We have some terrible news for the karting community this month. A young driver from Forest Edge Kart Club in Hampshire has died in Germany. John Fleming, 22, from Hook in Hampshire, went missing during a weekend trip with friends to the Nurburgring. His body was found in a lake two days later. John was an immensely popular in the club and fellow members reflect on a man who brought cheer to the grid.

Kieron Woolgar, 177 Rotax Masters driver: “John loved his karting; he could not wait for the next race weekend. He certainly brightened up my time at the track and many others. He would be the guaranteed smile on the grid, talking to anyone that would listen!  He will be sorely missed by all that ever came into contact with him.

“John loved anything to do with Motorsport. He was a big fan of old Minis and spent many hours working on his own and friends’ and families’ machines. He looked forward every year to the annual Nurburgring trip with ‘The Black Group’.

“I first met John when I started teaching him as an apprentice paint sprayer at 18. He was always hungry for knowledge and worked extremely hard, at many times carrying the rest of his group, a model student. He later joined Thatcham Academy as an Apprentice Technical Instructor and became an exemplary employee, colleague and most of all a friend to us all. John never had a bad word to say about anyone and I have never heard a bad word spoken about him. I don’t think it would be possible.

“The whole family were not only relations but good mates. Jean and Robbie, his mum and dad, Will and Robin, his brother and sister-in-law, and many more will feel a huge loss in his passing. Perhaps he will have the track ready up there when we all meet him again.”

Colin Wright, Vice Chairman, FEKC: “John was one of those people that really enlightened everyone’s life that he came in contact with, such was his easy going and super helpful nature. Nothing was ever too much for John; he will be missed by just about everyone he ever met, one of the stars in the sky definitely dimmed a little when they took John.”

Chris Partridge, 177 Rotax Masters driver: “As Kieron and Colin have said, my clearest memory of John is his smile – plus those glasses in his helmet! But I have a particular memory related to racing itself. We took our ARKS test at the same time and new drivers in a club share a great sense of camaraderie as well as competitive instinct on the track.

“I remember one race earlier this summer when I could not pass John whatever I did. We had a five lap battle which felt like an eternity for us. I tried a few “dummy” moves left and right but nothing worked. John is in the green kart in these video stills from the action.

We passed the finishing line close together and we shook hands on the slow down area just before the pits, such was the satisfaction we had from that race. His departure is a terrible loss – I hope he doesn’t get too much practice in the sky ahead of our arrival at some point in time!”

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Gran Turismo 5 – the most highly anticipated console racer – recently announced they would be including karts in their game, and now footage has emerged of gameplay. Check it out -

First impressions suggests the inclusion of karts (which appear to be Yamaha KT100s)  in GT5 are more of a gesture than an accurate recreation of kart dynamics. But anything that brings karting to the wider audience must be a good thing!  Gt5 is released in Europe in Novemeber.

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Dunkeswell Kart Racing Club will be hosting the 2010 South West Championships at the superb Mansell Raceway on 28th & 29th August 2010. Entry for the karting bonanza of the year is only £80 for members and £90 for non-members (price includes a hog roast voucher for a nominated driver) and can be completed online at www.dunkeswell.com. In addition to the usual entertainment, we are pleased to announce that Class Sponsor, Armortek, will be putting on a display of their 1/6th scale armoured vehicles.

So if you haven’t yet raced at the best circuit in the South West why not come and try it, who knows, you could end leaving a champion! For further details please see the club website at www.dunkeswell.com and get your entry in quick as the grids are filling up!

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With both days of the race meeting being warm and sunny, a first for the season! The 87 entrants for round 6 of the DKRC championship were able to get some meaningful testing under their chassis.

Race day was warm and dry and first out were the cadets and the usual suspects were out front with Connor Hall storming through the pack from 11^th to take the win in heat 1. Izaac Channing balanced it out in heat 2 whilst in heat 3, Thomas Harrison took the flag. With one apiece it was going to be a tough final. Next up were the Junior Rotax and once again the Jensen Mansell team drivers, Nick Arthur and Will Maslin, set the benchmark by recording a 1-2 in heat one. Sam Morgan came 3^rd. In heat 2, Morgan came good coming from 4^th to take the win. Behind him and making up 9 places was Arthur with a returning Mac Austin taking 3^rd place. In the last heat, Tyler Weedon took an early lead and held off a determined Maslin to take a well deserved win. Maslin took second with Morgan third.

