December 5th 2008 Race Report

Celtic Championship

Llandow Kart Club rounded out its 2008 season with the now traditional Celtic Championships and, while the 60-strong entry was slightly down on recent years, some excellent racing brought the curtain down in style.

Overnight frost meant a delayed start but, once the track had been readied, glorious sunshine allowed all races to be completed, with the finals even being extended by two laps to give the hardy drivers extra track time for their money.

The format was the familiar mix of timed qualifying, single heat, pre-final and final that has become the staple of the season finale, and led to both compelling racing and unexpected results across the nine classes.
 
Cadet Comer produced yet another win – and title – for Macaulay Austin but, for once, the local hero did not have it all his own way as Tom Harvey excelled by winning both the heat and pre-final, before chasing Austin all the way to the chequered flag in the final. Owen Griffiths, who had also surprised Austin by being fastest in qualifying, completed podium.

Harvey Lanaway controlled the build-up in the Cadet Honda class, but it was Robbie Gallier who came through in a tough final battle to pass Lanaway and take the win. Ross Chell completed the podium in third.
 
National #1 plate Jack Davis returned to defend his Celtic Junior Honda crown and duly set the fastest time in qualifying before winning both the heat and pre-final. However, the clean sweep was denied him on the last corner of the last lap when Jamie Warren pounced to claim a shock win to round out a great first year of MSA racing. Ferdinand Ball took third in a final which was delayed long enough for Lloyd Sealy to change a bent rear axle and make the start.
 
Ashley Davies returned to the Junior TKM 2-Stroke class after racing more recently in Junior Max, and showed that he had not lost his touch by narrowly beating Sebastian Hutchinson in a day-long duel. TKM 4-Stroke racer Zach Jones completed the podium on his first 2-Stroke appearance.
 
Meanwhile, a depleted Junior TKM 4-Stroke field saw Andrew Davies register his first title, with Isaac Price finishing second to round off his first MSA season.

Junior Rotax produced its best field of the season to end the year and appeared to be going the way of Welsh champion John Pike, who showed the way in the early races. However, a spin on lap one of the final, which also saw four others spin in sympathy, allowed club veteran Sam Taylor to escape to victory. Jack Drinkall chased hard before settling for second, with Josh Gray taking a superb third.

Mini Max also produced a good grid, with Sam Marsh and Steven Handford sharing the early spoils. However, when Handford got the drop at the start of the final, he disappeared into the distance, leaving Marsh to accept second, while Ryan Wheeler came through to third after a late pass on an otherwise inspired Jordan Gullick.

Senior Honda numbers were down on recent events, but that did not deter Gareth Lewis from completing the Club/Welsh/Celtic triple for the second year running. He did it the hard way, however, finishing last in his heat, before hunting down and passing Ashley Pearce in the final. Pearce held on for second, with Craig Camilleri taking another third place in his second race out of retirement.

Senior Rotax once again produced the biggest field of the day, with a grid just shy of 20, but no-one could prevent Richie Raymond from making a decisive break at the start of the final and holding the lead throughout. Dan Jones battles through to claim second, with Bjorn Rodde ending the season on the podium in third.
 
With the 2008 campaign now consigned to the history books, Llandow Kart Club will start its tenth season of racing in February 2009, running on the third Sunday of the month.
 

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

November 23rd 2008 Race Report

The tenth and final round of Llandow Kart Club ‘summer’ championship took place in the sort of conditions that appeared to characterise the British summer, with only the on-track action bringing respite from the cold weather and persistently damp track.
 
Macaulay Austin again stole the show in Comer Cadet, beating a quality field to claim his 100th trophy in the class and seal a third club title at the same time. Tom Harvey finished second, with Ben Davies completing the podium.

South of England interloper Harvey Lanaway was confirmed as Honda Cadet champion in his first season of competing at Llandow as he took another victory, despite being chased hard by both Ross Chell and Niall Williams
 
Double national Junior Honda champion Jack Davis returned to his ‘home’ circuit to give the #1 plate an outing and duly claimed the win, but second place was enough for Jamie Warren to become this year’s Llandow class champion. Ferdinand Ball beat Lloyd Sealy in a classic scrap for third.
 

Welsh champion Sebastian Hutchinson clinched the Junior TKM 2-stroke title with victory over Dilip Singh and Sam Morgan, while Ryan Howells used possibly his last race in Junior TKM 4-stroke to confirm himself as class champion for the third time. Cousins Zach and Liam Jones completed the podium.

First year karter Josh Collings sealed the Junior Rotax crown with a close-fought win over JJ Wilson and Luke Thomas, while Steven Handford capped an excellent year by claiming Minimax race honours. However, another visiting Englishman, Sam Marsh, had enough in hand so that second place confirmed him as champion, with fellow Englishman Oliver Pidgley completing the podium.

Simon Evans saw off Welsh champion Gareth Lewis in tense battle in Senior Honda, but could not prevent Lewis from defending his club title. Craig Camilleri claimed third place on his first MSA outing in three years, while Hugh Jones defied attempts at a crash diet to win Senior Honda Heavy and confirm himself as champion for a second year.

Formula Rotax once again underlined its resurgence at Llandow with the biggest field of the day, with Chris Davis taking top spot in the final ahead of Bjorn Rodde and club champion Matthew Dowers

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

October 19th 2008 Race Report

After another summer punctuated by rain, the penultimate round of the Llandow Kart Club championship was run in dry, but cold, conditions, and the 60-strong entry responded with some hot action in the finals.

Cadet Comer attracted a strong field, but produced a triple heat win for Macaulay Austin. Starting the final as favourite, however, Austin found Thomas Harvey a more than worthy opponent. Harvey even dared to snatch the lead on penultimate lap, but Austin retaliated by grabbing first place on the run out of the last corner to win by a nose. Ben Davies completed the podium in third.

Robbie Gallier got the vital break in the Cadet Honda final to win an otherwise open contest from championship leader Harvey Lanaway and heat two victor Marcus Lewis.

Jamie Warren was denied a clean sweep in Junior Honda when his engine cut out at the start of heat three, and there was a brief moment when it appeared that his hopes of winning the final may suffer the same fate. However, Warren recovered to win from Ferdinand Ball and Lloyd Sealy.

Junior TKM 2-Stroke appeared to be going the way of Sebastian Hutchinson, who had been dominant in the heats and led the final until engine problems slowed him with four laps to go. Dilip Singh took full advantage to close on the injured leader and pass him into the last corner but, just as victory seemed assured, Singh ran wide, allowing Hutchinson to limp home just ahead in virtual dead heat. Sam Morgan claimed third, having not been close enough to take advantage of the shenanigans ahead of him.

Ryan Howells and Liam Jones battled for supremacy in Junior TKM 4-Stroke until a Jones move ended in a half-spin that allowed Howells to make a break. Able to recover quickly, Jones held on to second, ahead of cousin Zach.

MiniMax produced another strong field but, as with Cadet Comer, the weekend was dominated by one driver as champion-elect Sam Marsh swept the board. Ryan Wheeler was headed for second until he received the ‘mechanical’ flag, which left the door open for Oliver Pidgley and Ellis Belton to complete the podium.

A five-kart scrap in Junior Max was finally decided in favour of JJ Wilson, who took his first win since returning from a two-year sabbatical in August. Joshua Collings recorded a best-ever second with Ashley Davies having to settle for third.

Senior Honda may have attracted a smaller than average field, but still produced some intense racing. Reigning champion Gareth Lewis appeared to have thrown away his chance of winning by spinning down to seventh place on lap one, but fought back to attempt an audacious outside pass on leader Ashley Pearce at the final turn. Pearce, however, was not to be denied and held on as the two karts crossed the line in cloud of smoke, winning by a mere two-hundredths of a second. Double heat winner Simon Evans was an overshadowed third.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

September 21st 2008 Race Report

With the Welsh Championships already in the rear view mirror, Llandow Kart Club moved on to its September round, welcoming both the NKF and Biland Challenge to South Wales as an entry of nearly 100 was rewarded with fine weather all weekend.

Cadet Comer produced another win for new British #4 seed Macaulay Austin, although Thomas Harvey pushed him all the way. Ben Davies was a ‘man’ to watch, however, taking a superb third and finishing just half a second behind the leading pair.

Ross Chell and Marcus Lewis shared the heat wins in Cadet Honda, but Harvey Lanaway came through in an exciting final to deny both, with Chell heading Lewis for the minor podium positions at the flag.

Jamie Warren won all three Junior Honda heats, but developed misfire while leading the final which allowed Lloyd Sealy to come through and steal the win in only his third ever race. Ferdinand Ball completed the podium behind the unlucky Warren.
 
Junior TKM 2-stroke produced a clean sweep for new Welsh champion Sebastian Hutchinson, leaving Dilip Singh and Sam Morgan to battle over second and third.
 
The 4-stroke TKM category saw Liam Jones emerge from a close, competitive field to win the final, while Ryan Howells and Zach Jones claimed the remaining podium spots ahead of maiden heat winner Michael Antoniazzi.

Sam Marsh and Steven Handford shared the heat wins in Minimax, but it was Marsh who got the break in the final, hanging on to take the victory, with Handford just pipping Ryan Wheeler for second.
 
The opening Junior Max heat went the way of JJ Wilson, but Llandow newcomer Jack Drinkall took the next two and then won the final with ease. Josh Collings enjoyed his best-ever run to take second, with Elliot Davies third and Wilson fourth.

Ashley Pearce was gifted the Senior Honda spoils after reigning club and Welsh champion Gareth Lewis crashed on opening lap. Simon Evans and Paul Saunders also capitalised to claim second and third, with Lewis fighting back to an eventual fourth.

Senior Honda Heavyweight was a walkover for reigning champion Hugh Jones after closest challenger Graham Davies withdrew on Saturday.
 
Senior Max produced its usual close racing all day as another big grid entertained the crowds. Chris Davis eventually edged Matthew Dowers and Dan Jones for overall honours.

