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SuperChamps - Daytona Sandown Park
SuperChamps is back at Sandown Park for Round two this weekend, with drivers in both SODI and DMAX taking on our heats format on our Grand Prix Circuit.
SODI
Fin Ions delivered a commanding performance in the SODI Lightweights, securing victory in both heat races before sealing the win in the final, complete with the fastest lap. However, the competition was fierce, with razor-thin margins at the finish line. Edis Smiliyanov pushed Ions all the way in the opening heat, finishing just three-tenths behind. Heat two saw George Beauchamp narrowly miss out on the top spot, while Ceaser Chen impressed with a strong drive to claim his first podium.
In the Heavyweights, Frederic Navarro was in a league of his own, achieving a grand slam by topping all four sessions as the fastest in class. His pace was so strong that he frequently found himself battling among the leading Lightweights, even securing an overall P3 finish in heat one. Meanwhile, Jason Miller and Benny Reid fought hard for the remaining podium spots, with Miller edging ahead in the heats to come out on top in their personal duel.
The final saw Harrison Rudge and Fin Ions lead the charge, with Abhay Parmar close behind in pursuit. The race was packed with thrilling battles throughout the field, but it was Rudge who crossed the line first. However, an early penalty dropped him two places, promoting Ions to victory and Parmar to second. Rudge ultimately finished third but secured the fastest lap of the race with a blistering 50.885. In the Heavyweights, it was a familiar story, Frederic Navarro dominated once again, making it two wins from two rounds in class. Behind him, Jason Miller and Benny Reid engaged in another tight battle for the remaining podium spots. Miller just managed to stay ahead, securing second place by a narrow margin of just nine-tenths of a second.
DMAX
The DMAX heats were filled with drama. Both Thomas Williams and Henry Lopes-Gracey received one place penalties for incidents in heat two and Yaseen Khan got a penalty in heat two. In the Lightweights, Yaseen Khan and Ellis Mckenzie took a win each in the heats, with Thomas Williams, Adam Palmer and Jamie Warner joining them on the podiums. The Heavyweights were dominated by Henry Lopes-Gracey, who won both heats. Kieran Hyde-Moody, Michael Maruszak and Mike Bennett shared the remaining spots on the podiums.
The final was epic as Yaseen Khan and Ellis Mckenzie battled from start to finish for the top spots. This fight for the win saw Charlie Foster fight his way through the pack, starting to close the gap to just a second and a half behind at the line. Foster, however, received a one place penalty for a bump and pass early in the race, promoting Jamie Warner back onto the podium. Ellis Mckenzie also took the fastest lap with a 46.042. In the Heavyweights, Kieran Hyde-Moody took the win. Mike Bennett and Henry Lopes-Gracey took second and third with the two separated by just a tenth at the flag.
SuperChamps - Daytona Tamworth
Round two of SuperChamps at Daytona Tamworth greeted the drivers with another greasy track. However, despite the initial slippery conditions, the circuit dried throughout the morning, with lap times getting to just a few seconds off what we’d expect to see in dry running. There was great excitement leading up to this round, especially in the DMAX-GT class, as drivers from Milton Keynes, Sandown Park and the Jamie Chadwick Series made the journey to practice for future events, including the return of the DMAX National Championship.
The heats format (the first time it’s appeared this season) comprised of a 10-minute practice (the times from which have no bearing on the rest of the day), two 10-minute heats, the random starting grids for each being mirrors of each other, and a 15-minute final, the grid order determined by drivers’ results in the heats.
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Harry Fitch, Theo Laverty, and Zachary Smith proved that experience is invaluable in mixed conditions, with the former Tamworth InKart superstars dominating qualifying and locking out the front three grid positions for the final. Fitch secured pole position after an impeccable performance, winning both heats and earning maximum points for the round so far. Meanwhile, Ben Paines secured fourth overall on the grid, several rows ahead of his closest Heavyweight competitors.
Fitch and Laverty surged into an early lead in the final, Smith’s progress was initially hampered by a fierce battle with Paines in the opening laps. However, with the front two locked in their own duel, Smith’s blistering pace allowed him to close the gap, execute a decisive overtake, and pull away effortlessly. The three-time InKart Champion showcased his dominance, crossing the line over eleven seconds ahead of his rivals. Though a one-place penalty loomed over him, a successful post-race appeal ensured his victory stood. Fitch held off Laverty to secure P2, capping off a strong performance as the highest points scorer in class for the round. Meanwhile, Brandon Barker mounted a late challenge for the podium, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process.
In the Heavyweights, Paines slipped slightly down the order, but still took a dominant win in-class, leading BIKC Heavyweight finalist Saul Gregory by more than twenty seconds. Anthony French continued his respectable start to the season with P3 in the Heavyweights and P12 overall.
DMAX-GT-GT
A sold-out DMAX-GT grid provided some epic racing throughout the morning. Round one winner and reigning Lightweight vice champion Joseph Simcock took a first and a third in his heats, putting him on pole for the final, ahead of the two impressive Heavyweights, Greg Chapman and Tom Duffy. Simcock’s early championship rival Luke Dodman completed row two.
Simcock surged into an early lead in the final, but as the track continued to dry, Dodman, having moved into second, began reeling him in. What followed was one of the most thrilling duels Tamworth has witnessed in recent memory. lap after lap, side-by-side action through corner after corner. Both Lightweight drivers pushed to the limit, yet remained respectful, leaving just enough room for each other in an intense but clean fight for victory.
