Over 200 karters were at Kimbolton for the second round of Hunts Kart Racing Club’s 2007 Winter Championships. Unfortunately, driving standards in a number of classes left something to be desired and action had to be taken over several incidents. The Club is determined to ensure that its members and visiting competitors can enjoy close, safe but fair racing and will be treating this as priority over the coming months.

Cadet: Polesitter Jacob Stilp was first to figure as fellow front row man Jake Dalton got swallowed up by the pack and dropped to 6th. Jake Dennis was soon into his stride and passed Stilp for a lead he was never to relinquish. Having sat in 3rd for most of the race, Brett Wykes made the most of the last lap to snatch 2nd from Stilp on the line. Michael Dunstan was the winning novice.

Rotax Mini Max/TKM Intermediate: In Mini Max, Ben Palmer got the better of Danny Harwood at the start and led to the flag. Lewis Hall slotted into 2nd and followed Palmer home, with Harwood relinquishing 3rd to a recovering Callum Bowyer, last time round. The novice award went to Ben Hawkins. In TKM Intermediate, Alistair Clarke led James Blake, but Jack Kemp moved past both of them to win. Clarke’s early promise took a further knock as Blake passed him two laps from the end.

Rotax Junior Rotax/JICA: Poleman David Turton was a first lap casualty, dropping to 7th. David Pittard made the most of his 3rd place grid slot, taking just two laps to dispose of Josh Butcher and establishing a big lead. Max Hawkins passed Gemma Stephenson for 3rd but lost it to hard charging Jack Goff. When Goff passed Butcher for 2nd, Hawkins was able to follow him through. Bradley Gravett took the novice award. In JICA, Sam Jenkins grabbed the lead from Max McGuire and Max Goff, but Goff was soon past McGuire and took over from Jenkins at half distance.

Junior TKM: Jake Ball emerged at the front of the field ahead of Gary Henderson-Kierle and Daniel Butcher-Lord. Ball led to the flag, but it was no easy ride as Henderson-Kierle kept the pressure on throughout. Oliver Hodgson dropped from 2nd to 5th by lap two, but gradually worked his way back to 3rd. Will Van Es won the novice award.

125 ICC: James Mudd was first off the line, with Scott Allen in his wheel tracks. These two pulled away from the rest of the 23 strong field, with Mudd holding on despite Allen’s best efforts. Frank Wrathall made 3rd place his own by lap three with Jody Whitmore coming back in the second half of the race to finish 4th. Christopher Thexton won the novice award.

250: Ron Stamp held off Ashley Mack at the start, but could only stay in front for half a lap. Mack extended his lead as the race went on, while Stamp successfully held off Andrew Dean’s challenge for 2nd.

Rotax Senior 177: A red flag incident at the start led to the retirement of one third of the field. In a virtual repeat of last month’s race, Dan Holland grabbed the lead at the restart, defended to the end, with Lee Torrie just 0.08s behind. Martin Reader watched on in 3rd ahead of Paul Darrington. Luke Schlewitz took the novice award. Rotax Senior Max: Paul Janes was mighty throughout the day and dominated Senior Rotax from pole with a series of fastest laps. Marc Dawson was unable to live with Janes’ pace and had to settle for second, well ahead of James Corpe. Ellis Slater won the novice award.

TKM Extreme: A red flag incident brought an abrupt end to the TKM Extreme final. With the light fading rapidly, it wasn’t possible to run the race again, so the result was declared based on grid positions.

Hunts Kart Racing Club 2007 Winter Championships Round 2
Cadet: 1 Jake Dennis (TBA), 2 Brett Wykes (Wright), 3 Jacob Stilp (Octane)
Junior TKM: 1 Ben Barker (Venom), 2 Tom Fitzpatrick (Gillard), 3 Ashley Jones (Jade)
Cadet Novice: Michael Dunstan (Zip)
Rotax Mini Max: 1 Ben Palmer (Octane), 2 Lewis Hall (Octane), 3 Callum Bowyer (Tony)
Rotax Mini Max: Ben Hawkins (Octane)
TKM Intermediate: 1 Jack Kemp (Venom), 2 James Blake (ARC), 3 Alistair Clarke (Venom)
Rotax Junior Max: 1 David Pittard (Biesse), 2 Jack Goff (Biesse), 3 Max Hawkins (Octane)
Rotax Junior Max Novice: Bradley Gravett (Zip)
JICA: 1 Max Goff (Tony), 2 Sam Jenkins (Intrepid), 3 Max McGuire (BRM)
Junior TKM: 1 Jake Ball (Tony), 2 Gary Henderson-Kierle (JKH), Oliver Hodgson (Tony)
Junior TKM Novice: Will Van Es (Tony)
125 ICC: 1 James Mudd (Birel/TM), 2 Scott Allen (Birel/SGM), 3 Frank Wrathall (F /TM)
125 ICC Novice: Christopher Thexton (First/Pavesi)
250: 1 Ashley Mack (Raider/Honda), 2 Ron Stamp (Raider/Honda), 3 Andrew Dean (Anderson/Honda)
Rotax Senior 177: 1 Dan Holland (Kosmic), 2 Lee Torrie (Gillard), 3 Martin Reader (Kosmic)
Rotax Senior 177 Novice: Luke Schlewitz (Gillard)
TKM Extreme: 1 David Eadon (Tony), 2 Luke Caudle (Gillard), 3 Jordan Kendall (JKH)
Rotax Senior Max: 1 Paul Janes (Wildkart), 2 Marc Dawson (Alpha), 3 James Corpe (Gillard)
Rotax Senior Max Novice: Ellis Slater (Zip)