The visiting NKF ICC class produced two dozen entries and some close and spectacular racing. Dafydd Iles, Sam Moore, Jake Green and David Heathershaw shared the heat wins between them, but it was Lewis Williamson who made the crucial break in the final, extending enough of an advantage to win from the fast-closing Moore and Daniel Borton.

The Biland category, by contrast, only mustered a disappointing entry of seven, and saw Thomas Barrow win the opening two heats, before Luke Williams nipped in to claim the final heat. Barrow bounced back to dominate the final, however, with Williams and James Hammond completing the top three.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

August 17th 2008 Race Report

Welsh Championship

With the Welsh Championships coinciding with monthly club meeting, round seven of Llandow’s summer season was spread over two days with a slightly different format to other months.

Sadly, the summer weather didn’t play ball for the opening day-and-a-half, meaning that qualifying, heats and pre-finals were all run in generally wet conditions before it cleared up sufficiently to allow for dry finals.

A brace of qualifying sessions and heats decided how the points were distributed in order to determine the grid for the pre-finals and, with twelve lap finals for cadets and 15 laps for all other classes, there was a lot of racing over the two days.

Saturday was especially packed, with four practice sessions, first qualifying and the opening heat for each class on the schedule, while Sunday opened with the second qualifying session, followed by the second heat, the pre-final and final.

Despite the prestige of the event, an entry of just 70 was disappointing, but the quality of the racing more than made up for the low numbers. Only Junior Honda, Junior TKM 2 Stroke and Senior Honda Heavyweight were decided before the last lap, while no fewer than three finals -  - Cadet Honda, Cadet Comer and Mini Max - saw the lead change on the final corner.

Cadet Comer saw an interesting weekend-long tussle between Macaulay Austin, Thomas Harvey, Leon Hilleard and James DeHavillande. Austin led eleven-and-three-quarter laps of the final, only for Hilleard to pass around the outside of Raymonds on last lap to win by half a kart length. Harvey completed the podium in third.

Cadet Honda also produced some thrilling racing, as Connor Mills, Conner Jupp and Ryan Hewitt continually swapped places in the final. Mills and Jupp then clashed on last lap, removing the latter from the equation, while Mills held on to lead until final corner - where Hewitt ducked inside to claim the win – and the Welsh title - by three-hundredths.

Cadet WTP was graced by a sole entry for Hannah Pym, but she hassled the top Comer boys all weekend before finishing fifth in the Comer final.

KF3 Stars of Tomorrow driver Jack Davis returned to the Junior Honda class with some unfinished business to attend to, having taken the LKC title, ‘O’ Plate and ABkC #1 plate in 2007 but missed out on Welsh title. Despite his steering wheel coming off in second qualifying, he proved to be the class of the field, winning each race to complete the ‘quadruple’. Jamie Warren and Lloyd Sealy completed the podium.

Sebastian Hutchinson was similarly dominant in Junior TKM 2-Stroke, winning all of his races to take first Welsh title in five years of karting. Dilip Singh chased hard all weekend for second.

Junior TKM 4-Stroke provided more competition, as defending champ Ryan Howells proved fastest in the wet, but found Fraser O’Brien matching him for pace in the dry. A robust battle ensued between them in final, with Howells leading but O’Brien getting ahead in the closing stages. Howells fought back, but O’Brien managed to repass for the win. An unhappy Howells had to make do with second, while Zach Jones produced a superb drive to take third.

Perhaps the most closely fought class was Mini Max, where anything up to half a dozen drivers showed potential winning form. Sam Marsh had to fight up from a poor grid slot to lead Steven Handford into the final corner, but Handford responded by forcing his rival wide and getting by him on the exit to win by one tenth. Ashley Davies was a close third.

Junior Max provided a successful first visit to Llandow for John Pike, who dominated all weekend. Josh Gray came through for a best-ever class result in second, while Luke Thomas finished third.

Senior Honda produced its usual gripping duel, with defending champ Gareth Lewis getting away at the start as David Entwistle and Paul Saunders fought over second. Once free of the veteran’s attentions, however, Enwistle began to chase down Lewis, finally catching him on the last lap. However, the task proved to be a little too much, as Lewis held on by two-tenths.

With only two runners in Senior Honda Heavyweight, an opening lap spin for favourite Graham Davies put rival Hugh Jones in full control. Able to maintain a sizeable gap back to the recovering Davies, Jones duly defended the title he won in 2007 and set a new class lap record in the process.

The biggest grid of the weekend was reserved for the burgeoning Senior Max class, where Dan Jones dominated the two heats but found his hands full in the finals. Jacques Jenson took control early in the main event and managed to keep the rest of the field at bay. Jones had to make do with second, with Daryl Henderson a close third.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

July 20th 2008 Race Report

Round six of Llandow Kart Club’s summer championship coincided with the start of the school holidays, which went some way to accounting for a smaller than usual entry, but those who made it to South Wales were rewarded with a good, dry day.

Cadet Comer saw Thomas Harvey and Macaulay Austin share the heat wins before a good scrap saw the former inflict rare defeat on his rival in the final. Morgan Rose was left to come home third.

Cadet Honda wasn’t quite to closely-fought as Harvey Lanaway took another clean sweep to leave Marcus Lewis a distant second, while Niall Williams had to accept third after a spin.

Jamie Warren was similarly dominant in Junior Honda, taking a clean sweep against newcomer Lloyd Sealy.

The Junior TKM 2-Stroke class was hit by several late withdrawals, but saw Steffan Williams and Dilip Singh share the heat wins before Singh came out on top of their personal battle to take the chequered flag in the final.

Carly Latcham was in dominant form in Junior TKM 4-Stroke, taking a clean sweep despite being pushed hard all the way. Ross Owen finished second and Zach Jones third, with Canadian guest driver Chelsey Wilson finishing fifth.

Mini Max enjoyed another big grid and good racing, with Sam Marsh controlling the final from Oliver Pidgley, with heat two winner Ryan Wheeler claiming third.

Senior Honda saw Ashley Pearce keep his nose ahead of the pack in the final to win from Gareth Lewis and Simon Evans.

Senior Honda Heavyweight frontrunner Graham Davies sets a new track record in the heats but could not convert his pace into overall success, as rival Hugh Jones came through to win the final.

Formula Rotax again produced the biggest grid of the day, with the returning Dan Jones taking a pair of heat wins, but success in the final came by less than half a second over Chris Davis, with Bjorn Rodde third. Driver of the day David Entwistle finished fourth on his first outing in Max after stepping up from Senior Honda for a taster.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

June 22nd 2008 Race Report

The visit of the NKRA Formula Blues, TKMs and WTPs, along with the return of the Dadson Masters and several visiting Stars drivers meant an entry of 120, as round five of Llandow Kart Club’s summer championship experimented with the different format of qualifying, one heat, a pre-final and final.

Macaulay Austin was the ‘man’ to beat in Cadet Comer, claiming a new lap record amid a clean sweep. Fellow Stars drivers Ross Gunn and Thomas Harvey finished second and third respectively.

Cadet Honda also saw a dominant performance as Harvey Lanaway repeated Austin’s success with a clean sweep of race wins and a new lap record, as he left Marcus Lewis and Chris Jones to fill out the podium places.

Not to be out-done, George Line also remained unbeaten while setting a new fastest time in Cadet WTP. Line also ran Austin close in large mixed Cadet grid, while Cory Stevens and Jake Blackledge claimed second and third in class.

Josh Gray turned ‘double duty’ by racing in both Junior Honda and Mini Max, but proved more successful in the class he started out in, taking victory ahead of novices Jamie Warren and Ferdinand Ball.

Local aces Sebastian Hutchinson and Dilip Singh took a 1-2 in Junior TKM 2-Stroke, beating the NKRA's Matt Greatley after Rob Wallace retired from the lead battle.

Junior TKM 4-Stroke, by contrast, saw a big win for Lewys Davies over Ryan Howells and Liam Jones, despite the presence of a strong field.

A small entry still produced good racing in Junior Blue, with Ben Lane fastest in qualifying, but Danny Rice winning both the heat and the pre-final. Neither, however, would triumph in the main event, however, as Kasey Marshall came through to win the final over Lane and Rice.

Mini Max produced both a big field and excellent racing, with Ryan Wheeler taking pole position and wins in both the heat and pre-final, before having to give best to both Steven Handford and Ashley Davies in the final.

Junior Max enjoyed a rare healthy grid, and it was visiting Stars driver Ollie Varney who came away with the win after seeing off Alex Magee’s early challenge. Magee dropped back as the race went on, with Phillip Haworth and James Robinson completing the podium.

Senior Honda was decided in favour of Simon Evans when Ryan Waters crashed, the pair having run ahead of reigning club champion Gareth Lewis. Lewis eventually finished second with David Entwistle third, while Hugh Jones edged Graham Davies for Honda Senior Heavyweight class honours after an evenly fought contest.

An excellent 15-strong Senior Rotax entry was headed by Tiffany Chittenden in qualifying, before Matthew Dowers took over when it came to racing. Chittenden finished a close second, with Bjorn Rodde third.

The Formula Blue final was won by new lap record holder Jon Maybin, who came home ahead of Pre-final winner Dan Street and Chris Derrick.

The Dadson Masters series made its second visit to Llandow with a good grid of nearly 20 kart, but looked to be reduced slightly when a Pre-final accident saw Tony Dickinson hurt his shoulder and require a trip to hospital. Dave Wooder dominated after that and set a new lap record in sweep all races. Wayne Smithers edged Melvin Francis in the scrap for second.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

May 18th 2008 Race Report

Round four of Llandow Kart Club’s summer championship was graced by both some rare sunny weather and another strong entry, with the 76-kart total supplemented by those from the visiting RAF motorsport club and several Stars of Tomorrow drivers keen for some pre-event practice.

Cadet Comer provided four easy wins for returning Llandow expert Macaulay Austin, who left with a new track record to provide added confidence for the forthcoming Stars round. Novice Morgan Rose put in one of the drives of day for second place in the final, with Owen Griffiths coming home in third.

