had a few setbacks over the weekend but enjoyed a fantastic final.In the Junior Max class, Guan Yu Joe Zhou and Ben Hingeley claimed 1st and 3rd place starting positions for the pre-final. Their team-mates Max Aitken and Omar Ismail also qualified directly into the race, avoiding the repecharge, to line up on p18 and p23 respectively.
Joe held his advantage as the 30-strong field streamed into the tight, first corner with Ben following him to make it a Strawberry one-two in the races early stages. The pair then thrilled the crowd - whilst putting their teams collective heart in its mouth - by dicing for the lead. They passed and re-passed each other with Ben finally settling matters in his favour and Guan Yu dropping to 3rd. Max took the chequered in 19th with Omar 24th. A series of pile-ups during the opening lap brought the second final to a stop. At the re-start, Zhou deftly out-smarted Hingeley and soaked up the relentless pressure to take the win and the narrowest of leads over his team-mate in the championship table. In contrast to Guan Yu and Bens delight, there was frustration and disappointment for Max and Omar, with both reduced to spectating by crashes.
Ben and Joe are proving hard to beat at the moment and its great to see them both at the front, racing for the win. Max and Omar struggled a little, mainly due to a lack of track time at Rowrah, whereas the other two have more experience of the circuit, explained Ringham.
Having started from 3rd in the Senior pre-final, reigning world number one and Florida Winter Tour champion Charlie Eastwood scythed his way past the pole-sitter, with fellow Strawberry driver Kyle Fowlie slotting in behind him. Their positions remained unchanged. Current Junior Grand Finals and Euro Max Challenge champion Harry Webb fought his way from an 8th-row start to 11th, whilst Swedens Andreas and Jessica Backman finished 21st and 28th.
Fowlie turned the tables on Eastwood in the early moments of the main final to head the squabbling pack for the first seven laps. Having dropped to 4th, Charlie quickly regained his composure and the ground hed initially lost to pick his way up to 2nd by lap five. After catching and passing his team-mate, he then opened a commanding, 3-seconds gap over Kyle, who in turn had a healthy margin over the driver in 3rd. Harry improved to 8th, with Jessica also making ground to cross the line in 18th spot, ahead of Andreas in 21st.Since the World Finals, Charlie has been pretty-much unstoppable in the major races, asserted Warwick. He keeps coming up with the big race wins and is driving really well. Kyle had a torrid time at Round One, so to come away with two 2nd-place finishes was great for him and the team.