In the Senior Rotax class, Stewart Baker stamped his authority on the rest of the grid by recording two out of two heat wins. Charlie Robertson managed to deny him a hat trick by holding him off to take the win in heat 3. Also putting in strong performances throughout the heats were Daz Alway and Gemma Batstone. If you think running a Minimax/Junior TKM/Junior Blue grid is confusing, try sorting out the results! In the heats the Minimax class was owned by James Moorcroft and Lewis Bowles with Moorcroft taking 2 wins to Bowles 1.

The Junior TKM grid might have only consisted of 2 entrants but they battled it out over the 3 heats and it could have been 2 heat wins for James Chubb had he not been penalised for a start line infringement which saw him dock places and allowing Jamie Andrews to get one over him. A growing Junior Blue grid saw Ryan Edgecombe take two wins with Ben Pearson taking the third. With 3 novice drives competing, it looks like there could be a renewed interest in the Blues class at Dunks. In order to make them feel wanted the 250 National boys were next up and as usual put on a great display of hard but fair racing. With 3 winners across the heats, namely Luke Plain, Andy Gulliford and James Clarkson it was all set for a cracking final.

Last up were the 177 Rotax class and this was hardcore racing at its best with 3 exceptionally experienced drivers fighting for the wins. Matt Isgrove managed to fend off Stewart Baker (Yes, the same one) to take two wins relegating Baker to 2^nd place. However, Baker made amends by taking the win in heat 3. A brace of 3^rd places went to the highly competitive and experienced Nigel Hughes.

With the heats sorted, it was time to run the finals. First up were the cadets and with Connor Hall blowing the start, championship leader, Izaac Channing was clear to take the win after a brief battle with Harrison Thomas. Bradley Drowne came through from 5^th on the grid to claim the last step on the podium. Next out were the Junior Rotax boys. With the front row locked out by Arthur, Maslin and Morgan it was going to be a tough race. As predicted, they broke away from the pack with Arthur taking an early lead but tracked all the way by Morgan and Maslin. It stayed that way until Lap 13 when Morgan made his trademark move and slipped through to take the lead pushing Arthur to 3rd.

However, on the next lap Maslin made a move on Morgan who defended but in doing so allowed Arthur to slip back through to take the win. In the first of two finals for Stewart Baker, he cruised to victory from pole with a comfortable 4 second margin over second placed Robertson. In third and again demonstrating a real competitive spirit was Gemma Batstone who fought her way up from 6^th on the grid.

The Minimax/Junior Blue/Junior TKM libre final was equally fast paced with Moorcroft and Bowles capitalising on their grid positions to break away from the pack and take the flag some 20 seconds ahead of the chasing Hardy who took third. In the Junior TKM, Andrews managed to break the dominance of Chubb to hold him off and take the win. Ben Pearson in the Junior Blue class took a strong win and was even mixing it with the Minimax drivers on the track. Behind him was disarray. William Goodhew had a great start but gradually dropped off but still managed to take second in class. Ryan Edgecombe came third a lap down on the lead drivers.

The 250 National class was a real battle of attrition with 3 drivers not making the grid and only 3 finishing. With Championship leader, Luke Plain not getting off the line and Gulliford having a great start only suffer mechanical issues on lap 12, it was left to Andy Ward to take a well deserved win whilst behind him the Moreno brothers, Juan and Marcel made it a family affair in second and third. Last up and contesting his second final of the day, Stewart Baker showed no signs of fatigue as he romped away putting daylight between himself and the chasing Isgrove who just couldn’t find a way past the championship leader. Behind him and taking third place for the fourth time was Nigel Hughes.

A great weekends racing helped by the weather conditions and the hard work of the admin and support teams. Thanks go to the marshals, medical team and the MSA officials who kept the meeting running smoothly. Next month is the prestigious South West Championships, so if you have never raced at Dunkeswell , why not come down and join in a celebration of karting at the South West’s premier circuit.