The Honda-powered Cadet class saw Harvey Lanaway hold off Marcus Lewis for victory, with the runner-up putting in a fine performance on his first outing with a new kart. Niall Williams finished third.

Junior Honda was once again a two-kart affair, and produced a clean sweep for Jamie Warren, as Ferdinand Ball gave chase.

There was controversy in the Junior TKM 2-Stroke class, where Dilip Singh dominated, only to be disqualified from the final for a technical irregularity. The win was handed to Steffan Williams, who was delighted to have broken his duck. Sam Morgan moved up to second, with Sebastian Hutchinson finishing third.

Ryan Howells was the driver to beat in Junior TKM 4-Stroke, taking two narrow heat wins over Liam Jones before going on to do the same in the final – by half a kart length! Ross Owen claimed the one heat the Howells did not manage to win – by just 0.01secs - but had to settle for third in the final.

Minimax produced an excellent 18-kart entry and some excellent racing, with a number of drivers warming up for the 28-29 June Stars round. Llandow favourite Steven Handford showed the local knowledge is hard to beat, however, taking a clean sweep of heats and final, while the visiting Jody Fannin secured a hard-fought second. LKC championship leader Sam Marsh finished third.

For once, Senior Honda did not produce the biggest field, but still served up some classic action. Simon Evans and Ashley Pearce shared the heat wins before Pearce led a six-kart train throughout the final. Reigning champion Gareth Lewis tried everything to find a way past, but had to make do with second ahead of Evans.

The Senior Honda heavyweight division was something of a mismatch, with Graham Davies having his most competitive outing yet and troubling the lightweights, while Hugh Jones had to settle for a distant second.

Senior Rotax saw Richard Raymond take a clean sweep, despite never having things easy. Chris Davis was a fighting second with Richard Henderson third.

The visiting RAF Premier class witnessed a day-long game of cat-and-mouse between Claire Kemp and Kevin Meynell. Kemp appeared faster, but Meynell was better through the turns. Speed won out, however, with Meynell also being pipped by novice Chris Davies for second.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

April 27th 2008 Race Report

The third round of Llandow Kart Club’s annual championship escaped the predicted squally weather and produced some exciting racing on a dry circuit, as the 74-kart entry was boosted by the visiting Two Counties KC and NKRA runners.

Cadet Comer produced a clean sweep for Francis Peters, who won all three heats and the final as his rivals scrapped for runners-up honours. Owen Griffiths and Jed hicks shared second spot in the heats before Hicks grabbed the upper hand in the main event, finishing just 0.18secs behind the winner.

Zach Jones produced a similarly dominant performance in Junior Honda, as Ferdinand Ball and Jamie Warren swapped second and third between them in the heats. A rematch in the final was denied, however, when Warren dropped out after a single lap.

There was an international flavour to the Honda Cadet class as Ashley England took on Robert Holland among the nine runners. For once, however, England proved to have the upper hand, taking all four races, while Holland edged BPKC’s Dylan Phibbs for second in the final.

Junior TKM 2-Stroke continued the ‘clean sweep’ theme, with Ashley Davies proving to be the man to beat. Although Sebastian Hutchinson took second place in each of the heats, he had to settle for third in the final, as Sam Morgan came through to take runners-up honours.

Where the first four junior classes had seen one driver dominate, Junior TKM proved entirely different, with as many winners as there were heats as Andrew Davies, Liam Jones and Ross Owen shared the honours. The final proved to be another close-fought affair, before Owen maintained his momentum from heat three to take victory over Davies and Ryan Howells.

Minimax saw Luke-Jean Laister claim heat one, but that was the only time that Sam Marsh was to be headed for the rest of the day. Laister finished second in the remaining races, with Josh Hatton denying Ryan Wheeler a spot on the podium in the final.

Without the boost of too many visitors, the Senior Honda category again provided one of the biggest fields of the day, and some of the closest – and most contentious - racing too, as four of the class’ ‘young guns’ shared the wins between them. Gareth Lewis, Luke Merrey and Ryan Waters each took a heat win, before a last corner tangle in the final saw David Entwhistle come through to claim a maiden win. Lewis, the visiting Andy Wills and veteran Paul Saunders chased Entwhistle home.

Although the Senior Honda Heavyweight class only made up a small proportion of the overall field, it produced a struggle between Graham Davies and reigning champion Hugh Jones, who shared the wins between them. Jones made the most of an early delay for Davies in the final, while an engine-troubled Craig Llewellyn took third.

The burgeoning Formula Rotax also boasted a 17-kart field, swollen by a number of NKRA regulars, and produced four different winners after some typically nose-to-tail racing. Andrew Winter, Chris Davis and Gareth Taylor took the heat wins before Matthew Dowers claimed the final. Dowers’ success did not come easily, however, as the top four – completed by Taylor, Barry Thomsit and Winter – were covered by just 0.64secs.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

March 16th 2008 Race Report

The second round of Llandow Kart Club’s annual championship saw the mood in the paddock heightened by Wales’ Grand Slam triumph on Saturday, and only slightly dampened by the dreadful weather which accompanied weekend practice. Rain was also forecast for raceday but, aided by the late arrival of the paramedic, competition among the 68 entries took place under brightening skies and on a rapidly drying track.

A strong Cadet Comer entry was boosted by the visiting Zip Young Guns team, but it was local ace Macaulay Austin who came out on top, beating Jay Goodwin into second place, with Francis Peters an excellent third.

The Cadet Honda field was also boosted by drivers practicing for the forthcoming Super 1 round, and it was Jessica Hawkins who took a clean sweep in the heats. The final, however, did not go Jessica’s way, as Jack Partridge snatched victory, with Harvey Lanaway claiming third.

Despite not having any opposition in Cadet WTP, the club was again happy to allow Cory Stevens to join in the fun, adding even more variety to the day’s proceedings.

Junior Honda entries were almost as sparse, but produced some excellent racing over three heats and a final between the two novices on track. Ferdinand Ball led nearly every lap, but it was Jamie Warren who claimed all four wins. The final culminated in a crash between the two, from which Warren emerged to take the flag, but both drivers deserved praise for their efforts.

Sam Morgan had best ever run in Junior TKM 2-Stroke and was in contention for a maiden win in the final before his kart failed. Sebastian Hutchinson thus came through to take the honours in close duel with Steffan Williams and Dilip Singh.

Where the 2-Strokes failed, Junior TKM 4-Stroke did produce a first final victory, this time for Liam Jones, after Fraser O’Brien and Lewys Davies clashed on final lap. Defending club champion Ryan Howells took second, with Andrew Davies third.

Mini Max produced a grid of ten and some equally good racing as Oliver Pidgley, Ellis Belton and Sam Marsh shared the heat wins. Marsh the edged the final after race long pressure from Belton. Ryan Wheeler claimed third after a great dice with impressive novice Elliott Davies.

As has become the norm, Senior Honda produced the biggest entry of the day, with 16 karts lining up over two classes, and also provided some cracking racing. Simon Evans took the win on his first race out of the juniors, and in a kart that had only turned a wheel for the first time on Saturday afternoon, while Luke Merrey edged a frantic six-kart scrap for second. Another junior graduate, Jak Kent, was third.

Graham Davies appeared on course for victory in the Senior Honda Heavyweight division until a late crash with one of the lightweight runners allowed Huw Jones through to take the win. Craig Llewellyn also passed the stricken Davies to claim a best-ever second, with the erstwhile leader rejoining to finish third.

Formula Rotax saw three different winners across the three heats, with Liam Revell notching up a first success in heat one. Thomas Newton took heat two, and Richie Raymond heat three, but the final produced a fourth different name at the head of the field, with Matthew Dowers coming through to win from Raymond and Bjorn Rodde.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

February 17th 2008 Race Report

After several near misses in 2007, the opening round of Llandow Kart Club’s 2008 season was blessed with the dry weather that had graced the preceding week – and saw the club rewarded with a 70-strong entry that it hopes racing regularly on the third week of the month will continue to encourage.
 
Raceday opened with a strong entry in the Cadet Honda class, but it was Harvey Lanaway who won comfortably from Robert Reed. The battle for third place was more closely fought, with Niall Williams getting the nod over Marcus Lewis and Brett Ward.

Running separately, the Cadet Comer class also boasted an excellent entry, but the result was familiar, with a clean sweep of wins for Macaulay Austin, including a new lap record in heat three. Hannah Pym proved to be Austin’s biggest threat, running a lone WTP kart, but was unfortunate to retire from the final. Rory Cuff came through to take second places from Peter Saxby and Francis Peters.
 
Junior Honda also produced a clean sweep,with Zach Jones taking all three heats and the final to claim his first LKC victory. Novices Ferdinand Ball and Jamie Warren fought hard over second, with Warren taking it at the flag.

Shaun Clay ran unchallenged for a lights to flag win in the Junior Max final, with Rhys Jenkins claiming second after the best performance of his career. Jenkins was pressed hard by heat one winner James Duncalfe, who claimed third from Junior Honda convert Jack Davis.
 
Emphasising the new influx of juniors all round, Mini Max enjoyed both a big field and excellent racing. Sam Marsh, however, won all three heats and the final, but there was a lot of action in his wake, with up to nine karts fighting for second place before Josh Fry and Ellis Belton completed the podium.
 
Junior TKM 4-Stoke also fielded a big entry, with all the major players on show. Super 1 champion Tommy Truscott led the final, but a mistake on the penultimate lap allowed ‘O’ Plate winner Carly Latcham through to take the win. Welsh champion Ryan Howells also passed Truscott for second with the erstwhile pacesetter just edging Fraser O’Brien for third.
 
Junior TKM 2-Stroke, by contrast, provided an easy win for Sebastian Hutchinson, with Dilip Singh second and Sam Morgan third.

