Thursday Night League, Round One

Daytona Milton Keynes

Season One, Round One of Daytona Milton Keynes Thursday Night League 2026 drew a host of returning favourites and new faces alike to take on a new series of our much-loved midweek championship.

The SODI class opened the day’s action where Lightweight drivers faced a damp track, presenting a challenge to all on grid. Despite this, Jacob Kent emerged as the fastest in class during Qualifying, setting an early benchmark of 1.40.526. Phil Heath followed closely, just 3-tenths behind, with Adam Hawtin rounding out the top three. The rest of the field remained tight, with Barry Morris and Benjamin Barath narrowly missing out on the top spots. Meanwhile, the Heavyweight field saw Ash Chivers putting on a dominant display, true to form in previous seasons. His lap time of 1.39.268 was over a second quicker than Michael Bowles, who placed second, and Liam Jackman, who completed the top three. The following Sprint Race in the Lightweight class turned into an intense duel between Kent and Morris. Both drivers pushed hard throughout the event, with Morris ultimately taking the victory by a margin of three seconds. Kent had to settle for second, while Hawtin finished in third, eight seconds behind the lead pair. As expected, Chivers continued his dominance in the Heavyweight race, leading from start to finish. His performance was unmatched, finishing a commanding 16 seconds ahead of Bowles, with Jackman trailing a further 28 seconds behind in third.

In the DMAX Lightweight class, Daytona Milton Keynes legend Lee Schnitzler put on a blistering Qualifying performance, setting a time of 1.26.828, which was half a second faster than Adam Pughe in second place. Charlie Csepreghi, growing in skill and confidence in each race he competes in, completed the top three. The Heavyweight field saw Kyle Dunford leading the way, setting a time of 1.31.568, a full 1.4 seconds quicker than Jude Coates, who qualified in second. Johnathon Farrell took third, rounding out the top spots. In the Sprint Race, Schnitzler showed his pace once again, leading from the front and finishing a comfortable nine seconds ahead of Pughe. Jacob Csepreghi was unable to catch Pughe and finished third with Charlie Csepreghi, missing out on third place by two seconds. The Heavyweight race saw Dunford flying around the track, dominating to finish an entire lap ahead of the rest of the field. Behind him, a fierce battle unfolded between Coates and Farrell for second place. Farrell emerged victorious in the battle, securing second, while Coates had to settle for third.

SODI Lights

SODI Heavies

DMAX Lights

DMAX Heavies

Daytona Tamworth

We returned to Daytona Tamworth for the first instalment of Thursday Night League in 2026. With twelve rounds ahead of them, our drivers greeted the season with great optimism.

Perhaps the first round of the season can be seen as an indication into who the championship contenders might be. This highly competitive N35-ST class highlighted regular, Charlie Walmsley-Ryde riding to victory after laying down the gauntlet in a strong sixteen-lap opening statement. Twenty seconds ahead of InKart graduate Joseph Smith, who now as a familiar face in Daytona’s senior championships will now be hoping to mount a title challenge. To bolster this campaign, Smith claimed the fastest lap of the race and an extra point for his efforts. Kyle Turner joined these two on the podium. As for the Heavyweights, Dylan Morrall swept aside a reasonably competitive field, winning by over a minute.

In a fantastic effort, Lucas Gathercole won the DMAX race, another comfortable victory being the story of the day, this time by thirty seconds ahead of a very quick Harry Thomas. Gathercole was two seconds quicker on his fastest lap, over a second faster than anyone else in the field.  There was something of a battle for the rest of the podium positions, as Thomas and Max Houghton were separated by just five seconds, a gap that could have significantly decreased at any point throughout the very tricky race. In the Heavyweights, reigning N35-ST champion Mckenzie Senior took a hard-fought victory against regular contender Rhys Collier. There were only five-tenths of a second in it, and they were joined on the podium by Joe Collier. Perhaps we have seen our title contenders already, however, with eleven rounds, varying race formats and undoubtably some new faces ahead, only time will tell.

N35-ST Lights:

N35-ST Heavies:

DMAX Lights:

DMAX Heavies:

Daytona Sandown Park

Round One burst into life with strong pace across both categories and immediate statements from the early title contenders.

In the SODI Light division, Rufus Sessions delivered a commanding performance. Grabbing control from the outset, he built an early advantage and stretched it lap after lap. By the time the chequered flag fell, his lead had grown to a dominant 20 seconds. Sid Stubbings secured second with a composed and measured drive. Running in clear air for much of the race, he maintained a consistent rhythm and was never seriously challenged, comfortably bringing the kart home in P2. The battle for third provided the race’s standout action. Jayden Dudley, Olly Ripley, and Alan Cooper ran nose to tail in the closing stages, trading positions and defending hard. Just 1.7 seconds covered the trio at the line, but it was Jayden Dudley who timed his move to perfection to secure the final podium spot. In the Heavyweight class, the fight for victory went down to the final metres. Tim Love and Jake Pearson exchanged laps at the front and remained locked together throughout a tense contest. Separated by just 0.2 seconds at the flag, Tim Love held firm under relentless pressure to claim the win. Jay Peters completed the podium, staying within striking distance and capitalising on the fight ahead to secure a well-earned third.

