The Motorsport UK Wera Tools British Kart Championships sprung back into action at Shenington Kart Club over the weekend (24/25 April) with 174 competitors racing across six classes.
Shenington’s 1,018 metre track, with its mix of fast straights and slow corners, where overtaking is possible at every turn, made for a testing opening round for drivers in the IAME Cadet, Junior X30, Senior X30, Junior TKM, TKM Extreme and KZ2.
Henry Joslyn conquered the field of 48 in the Junior X30 with Henry Platten taking the spoils in the Senior X30. Leon Frost took a narrow victory in the Junior TKM and in the TKM Extreme, Chris Whitton took a dominant victory. James Glenister dominated the KZ2 and Kit Belofsky snapped up the IAME Cadet title by just 0.06 seconds.
A windy affair, held under cloud cover on Saturday and spring sunshine on the Sunday, allowed a great weekend of racing for all competitors with minimal disruptions in across all classes in Britain’s premier karting series.
Sunday’s actions was broadcast live on the Motorsport UK YouTube and each final is now available to watch in full HERE.
Class Round Up
Junior X30
The biggest field at the opening event of the Wera Tools British Kart Championships, the Junior X30 was hotly contested on the track.
Across the weekend 48 drivers took to the track with the top 34 heading to the final.
The final was a cagey affair with the lead exchanging hands throughout. Henry Joslyn, Leo Robinson, Harry Burgoyne, Gabriel Stilp and Fionn McLaughlin stayed at the front of the pack throughout the race but the deciding moment came on the final lap.
McLaughlin held the lead heading down to Bruno Chicane but as he ran wide he forced Robinson to take a wider line which opened the door for Joslyn, who had kept it tight in fourth, to pounce and take the lead. Burgoyne also benefitted, moving from fifth to third with the third placed Stilp moving into second.
Joslyn opened up a gap to take the victory but the passing manoeuvres weren’t over. Burgoyne stayed on Stilp’s tail and as Stilp ran wide at Wilkins Hairpin, Burgoyne slid through to take second with Stilp completing the podium.
Watch all of the drama back in the full race on the Motorsport UK YouTube HERE.
IAME Cadet
Fusion Motorsport were a dominant force in the IAME Cadet, occupying all three steps on the podium after a hard fought battle around Shenington’s 1,018 metre track.
Teammates Kit Belofsky, Jenson Graham and Jorge Edgar were embroiled in a tight battle throughout the entirety of the final.
Belofsky got off to a good start and took the early lead as he and Edgar jostled at the front of the pack with Graham in close contention. Graham pulled into the lead on lap 7 and held on through to lap 16 before Belofsky pushed back.
There was no separating the top three in the final laps with no driver able to hold on to the lead without sustaining substantial pressure but Belofsky did enough to hold on and win by 0.06 over Graham with Edgar in third 0.11 off the winner.
The win capped off a tremendous all-round performance from Belofsky who took pole in timed qualifying and was in the top four in both heats and the pre-final.
Watch the race back on the Motorsport UK YouTube HERE.
TKM Extreme
Chris Whitton was dominant in the TKM Extreme final. The privateer started at the front of the grid and with a solid start he stayed at the front of the pack and opened up a substantial gap, eventually coming home 4.31 seconds ahead of Sam Johns who took second.
Kye Springfield was just 0.07 off Johns and rounded off the podium.
Watch the TKM Extreme Final back in full HERE.
Junior TKM
Leon Frost left it late to take the Junior TKM victory, passing Olivier Jakins at the Bruno Chicane on the final lap. The pair were bumper to bumper throughout the final with Jakins holding off Frost. But Frost waited for the right moment to pounce and overtook Jakins at the right moment, not granting her an opportunity to bite back with limited race track left.
Frost and Jakins were leaps ahead of the chasing pack and coming in 3.99 seconds off Frost was Ollie Rands who completed the podium.
The full race is available to watch HERE.
Senior X30
Harry Platten opened up the 2022 Wera Tools British Kart Championships with a bang by taking victory in the Senior X30 final. Platten fought hard against Tom Flemming in the final as the pair shared the lead throughout the 23 lap race.
Platten grabbed the race lead with five to go and although Flemming was hot on his tail, Platten held on to take a deserved victory.
From the start, Marcus Littlewood moved up the pack and eventually finished third overall.
Watch the final HERE.
KZ2
James Glenister dominated the KZ2 Final, taking a convincing victory over the chasing pack. Starting in ninth on the grid, Glenister moved up three places in the first lap. He gradually picked off his rivals before making his move on the leader, Dan Kelly, on the ninth lap. Utilising his superior speed, Glenister darted down the inside at the first corner and held off Kelly throughout the remainder of the lap before pressing ahead and asserting his dominance.
Glenister took a 5.41 second victory over Kelly and Charlie Turner completed the podium.
The final is available to view HERE.
The British Kart Championships moves on to PFi in Lincolnshire for the second event of the 2022 season. Held from 7-8 May, the season will officially commence for the Mini Rotax, Junior Rotax, Senior Rotax, Rotax 177 and Honda Cadet.