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Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

December 9th 2007 Race Report - Celtic Championship

Llandow Kart Club brought the curtain down

on its 2007 season with the annual Celtic

Championship meeting in early December.

Bad weather on Saturday did not bode well

for raceday but, despite overnight gales

continuing throughout, there was no rain

to dampen the enthusiasm of the hardy souls

who turned out for the twelfth event of the

Club’s longest campaign.

The cold conditions meant that a track wet

from overnight precipitation took some time

to dry, but the healthy 65-strong entry soon set

about pursuing the coveted CC plates on offer

to class winners.

A strong Cadet Honda field, bolstered by a lot

of drivers testing for next season’s Super 1

national championship round saw Ashley England

take pole for the pre-final, but only finish sixth

as Conor Jupp secured top spot for the main

event. England was not to be denied, however,

and came back strongly in the final to win by

three seconds over Jupp, with Robert Holland

third.

By contrast, missing LKC regulars thinned the

Cadet Comer grid, leaving Francis Peters to cap

a solid with victory. Novice Ben Davies finished

second.

Jack Davies was also celebrating as he rounded

off a dominant Junior Honda campaign with an

easy win. Near namesake Michael Davies took

second after starting fourth, while Welsh

champion Jak Kent finished third.

Junior TKM 4-Stroke provided a clean sweep for

Will Hulacki, with Ryan Howells coming home one

second behind winner to take second ahead of Liam Jones.

Sophie Lanc made the long trip down from Scotland

worthwhile as she claimed Junior TKM 2-Stroke

honours after using the meeting as a test for next year’s

Super 1 round. Lanc proved untouchable in qualifying,

but Ashley Davies pushed her all the way in the day’s

two races. Just half a second covered the top two in the

final, with Sebastian Hutchinson third.

Jordan Willson made light of the step up to Junior Max,

winning first time out, with Shaun Clay a distant

second. Oliver White followed Willson out of Minimax

and took third on his first race in the higher category.

With Willson and White gone, Sam Marsh was first to

take advantage in Minimax. However, while Marsh

paced qualifying, Cadet graduate Steven Handford

won both the pre-final, from fourth on grid, and the

main event, after opening out a useful gap in the

early laps. Marsh held on to second, with Ellis Belton

a well-deserved third.

Gareth Lewis added the Celtic crown to both the

Club and Welsh titles as he claimed victory in

Senior Honda. Novice Tony Reilly was a superb second

fastest in qualifying, but it was veteran Paul Saunders

who came through to claim the position in the pre-final.

Second changed hands again in the main event, as Luke

Merrey came though to take runners-up spot after

qualifying only tenth. Saunders finished third.

The Senior Honda Heavyweight class enjoyed a

competitive outing, with the frontrunners right

amongst the lightweights. Hugh Jones was fastest

in qualifying, but Graham Newman won the pre-final,

setting up a promising battle in the final. When Jones

spun, however, Newman was able to claim the title, with

the club champion recovering to deny Mike Thomas

the runners-up spot.

The Senior Max class boasted an impressive 16-strong

field, but no-one could prevent defending Celtic champion

Daryl Henderson from taking pole position and winning

both the pre-final and final with ease. There was,

however, a great fight for second, with half a dozen

karts involved before Matthew Dowers claimed the

runners-up spot ahead of Chris Davis.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

November 18th 2007 Race Report

The final round of Llandow Kart Club’s summer

championship managed to produce 65 entries

despite the obvious clash with the new Kartmania,

but those hardy souls were not rewarded with an

extension of October’s clement weather, as the

rain returned with a vengeance.

Despite the conditions, however, the racing

again proved to be exciting, and credit was

paid to the drivers after the meeting passed

off without a single red flag.

Macaulay Austin dominated Cadet Comer,

winning all four races, but the consistent Thomas

Harvey produced another strong performance

that saw him take the title. Francis Peters took

second on the day, with novice Owen Griffiths an

impressive third ahead of the eventual champion.

Cadet Honda saw a new name at the head of

the results sheet, as Freddie Lee proved

extremely quick on his first Llandow appearance.

Lee’s pace was enough to secure victory, with

fellow newcomer Harvey Lanaway second on

his Llandow debut. Club champion Liam

Manning completed the podium.

National champion Jack Davis proved

untouchable in Junior Honda as the wet

conditions made the usual close racing tricky.

The #1 plate won the final by fully seven

seconds over Simon Evans and Andrew

Davies to seal the club championship.

Junior TKM 4-Stroke saw a tight championship

decided in favour of Ryan Howells, despite

Lewys Davies' best efforts. It was Will Hulacki

who dominated the final, however, with Fraser

O’Brien also getting home ahead of Howells,

with Davies only sixth.

There was bad luck for triple heat winner Ashley

Davies in Junior TKM 2-Stroke as he coasted to

a halt in the final. Fortunately, the club

championship had already been decided in

his favour at the time of the problem, and

Sebastian Hutchinson’s win could not alter the

outcome of the season. As he had on his October

debut, Dilip Singh produced an excellent

performance, chasing Hutchinson home in his

first wet race.

Minimax champion Jordan Willson just edged

Conor Hardiman after a closely fought series of

races. Ryan Wheeler had to settle for third after

opening the day with a victory in the first heat.

Junior Max again proved to be the domain of

Jake Lloyd, who beat Richard Phillips in close

battle of the novices.

Welsh Senior Honda champion Gareth Lewis

added the club title to his season’s haul with a

close win over double heat winner Luke Merrey,

with the appropriately-named Ryan Waters

taking third.

Another apt bit of naming saw Graham

Newman take the Senior Honda Heavyweight

win on his Llandow debut, overcoming a

fraught couple of heats when it really mattered.

Untouched in the final, Newman benefited from

a rotation by Hugh Jones that sidelined Mike

Thomas and relegated the new champion to the

tail of the field, prompting a comeback drive that

eventually netted second. Craig Llewellyn put a

disappointing season behind him with third place.

Senior Rotax boasted another healthy turn-out,

with 14 starters producing some excellent racing.

Matthew Dowers claimed the final from Chris

Davis and Richie Raymond, but fourth place

was enough to secure Bjorn Rodde the title.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

October 21st 2007 Race Report

The penultimate round of Llandow Kart Club’s

summer championship threatened to join the

list of wet meetings but, after a week full of

rain, eventually dawned – and remained –

dry and sunny, albeit with the traditional chill wind.

Once again, the club welcomed a visiting series,

this time with the Junior and Senior Biland ‘O’

Plate headlining the meeting, but being matched

all the way by the regulars in terms of track action.

A tough day for the Cadet Comer class saw the

heats punctuated by a slew of red flags before

Jack Thorne triumphed in the main event –

despite having been disqualified from one of

his qualifying races for ignoring the waved stop signa

l. Francis Peters beat Thomas Harvey in close fight

for second on the road in the final.

The Cadet Honda group had a slightly less

fraught day, but Niall Williams hit a marker

cone at the start of the final, thankfully

emerging unhurt but with his chances of

victory all but over. Liam Manning gratefully

accepted the clear path to the chequered flag,

with Marcus Lewis taking second from novice

Kieran Davies.

The Junior TKM 4-Strokers produced some

typically close racing, with Ryan Howells,

Will Hulacki and Lewys Davies sharing the

heat wins. Howells came through to claim

the final, but runner-up Hulacki, third-placed

Davies, Liam Jones and Fraser O’Brien were

all within one second of the winner at the flag.

By contrast, the Junior TKM 2-Stroke class

produced a perfect score for Ashley Davies.

Sebastian Hutchinson claimed second place,

but it was novice Dilip Singh who attracted

the most attention, raising more than a few

eyebrows with a third place in his first race

meeting that deservedly claimed driver of

the day honours.

Junior Honda provided entertainment in the form

of a day-long head-to-head between Welsh

champion Jak Kent and #1 Plate Jack Davis.

Kent eventually won the final by a scant

four-hundredths, with Andrew Davies a distant

third.

Minimax produced both a strong grid and

good racing, even though Jordan Willson

took all four race wins. Conor Hardiman

pushed Willson every step of the way,

but had to settle for second, while Oliver Hughes

led a tight battle for third.

While the Minimax grid looked reasonably healthy,

the same could not be said for Junior Rotax,

where novice runner Jake Lloyd had lonely run to victory.

With more than just a race win to play for, the

Intermediate Biland class provided some

cut-and-thrust but, despite winning all three heats,

Luke Williams was unable to deny returning local

driver Emyr Honeybun the final and the ‘O’ Plate.

Nick Kelly also came through in the main event,

claiming a close second behind Honeybun, with

Williams a disappointed third.

Veteran Paul Saunders appeared to be on course

for a repeat of his September Senior Honda

success after winning two heats and leading the

final, but clashed with Luke Merrey in the latter

stages of the main event. Merrey inherited top

spot and led leads until the final corner, only to

be passed by heat one winner Gareth Lewis in

a great three-wide move at Raymonds. Ryan

Waters took second place after Merrey was

pushed down the order, allowing David Entwistle

to claim third.

The Senior Honda Heavyweight division once

again belonged to champion-elect Hugh Jones,

who won the final by seven seconds from Len

Field, with Michael Thomas third.

A dozen Senior Rotax runners highlighted a class

on its way back to prominence at Llandow, but

witnessed a clean sweep for Richie Raymond,

who went on to win the final by six seconds.

A great battle for second ended up with Matthew

Dowers getting the nod over Bjorn Rodde.

Senior Biland hinted at a second ‘O’ Plate title

for local talent even though Thomas Barrow

claimed a double heat win ahead of Llandow

ace Andrew Thomas. Defending champion

Barrow proved too strong for anyone in the

final, and won by half a second over Steve Bell,

with Thomas a close third.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

September 23rd 2007 Race Report

Round seven of the summer championship series finally

saw Llandow Kart Club blessed with pleasant weather

after three months of rain, and graced by a pleasing

number of new faces on novice plates.

