
	OPEN ENDURANCE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

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	WInter cup ROUND 2

	RACE REPORT
	Despite a forecast of rain, the final round of the Open Endurance Kart Championship WINTER CUP promised to be a well-attended event. With the championship being promoted at both the London Kart Show and the Autosport Show interest was high. 25 teams arrived at the circuit with the rain falling. Top ProKart teams Team Alpha and AJB joined the championship for the first time. The Pro Extremes of APH Racing and Ace of Aces also joined, entering the Open class for this race. A total of 9 ProKarts entered, along with 6 Senior Maxes, 4 ThunderKarts, and a mixture of 6 karts in the Open class, including CV Racing, who were running their Constant Variable Transmission. Practice was a very wet affair, which favoured the ProKarts with Team Alpha and Gas'n'Go in a strong second and third on the grid in the low 52-second bracket. The pace for the pole setters Rogue Racing, however, was a blistering 50-second lap set by Ben Cruttendon. As soon as refuelling was complete, all 25 karts joined the grid for the start. After a couple of rolling laps, the karts made a clean start and Rogue Racing sprinted away from the pack. The handicap laps were added and AJB took the lead from Team Alpha with Roberti Racing third. Rogue Racing led the Max class from Auctionmyigloo.com, and SAS Racing led the ThunderKart class from Team Slick. Ace of Aces led the Open Class from APH Racing. TT Sport suffered major mechanical problems early in the race but, such was their support of the series, they decided to wait to the end of the race before starting the long drive back to Norfolk. With a third of the race complete, AJB had the lead from Team Alpha with Roberti Racing in third. Ace of Aces was the highest placed non-ProKart in 8th place overall leading the Open class from Appliance Maintenance in their ProMax. Rogue Racing held the Senior Max lead by just a few seconds over Box Tech, and the ThunderKart class was led by SAS Racing. With the rain falling, many teams suffered from mechanical gremlins. With two-thirds distance complete, the top three places remained as it had for the one third mark, and the ProKarts had actually extended their lead over the other classes. SAS Racing still held the ThunderKart lead, whilst holding 7th overall. The highest placed Max of Rogue Racing was in 6th and the highest placed Open Class kart was the Pro Extreme of Ace of Aces. As the race drew to a close, the ThunderKart of Team Slick 2 seemed to suffer from the effects of the rain that had been falling for almost the entire race. The front runners, however kept up a fast pace and extended their lead. With the rain still falling, Team Alpha took the chequered flag 30 seconds ahead of AJB 1. Roberti Racing were 6 laps down on them in third. Team Slick was the highest placed non Pro Kart in 6th place, taking the ThunderKart class win whilst Auctionmyigloo.com took the senior max class win. Ace of Aces won the open class. The WINTER CUP was won by ProKart Engineering, who had had equalled Roberti Racings 84 points but had a victory to their name. No Name took third overall. Team Slick took the overall victory in the ThunderKart class, with series sponsor Box Tech winning the Senior Max class. WGS Racing 2 took the Open Class win with ProKart Engineering also taking the Pro Kart win. A grid of 25 karts in the depths of a cold wet winter proved that not only is interest in the championship high but also that the concept works well with a large grid in poor conditions. With the 2006 Summer Championship basing itself at Whilton Mill, and an away round at Daytona Milton Keynes, interest will grow even further. Many teams have already committed to the summer, and have taken advantage of the offer of a free set of Kartline Slick control tyres by sending a deposit to Whilton Mill. I look forward to working with you all in 2006. Andrew

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