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SuperChamps - Round Five
Daytona Milton Keynes
SODI Lightweights
Thomas Langford sent a strong message to the rest of the grid in qualifying, setting a lap time over half a second clear of anyone else. Max Lindgren joined him on the front row, with Jacob Csepreghi just a tenth behind in third.
In the sprint, Langford and Csepreghi picked up right where they left off. The two traded places in a tense battle that lasted the full race distance, but it was Csepreghi who came out on top – holding off Langford in the final few corners to take the win. Harrison Line had a consistent drive to complete the podium in third.
The Feature Race was another epic duel between Csepreghi and Langford. This time it was Langford who claimed victory in a drag race to the line, edging Csepreghi by just a tenth of a second. Line again showed his consistency, finishing third, but this time much closer – just two seconds behind the lead pair.
Langford took the round win by virtue of his pole position and Feature Race victory. Csepreghi and Line rounded out the top three overall, with Langford also securing the fastest lap of the day.
SODI Heavyweights
Barry Morris, having recently made the switch from DMAX to the SODI class, made an immediate impact by taking pole position ahead of Richard Da Silva and Charlie Fenton. Championship leader Freddie Jenkins had a qualifying to forget, starting down in nineteenth overall and needing a big recovery drive.
Morris made no mistakes in the sprint, dominating from the front. Jenkins impressed with a solid recovery, climbing through the pack to take second place in class. Sailesh Shah was just behind in third.
In the Feature Race, Morris was once again untouchable, sealing the victory and picking up the fastest lap in the process. Jenkins continued his charge with another strong performance, finishing thirteenth overall and second in the Heavyweights – crucial points for his championship challenge. Shah added another podium to his tally in third.
Morris took maximum points for the round and will be one to watch for the remainder of the season, especially after such a commanding debut. Jenkins extends his championship lead thanks to two strong race results.
DMAX Lightweights
James King was in a class of his own in qualifying, putting in a dominant lap six tenths quicker than anyone else. Luka Nik secured second on the grid, with Charlie Foster two tenths behind in third.
That form carried through to the sprint where King stormed to victory, finishing fifteen seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Nik and Foster crossed the line in second and third respectively, but both received post-race penalties for track limits, promoting Karlis Elmanis to second and dropping Nik to third and Foster to fourth.
King’s dominance continued in the Feature Race. Once again, he opened a sizeable gap and cruised to victory while also setting the fastest lap. Foster recovered from his earlier penalty to finish second with a solid margin over Harry Asher, who fought his way through the field to claim third.
King’s double race win and fastest lap secured him the overall round victory. Foster and Elmanis completed the top three across the round, while Asher was arguably the most improved of the day.
DMAX Heavyweights
Scott Woosey narrowly edged out Ashley Mayston-King in qualifying by just two tenths, with Joe Rivera a little further back in third.
In the sprint, Woosey managed to hold off Mayston-King across the line by 1.7 seconds, with Rivera holding position in third.
The Feature Race was much the same, with Woosey taking maximum points for the round after another well-managed drive. Mayston-King stayed close but couldn't quite close the gap. Rivera completed the Heavyweight podium once again.
Woosey’s clean sweep has tightened the championship battle, and if this form continues into the next round, he could be a serious contender for the title.
Looking Ahead
The next round of SuperChamps is set to take place on Sunday 11th May and will follow the Heats format in a Bus Stop layout. With the championship battles heating up across every class, Round Six promises to be another action-packed affair.
Thursday Night League - Round Eight
Daytona Milton Keynes
SODI Lightweights
Charlie Csepreghi secured pole position with a commanding lap, finishing four tenths clear of Tudor Geanta in second. Barry Morris followed a couple of tenths further back to complete the top three.
In the race, Csepreghi carried his qualifying form straight through to the final, delivering a dominant lights-to-flag victory. Harry Williams impressed with a charge through the field from sixth on the grid to finish second. Meanwhile, Morris just about held off a fast-charging Geanta and Jacob Csepreghi to hang on to third place.
SODI Heavyweights
David Rollins put in another strong qualifying performance, taking pole position as he looked to extend his championship lead over Ash Chivers. Chivers had a difficult session, qualifying twenty-second overall – ten places behind Rollins and eight behind Agastya Lakhar, who was second quickest in the Heavyweights.
Rollins went on to dominate the race, finishing fourteen seconds clear of Lakhar. However, a post-race penalty demoted Lakhar to third, handing second place to Oliver Olney, who had finished a lap down on the overall leader.
DMAX Lightweights
Lee Schnitzler topped a highly competitive qualifying session, edging out James King by a couple of tenths, with Nathan Boyle just behind in third.
In the race, King narrowly clinched the win by 2.4 seconds over Schnitzler, maintaining his perfect record of taking both the race win and fastest lap in every round he has contested so far. Charlie Foster, the current championship leader at Daytona Sandown Park, worked his way past Boyle to take third, with Harry Asher finishing just behind in fifth.