The Cadet Comer class witnessed a maiden final win

for Alex Jones, while heat winner Francis Peters and

a rejuvenated Thomas Harvey produced a great battle

for second. Harvey eventually crossed the line in second

place, only to be docked a place for his part in a last lap

collision with his rival.

Double heat winner and Welsh champion Sam Morgan won

the Cadet WTP final, but the spotlight fell on second place

which fell to Oliver Pidgley after a much improved drive.

Liam Manning took a comfortable win in Cadet Honda

after closest threat Niall Williams crashed on the opening

lap. Behind the leader, a great scrap for second between

Celtic champ Kim Latcham and Marcus Lewis entertained

the spectators before being settled in Latcham’s favour.

On paper, Junior Honda appeared to have been dominated

by newly-crowned National champion and O Plate winner

Jack Davis, who completed a clean sweep, but the reality

was that he faced the same sort of tight-fought class as

every month, and had to come from fifth in the final after

making a rare mistake. Simon Evans just pipped Welsh

champion Jak Kent for second place on the last lap

Junior TKM 2 Stroke saw Ashley Davies recover from a

first heat DNF to beat Sebastian Hutchinson and Matt

Beattie in final. Steffan Williams made a welcome return

to action and took fourth after recovering from a broken

shoulder suffered in a crash at Rissington.

The accompanying Junior TKM 4 Stroke class again produced

four excellent races from a talented field. Lewys Davies won

the opening heat, O Plate winner Carly Latcham the second

and Welsh champion Ryan Howells the third, before the

final was fought out by Howells, Latcham and Fraser O’Brien.

Howells eventually came out on top, with O’Brien taking a

best-ever second to restrict Latcham to third.

Newcomer Jake Lloyd won Junior Max, while Mini Max went

the way of Welsh champion Jordan Willson, who won two heats,

but then scraped the final by just eight-hundredths of a second

over Sam Marsh, with novice Ryan Wheeler an excellent third.

Senior Honda again produced its usual close racing, with new

Welsh campion Gareth Lewis winning the opening heat. However,

veteran Paul Saunders then took control for the rest of the day,

winning the remaining two heats and the final. Luke Merrey

chased Saunders all the way in the main event to record his

best ever finish, with Lewis left to settle for third.

The Senior Honda Heavyweight class saw Welsh champ Hugh

Jones and Mike Thomas share heat wins, before Jones took

the final by less than a second from Len Field and Thomas.

Another thrilling series of races between Dan Jones, Matthew

Dowers and Chris Davis characterised the Senior Max class.

Jones and Davis shared heat wins, but it was Dowers who came

good in the final, winning by half a second over Davis, with

Jones seven-tenths back in third.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

July 22nd 2007 Race Report

Llandow Kart Club reached the halfway point of its summer

championship, but the much hoped-for summer sun appeared

a long way off in another week plagued by persistent – and

, at times, torrential - rain.

As in June, however, a wet start greeted an 80-strong entry

swelled by the visiting NKRA runners, before the skies cleared

and most of meeting was, thankfully, staged in dry, if

overcast, conditions. There were some casualties, however,

with clerk of the course Peter Klaassen and Mini Max runner

Zoe Wenham prevented from taking part because of the

floods sweeping the country. The club sent best wishes to

both families.

Those that did make it, however, put on some stirring racing,

beginning with the Cadet Comer class. Although Macaulay

Austin took a clean sweep of wins, Alex Jones ran him hard

in heat two, before Austin led the final from start to finish

for his most comfortable win of the day. Jones claimed a

well-earned second, with Francis Peters closing in in third.

The Cadet Honda runners produced a ‘rough-and-tumble’

day with double winner Niall Williams and Liam Manning

sharing the heats. The final also proved to be evenly matched

between Williams, Manning and Kim Latcham, with Manning

just prevailing over Latcham and Williams.

Junior Honda also provided some entertaining battling

throughout the day. Jack Davis won the opener, before

Simon Evans claimed heats two and three. Evans also led

the first eleven laps of the final, with Davis and Jak Kent

doing their best to keep in touch. The pressure paid off,

however, with Davis making his move with half a lap to go,

depriving Evans of victory. Kent completed the podium.

Junior TKM 2-Stroke again proved to be a battle of the Ashleys,

with Crossey and Davies fighting for top spot all day. It was

Crossey who prevailed on this occasion, taking all four wins,

including the final. Davies had to settle for second with Matthew

Beattie third.

Determined not to be outdone, the Junior TKM 4-stroke runners

also provided excellent entertainment. Lewys Davies won the

opening heat, but only after completing a full 360 spin,

before Carly Latcham fought back in race two. Davies returned

to the fore in the final heat, and was leading the final before

another spin, this time under pressure from Latcham, saw him

lose his advantage. Latcham then held off an inspired Liam Jones

to win the final, with Ryan Howells third and Davies fourth.

Novice Richard Phillips proved far more competitive after moving

up to the Junior TKM Intermediate class, winning all four races.

Mini Max opened with a victory for Oliver White, but that only

seemed to spur regular frontrunner Jordan Willson into action.

He bounced back with wins in heats two and three, and went on

to claim the final, but only after White had again shown him the

way in the early stages. Connor Hardiman eventually came

though for third after a lengthy battle with Oliver Hughes.

Youth and experience shared the honours in Senior Honda,

with veteran Nigel Kent claiming two heats to youngster

Gareth Lewis’ one. The ‘man in black’ then led the first ten laps

of the final, only for Lewis to close in and snatch the win with

just over a lap to run. David Entwistle produced his best ever

performance to take third after getting the better of series

stalwart Paul Saunders.

Senior Honda Heavyweight was more straightforward, with

Huw Jones taking a clean sweep of wins to strengthen his

hold on the points lead. The main action was in Jones’ wake,

with Jeremy Clare and Michael Thomas battling over second

in every race. Clare eventually claimed the spot in the final,

but only by a couple of tenths.

Senior Rotax also put on another excellent set of races, with

Chris Davies accepting heat one after Jordan Pike retired,

Pike bouncing back to win heat two and then going from third

to first on the last lap to take heat three as well, denying

Matthew Dowers in the process. The final, however, was better

still, with Davies fighting to the front to win from Bjorn Rodde,

Pike and novice David Meenan, who claimed driver of the day

honours for his efforts.

The guesting NKRA classes, making their final round appearance

before September’s Grand Finale at Larkhall, were claimed by

Macaulay Austin (Cadet Comer), Lewis Round (Junior Blue) and

James Langham (Senior Blue).

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

June 24th 2007 Race Report

Despite more inclement conditions, round four of Llandow Kart Club’s

summer championship boasted the best entry of the season so far,

despite clashing with a national S1 TKM event.

Building on the success of May’s meeting, numbers were swelled by

several visiting Stars of Tomorrow drivers and the popular Dadson

Masters series, with an overall entry of 83 braving the threat of a

wet weekend.

In the end, a damp start gave way to dry weather for the heats and

finals – with the exception of the final Pro-Kart race – as the club

reverted to its occasional practice of running two timed qualifying

sessions ahead of a pair of heats and a final.

Ashlee Whiteman and Macaulay Austin shared pole positions in

Cadet Comer, but could not prevent Alfonso Skriczka coming from

fourth to first on the final lap of heat one, with the top four

separated by just two-tenths at the flag. Whiteman then won

heat two after Steven Handford and Austin ran wide at the

final turn. After that sort of excitement, the final had much to

live up to, but proved to be excellent entertainment as Austin

led until final corner, when tap from Handford sent him spinning

and let a surprised Whiteman through for the win. Handford

took second on the road, but was later excluded, which meant

Sam Parrant and Thomas Harvey completed the podium.

Cadet Honda proved no less entertaining, with pole winners

Marcus Lewis and Niall Williams winning heats one and two

respectively. Both races, and the final, were characterised by

great battling - and the occasional scrape – with Williams

eventually coming out on top from William Butt and Lewis.

Jack Davis and Jak Kent shared the poles and heat wins

after some fantastic dicing in Junior Honda. Both then

took turns at leading the final, before Davis eventually

came out on top, leading Kent and a close Michael Davies

across the line.

Junior TKM 4-stroke provided a breakthrough weekend

for Lewys Davies, who took both poles, one heat and his

first ever win in a final. Alex Everitt spoiled what could

have been a clean sweep for the popular youngster by

winning heat two, but Davies bounced back to claim the

main event, as Everitt found his hands full of novice Ross

Owen. The battle raged for most of the race before Everitt

finally found a way through for second.

Ashley Davies came out on top of Junior TKM 2-stroke,

winning both heats and the final, but not before Llandough-

based Sebastian Hutchinson had taken the first race pole

and appeared on course for victory before his chain came

off. Granted pole by his heat results, Davies then led the

final from start to finish, with Hutchinson chasing hard in

second. Sam Morgan completed the podium.

Junior Rotax provided a victory sweep for visiting Stars

driver Kenneth Andrews, although Tom Ingram snatched pole

in heat two to prevent a complete whitewash. The pair were

the class of the field in the final, with Sam Taylor having

to settle for third.
 
Macaulay Walsh and Jordan Willson indulged in a day-long

scrap in Mini Max, with the former sweeping the heats

after some close battling. The tables were turned when

it really mattered, however, as Willson pulled off a great

late move to take victory in the final. Oliver White finished third.

Novice Michael Weatherley stunned the Formula Rotax

regulars by taking pole in damp first qualifying and then

following it up with second in Q2, but the stalwarts took

over when racing began, with Matthew Dowers winning

heat one and Jordan Pike race two. Pike then came through

to claim the final as the field produced some intense scrapping

for position. Dowers eventually took second, with Llandow

newcomer Steven Strudwick an impressive third.

Senior Honda produced its usual shenanigans, helped at the

end of the day by a sudden turn in the weather. Veteran Paul

Saunders won a three-wide blanket finish in heat one, while

rising star Gareth Lewis claimed race two. The final, however,

proved to be something of a lottery as the heavens opened just

enough to ensure that the majority of the field was obliged to

tackle damp conditions on slick tyres. Experience won out as

poleman Saunders hung on for the win from Nigel Kent, with

Ryan Waters having to accept third after being part of a

four-kart scrap that also included Lewis.