Final Results and Standing for Round 6

Cadets

1. 22 Izaac Channing Zip Exminster

2. 26 Harrison Thomas Zip Merthyr Tydfil

3. 49 Bradley Drowne BRM Beaworthy

Junior Rotax

1. 37 Nick Arthur Exprit Chippenham

2. 21 Sam Morgan Lewis Hamilton Bradley Stoke

3. 29 Will Maslin Exprit Malmesbury

Senior Rotax

1. 95 Stewart Baker Storm Ilminster

2. 32 Charlie Robertson Wright Birmingham

3. 29 Gemma Batstone CRG Wellington

Minimax

1. 21 Jamees Moorcroft Wright Dorchester

2. 97 Lewis Bowles Storm Poole

3. 99 Ian Hardy Top Kart Plymouth

Junior TKM

1. 52 Jamie Andrews CRG Kidderminster

2. 38 James Chubb Octane Wellington

Junior Blue

1. 25 Ben Pearson Tony Exeter

2. 70 William Goodhew Kosmic Bovey Tracey

3. 42 Ryan Edgecombe Tony Seaton

250 National Gearbox

1. 20 Andy Ward Anderson

2. 33 Juan Moreno Anderson Plymouth

3. 32 Marcel Moreno Anderson Plymouth

Rotax 177

1. 95 Stewart Baker Storm Ilminster

2. 25 Matt Isgrove Storm Weston Super Mare

3. 18 Nigel Hughes CRG Llanharry

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I was going to start this with a fantastically elaborate metaphor explaining what’s so magic about owning and driving a 100cc kart. How it compared to owning an Alfa Romeo instead of a boring VW Polo or something about a painter over-working a piece of art. However I am not as good as Jeremy Clarkson at doing that, so I won’t. The fact is it’s very simple to describe the way driving and owning a 100cc makes you feel in the modern era of karting – emotional.

Wright/Maxter Formula A – Whilton Mill – The noise is incredible!

You get emotional for several reasons. In terms of driving, it’s ecstasy, it is the perfect driving machine. Nothing connects a driver to a piece of tarmac in a more pure and simplistic way. The less mechanical components between your physical input and the road the better. No clutches, starter motors, batteries or power valves to get in the way of the actual process of driving. But there’s something above that that just makes you literally tingle. You feel it through your feet, your hands and your backside. A Formula A doesn’t have balance gears so the whole kart feels alive, it actually fizzles as it builds up revs. It is something truly very special indeed. The way the kart dances about beneath you brings a sense of satisfaction that’s hard to put into words. It’s light, awesomely fast, and incredibly nourishing – it’s pure emotion.

As the revs rise higher you are not being limited by any electrical devices. Nothing is artificially holding you back. It’s just you and the kart going all out, full pelt. That may end in either you or the kart exploding, but that’s the price you pay for pushing the limits of what’s mechanically possible at 20,000rpm. You could say the emotion you feel is happiness at this stage, but it’s more than that, it’s almost transcends happiness… it’s pure joy and beauty. You are experiencing something more than just driving fast, you’re experiencing bliss! The ascending sound of the screaming engine… it’s giving you every last horsepower it can possibly give. Nothing in the driving world can compare to driving a fully-lit 100cc kart.

Express yourself – It’s all about enjoyment!

At this stage you don’t care about short piston life, or the fact you have to bump start the thing (which is not a hassle). You’re experiencing the same thing that the world’s greatest driver once described as “the purest form of motorsport”. Even for the karting mechanic, everything they do on the kart is focused on going fast and the actual process of driving. No changing batteries or changing clutches just so you can push a button to start on the grid. No wasted time on unnecessary ancillaries.

But with this comes a great sadness. One very respected karter said to me recently “Watching a kart race used to be a beautiful thing” while describing their love for karting. It almost brings grown men to tears. It’s a magical indulgence that doesn’t have to make sense. In the pursuit of normality and wider acceptance, the soul of karting, it’s very heartbeat that is driving purity, has been sold, and for what? Once a sport that stood up and said “This is us. We are mental for doing this but we don’t care. We make no apologies!” has now been relegated to just another ‘recreational activity’.

It fizzles and tingles! Driving perfection!

The demise of 100cc karting as a widely raced class has had a greater emotional impact on karting than anyone could have imagined. Understandably there are many content karters who’ve only ever had the opportunity to experience karting in its modern form, that’s fine, but behind closed doors there’s a feeling of deflation by those who’ve been in the sport for decades. It’s like losing a part of your very being, and it’s very painful. These melancholic karters, including me, are constantly searching for the ‘next big thing’ that can make karting proper again ‘like it used to be back in the day’. But in truth we have to accept nothing really can, no matter how hard we try to fool ourselves . While other karts can be fun of course, nothing can quite replace the untainted version of karting.

So the answer is quite simple. Don’t go around saying ‘bring back 100cc’. I’ve done that for years already. Don’t waste your time, it won’t get you anywhere. The remarkable truth is it hasn’t actually gone away! The ‘purest form of motorsport’ is still very much alive in karters hearts and minds. Spend 5 minutes with anyone in the kart paddock and it won’t be long before you’re talking about the good ol’ days.

