Masters League - Round One

Daytona Milton Keynes

Round One, Season One of the brand-new Masters League championship came to Daytona Milton Keynes, opening the door to older drivers looking for casual, competitive racing not marred by young F1 hopefuls, half their weight.

The debut round saw David Rollins lay down the early marker in SODI Qualifying, securing pole position in the Intermediate class. Adam Norton pushed him all the way, ending the session just under two-tenths behind the pole sitter. Michael Rayner completed the top three, a further three tenths adrift of Norton. In the Heavyweight field, Matt Woollett set the pace, topping the times by more than two-tenths. Aldous Smewing slotted into second, with Simon Dewick rounding out the top three. From the start of the SODI Race, the Intermediate class lead was a fiercely contested between Norton and Rollins. The pair traded the top position multiple times in a tense, wheel-to-wheel battle that lasted almost the entire race distance. Late drama added further intensity, but it was Norton who edged ahead when it mattered most, taking victory just ahead of Rollins at the flag. Rayner drove a steady race to claim third place, finishing 10 seconds behind the leading duo while holding off the remaining drivers behind. Smewing secured the strongest launch in the Heavyweight race, taking the lead off the line. However, mid-race battles dropped him down to fourth before he began an impressive recovery. Out front, Woollett managed the race expertly, building a gap and eventually taking the win by 14 seconds over Dewick. Smewing’s comeback drive saw him recover to third by the chequered flag.

Over in the DMAX class, Lee Schnitzler dominated the Intermediate Qualifying, setting a time that left him over eight-tenths clear of second-placed David Rollins. Feisal Meeajaun secured third in class to round out the top three a further four-tenths off the pole sitter’s time. The Heavyweight battle for pole was closely fought between Dimitri Molchanov and Terri Mayne. The margins were tight, but in the end, it was Molchanov who edged ahead to secure pole position, just ahead of Mayne in second. The following DMAX Intermediate race produced a commanding display from Schnitzler. From the front, he controlled proceedings and steadily pulled away from the field. Building an extraordinary 28.5-second advantage over Rollins in second place by the end of the race, one of the most dominant performances of the day. Behind them, the battle for third went down to the closing stages, with Paul Lyford and Meeajaun fighting hard. Lyford ultimately secured third after a close and hard-fought duel. The Heavyweight DMAX race followed a similar pattern at the front. Pole sitter Molchanov wasted no time asserting control, storming clear of the field and delivering a commanding victory. By the chequered flag, Molchanov had lapped up to second place, finishing over a lap ahead of Mayne in a dominant display.

SODI Inters Standings

SODI Heavies Standings

DMAX Inters Standings

DMAX Heavies Standings

Daytona Sandown Park

A new season kicked off on Tuesday 3rd March with a healthy grid for the inaugural Masters League round, as our competitors embarked on a journey discovering eachothers race styles in the first of ten rounds.

Starting off with the SODI race, Brian Alexander gained an early advantage in this series, winning the Sprint Race by a solid three seconds ahead of polesitter Tim Love. Behind them, there was an epic head-to-head between Jay Peters and the highly-decorated Reece Harris, with the former pipping the latter to the line by just 0.1 seconds - despite Harris' fastest lap of the race. In the Heavies, Carl Grocott was in a league of his own, finishing in and amongst the Inters, 12 seconds ahead of second-placed Piers Bate.

In the DMAX race, multiple champion Tom Brown started on pole and went on to win the race - but it wasn't straight forward. Liam Duffett was on him like a rash all race long, and there was only 0.1 seconds to separate the pair. Charlie Hoffer had a great race, and found himself in second place for a lot of the twenty minutes, only for Duffett to make a move on the fourth last lap and then defend his way to the second podium step ahead of Hoffer. William Jonkler started the race in fourth, which is where he finished - sixteen seconds ahead of fifth-placed Pawel Kamysz.

In the Heavies, the mightily experienced Warren Gomm worked his way from sixteenth overall to sixth place on the grid, winning in his class comfortably. His closest competitor was James Roberts, who put in a solid performance and was also battling amongst the Inters. Miles Harding rounded out the podium his first outing, although Ricky Beattie pushed him all the way.

SODI Inters Standings

SODI Heavies Standings

DMAX Inters Standings

DMAX Heavies Standings

Thursday Night League - Round Two

Daytona Sandown Park

Round Two of Thursday Night League brought another strong turnout, with 21 drivers on the SODI grid and 26 on the DMAX field.

