Super One Series Round 1
The first round of a new look Super One series took to the track on Saturday (March 23rd) featuring lots of new names and 3 new classes to the UK. While the total entries were down compared to the Super One normal, there was still some great racing and great karts on display.
Iame Cadet
8 drivers took part in round 1, pretty much all were new to Super One. Leading the way in qualifying was Aydan Hassan, taking pole for final 1 by just over 2 tenths from the Knight brothers, with William ahead of Zachary. Craig Evans was 4th while Bambino graduate Riley Cranham was 5th, almost a second behind. Final 1 was a slim win for Zachary Knight, taking the lead on the opening lap. His brother soon followed through to 2nd, demoting Hassan down to 3rd. Aydan soon managed to get back passed Will, which allowed Evans to momentarily pop into 3rd place before dropping back to 4th. Chase Fernandez had a strong run finishing 5th having started at the back of the grid. Final 2 saw Zach lead from the front before a battle with brother will started for the lead which was won by Zach on the final lap. Hassan had to settle for 3rd best with Evans again in 4th. Fernandez held 5th throughout.
Honda Cadet
14 Hondas were present at Fulbeck, with some of the top southern club drivers on the grid to do battle. Jack Hobson would top the time sheets in qualifying, 2 tenths clear of Connor Leishman. Steven Duncan was only a fraction behind in 3rd, while Henry Gregory and Rylan Echberg rounded out the top 5. One to watch outside the top 5 was Reece Lomax in 7th. Final 1 was the Jack Hobson show, holding the lead for the entire duration. Echberg climbed up to 2nd at the flag while Duncan and Gregory held position. This was all thanks to Leishman dropping down to 6th behind Reece Lomax. That would set up a 3 way battle for the win between Hobson, Echberg and Duncan. The trio traded places during the race, but it was Hobson who held on to take the win, Echberg just coming home 2nd ahead of Duncan in 3rd. The star performer here was Fin Whiting who climbed 8 places to finish 6th.
Mini ROK
The first of 3 new classes to the UK, and one with the biggest entry of all this weekend. 16 drivers contested the new Mini ROK class, with quite alot of testing done by many drivers. But it was the late entry of Taylor Orridge who scored pole ahead of Jack Hobson, who was pulling double duty in Hondas. Alfie Gallagher was 3rd, heading a closely matched group that stretched down to 7th featuring Will Knight, Luke Sintler, Zach Knight and Charlie Prichard. Orridge came out the victor of final 1, having lost the lead in the opening stages. Gallagher and Zach Knight reached the front during the race, but they ended up 5th and 3rd respectively. 2nd went the way of Hobson while Will Knight was 4th. Final 2 was a lights to flag win for Taylor Orridge, ending up over 3 seconds clear of the chasing pack. Again, Hobson was second with Zach Knight 3rd. This time Luke Sintler was 4th while Leo Jackson made it into the top 5.
Junior TKM
Just 4 drivers turned out for the Junior TKM class, while the seniors were completely absent. The good news was they were all closely matched. Max Davies topped the score board in qualifying ahead of Oliver Dilks, Jacob Hodgkiss was 3rd with Daniel Ghazal rounding out the field. Davies held the lead on track for the whole race, but was penalised for failing to follow the flag signals, dropping him to last. That meant Ghazal inherited the Final 1 win ahead of Dilks and Hodgkiss. Final 2 was an equal close fight, with the 4 being separated by 1 second at the flag, but it was Ghazal who took the win, ahead of Dilks and Davies with Hodgkiss rounding out the field.
Junior ROK
The first time we have seen Junior ROK racing in the UK attracted 8 drivers and some really close racing. Tiernan Rourke was fastest in qualifying ahead of Louis Harvey and William Orton, who both set the same time, just 0.024s behind the leader. Ben Doughty and Max Davies rounded out the top 5. Having lead the early stages of the race, Rourke couldn’t hold off Louis Harvey, who made the move on lap 3 to take the lead, where he stayed. 3rd was Benjamin Doughty with Davies 4th. Final 2 was a mega win for Will Orton. Having started 6th, he charged to 2nd on the opening lap, making the move passed Harvey before half distance. He then built a near 6 second gap before the chequered flag fell. At the end Rourke was 2nd with Harvey 3rd. Max Davies and Isaac Lord rounded out the top 5.
Senior ROK
The first race for Senior ROK, 8 drivers took to the track, the fastest of those being Scott Mackrell on his KartRepublic chassis. Just behind was Jajay Cook and Matthew Collings while Kristian Brierly and Joe Weaver rounded out the top 5. Mackrell took the win in final 1, having dropped to 4th at the start, Collings brought himself up to 2nd while Tom Day rounded out the podium. Brierley held position in 4th while Jason Bradbury moved up to 5th thanks to Jajay cook being handed a 5 place penalty for his front fairing. Joe Weaver also failed to finish. Mackrell again dropped back at the start of Final 2, allowing Collings to take an early lead. But it didn’t take long for him to dispense of him and the charging Brierly to get the lead back. Brierley managed to pass Collings for 2nd in the closing stages, but was disqualified for coming home underweight. That meant Tom Day would complete the podium ahead of Cook and Matteo Palmer.
Image: Super One Series