The Heavyweight section of the Senior Honda field almost

produced the upset of the day as an inspired tyre gamble

sae double heat winner Huw Jones leading the Pro-Kart

final outright after an inspired tyre gamble. Conditions

dried just enough to ensure that Saunders and co came

through to deny him that glory, but Jones still managed

to out-distance both Michael Thomas and novice Jeremy

Clare, who claimed second and third in class.
 

The guesting Dadson Masters produced the biggest field

of the day, with 24 karts, and some spectacular racing

throughout. Nigel Fordham led nearly every lap as he won

both heats and the final, but there was plenty of excitement

behind in every race. Dave Wooder eventually came

through to claim second in final, but only after Richard

Friend retired. Nick Rogers took a close third from Kevin Otway.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

May 27th 2007 Race Report

Llandow Kart Club’s best entryof the season so far, featuring

fully 74 karts, was not rewarded with ideal conditions as the sun

and warmth of the preceding week was replaced by sometimes

torrential rain that made racing tricky for all. However, sensible

driving and efficient organisation ensured that no-one was kept

out in the wet stuff for longer than necessary, with the meeting

thankfully finishing on time.

Jack Davis wins two out of three Junior Honda heats and led the

final from start to finish to complete a dominant day, leaving the rest of

the field to scrap in his wake. After much place swapping Michael

Davies and first heat winner Jak Kent took second and third.

Carly Latcham was denied a clean sweep in Junior TKM 4-Stroke by

a rare DNF in heat two, but went on to win a hard-fought final from

Ryan Howells, who applied pressure all race. Liam Jones survived the

conditions to come home third.

Juniot TKM 2-Stroke featured great battling between Sebastian

Hutchinson and Ashley Davies all day. Hutchinson won two out of

the three heats but was passed by his adversary in final. Matthew

Beattie was left to mop up in third.

Josh Fry and Steven Handford proved evenly matched in Cadet

Comer all day, with Fry winning the first race of the day and

Handford the next two – but only after a last corner move

to claim heat two. The final proved to be a tense affair,

with Handford leading the final few laps to take another win.

Newcomer Alfonso Skriczka finished third on his first visit

to Llandow.

The conditions upset the applecart in Cadet Honda, with novice Niall

Williams winning the final after Liam Manning spun out and Kim

Latcham ran into kart trouble. Manning recovered to take second,

with novice Marcus Lewis passing Latcham for third.

Senior Prokart once again produced some great – and, for once, clean

– racing, with Llandow Junior Race School instructor Nigel Kent using

all his experience to claim victory in the final - passing former student

and double heat winner Ryan Waters with two laps to go. Points leader

Gareth Lewis finished a very close third.

The increasingly popular Senior Prokart Heavyweight division also produced

more close, competitive racing. Mike Thomas won heat one after

Fred Coleman and Craig Llewellyn collided, while newcomer Jeremy

Clare took heats two and three. Clare was also on course for final

honours until mechanical failure put him out, leaving Hugh Jones to

capitalise from Thomas and Coleman.

Super ICC made its first appearance of 2007, with brothers Dan and

Bjorn Rodde sharing the heat wins between them. Dan the won the final

from Bjorn, with Matt Pritchard taking third afterDafydd Iles succumbed

to mechanical gremlins.

Junior Rotax appeared to be going the way of visiting Stars of Tomorrow

driver Robert Gilmore, who took two heat wins. However, the interloper has

his hands full with Richard Henderson all the way, and it was the Llandow

racer who came out on top when it mattered, passing Gilmore late in the

final to win. Shaun Clay was a battlingthird.

The only clean sweep of the day belonged to Mini max racer Jordan

Wilson, who won all four of his races. Oliver Hughes gave brave chase but

had to make do with second, while Rhys Jenkins produced his best

showing of the season in third.

Daryl Henderson claimed Senior Rotax honours after setting sail

and leading the final throughout, but blotted hi9s copybook somewhat

by punting his uncle out of heat two, which was eventually snatched by

returning class champion Chris Davis. Davies duly claimed second in the

final, with Phil Henderson completing the podium.

The RAF Premier class made its regular guest appearance on the bill,

but featured a smaller grid than usual. Some close racing still produced

three different winners, with David Hancock coming through to win final

after a race-long battle with Luke Bourne. Kevin Meynell came home a

distant third.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

April 22nd 2007 Race Report

After three weekends of decidedly

chilly weather to open the year, round

two of Llandow Kart Club’s summer

championship was finally graced

with conditions more befitting the name.

A glorious Saturday gave way to a

more overcast Sunday, but the 65

entries – including a refreshing

number of new faces – enjoyed a

dry track before the sun made a

welcome re-appearance in time for

the finals.

After producing the best racing of

the championship opener in March, Comer

Cadet proved to be less hard-fought second

time around, with Steven Handford dominating

by winning all three heats and the final. Alex

Jones posed the closest threat to Motors TV

race winner Handford in the heats, but it was

Sam Parrant who came through in the final,

beating Jones in tense scrap.

Kim Latcham and the novice pairing of Niall

Williams and Liam Manning shared heat wins

in Honda Cadet, before the youngest member of

the club’s Latcham dynasty came out on top of

a thrilling final. Williams finished second by

just half a kart length over Manning.

This time around, it was the Junior Prokart class

that produced excellent racing throughout the day,

with Jack Davis, Jak Kent and Simon Evans

sharing the heat wins after some typical frantic

dicing. The pattern continued in the final, with

Davis passing Evans to take close win, and Kent

coming through for second late in the race.

Junior TKM 2-stroke saw success shared between

Ashley Davies, who was a double heat winner, and

Ashley Crossey, who claimed the final preliminary

race. Crossey then came through to win the all-important

final after an unintentional collision between the two

frontrunners in turn one. Davies clung on to claim second,

with Steffan Williams taking third after Sebastian

Hutchinson retired with a broken rear bumper.

Oliver Bourton and Carly Latcham again shared

the heat wins in Junior TKM 4-stroke, but the

former took an easy victory in the final after

Latcham spun away her chances around mid-distance.

Ryan Howells produced a great drive to capitalise

on Latcham’s error and take second, hassling

Bourton most of the way to the chequered flag.

Alex Everitt produced his best result yet with third.

Junior Max was once again missing a few

Llandow regulars, but Shaun Clay and Tomos

Palmer continue to ensure that the class remains

active. With limited competition, it was no surprise

that the two Gillard drivers shared the heat wins,

but, when double heat winner Clay was forced to

retire from the lead early in final, Palmer romped

home un challenged. Visiting novice Kerry Davies

claimed second, setting her fastest lap of the

weekend on the last lap of the final.

By contrast, Minimax produced a good entry to go

with its excellent racing. Jordan Wilson and

Macaulay Walsh shared the heat wins, before

Walsh led from start to finish in the final. Wilson,

however, ensured that life was difficult for the

winner by chasing all way, while Oliver White

emerged from a six-kart battle to take the final

podium spot.

Senior Prokart again produced another bumper

entry, despite a few late withdrawals, and saw

Gareth Lewis – with two – and returnee Gareth

Latcham take the wins in some typically close-fought

heats. When it mattered, however, Lewis broke

free to win the final, with Gwyn Latcham and

Nigel Kent coming through to claim second and third.

The burgeoning Senior Prokart Heavyweight

category featured yet more new faces, amid

rumours that some drivers had even embarked

on a diet in search of competitiveness! Craig

Llewellyn, Len Field and Huw Jones all took heat

wins, before Jones came to the fore early in the

final. Allowed easy passage to victory after

Llewellyn and Mike Thomas collided, Jones headed

rookie of the day Fred Coleman, who fended off

Field to claim a surprise second.

The Senior Rotax class may have been a little

thin on entries, but produced some good racing,

with driver of the day

Laurie Hughes winning for the first time in

the opening heat. Club stalwart Rob Bevan then

won the next two races before adding success

in the final after seeing off another regular,

Bjorn Rodde. With Hughes luck running out in

the main event, novice David Meenan came

through to claim an impressive third after a

lengthy scrap with Tony Carrafa.

Double heat winner Chris Lipscomb was the

class of the Senior TKM 4-stroke field, but

succumbed to a tap from junior graduate Andrew

Thomas in the early stages of the final. Thomas

was subsequently passed by eventual winner

Lee Sherwin, and had his day soured further

when he was excluded from the results,

allowing the popular Edwin James to claim

second, with novice Jason Rees third.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

March 25th 2007 Race Report

Llandow Kart Club’s summer season got under

way without the sunny weather promised by

the forecasters and almost without a paramedic

or chief marshal – both of whom had forgotten

to move their clocks on the required hour!

Cold blustery conditions thus greeted the

70-strong entry, boosted for the weekend

by NKRA runners in both Mini and Senior

Max, although the temperatures rose with

some hot action on track.

The Cadet Comer class produced some of

the best action of the day, with a four-way

battle characterising each race as double

heat winner Steven Handford, heat 2

winner Macaulay Austin, Sam Parrant,

Alex Jones swapped positions continually.

Sadly, a collision between Handford and

Austin prevented a repeat in the final,

as Austin and Parrant spun down the order,

leaving Handford to win from Jones and

Thomas Harvey.

Cadet Honda appeared to be going the way

of Kim Latcham, who took top spot in each

of the heats, but an uncharacteristic spin

on lap one of the final left her with too

much to do, even when chief rival Liam

Manning also spun. That allowed novice

Niall Williams through to take the honours,

with the recovering Manning pipping

Latcham for second.

The Junior Prokart class returned to former

glory, with big grids producing some exciting

racing. Jak Kent swept the heats, and led for

three-quarters of the final, but lost out late

on to the charging Simon Evans. Evans had

looked a threat during the heats, but misfortune

prevented him from challenging Kent.