Tiny but mighty – The Formula A

So if you are pure at heart find yourself a Formula A or ICA. Don’t feel you have to reject other forms of go-karting. Just put your 100cc motor on a kart with a fresh piston in and take it to the track. This is about you, the kart, and the road! Forget about the politics and complexity of modern karting, just enjoy yourself and flip the bird at anyone that says it’s ‘unreliable and pointless’. Bring your friends along and indulge in something that brings joy. If it explodes who cares, karting isn’t supposed to be rational, it’s supposed to be beautiful! Enjoy it!

Alan Dove

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Last weekend saw the Suoer one debut for the American Cadet driver Santino Ferrucci with the Whilton Mill based Msport Karting Team.

First qualifying in Pole position in his group but with the rain that preceded his session covered up the young Americans true pace.

Final one would see Santino line up on 5th place on the starting grid and although leading for most of the race, a last lap scrap demoted him to 3rd position but his first podium of the year none the less.

Final 2 started with Ferrucci settling down for the long race with 5-6 steady laps before his kart started to work. Santino then hit the front where he stayed for most of the race dropping back only a few places which he soon made back in the closing stages. The last few laps produced one of the races of the year with Ferrucci holding off his opposition to take his first win on UK soil and we believe the first victory for an American driver in Great Britain.

Santino’s new Msport team are delighted with there new star. Msport Team owner Keiran Crawley said after the race” Not bad for our first Super One Cadet race, Santino is a stunning driver in every way and will be hard to beat after this result. This is our First Cadet Super One Race and our First Cadet win so we are all ecstatic. We usually focus on KF3 in the UK so this was a dream start to our Cadet program,”

Msport Karting has one space for a dedicated Cadet driver to finish the 2010 season; we will also be racing in the Super cadet class for 2011 with a complete kart in stock ready to test for any interested drivers.

Msport would like to thank Shoxx Performance for the engines.

To contact Msport - info@zanardikart.co.uk or visit www.zanardikart.co.uk

Tel: 01327 842778

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The sun was shining for round 5, with the club incorporating the first Help For Heroes Festival in raising monies for this great charity, after the fun events, great racing, trolley race and Army Catering Corp providing the weekend’s food ala Helmand Province style, the club expects to have raised over £10,000 for this great cause. Tiff Needell hotfooted it back from Goodwood to hand out trophies with Caroline Noakes, MP for the area.

Another big grid of competitors greeted the race circuit, Minimax being the first A final to take to the track had Elliot Hall on pole with Piers Hickin alongside, a good start from Hall saw Hickin tuck in behind with David Wright just behind and the trio started to pull away from the pack. At mid stage Hall started to punch fastest lap after fastest lap to ease away from Hickin, and with Wright’s kart seemingly going “off” he started to drift back into Lewis Bowles’ reach. At the chequered flag the first five finished as they gridded with Hall unchallenged for a fine win from Hickin and Wright taking the final podium slot just ahead of Bowles.

Another substantial grid in Rotax delivered a great day’s racing with Forest Edge old boy Barry Thomsit making a welcome return from Super 1 to sit on pole, Scott Smart alongside. Thomsit took advantage of his pole, heading into Haynes Loop in first place and this pretty much set up his final, with a great drive Thomsit took a lights to flag victory and the Heroes Festival trophy, in this class sponsored by Coles Racing. Behind Thomsit the action was thick and fast with Smart’s tyres drifting off mid race, falling back into the reach of Henry Easthorpe, Alastair Wayman and Dean Hale with less than half a second separing all four across the finish line. Smart drove a mature race, nursing tyres through to the finish to hold Easthorpe by half a kart’s length from Hale.

In the combined Masters and 177 Steve Pratt took pole, Dan Bushell alongside, Pratt got the better start, Nick Maton easing through from 4th to second early on edging Bushell wide at Midgetts, Jamie Drabble just tucking in behind the pair and looking for an option to get past that never looked to open up. The respect shown in the class was admirable and with the trio battling to get on terms with Pratt they ultimately slowed each other up allowing Pratt the opportunity to ease away to take the win. Maton, with some quick laps toward the end utilised his pace to hold off Bushell and Drabble by less than two tenths of a second to produce a nail biting finish. The Masters had Pete Thomas on track grid position of third place and just lose out early on to the “Youngsters”, yet with his old wise driving head, settled in behind them to take first Masters home with lap times on par with the front battle, Charlie Watson took second place Master with Jim Plunkett taking the final podium slot and his first ever trophy!

