
	OPEN ENDURANCE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

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	2008 Summer Championship ROUND 1 Whilton Mill

	RACE REPORT
	The opening round of 2008 Summer Championship at Whilton Mill was greeted by clear skies and the track bathed in sunshine. All the signs were pointing at a fantastic day for racing and we weren't going to be disappointed. Although a number of teams would have an eventful day. A couple of new teams had joined the grid, Borney 62 & Borney 68 and they were warmly welcomed by the regular teams who assisted them as they got to grips with endurance racing a Rotax. Unfortunately we were missing Red Stripe Racing one of the stalwarts of the Championship through injury, send our best wished to Tom for a speedy return. With 17 teams lining up on the grid, 15 Rotax's and one Biland & TKM 2/ apiece, the racing would be very competitive with the lap times showing how evenly matched the teams are. Maintenance (71) topped qualifying with a 49.33 with Box Tech (40) second 49.47 and Red Max (95) third 49.49 the next four teams were covered by just a tenth of a second. As the race started Maintenance swept into turn one with Box Tech riding their bumper. APC & Appliance both making great starts and passing Red Max. Got No Idea also made up two places to find themselves 6th. Heading into Ashby (T6) Box Tech dived into the lead only for Maintenance to retake it into Parker (T7) the two karts would be nose to tail swapping the lead for the foreseeable future. APC, Appliance & Red Max happily held station directly behind the leaders as the pack of five, slowly edged away from the following pack. Meanwhile KKC who had to start from the back of the grid due to a transponder issue had set about making their way through the field and after only 5 laps were in 7th position chasing Got No Idea who were leading the second pack of six kart comprising Got No Idea, KKC, Stanion Slicks, Red Mist, TT Sport & Boxed In. After 30 minutes Boxed In was struggling for top end pace, a trip to the pits and a replacement Jet resolved the issue but precious time had been lost and with the pace that the teams were setting it would be hard to claw back the lost time. Box Tech had created a slender lead from Maintenance and between them they had pulled a small but useful gap from the chasing teams. However Box Tech's lap times were to fall allowing the chasing teams to catch & overtake them. At their scheduled stop it was decided not to make any adjustments as the time penalty would be too great to get back out on track. Unfortunately things were to get worse throughout the day and the fantastic first forty-five minutes would become a distant memory. For the next two and half hour Maintenance would hold a small lead to the chasing group of APC, Red Max, KKC & Red Mist in the Biland until they too would have the gremlins work their way into the machinery. A loose radiator mount would require a fix during their final fuel stop and would cost them the lead to APC. Rejoining in sixth they climbed up to forth before the jerry rigged radiator sprung a leak and with 15 minutes to go they had to retire. APC were looking good for their first win in the OEKC, but it wasn't going to be their day today. A small problem would allow Red Max to take the lead and although APC tried to closed the gap Red Max took their second win on the trot by the smallest of margins. Just 6.76 seconds after 4.5hrs of racing. The second round of the OEKC will be held at Daytona MK on the 6th April. See you there for another exciting days racing.

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