Winter champion Jack Davis and Michael

Davies both also got ahead of the luckless

Kent on the way to flag, leaving the heat

winner still in search of his first final success.

Ashley Davies showed that early misfortune

in Junior TKM 2-stroke need not affect the

rest of the day, bouncing back from a lap one

crash in his opening heat to scoop the honours

in the remaining heats and then win the final

comfortably. Matthew Beattie also staged a

recovery of sorts, claiming second in the

final after two earlier DNFs, while Steffan

Williams finished third in the main event.

Junior TKM 4-stroke went the way of Olly

Bourton – but only after he had missed the

first heat entirely after putting diesel in

his kart by mistake! That allowed Carly Latcham

to open her day with a brace of heat wins,

but Bourton retook the upper hand in a

thrilling scrap when it mattered most.

Ryan Howells took the third step of the

podium after sticking with Bourton and

Latcham for most of the final.

A disappointing entry marred the Junior Max

class, but the loyalty of Shaun Clay and Tomos

Palmer ensured that the class went ahead.

Although Clay won all three heats and final,

Palmer gave brave chase all day.

There was a similarly dominant display from

Jordan Wilson in Junior Max but, although

he won all four races by a country mile, thrilling

battles in his wake gave the crowd something

to enjoy. Anything up to seven karts at a time

diced over second place throughout the

heats, and the final saw novice Conor

Hardiman battling through to second with

Winter Series champion Oliver Hughes

claiming third after a race-long scrap with

Owen Hunter, Neil Pincott, Joe Hilling,

Stuart Dunk and Rhys Jenkins.

The Senior Prokart class again produced the

biggest grids of the day, bolstered by a

burgeoning heavyweight division. However,

while 14 karts went into turn one of the

opening heat, only five came out - with the

rest cutting across the field after an optimistic

move by one of the novice runners went awry.

The heats shared by first-time winner Dave

Entwistle, veteran Gwyn Latcham and rising

star Gareth Lewis, but the final was all about

one man as Latcham took an easy win after

each of his rivals seemed intent on spinning

away their chances. A decidedly ‘senior’

podium was completed by Nigel Kent and

Winter champion Paul Saunders.

Senior Pro Heavy – the fastest growing class

at Llandow (no pun intended) – produced its

biggest grid yet, with half a dozen entries,

but no-one had an answer for Graham Davies.

The TKM convert nearly won the first heat

overall after avoiding the carnage at the start,

and only had to share heat wins with closest rival

Craig Llewellyn after spinning in the third outing.

Back on form, Davies won final comfortably,

with Mike Thomas and Huw Jones completing

the podium after Llewellyn ran into kart problems.

Senior TKM 4-stroke produced close racing

all day between Lee Sherwin and Andrew Clarke,

but the prospects of another good battle in the

final ended on lap one when Clarke lost a wheel

at full chat, producing the biggest crash of the

day. Aware that his rival was okay after the

impact, Sherwin won final at a canter from the

hard-trying Edwin James and novice Jason Jones.

Senior Max also saw hopes of a competitive

final dashed when double heat winner Josh North

experienced mechanical problems on lap one, Barrie

Thomsit spun and Tony Carrafa crashed. That left

the door open for the returning Bjorn Rodde to take

a comfortable win from Matthew Dowers, with

Thomsit recovering to third after a tense battle with

Dan Orlandea.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

February 25th 2007 Race Report

The second and final round of Llandow Kart Club’s

inaugural Winter Championships attracted an

entry of 60 eager souls, with a dozen drivers

making the tip to South Wales to get a little

extra practice in before next weekend’s Super 1

meeting.

After January’s dry event, everyone feared the

worst when the day dawned with a damp track,

but the conditions remained largely dry until the

finals came around and, even then, despite the

rain arriving, almost everyone stayed on slicks.

Whether the conditions played a part or not,

there was some excellent racing – and plenty

of upsets – to be had, with no fewer than 24

different winners through the heats and finals.

Sam Parrant, Alex Jones and Steven Handford

all won heats in Cadet Comer, and Parrant led

early on in the final, only for Handford to catch

and pass him for his second win of the new season,

confirming himself as Winter champion.

Alex Jones was third.

Liam Manning made a flying start to his MSA caree

r, winning his first ever heat in  Cadet Honda,

but ultimately had to give best to Kim Latcham

in the final. The novice wasn’t given an easy run,

however, and only kept Niall Williams in third

after a great scrap. Latcham’s success, meanwhile,

confirmed her as Winter champion.

Not to be out-done, Andrew Davies also won a

heat on his Junior Prokart and MSA debut,

although he had to acknowledge Jack Davis’

superiority in the day’s other three races.

With Davis out front in the final, however,

attention focused on Davies’ pursuit of January

class winner Rob Wheeler, a chase which

ultimately produced second place, and confirmed

Davis as champion.

Great racing from a strong field characterised

that Junior TKM 4-Stroke class, with Olly Bourton

winning two heats and Carly Latcham the other.

The final then produced a nip/tuck battle between

the two, with Bourton eventually coming out on top

to claim the Winter title. The scrapping wasn’t left

to the front two, however, as Cavan Corcoran only

snatched third after long tussle with Will Hulacki

Junior Max appeared to be going the way of Richard

Henderson, who led for eleven-and-three-quarter laps

of the final. However, Max Lawry had been stalking

the leader throughout and pulled off a peach of a

move at Raymonds on final tour to take the win by

half a kart length. Henderson, however, was able

to console himself with the Winter title. Novice

Christopher Farnish shadowed the leaders to take third.

Mini Max produced a first win for pint-sized Oliver

Hughes, but the youngster had to deal with a persistent

Conor Hardiman throughout final. Rookie Hardiman

had won the day’s opening heat and kept Hughes

honest in the main race, but the eventual winner

kept his nerve to take the flag and the Winter crown.

Ben Barker won first heat in Junior TKM 2-Stroke

but GP plate-holder Francis Harrold was the man to

beat for the rest of the day, claiming the other two

heats and the final with room to spare. Barker claimed

second in the main event, coming home ahead of

Celtic champion Ashley Crossey, as all three

prepared for the S1 meeting next weekend.

Crossey’s performance, meanwhile, confirmed

him as Winter champion.

Senior Prokart again proved to be an open contest,

producing four different winners in its four races.

The returning Luke Merrey finally won a heat after

six years of trying, claiming race two, but his usual

luck returned when he was punted off in the final.

Gwyn Latcham claimed the honours in the main event,

ahead of Nick Jones and Gareth Lewis, who took the

final podium spot after recovering from twelfth place.

Paul ‘Tooty’ Saunders emerged from the chaos to take

the Winter title, despite having been pushed out of the

final by Jones.

The new heavyweight class again attracted three entries,

with the heat wins split between Huw Jones and

Graham Davies. The final also proved to be closely

matched, with Jones triumphing over Mike Thomas,

leaving Davies to come in third. Jones’ second

success in the class earned him Winter honours.

The Senior Max final proved to be a tricky affair

as it coincided with the arrival of the rain, causing

double heat winner Jordan Pike to spin away pole

position on the opening lap. That allowed Darryl

Henderson to lead, but a late move from Barry Thomsit,

who slithered past, saw the Llandow newcomer claim

victory, although second was good enough to confirm

Henderson as champion. Pike recovered well to

take third place.

The last Senior TKM 4-Stroke race also took

place on a damp track, but slick tyres continued

to be the order of the day. Despite the conditions,

Chris Lipscomb and Keiran Vernon battled throughout,

with the latter stealing victory at the final corner,

although it was not enough to deny Lipscomb the

Winter title. Andrew Clarke claimed third after

Alan Hackland retired.

Senior TKM 2-Stroke made a welcome return to

the programme, boosted by a number of drivers

preparing for Super One, and saw Ryan Magennis

take the win after passing Chris Renwick and

Matthew Harris, with Harris also coming through

for second.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

Janurary 28th 2007 Race Report

Llandow Kart Club’s decision to run a meeting in

January, ostensibly as the first round of two in

an inaugural Winter Series, paid off with a

respectable entry of 60, swelled by those keen

to get in a little extra track time ahead of the

circuit’s forthcoming Super 1 and Motors TV

rounds.

Thankfully, the rains which deluged South Wales,

as well as most of the country, in January had

abated, leaving the track dry, if blasted by a

biting winter wind, as the eighth season of racing

at Llandow got underway.

Junior Prokart belonged to Robert Wheeler, who

not only took his first win in the category, but

dominated the meeting by winning all three

heats and final. Jack Davis provided the

opposition, finishing second each time out,

while novice Josh Gray capped for a promising

first meeting by taking third as MS chassis

swept the podium.

A strong field was assembled for Junior

TKM 4-stroke, but that did not prevent Oliver

Bourton from taking a clean sweep of victories,

earning himself the driver of the day nomination

into the bargain. Cavan Corcoran put up a good

chase in the final, eventually being rewarded

with second place, while Will Hulacki claimed

the final podium spot after a spirited battle

with Carly Latcham.

Cadet Comer produced perhaps the best final

of the day, with Jake Dennis leading until carb

problems dropped him to seventh. That allowed

the chasing pack to elevate their scrap to one

for first position, with Steven Handford winning

out after putting in a late dive on Josh Fry.

Dennis salvaged something from his day by

recovering to second, relegating the hapless

Fry another spot, while Sam Parrant finished fourth.

Jessica Hawkins claimed Cadet Honda honours

on her first ever visit to Llandow, with Ashley

England taking second.

Michael West won Junior Max, demonstrating

the virtue of an impressive VanSpeed chassis,

leaving Richard Henderson to come out on top

of a hectic tussle with Dean Hale and Mark Burton.

While Henderson went on to claim second,

however, the battling took its toll on his rivals,

with Tomos Palmer coming through to take third

and leaving Burton and Hale only sixth and seventh.

Mini Max was the domain of Henry Easthope who,

like Bourton and Wheeler before him, won all three

heats and the final. Novice Rhys Jenkins claimed

second after Oliver Hughes spun the position away.

