
	OPEN ENDURANCE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

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	summer chanpionship ROUND 1

	RACE REPORT
	With freezing temperatures and the forecast of snow, the first round of the 2006 Open Endurance Championship looked like being a test of both driver and kart. With 17 teams signing on, the first of a few light snow flurries fell. The Senior Max class was once again the most supported, with the ThunderKart and ProKart class also well subscribed. The Open Class contained Pro Extremes, a ProMax, and a TKM 4/. It also contained the CV driven max of CV Racing. Practice was a bitterly cold, but dry. After 30 minutes, the green flag dropped to signify the start of qualifying, and all teams took to the track. As expected in dry conditions, the top six slots of the grid were Senior Maxes, with Red Max Racing taking pole by just 0.13 seconds from The Litigators. Box Tech, however, were not having the best of times, and could only manage 15th on the grid. Team Slick was the fastest ThunderKart, and Boyes Lane took pole in the Prokart class. CV Racing showed the pace of the special drive train by setting a time of just 0.28 seconds behind pole position. With a sort 15-minute gap, the teams all rushed frantically to get to the grid. All 17 karts made the grid, and with just 1 rolling lap, the field made a clean start. Immediately Red Max Racing started to break away from the rest of the field with CV Racing hot on their heels. The Litigators were running third on the track. With the handicaps added, however, it was Boyes Lane leading from Prokart Engineering chasing in second and the Pro Extreme of Ace of Aces in third. WGS, having only entered one kart for this race, were having a time they would rather forget. Despite several stops out on circuit, and even more visits to the pits, they could not get their TKM 4/ running cleanly. Despite tracing the problem to an electrical one, they could not fix the problem and retired from the race after just 53 laps. At the 1½ hour mark, Boyes Lane had a massive 5 lap lead over Prokart Engineering, who were not having their customary trouble free race. Cannonball Racing had taken third spot in their ThunderKart. It looked as if it were going to be a close race to the finish, however, with the Senior Max Teams having taken 7 laps off the leaders. One of the front running Senior Maxes, however was about to suffer a dramatic mechanical failure. Red Max Racing saw their driver spin 3 times across the start finish line, spearing across the pit lane exit (& across the path of another team who were exiting!) and into the tyre wall. A broken axle was diagnosed and the team quickly set about changing the axle. Any chance of victory, though, had disappeared. At the 3-hour mark, a Senior Max had taken the lead. The Litigators had a 4-lap lead over CV Racing with Cannonball Racing third. With the Senior Maxes in first and second being very thirsty, the race was still by no means over, and any of the classes could have taken overall victory. In the final third of the race, The Litigators extended their lead to such a point that after their second to last fuel stop they were still in the lead, with Boyes Lane second and CV Racing third. The Litigators, however, were just about to suffer a major set back. When they came in for their second to last fuel stop, they were found to be underweight. With a ten-lap penalty, they were four laps behind the leader with 40 minutes of the race remaining. Despite such a mammoth task, The Litigators pushed as hard as they could, and with just 2 minutes of the race remaining, they were just 20 seconds behind the leaders Boyes Lane. With a Herculean push, they managed to pull back 14 seconds, but were not quite there, finishing just 6.42 seconds behind race winners Boyes Lane. In the ThunderKart class, the race was just as close, with Team Slick suffering from a mechanical problem and lapping 4 seconds a lap slower than Cannonball Racing who were chasing them hard. As Team Slick entered the last series of bends, Cannonball Racing were closing fast, and as Team Slick took the chequered flag Cannonball Racing pounced. With a gap of just 0.13 seconds, Team Slick took 4th overall and 1st in the ThunderKart Class. APH Racing were sixth, winning the Open Class in their Pro Extreme. The overall results were Boyes Lane (Pro Kart) first, The Litigators (Senior Max) second, and Red Stripe Racing (Senior Max) Third. The class results were: Senior Max - 1st The Litigators, 2nd Red Stripe Racing, 3rd TT Sport ThunderKart - 1st Team Slick, 2nd Cannonball Racing, 3rd Red Mist Racing ProKart - 1st Boyes Lane, 2nd K2, 3rd ProKart Engineering Open Class - 1st APH Racing (Pro Extreme), 2nd Ace of Aces (Pro Extreme), 3rd CV Racing (CVT Senior Max) TYRE PRIZE Went to Red Max Racing who after a commanding start to the race had a very dramatic end to their days racing. 17 karts for round 1 was a promising start to the season, with several regular teams unable to attend due to unavoidable circumstances. A steady growth is predicted for the season, and Round 2 at Daytona Milton Keynes on the 9th April looks like being a very exciting race indeed.

Regulations