A smaller grid of TKM than normal saw blistering pace from Sam Grogan on pole drive away from the field in dominating style with Martin Kirby this month having to settle for second.

The libre grid of cadets had Comer shod Jordan Gilbertson drive away to take first on track and class, behind a thrilling race developed between the Honda of George Thompson and Matteo Zanetti’s Comer shod BRM, a kart bumper separated them at the line with Zanetti taking second on track and Comer, Thompson third on track and first across the line in Honda. The new track seems to be bringing the Honda’s closer to the Comers on ultimate pace with Jason Duffett’s Honda finishing just behind Thompson, Simon Carr’s Honda just following home Duffett. The top eight saw four Hondas and four Comers to show how equally matched the youngsters are in both classes to show Cadet Libre racing at its very best.

Junior Max continues to be one of the biggest grids in the South, Sam Cassidy with three good heats took pole from Ollie Pidgely. Cassidy got a great start , Pidgely was left on the outside of Haynes loop with no way to cut back in, Levi Coombs came through from row two to sit on the bumper of Cassidy, after the first few corners those two started to pull away from Cody Tree and Jack Mayle. Cassidy looked to have the race under control with a mature drive, pinpoint lines and no mistakes. Two laps to go Coombs timed a move to perfection and outbraked Cassidy going into Midgetts and edged away slightly for the remainder of the lap, Cassidy now the hunter upped his pace and produced his fastest laps in the hope of catching Coombs. At the line Coombs held off Cassidy to take the McLaren sponsored trophy with Cody Tree taking third place from Jack Mayle and Matthew Duffett.

A resurgence of gearbox continues at Barton Stacey with the track changes appealing to the drivers, Andrew Gulliford took first place in 250 from Kenton Ashforth who struggled in the first half of the race, finding his form a little too late to impact Gulliford’s lead. Jamie Garvie secured first 125 gearbox home being less than 2/1000ths of a second slower then Ashforth’s fastest time! James Berio took second across the line from Garvie.

A great weekend’s fun and racing, a huge sum raised for Help For Heroes and the start of the Heroes Festival that promises to run for as long as the charity is in existence, the club wishes to thanks the wider karting community for donating so many prizes toward the classes and the auction, the Army Catering Corps who were fantastic in providing a unique karting experience of full English Breakfasts and mandatory Saturday Army style curry.

Watch out for next year when this event promises to be even bigger and better with more prizes, more fun and more Army to make the event even more special.

Comer Cadet

1st Jordan Gilbertson, BRM

2nd Matteo Zanetti, BRM

3rd James Thompson, Zip

4th Adam Worley, BRM

Honda Cadet

1st George Thomson, Project 1

2nd Jason Duffett, Project 1

3rd Simon Carr, Project 1

4th Fletcher Trueman, Project 1

WTP

1st Joe Pfiffner, BRM

2nd Lawrence Boyington, TWS

Minimax

1st Elliot Hall, Tony

2nd Piers Hickin, Kosmic

3rd David Wright, X30

4th Lewis Bowles, Storm

Junior Max

1st Levi Coombs, Tony

2nd Sam Cassidy, Kosmic

3rd Cody Tree, Tony

4th Jack Mayle, Sodi

5th Matt Duffett, Tony

Rotax Max

1st Barry Thomsit, Kosmic

2nd Scott Smart, BRM

3rd Henry Easthorpe, Sodi

4th Dean Hale, Kosmic

5th Alastair Wayman, Maranello

Senior TKM

1st Sam Grogan, Tony

2nd Martin Kirby, Tony

Rotax 177

1st Steve Pratt, Tony

2nd Nick Maton, Tony

3rd Dan Bushell, Kosmic

4th Jamie Drabble, Gillard

177 Masters

1st Peter Thomas, Kosmic

2nd Charlie Watson, Gillard

3rd Jim Plunkett, Birel

4th Kieron Woolgar, X30

125 Gearbox

1st Jamie Garvie, Sodi

2nd James Berio, Birel

3rd Ashley Ashforth, Energy

250 Gearbox

1st Andrew Gulliford, Cyclone

2nd Kenton Ashforth, Jade

Report Colin Wright

Photo courtesy of Ravensport

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Although there is no race meeting in August we are holding two additional Open Practice dates that I thought you would like to be made aware of.

The first is on Tuesday 3rd of August from 10am-4pm

The second is on Thursday 19th of August from 10am-4pm

The cost is £45 for BPKC Members and £50 for non members

As usual, all karts must comply with MSA regulations, as must all drivers safety wear. In the interests of safety the day may be run in sessions.

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