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Thursday Night League - Season Two, Round Five
Daytona Milton Keynes
Round Five of Thursday Night League saw drivers grace the much loved Daytona Milton Keynes Bus Stop layout. With 22 racers in the SODI SR5 category and a full grid of 25 DMAX drivers all battling it out for championship supremacy in what is becoming a hotly contested war for control in the seasons standings.
SODI:
In the Lightweights, Adam Pughe took pole position from Mark Smith who was just two-tenths behind in second. In third, just a further tenth behind was Michael Bowles, who took pole in the Heavyweight category by six-tenths of a second over Ben Swabey, with David Rollins just a tenth behind in third.
In the race, Pughe managed to convert his pole position into race victory as he narrowly managed to edge out Barry Morris who led for a large portion of the race. Charlie Csepreghi charged through the field after a poor qualifying to finish third.
Micheal Bowles won in the Heavyweight class, David Rollins taking second with Ben Swabey rounding off the Heavyweight podium.
DMAX:
Adam Hawtin dominated qualifying, taking pole position by over a second from Lee Schnitzler with Dawid Sniezko just half a tenth behind in third.
James Peace picked up pole position and by a margin of six-tenths over his closest rival - Robert Banister, who crossed the line in second with Richard Danby in third.
Hawtin continued to shine in the race, taking victory by a large margin over Sniezko in second. Johnny Frankham managed to hold off Mark Wyllie-Mackay for third place.
Peace dominated in the Heavyweights as he took the race win by six seconds over Banister who came home in second place, with Danby on the final step of the podium.
SuperChamps - Season Two, Round Two
Daytona Sandown Park
SuperChamps returned to Daytona Sandown Park for Round Two as the drivers look to add vital points to their claim on the championship lead. Alternate layout was used for the first time this season, with the drivers having to readjust to the lesser used of our layouts.
DMAX
The opening heat at Daytona Sandown Park kicked off with a bumpy start, with a lot of contact and track limit violations going out. Shrubb seized the early advantage, leading the field as the pack began to spread out. By lap four, the action was already heating up with Fin Ions pulling off a brilliant move through turn eight and making it stick through turn one to get the better of Max Miller. Up front, Palmer was in a league of his own, stretching a commanding lead while an intense multi-kart scrap unfolded from 2nd through 13th. Every lap brought wheel-to-wheel action, keeping spectators on edge. The drama spiked again on lap eight, when Fin Ions had an incident at turn three that reshuffled the chasing pack and broke up the momentum behind Palmer. Adam Palmer took the win by five seconds ahead of a nail biting drag race for P2. Amor Zayana won the race, beating Ellis Mckenzie who started nearer the back. Alfie Shrubb won the Heavyweight class with Yaseen Khan second and William Tidman third.
The second heat brought just as much drama as the first. Tom Williams had an early moment, losing it on the brakes into turn six on lap three, while Yaseen Khan got caught out on lap two, causing contact and picking up a penalty. On lap four, heat one winner, Palmer joined his brother in having a half spin through turn six, locking up under braking and handing opportunities to the chasing pack. Contact warnings began to stack up as the intensity rose, with drivers battling hard for every position. George Beauchamp took the win ahead of Ellis Mckenzie and Fin Ions who rounded out the podium. In the Heavyweights, William Tidman took the win, with Alfie Shrubb second and Yaseen Khan in third.
The final had everything, changing conditions, fierce battles, and a nail-biting finish. Fin Ions wasted no time, climbing the order by lap five as dark clouds began to gather. By lap eight, a thrilling scrap between Amor, Palmer, and Ions had the spectators on edge. The weather added another twist, with rain starting to spit down on lap nine, forcing drivers to manage grip while still pushing flat out. This however would hold off, and the lap times returned to what they were. On lap eleven, Khan and Shrub went wheel-to-wheel in one of the standout fights of the race. The pair putting on quite the show. The closing stages saw a fierce battle for third as Palmer and Ions duelled on lap twelve. Max Miller pounced, slipping past Palmer while he was still trying to attack Ions. In the final lap, the action intensified further with Zayana right in the mix, ensuring the race went right down to the wire. But after nineteen laps, Ellis Mckenzie took a controlled victory by over three seconds. Fin Ions took an impressive second place, narrowly ahead of Amor Zayana behind in third. The Heavyweight win went the way of William Tidman, who took a commanding victory of over five seconds ahead of Warren Gomm in second. Alfie Shrubb rounded out the podium, just 1.2 seconds back.
SODI
In the SODI class, the opening heat saw chaos right from the start. On lap one at turn six, Dylan Hourican made a bold move down the inside, but it ended in disaster as he took out half the field in a major incident. Hourican received a 15-second time penalty, despite having shown great sportsmanship by letting everyone back through. Behind the drama, Malachy Prakash and Miller were locked in a fierce battle for second place, keeping the crowd entertained. By lap seven, Harris had worked his way to the front, showing strong pace and clean overtakes. The action didn’t stop there, Sid Stubbings caused an incident as the pack bunched up into turn six, making contact with Jeremy Jong and shaking up the order once more. Tyler Orridge claimed victory ahead of Sid Stubbings in second and Peter Tilev third. Reece Harris won in the Heavies, after finishing second overall. Malachy Prakash took second ahead of Jason Miller in third.
Heat Two brought more drama when Tyler Orridge got stuck at the exit of the club cut-through, costing him a lap. Meanwhile, Hourican was back in the mix, chasing down Stubbins into turn eight on lap seven. Further back, Prakash and Miller reignited their battle for second in the Heavies, continuing the rivalry from Heat One. Peter Tilev took the win ahead of Ryan Bentley and Jeremy Gong in second and third. Reece Harris took the win in the Heavyweight class by eight seconds. Jason Miller took second ahead of Malachy Prakash in third.
The final saw plenty of action and drama throughout the field. Dylan Hourican once again went on the attack, diving down the inside of Harris at turn six on lap eleven. However, the move didn’t stick, locking the rear brakes, spun, and lost a huge number of positions - dropping out of contention. Meanwhile, battles raged up and down the order, with close racing and hard-fought overtakes keeping the pressure high. At the front, Peter Tilev delivered a commanding drive. Starting from pole, he led the race from start to finish, maintaining control while the field behind spread out. His consistency and pace ensured a dominant victory, rounding off the weekend in style. Tyler Orridge crossed the line in second ahead of Sid Stubbings, who took an impressive third. However, this would soon change, Orridge picked up two separate five second penalties through post-race appeals. That would drop him to fifth overall and off the Lightweight podium. In turn, promoting Stubbings to second and Ryan Bentley to third. Reece Harris completed a successful day, by taking victory in the Heavyweight class. Malachy Prakash took second ahead of Jason Miller in third.
Its been an epic round of SuperChamps once again here at Sandown Park. Drivers across all four classes putting on an epic show. We look forward to having the drivers back for Round Three on October 26th, as we return to our GP layout.
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