DMAX Heavyweights
Ashley Mayston-King stormed to pole position, going over 1.4 seconds quicker than David Rollins in second. Lewis Middleton rounded out the top three.
Mayston-King translated his pace into a dominant race victory, finishing fourteen seconds ahead of Middleton, who made his way through the field to take second. Rollins completed the podium, while current championship leader Paul Studd had to settle for fourth – though he did claim the extra point for the fastest lap.
Next Round
We return to Daytona Sandown Park on Thursday 1st May for Round Nine, switching to the Alternate layout.
Daytona Tamworth
N35-ST Lightweights
Serge Harjau claimed pole position in qualifying for the N35-ST Lightweights, but with just three tenths separating the top three, it was all to play for in the race. Fin Imber lined up second, with championship leader Jude Lillyman starting third.
Harjau executed a flawless lights-to-flag victory in the final race, leading every lap and crossing the line with a margin of seven and a half seconds. Lillyman got the jump on Imber early on but spent much of the race fending off James Estrop – the heavyweight pole sitter – who was mixing it with the lighter class front-runners. Imber, frustrated by Estrop’s presence ahead of him, had to settle for third after being unable to properly challenge Lillyman in the closing laps.
N35-ST Heavyweights
James Estrop was the standout performer in the heavyweight category, taking pole position and going on to dominate the class once again. He even got amongst the lightweight leaders, finishing just two seconds behind Lillyman and ahead of Imber overall. Behind Estrop, Jordan Schofield and Brandon Gathercole completed the heavyweight podium, though there was little action between the two, with most of the drama happening further up the field.
DMAX-GT Lightweights
Qualifying for the DMAX Lightweights was nothing short of electrifying. Lucas Gathercole smashed the existing championship lap record with a stunning 54.464 – four tenths clear of Eduardo Pozo, who also delivered a lap worthy of the previous record. Jude Lillyman qualified just behind them and looked a real threat for the final.
In the race, however, it was Pozo who stole the show. Despite Gathercole defending bravely for thirteen laps, Pozo eventually found a way past with a clean and committed move on lap fourteen. Once in clear air, Pozo didn’t let up – not only taking the win by just under a second but also lowering the lap record even further, coming dangerously close to dipping into the 53s for the first time in championship history. Lillyman took third, completing a strong day with two podiums.
DMAX-GT Heavyweights
The surprise of the evening came in DMAX Heavyweight qualifying, where Luke Mallard snatched pole position ahead of season-long dominator Tom Duffy. Mallard then made that advantage count in the race, holding firm under pressure to become the first driver this season to deny Duffy a win.
Behind Mallard, Harrison Fisher delivered one of his best drives of the season to secure second, while Sonny Zacharias rounded out the podium after a consistent and composed performance.
Next Round
Round Nine returns to Daytona Tamworth in two weeks’ time.
Daytona Sandown Park
SODI Lightweights
Once again, it was Fin Ions who claimed victory in the SODIs, crossing the line six-and-a-half seconds clear at the chequered flag. Harrison Rudge and Vivek Bhalla finished just three tenths apart, with Rudge initially taking second. However, that result was reversed post-race following a one-place penalty for an illegal start, promoting Bhalla to second place.
While Ions’ margin of victory suggests a dominant performance, the race itself was far from straightforward. The top five drivers battled fiercely in the opening stages, with positions changing almost every lap. Kyle Cheong led briefly, taking advantage of the others squabbling behind him, while Oliver Thornett was also heavily involved in the scrap. It was Ions’ second half of the race that truly impressed – he pulled out a six-and-a-half second lead in just twelve laps. He also secured the extra point for the fastest lap with a 51.953.
In the SODI Heavyweights, Matthew West took the win, with James Greene close behind in second.
DMAX Lightweights
In the DMAX Lightweights, Alfie Shrubb secured his first win since stepping up into DMAX for Thursday Night League. Yaseen Khan crossed the line in second, with Ellis McKenzie third. Post-race, the result was briefly amended when Khan was awarded a penalty that promoted McKenzie to second, but the decision was overturned after a successful appeal – meaning the top three stood as they finished on track.
Further back, Jack Redfern emerged from a hectic battle over fifth place, finishing twenty-two seconds ahead of Morgan Humphreys in sixth. Behind them came an intense ten-kart scrap for seventh that at times went too far, with excessive contact contributing to a whopping sixteen penalties across the race. Shrubb also recorded the fastest lap of the race.
DMAX Heavyweights
In the DMAX Heavyweights, Robert Guymer took a well-earned victory, with Marcus Moore just one-and-a-half seconds behind at the line. Henry Lopes-Gracey completed the podium in third.
Next Round
Round Eight delivered yet another action-packed evening of racing at Sandown Park. With just a few rounds remaining, the battles across all classes are only intensifying. We return on Thursday 1st May for Round Nine, where we’ll switch back to our Alternate layout.
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