Their battle was so fierce that leading Heavyweight Antony Wypych, who had quietly worked his way through the field, found himself right on their tails in the closing laps. In the end, Simcock held on to take the win by a razor-thin margin of just four-tenths of a second over Dodman, with both drivers earning huge praise for delivering a race to remember. JCS driver Julia Stankowiak impressed with a strong P3 finish in the Lightweights, while Chapman and Duffy completed the Heavyweight podium.
Thursday Night League - Daytona Sandown Park
A soaked round four of Thursday Night League at Daytona Sandown Park saw drama across both fields.
SODI
Fin Ions dominated the SODI’s in the difficult wet conditions. Ions took a clean sweep of the sessions in round four starting on pole, winning the race and taking the fastest lap. Connor Elmore crossed the line in second, however he was disqualified post-race due to not making the weight limit for the Lightweight class. This meant that second place went to Oliver Thornett with third going to Vivek Bhalla, who both got promoted after penalties.
DMAX
In a dramatic DMAX race, Jack Redfern claimed the victory, with Charlie Foster finishing just over a second behind in second place. Yaseen Khan initially crossed the line in third but received a one-place penalty for an incident earlier in the race, promoting Ellis McKenzie to third. McKenzie, Yaseen, and Antonio Sholin were locked in an intense battle for much of the race, constantly swapping positions. However, an incident near the end cut their fight short. While Yaseen was initially penalised for the incident, the penalty was later appealed and overturned after a post-race review. In the Heavyweight class, Robert Guymer took the win.
Thursday Night League - Daytona Tamworth
Round four of the Thursday Night League at Daytona Tamworth marked the conclusion of the first third of the championship. While drivers were still waiting to face a fully damp track this season, that wait continued. Rain hammered the circuit just a few hours before arrival, and although the rain had stopped just before the race, it left behind greasy track conditions which added an extra challenge for the drivers.
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England Deaf Karting Team member David Sumner, who first raced at Tamworth back in 2015, showcased his experience by claiming pole position by an impressive margin of over 1.2 seconds—despite competing in the Heavyweight category. Joining him on the front row was current Lightweight Championship leader Jude Lillyman, who remains unbeaten in the Lightweight class this season. Lillyman was a further 1.8 seconds clear of the rest of the pack, with Heavyweights comprising three of the top four; Brandon Gathercole and SuperChamps regular James Estrop, making his N35-ST TNL debut, made up row two on the grid.
The race delivered drama right from the start, as Sumner was handed a three-place position penalty for a start infringement. Despite dominating the remainder of the race in the Heavyweight class, Sumner’s hopes of securing the Heavyweight victory depended on the next three drivers being Lightweights. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the case. Estrop managed to get the better of Gathercole, and with Sumner’s penalty applied, Estrop was promoted to the Heavyweight win, leaving Sumner to settle for third in class.
Like Sumner in Heavyweights, Lillyman dominated in Lightweights, winning by over twenty seconds from Sam Chilton, who has nevertheless had an impressive start to the season. Serge Harjau completed the Lightweight podium, claiming his first ever TNL podium.
DMAX-GT
The big story in DMAX was the return of former lap record holder and current Club100 C1 Sprints champion Andrew McWilliam. McWilliam certainly delivered, securing pole position. However, it was by an unexpectedly small margin, clocking a lap just six hundreds of a second faster than Heavyweight championship leader Tom Duffy, who has yet to lose in his class this season. Those two were miles clear of the rest of the field, with Lillyman, Heavyweights Mark Rollinson and Luke Mallard, and reigning TNL DMAX-GT champion Ben Foden comprising the next two rounds.
After losing his lead briefly to Duffy in the opening lap, McWilliam quickly reclaimed the lead, and stretched away his advantage at the front, setting the fastest lap of the race by over a second and winning by twelve seconds from Duffy. He has managed to secure four wins out of four rounds this season. Rollinson was an excellent P3 overall, P2 in Heavyweights, with Foden and Lillyman making up the rest of the Lightweight podium. A very good drive from Sonny Zacharias saw him complete the Heavyweight podium.
Thursday Night League - Daytona Milton Keynes
SODI
The track was once again damp for another round of the Thursday Night League, creating challenging conditions that put the drivers' skills to the test.
Richard Danby mastered the tricky track conditions, securing pole position in both the Heavyweight category and overall. He finished just five-tenths ahead of Jacob Csepreghi and Noah Willis, who claimed second and third place.
In the race, Danby led for most of the laps, but a late mistake in the closing stages saw him slip to fourth. Despite this, he comfortably secured the Heavyweight victory, finishing twenty-six seconds ahead of his closest rival, Ash Chivers, who took second place, with David Rollins rounding out the podium in third.
The battle for the Lightweight win was much tighter, with the top three separated by just 1.8 seconds as the chequered flag fell. Csepreghi improved on his starting position of second to claim the race victory, finishing 1.1 seconds ahead of Barry Morris, who delivered an impressive drive from eighth to second, also earning the extra point for the fastest lap. George Benson completed the podium in third.
DMAX
Marky Wyllie-Mackay claimed pole position in the DMAX field by a narrow margin of just a tenth over Nathan Boyle, setting the stage for a thrilling race. Leon Franken secured third place, finishing 4.5 seconds behind the leading duo.
Boyle made an impressive start to the race, scything past Wyllie-Mackay with a brilliant move around the outside at turn one. He maintained his lead all the way to the chequered flag, securing his third race win of the season. Despite a determined effort, Wyllie-Mackay had to settle for second, finishing just 3.3 seconds behind Boyle.
The battle for the final podium spot was fiercely contested, with Franken, Kai Ferner, and Sorin Dinu locked together, separated by only a few tenths. Franken narrowly edged out the competition to claim third place, with Ferner finishing fourth and Dinu rounding out the top five.
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