Senior Prokart produced the usual thrills and

spills, but Paul Saunders kept it clean and led

from start to finish in kart he only finished

building on Saturday night. Coming man Gareth

Lewis was left to settle for second, with Dafydd

Iles, in his first senior race and debut in a prokart,

coming through to take third. For the first time, a

heavyweight section garnered enough entries to

warrant inclusion, with honours going the way of

Huw Jones. Michael Thomas finished second.

A good Senior Max grid produced some great racing

. While honours could have several ways, it was Daryl

Henderson who eventually claimed first place, with

the chasing Richard Raymond a fighting second to

complete a Gillard 1-2. Jamie Macklin claimed the

final rostrum spot, with James Griffiths fourth

from the back of grid.

For Results Click Here

Written By Craig Llewellyn/Henry Beaudette

May 28th 2006 Race Report

Beautiful blue skies and warm weather graced

South Wales for the biggest Llandow Kart Club

meeting in several years and with several visiting

classes there was plenty of racing to get through.

Novice Joshua Martin came within two laps of winning

his first ever MSA heat race in Cadet Comer but

was gobbled up by Sam Parrant, who went on to win

the final as well.

Kimberly Latcham won Cadet Honda, her first

overall win in more than two years of trying,

signalling the start of a successful day for the

entire Latcham family.

Simon Evans continued his winning ways in the

biggest Junior Honda class seen in nearly three

years although he had Alex Everitt glued to his

rear bumper all day. Jak Kent finished third.

Half of the eight-strong Junior TKM Four Stroke

runners carried single digit numbers with Carly Latcham

narrowly edging out Rhys Jenkins and defending champion

Gareth Evans in the final.

In Junior TKM Two Stroke the returning Dan Jones won

the Intermediate class while Ross Thomas beat Ashley Davies

and Ashley Crossey in the regular class. JJ Wilson also

won Mini Max.

Jones and Davies were also in action in Biland Intermediate

where Jones finished second and Davies third behind

O Plate winner Nick Kelly.

Like several other classes Junior Rotax enjoyed their

biggest grid of the year and the crowded paddock enjoyed

a great duel between ‘veteran’ protagonists Sam Taylor

and Shaun Clay. Taylor won by one tenth of a second

after a fine drive by both. Josh North completed the

podium with novice of the day Richard Henderson a

fine fourth.

Senior TKM Four Stroke’s made their first appearance

of the season with Chris Lipscomb taking an easy win in

the final over the returning Jon Honeybun and newcomer

Edwin James.

The closely contested RAF Premier class fell to Markus Ramsden

by two tenths over Dean Maratty with Luke Bourne completing

the podium.

Chris Davis and Robert Bevan shared heat wins in Formula Rotax

but when Bevan lost a chain in the final Davis was left to

hold off John Parsons with Richard Walker third.

Senior Honda was another cracking final that saw

Gwyn Latcham snatch a late victory from Henry Beaudette.

Michael Hamilton followed Latcham through to take second

with Beaudette hanging onto third ahead of Paul Saunders.

The final race of the day was for the Biland Super Series,

a race that saw Kieran Brookfield go from fifth to first and

claim the win and a cheque for £1000. Paul ‘Wilko’ Wilkins

and Simon Bayliss completed the podium, winning £500 and

£250 respectively for their efforts.

April 23rd 2006 Race Report:

The biggest entry of the year pitched up for the April

meeting, which took place in mixed conditions.

In Cadet Honda Kimberly Latcham won her first heat

although double heat winner Liam Jones took the

chequered flag first in the final, beating Steven Handford

and Cameron Gunther.

Macaulay Austin lost his undefeated record in Comer

with a DNF in heat two although he recovered in the final,

leaving Sam Parrant and Oliver Denis to scrap over second.

Parrant took the spot with Denis third.

Some great racing in Junior Honda resulted in Simon Evans

taking the win, beating Ryan Waters and Jak Kent with

driver of the day Robert Wheeler a strong fourth.

Light drizzle turned the Junior TKM Four Stroke final

into a tricky affair. Carly Latcham led until Oliver Bourton

slithered through in the closing laps to win. Dafydd Iles

completed the podium.

Lewis Burnett showed the rest a clean pair of heels in

Junior TKM. Ross Thomas nearly caused an upset in

heat two and finished second in the final, holding off

Ross Williams.

Delta Karting teammates JJ Wilson and Macaulay Walsh

shared heat wins in Mini Max but when Walsh failed to

appear for the final, Wilson was left with a clear path

to victory. Zoe Wenham battled her way to second with

Cameron Jones and Zak Price completing the top four.

There was a scary crash for Jake Oram in the second

Junior Rotax heat but it was good to see the popular

driver back in the paddock to watch the final. On his

first drive out of Mini Max, Sam Taylor won a wet final,

beating Darryl Henderson and Daniel Denis.

14 Senior Honda’s made for entertaining viewing with

Henry Beaudette winning by two tenths over Lawrence Tombs.

Paul Saunders completed the podium with Nigel Kent fourth.

Against a pack of NKRA runners, Senior Rotax champion

Chris Davies managed two heat wins and was about to

make a move on Daryl Burgess for the lead in the final

when a wheel parted company, sending Davies into the

tyres at full chat.

Burgess went on to win by half a second over Martin Gange

with Paul Turner third and Davies lucky to escape injury.

Bjorn and Dan Rodde shared the heat wins in Senior ICC

but when Bjorn was sidelined from the final with two

laps remaining, Dan was left with a clear path to victory.

Chris Evans finished second.

March 26th 2006 Race Report:

Mothers Day might not have been the ideal date for the

second round of the Llandow KC Championship but more

than 60 competitors, many with disgruntled mums in tow,

pitched up for what would turn into a very wet afternoon.

The club managed to keep the event running and although

some questioned whether to abandon the meeting, the

decision to press on regardless was met with almost

universal praise from drivers and dads, if not mums.

Fresh from his Super One debut, Liam Jones swept the

board in Cadet Honda although Kim Latcham’s second place,

ahead of February winner Steve Handford was just as

impressive.

Macaulay Austin’s clean sweep in Cadet Comer resulted

in the defending champion earning the Driver of the Day.

Sam Parrant and Alexander Jones completed the podium.

There was plenty of good racing in Junior Honda, which

ended with Simon Evans taking his first win. Ryan Waters

overcame brake problems to take second with Jak Kent

third and novice of the day Michael Davies fourth.

Oliver Bourton made it two out of two in Junior TKM Four Stroke,

but only after having his disqualification for contact with

Gareth Evans was overturned. Birthday girl Carly Latcham

wound up second with novice Andrew Thomas third.

The opening Junior TKM heat saw the first four karts

cross the line within a second of each other. Ross Thomas

took the chequered flag first in the final, with

Ashley Crossey and Ross Williams second and third.

Delta Karting’s Daniel Denis cleaned up in Junior Rotax

although novice Richard Henderson came within half a second

of a stunning upset in heat two. In the final it was

Tomos Palmer and Max Lawry who completed the podium

with Henderson fourth.

Macaulay Walsh streaked to his first LKC win in Mini Max,

beating Delta teammate JJ Wilson with room to spare with

Sam Taylor a close third.

After a stern ticking off in February, the large Senior Honda

rabble were generally well behaved in a gripping final race

that saw Paul ‘Tooty’ Saunders score his first win since 2003!

Henry Beaudette and Lawrence Tombs completed the podium.

Chris Davis overcame a big crash with Dan Stacey in a

very wet third Formula Rotax heat to win the final by

two seconds over double heat winner Matthew Dowers with

Stuart Grayer third.

Dan and Bjorn Rodde both claimed heat wins in ICC 125

but it was younger sibling Dan who took the chequered

flag first in the final.

February 26th 2006 race report:

The 2006 season opened on a frosty but dry day although

a stiff wind meant temperatures struggled to stay above freezing.

In Honda Cadet Steven Handford started his first full season of

racing with a win over Liam Jones while Macaulay Austin began

the defence of his Comer Cadet title with a victory over heat winner

Julian Davies with novice Oliver Hughes a fine third.

Several Junior Honda runners suffered terminal problems during

the heats, leaving a depleted grid for the final. That didn’t matter

to double champion Alex Everitt, who completed a clean sweep of

victories. Jak Kent and novice Michael Davies completed the podium.

Oliver Bourton’s long journey to Wales was worth it as he took a

clean sweep of Junior TKM Four Stroke wins. Kieren Karim was

Bourton’s closest competition in the heats but his kart failed to fire

for the final. George Blundell and Gareth Evans completed the podium

with novice Andrew Thomas an extremely impressive fourth.

Ross Williams and Ashley Davies shared Junior TKM heat wins but it

was Williams who held on in the final with Ashley Crossey nipping Davies

for third.

With several of last years runners moving up to Seniors, Daryl

Henderson had an easy path to victory in Junior Max. Tomos Palmer

finished second on his class debut although Jake Oram pushed him

hard in the final.

Macaulay Walsh beat far more experienced competition in Mini Max

heats one and two before his Delta Karting teammate JJ Wilson took

over and won heat three and the final. Walsh finished second with

Zoe Wenham winning an exciting battle with Shaun Clay for third.

Alex Gardiner looked set to take Junior Gearbox honours until he

came to grief, allowing Aaron James to sneak through for the win.

Once again Senior Honda provided the biggest grid and most entertainment.

The returning Michael Hamilton made several decisive passing moves

to take a close win with defending champion Henry Beaudette second

and Nigel Kent third.

Rob Bevan made a great start to his Formula Rotax career as he won

heat one but had no answer for defending champion Chris Davis in

the final. The demise of Lawrence Curran and Graham Davies allowed

Antontio Carrafa to take third on his return to karting following several

years out of the sport.

Dan Rodde won all four spectacular Senior ICC races from Chris Evans

and Bjorn Rodde, this class expected to grow considerably as the year progresses.