Vivek Bhalla secured pole in the SODI Lights with a 51.835, continuing his run of competing across both SODI and DMAX on the same evening. In the Heavyweights, DMAX regular Louis Patterson took pole with a 51.970. In the Race, Bhalla converted pole into victory with a controlled drive at the front. Samuel Barnaville stayed close throughout and crossed the line just six-tenths behind in second. Round One winner Rufus Sessions completed the podium in third after another consistent performance. In the Heavyweights, Paul Simard claimed victory after an incredible performance which saw him competing within the main Lightweight pack. Louis Patterson followed in second, backing up his Qualifying pace, while Tim Love secured third. The Heavyweight drivers remained closely matched with the Lights throughout the race and were involved in the overall fight on track. Simard finished fourth overall, with Patterson classified sixth overall at the flag.

In the DMAX class, Luka Nik left Qualifying late to secure pole after spending most of the session outside the top positions. Alfie Shrubb secured pole in the Heavy class and held the lead through the opening phase. In the early stages, Nik dropped back to third before working his way forward again and reclaiming the lead after passing Freddie Burden. Once back in front, he struggled to build a gap, with Burden and Callum Bendelow remaining close behind, maintaining steady pressure throughout. In the midfield, Steve Hannon and Spencer Roest ran side by side through the middle phase of the race in a tight battle for position, while the full grid created constant traffic for the leaders in both classes. Contact warnings were issued as drivers fought for space, with backmarkers playing a major role in shaping the front running fights. In the Heavy class, Warren Gomm applied sustained pressure to Shrubb as they navigated traffic. Shrubb defended effectively through the middle portion of the race but found it difficult to break clear. While Mikhail Sitnikov faced a more difficult outing, struggling to match his previous SuperChamps pace and remaining stuck in the heavier midfield before finally making a decisive move up the inside to move forward. In the closing stages, Gomm managed to move into the Heavy lead, but a full course yellow following a kart failure brought the field back together. On the restart, Shrubb reclaimed the position and held firm to the finish. At the front of the Lights, Nik managed the latter stages cleanly and took a controlled victory. In the Heavy class, Shrubb secured the win after retaking the lead late on. Behind Nik, Freddie Burden finished second, 1.4 seconds back, with Callum Bendelow third just seven-tenths further behind. The top four remained tightly grouped, with Ayan Roy in fourth after staying in contention throughout. In the Heavy standings, Shrubb took the win ahead of Gomm in second, who crossed the line just two-tenths behind, while Round One winner, Thanos Tzevelekakis completed the podium in third.

Round Two delivered tight racing across both SODI and DMAX classes, with traffic and sustained pressure shaping the outcomes across the field.

SODI Lights Standings

SODI Heavies Standings

DMAX Lights Standings

DMAX Heavies Standings

Daytona Milton Keynes

Qualifying came down to the very final laps in our Lightweight SODI field. Nathan Turner produced a stunning last-gasp effort to secure pole position with a 1:46.226, setting his fastest time on the Final Lap of the session. Barry Morris locked in second place with a 1:47.080, while Jacob Kent rounded out the top three with a 1:48.066, setting the stage for a competitive race ahead. Ash Chivers asserted early dominance in the Heavies, taking pole with a 1:46.880, finishing a commanding five seconds clear of Harry Gurney in second. Jordan Forbes completed the top three on the grid. The race unfolded very differently to Qualifying. Polesitter Turner dropped down the order in the early stages, opening the door for Kent and Morris to battle for the win. The pair fought hard throughout, but it was Kent who emerged victorious, crossing the line 1.7 seconds ahead of Morris. Adam Hawtin secured a strong third-place finish, with Benjamin Barath in fourth and Turner recovering to fifth after his early setback. In the Heavies, Chivers delivered a commanding performance. After converting pole into an early lead, he steadily extended his advantage and ultimately finished one minute clear of Gurney in second. Forbes completed the podium with a consistent drive.

Lee Schnitzler stormed to pole with an impressive 1:34.693 in the DMAX Lightweights. Jacob Csepreghi was just one tenth behind in second, while Adam Hawtin was only three-hundredths further back in third, an incredibly tight top three that promised an exciting race. Kyle Dunford claimed pole position in the Heavies with a 1:38.257, ahead of Jude Coates in second and John Spawton in third. Schnitzler converted pole into victory with a composed and controlled drive, leading throughout and finishing four seconds clear of Csepreghi in second. Adam Pughe drove his way into third to complete the podium. The DMAX Heavies race delivered one of the closest fights of the evening. Dunford and Coates battled intensely for the lead, swapping positions before Dunford ultimately edged ahead to secure the win. Tom Athersych rounded out the podium in third.

SODI Lights Standings

SODI Heavies Standings

DMAX Lights Standings

DMAX Heavies Standings

Daytona Tamworth

Round Two of Thursday Night League at Daytona Tamworth took place on a cold, wet evening where two packed grids set out to have an enthralling battle in their championship title runs.

