Dorset ace Craig Copeland (Sturminster Marshall, Wimborne) has been provisionally declared the 2004 BTE Lawline/Renault MSA British Junior Kart Champion after sealing the prestigious crown during the final round of the season at Larkhall, Scotland, on Sunday.
The 15-year old, who has enjoyed an excellent year in the UK’s premier junior karting championship, finished second in the first of the weekend’s points-scoring Finals and then opted to sit-out Final Two so as to protect his position in the driver standings.
Under the rules of Formula JICA, the points-scoring system sees drivers ‘drop’ their two worse results of the year but competitors aren’t permitted to count exclusions as ‘drop scores’. In this case, therefore, Copeland would have risked losing the title in the second Final if he had been involved in an on-track incident, which later led to his exclusion.
Having started off the season with three Finals victories to his credit, Copeland also took one other win and four other podiums to clinch the championship by nine points from nearest rival Adam Christodoulou (Shenstone, Lichfield).
The rain-affected final meeting of the year at Larkhall saw Adam Batch (North Ferriby, East Yorkshire) and Matthew Bell (Morpeth) share the victor’s spoils with a win apiece in the points-scoring Finals. In Final One, Batch took an early lead from second on the grid but was passed by eventual champion Copeland at mid-distance.
As the conditions worsened, however, Batch managed to pass Copeland on the last lap to seal his first win of the season. In Final Two, Bell – who finished third in the first Final – took the win but he was pushed hard all the way by Batch, the pair providing superb entertainment as they fought for the lead.
Lap 16 proved to be decisive when Bell edged ahead and Batch’s comeback attempt failed, the youngster running wide and losing ground. Christodoulou, meanwhile, finished third to take his seventh podium of the year.
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