Results
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MSA Super 1 Series
Round 5 - Clay Pigeon - 30th July
2006
Formula A
Overtaking brilliance hands Rogers victory
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Waltham Cross karter Chris Rogers gave a master-class in overtaking to move from 13th on the grid to win the second Renault Formula A championship race at Clay Pigeon in Dorset on Sunday, 30th July.
Victory looked unlikely after a kart span in front of Rogers during the first Formula A heat, leaving him nowhere to go but off the track. Despite finishing second in the other heat, he had it all to do in the points-scoring finals of the B4 Super One kart meeting, starting the first in 15th position.
He improved two places in that race, but his star performance came in the incident-packed second final where he carved through the chaos to join the leading pack with 15 of the 20 laps still to go. At this point the race looked like it was going to be between Jason Parrott (Peterborough), and final one winner Michael Ryall (Plaistow, London), with Martin Smith (Andover) in a close third place. “I got into fourth place and could see I was closing on the three in front of me,” said Rogers. “As soon as they started battling with each other I knew I was on them.”
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The drama kicked off when both Ryall and Smith passed the lead kart of Parrott. Ryall’s attempt on the lead a couple of laps later backfired, dropping him back to fifth to the benefit of Parrott, Rogers and Mark Litchfield (Heage, Derbyshire). Then it was Parrott’s turn to drop back two places when a move on Smith failed. With four laps to go Rogers moved into the lead, with Litchfield following him into second. Litchfield, who finished final one in 15th place after being delayed by the stricken kart of Riki Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield), ran in tandem with Rogers in final two, the pair inexorably homing in on the leaders. Although Litchfield made a move for the lead on the final lap it wasn’t bold enough to stick, and he settled for a safe second place at the flag.
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“I couldn’t have hoped for a better start to final two,” said Litchfield. “I could see an accident coming up and avoided it, I think I gained about seven places. To start from 15th on the grid I was quite happy to finish second. The kart was going a lot better here and with this result I’m feeling confident for the rest of the season.” Despite his comeback, Litchfield was overtaken in the Renault Formula A Championship by his season-long rival Jason Parrott, who was third in final one and fourth in the second final. With only two more races to go, at Rowrah in Cumbria in September, Parrott leads reigning champion Litchfield by only four points.
Renault Formula A Championship provisional points: 1st – Jason Parrott 460pts; 2nd – Mark Litchfield 456pts; 3rd – Chris Rogers 411pts; 4th – Danny Cruttenden 403pts; 5th– Jamie Croxford 400pts; 6th – Martin Smith 378pts.
Formula ICA
Double win helps
Bell close in on title
Lee Bell headed home to High Wycombe from Clay Pigeon in Dorset with renewed confidence in his Renault Formula ICA karting campaign after taking two convincing race victories in the championship finals on Sunday, 30th July.
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Running a GFR engine for the first time, Bell won the two qualifying heats on Sunday morning to secure pole position for the first final. He led the race from start to finish and repeated the performance in final two. “The new engine was ballistic and there’s no drop off in performance, which is a problem I’ve had earlier this year,” said Bell. “The kart was handling very well thanks to my team. It’s boosted my confidence and at the next rounds I won’t be nervous, I’ll keep a cool head.”
He will battle Ollie Millroy (Claygate, Surrey) when the Super One Championships have their final two rounds at Rowrah in Cumbria, in September. Millroy, who has dominated the Renault ICA category so far this year, had a difficult weekend. Dropping out of the first qualifying heat meant he could only manage an 11th place grid spot for final one, with a 10th place finish. A starting problem in final two left him trailing the pack of 26 karts at the start, but a spirited recovery brought him the fastest lap of the race and 13th place.
Despite his problems, Millroy held onto his championship lead, with a 10-point margin over Bell with two races to go. Matt Truelove (Lincoln) moved into third place in the championship with a pair of podium finishes at Clay Pigeon, and a strong start in final two moved Shaun Carter (Crowthorne) from fourth to second place at the end of the race – raising him to fourth in the series standings.
Renault Formula ICA Championship provisional points: 1st – Ollie Millroy 445pts; 2nd – Lee Bell 435pts; 3rd – Matt Truelove 407pts; 4th – Shaun Carter – 402pts; 5th – Jonathan Walker 400pts; 6th – Jason Edgar 388pts.
Formula JICA
Jenkins wins
double as title race sharpens
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Scott Jenkins (Bristol) delivered two fine drives when they counted, taking two victories as the Renault Formula JICA championship battle intensified at Clay Pigeon on Sunday, 30th July.
He started the first points-scoring Super One final behind championship leader Jack Harvey (Lincoln), but both were passed by championship challenger Oliver Rowland (Penistone) on the opening lap. While Harvey dropped back to fifth, Jenkins passed Rowland on lap two and didn’t surrender the lead, although the leading pair quickly eased away from the rest of the field.
Although his win gave him pole position for final two, Jenkins had to contend with Richard Bradley (Blackheath, London) as well as Rowland, who was eager to further close the championship gap to Harvey. Bradley rocketed from sixth on the grid to take the lead from Jenkins on lap two. Rowland also got past Jenkins but when he made a move for the lead, Jenkins followed him past Bradley, who dropped to fifth. It took another six laps for Jenkins to regain the lead of the race, passing Rowland at Billy’s corner, only for Rowland to move ahead once again a lap later.
Rowland sensed another move from Jenkins on the final lap, but moved to defend his line too early, losing speed and allowing four chasing karters to go through. He crossed the line fifth, with James Godbehere (Doncaster) following Jenkins through, and Tom Joyner (Braintree), who had started the race in 15th place, taking an excellent third place at the end. Richard Bradley partially recovered from his earlier slip to finish fourth. After two eventful races at Clay Pigeon, Rowland erased five points from Harvey’s championship lead, which is now just 12 points with two races to go.
Jordan Chamberlain (Newport, Gwent) fell out of close contention of the leading two after dismal heats netted a non-finish and an exclusion, putting him in 29th place on the first final grid. Things were looking bleak after final one, which saw Chamberlain retire after five laps, but in his last race of the day, he moved up 18 places to take ninth at the flag and conserve his third place slot in the series, now 46 points behind the leader. He finished the second final just behind Laura Tillett (Addington), who made a superb climb from 20th on the grid to seventh position in the first championship final. She started final two in seventh place, finishing in eighth position.
Renault Formula JICA Championship provisional points: 1st – Jack Harvey 450pts; 2nd – Oliver Rowland 438pts; 3rd – Jordan Chamberlain 404pts; 4th – Richard Bradley 389pts; 5th – Gary Thompson 364pts; 6th – Robert Butler 363pts.
Full Race Results from Round 5...
Photographs courtesy of Chris Walker - www.kartpix.net
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