In the N35-ST class, championship favourite Charlie Walmsley-Ryde had yet another superb drive, setting the fastest lap on his way to a dominant victory.  His winning margin was twelve seconds, which in the tricky conditions is not an easy accomplishment by any means.  The P2 position went the way of SuperChamps contender Joseph Smith, who was only a couple of tenths off Walmsley-Ryde's fastest lap, highlighting the undoubted upcoming battles the two will wage season. They were joined on the Lightweight podium by Kyle Turner.  In the Heavyweights, James Estrop strolled to victory, also with the fastest lap (taking maximum points from the round). The margin of his victory was a whopping fifty seconds. Dylan Morrall was second, a further ten seconds or so ahead of Brent Deeley.

Joseph Simcock took victory in the DMAX race but believed that he had his win chalked off due to an advantage by contact he made during the race. However, upon review of the footage the penalty was overturned, cementing his victory. The winning margin was only one second, but this does not tell the whole story of the race, race directors noted his timing - picking moves beautifully while carving through much of the field. Thomas Northcott will be disappointed to miss out on the top position having displayed a stunning performance. The same can be said for Lucas Gathercole in third.  Our Heavyweight battle was between brothers Joe and Rhys Collier. After the day’s action, Rhys managed to get the upper hand his brother on this occasion, winning by fifteen seconds by the end of the race.

N35-ST Lights Standings

N35-ST Heavies Standings

DMAX Lights Standings

DMAX Heavies Standings

SuperChamps - Round One

Daytona Milton Keynes

The first session of the day saw Lewis Bowey topping the timesheets in the SODI Lightweight category, edging out Dominic Fleming by just 0.04 seconds. It was a statement lap under pressure and an early signal of how tight this category will be this season. Reuben Crudgington secured third, only a tenth and a half behind Fleming, keeping the top three covered by an incredibly small margin. In contrast, the Heavyweight Qualifying was controlled by Charlie Fenton, who set a benchmark lap over one second clear of Kevin Mulgrew. It was a dominant start that immediately established him as the driver to beat. Harry Fenton rounded out the top three, six-tenths behind Mulgrew. The SODI Lightweight Shootout delivered one of the standout races of the round. Aston Tempany-McColm charged from fourth on the grid to claim victory after an intense late-race battle. Dominic Fleming pushed him all the way to the line, finishing just 0.2 seconds behind, while Benjamin Barath crossed the line a further 0.4 seconds back. The top three were separated by only six tenths in a thrilling finish. Charlie Fenton converted his Qualifying pace into a commanding victory, taking the win by fourteen seconds over Kevin Mulgrew. It was a dominant performance from lights out to the chequered flag. Chris Whyles completed the podium in third. When the biggest points were on offer, Lewis Bowey delivered a clinical performance to take the Feature win by over seven seconds ahead of Aston Tempany-McColm. Benjamin Barath secured another podium finish with third place. Charlie Fenton completed a perfect SODI day, claiming his second win as well as the fastest lap point in his category and reinforcing his early championship lead. Kevin Mulgrew once again finished second, while Harry Fenton completed the podium positions.

Jacob Csepreghi took initial control of the Lightweight DMAX class, finishing over three-tenths clear of Dawid Sniezko in second. His pace advantage was clear throughout the session. Charlie Csepreghi completed the top three, more than half a second behind his brother’s leading time. Freddie Jenkins topped the Heavyweight times just under half a second clear of Josh Hamilton, with Peter Stockwin securing third place in class. Jacob Csepreghi continued his impressive form in the Shootout, taking victory by over three seconds in a controlled and authoritative drive. Dawid Sniezko finished second, with Lee Schnitzler rounding out the top three. Freddie Jenkins secured the Heavyweight win, adding a race victory to his strong Qualifying result. Peter Stockwin took second, while David Line completed the podium. The final race of the day saw a change at the front. Dawid Sniezko claimed victory in the DMAX Lightweight Feature, delivering a strong and consistent performance. Harrison Line finished second, over six seconds behind, after overtaking Lee Schnitzler in the closing stages. Schnitzler had to settle for third. In the Heavyweight field Freddie Jenkins took a second race win of the day, with Peter Stockwin taking second just under 5 seconds behind him. Rounding out the final podium of the day was David Line who was a further four seconds behind Stockwin.

SODI Lights Standings

SODI Heavies Standings

DMAX Lights Standings

DMAX Heavies Standings

Results:

Daytona Tamworth

Daytona Milton Keynes

Daytona Sandown Park

Jamie Chadwick Series

Photos:

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