The DMAX grid produced clean, disciplined racing from lights to flag, with no penalties issued across the field. Freddie Burden led with authority to take victory. Setting the benchmark early, he also recorded the fastest lap of the race, a 56.472, underlining his championship intentions this season. Once clear, he controlled the gap and delivered a composed, clinical win. Callum Bendelow drove consistently to second. While he remained within reach in the opening stages, he was unable to chip away at Freddie Burden’s advantage and instead focused on securing a solid P2 finish. Ayan Roy completed the podium with a mistake-free performance, maintaining steady pace and collecting valuable points in a race defined by control and discipline. Vivek Bhalla took on a demanding double-header, competing in both SODI and DMAX classes on the same night, and capped off his evening with a strong fourth-place finish in DMAX. In the Heavyweights, Thanos Tzevelekakis produced a standout drive to claim victory. The only Heavyweight driver to finish on the lead lap, he demonstrated superior pace and consistency throughout. Mikhail Sitnikov secured second after a solid, measured race, while Billy Halani rounded out the podium in third.

Round One set the tone for the season ahead with decisive performances at the front, fierce battles through the field, and rivalries already beginning to take shape.

SODI SR5 Lights

SODI SR5 Heavies

DMAX Lights

DMAX Heavies

InKart, Round One

Daytona Milton Keynes

In the Junior category, last year’s Cadet Champion Gillen Townshend immediately showed his class in Qualifying. Comfortable in the wet, Townshend topped the times throughout the five-minute session to secure provisional pole for the A-Final. Jacob Noble kept him honest, finishing just over three-tenths behind in second, while Josh Tiller slotted into third, a further 1.5 seconds back. In the Cadet field, it was Jed Khoza who led the way. Khoza’s fastest lap put him over four tenths clear of Teddy Mullan, with the pair comfortably ahead of Grayson Reeves who came home in third. The second Qualifying session saw the remaining drivers take to the circuit, and in the Juniors, it was Jack Dowding who set the benchmark. Dowding’s lap secured him a spot in the A-Final and marked him as a serious contender for the podium. Behind him was Dominik Gulbis, over 1.8 seconds adrift, with Alvin Tsz Ho Tai close behind in third, just three tenths off Gulbis. In the second half of the Cadet field, Joshua Pink topped the times, finishing just over four-tenths clear of Leo Sibthorpe. Charlie Marden completed the top three, seven tenths off Pink’s leading time.

The B-Finals offered one final opportunity for promotion to the A-Final. In the Junior class, Max Kilmer-Barber started from pole alongside Rayaan Malik, with Amaree McKenzie lining up third. Kilmer-Barber and Malik quickly broke away from the rest of the field, engaging in a race-long duel at the front. The pair traded blows throughout, but in the closing stages Malik edged ahead to take victory and secure promotion to the A-Final. Kilmer-Barber finished second, while McKenzie came home third, 55 seconds behind the leading pair. The Cadet B-Final proved to be a dominant display from Sean Chan. Starting on pole, Chan stormed into the lead immediately and never looked back. In an extraordinary performance, he lapped the entire Cadet field and finished fifth overall, winning the Cadet B-Final by over a lap. Behind him, Jonas Taslaq claimed second, with Alfie Winrow rounding out the top three. In the Junior A-Final, Gillen Townshend lined up on pole for the first time in the category. From the start, it was clear the race would be a head-to-head battle between Townshend and Jacob Noble. The pair traded positions lap after lap in a thrilling contest, neither driver able to break clear in the challenging conditions. As the race entered its final lap, the fight intensified. Noble piled on the pressure, but Townshend defended superbly and crossed the line just over four-tenths of a second ahead to claim the first Junior victory of the 2026 season. In the Cadet A-Final, Joshua Pink started from pole, but it was Leo Sibthorpe who ultimately came out on top. In a closely fought contest, Sibthorpe secured the win ahead of Teddy Mullan, with Pink completing the podium just six-tenths behind Mullan after an intense battle in the closing stages.

Cadet

Junior

Daytona Tamworth

Wet weather racing fans descended on Dayona Tamworth for the first round of InKart Season One 2026. With a new track layout in place, the damp conditions were set to put both the new format and new stable of drivers to the test.

In the Cadet B-Final, Adam Azeem managed to build an impressive margin in the twenty-five-minute race, taking the fastest lap by two seconds and building a whopping fifty-seven second margin to the second-placed Greyson Scandrett. Cristiano Guedes joined them on the podium. Azeem was not able to maintain his untouchable form in the A-Final unfortunately, becoming unlucky and failing to get onto the podium. Instead, one of the championship favourites Hugo Macmillan took a commanding victory which was even more dominant than that of Azeem's in the B-Final, this time leading by over a minute. Logan Staunton was in second position, a significantly closer gap between him and third-placed Harry Walshe, who is also looking to be in the championship hunt in his first full season in the series.

The battle for the podium positions was close in the Junior Final, where Archie Beswick found himself pushing very hard for the runner-up spot. On a still soaked track, he battled intensely with a resilient Ben Shore over the twenty-five minutes, the two of them being virtually inseparable. However, Beswick could not quite find a way through, allowing Shore to take the second spot by eight-tenths of a second. Despite both of their impressive pace, they didn't have anything to match series veteran Noah Fortune, who took the first round of the season by a full forty-three seconds, and a fastest lap point for his troubles as well.

Cadet

Junior

Results:

Daytona Tamworth

Daytona Milton Keynes

Daytona Sandown Park

Jamie Chadwick Series

Photos:

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