Oliver Buckton steals the day in Junior Rotax
Image © Karting Everything
One of the new additions for the CKC in 2021 proved why it is the place to race for junior drivers. The Junior Max class provided some of the closest races of the weekend, with the races regularly going down to the final couple of laps.
It also helped that the whole field was rediculously close. The grid of 16 juniors shared the track with the Mini Max category, meaning the slower karts could get caught pretty quickly during a race.
The opening heat would set the tone for the weekend, with Alex Warnaby taking the early lead, being chased by pole man Jack Cooper with Jacob Jukes and William Young not too far behind. Cooper and Jukes pushed each other hard and closed down to Warnaby. Jukes soon made his move, moving to 2nd and setting after the leader.
Jukes then made a stunning dive down the inside of the boot on the final lap to claim the heat 1 win. Cooper managed to squeeze through to 2nd, with Warnaby to 4th behind Young. The top 5 was rounded out by Jacob Vickers.
heading into heat 2, the weather was threatening rain, with a few drops falling during the earlier races, but not enough to change the grip levels on the circuit. Despite that, Jukes would pick up where he left off, pulling away from 2nd place Warnaby. The pair managed to open up a 2 second gap in the early stages over Cooper in 3rd. Warnaby started to close back up to leading Jukes, and started to line him up for a move.
Then heading into pits bend, Warnaby made his move for the lead, but tagged Jukes, sending him into the barriers. He was able to get out off track, but was later seen to by the medics. Warnaby would end up being disqualified for the move. The heat win would go the way of Cooper, with George Donnald and Sando Ballesteros completing the top 3.
The final heat was cancelled after various delays, meaning the 3rd race would be the final, with Cooper and Donald on the front row, with Young and Jacob Vickers on row 2, Oliver Buckton and Sando Ballesteros were on row 3, while Warnaby would go from 15th.
Warnaby would waste no time in moving through the field, climbing up to 6th by the end of lap 4, while at the front, Young and Buckton were inseparable as they fought for the win. Buckton was throwing everything at the back of Young, showing his nose at Christmas corner almost every lap. Try as he might, he couldn’t quite make the move.
While Buckton wasn’t making progress, Warnaby was. By the half way point, he was locked in a battle for 3rd with Donald and Vickers, having bagged the fastest lap. Vickers made his move for 3rd at the boot, dropping Donald into the clutches of Warnaby, who passed him for 4th.
Back at the front, the leaders were in traffic, lapping some of the slower juniors and Mini Max drivers. Young did well to get through the back markers, opening a gap to Buckton in the process. But as he came through Inkermans, he clipped a backmarker, sending him off into the grass allowing Buckton through and dropping Young to 7th.
The final lap saw Warnaby try and chase down Buckton, getting within a kart length, but it wasn’t enough as Oliver Buckton crossed the line to record the first Junior Rotax win of the season. The winning margin was 0.186 seconds over Warnaby, who had a mega recovery. Jack Cooper completed the podium with Vickers and Donald rounding out the top 5.
Adding the points up, Jack Cooper leaves Whilton Mill as the championship leader on 102 points, 6 more than 2nd placed Oliver Buckton. George Donald is on 95, a single point behind the round 1 winner, with Vickers on 94. The top 5 is completed by William Young on 92.
The next round of the Junior Rotax class takes them to Lydd in Kent where the battles will continue.
