OPEN ENDURANCE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

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	ROUND 5
	RACE REPORT
	The fifth and final round of the Whilton Mill Open Endurance Championship started and remained cool. Thankfully, however, the rain held off. 10 teams attended. Four ThunderKarts attended, along side 3 Senior Maxes and a TKM 4/. The excitement, however, surrounded the arrival of the series first Rotax RM1. The half hour practice session saw all of the teams use the circuit, and the 15-minute qualifying session saw some frantic action. The Senior Max of Box Tech took pole, with the RM1 of Autoshield just a few hundredths behind. The ThunderKart team of Blue Thunder had some problems, and started below their normal position. After a short break for refuelling, the teams took to the grid. After 1 rolling lap, the field made a faultless start. Box Tech held on to their lead, and immediately started to pull away. Autoshield held onto second place, although the Senior Max of Gas N Go was pressing hard for the position. In the ThunderKart class, Team Slick initially held the lead from Cannonball, although positions changed several times. A little over an hour and forty minutes, the RM1 of Autoshield suffered an unusual mechanical failure that resulted in their retirement. This was, however, the only mechanical failure of the race. Box Tech were showing themselves to be the class of the field, and around the 2-hour mark were 8 laps ahead of any other kart. The ThunderKarts, as usual, were starting to make their move up the field. At this point, Box Tech suffered the first of several issues that would see them drop back to 5th overall by the end of the race. Whilst pressing hard, one of their drivers overtook a back marker whilst the yellow flags were out. A penalty of a one-lap deduction was given, although they still held the lead at this point. The fight for the ThunderKart class was still being fought out between Team Slick and Cannonball. This was soon to change, however. With the yellow flags out whilst a kart was being recovered, Box Tech overtook Team Slick. Team Slick then took the place back. As this was Box Tech's second yellow flag infringement, a further 2 lap deduction was necessary. This dropped their lead, which had been dwindling, to just a lap ahead of the ThunderKarts of Team Slick and Cannonball. With Team Slick getting a 1-lap penalty, however, this dropped them behind Cannonball. With the race settling into a steady rhythm, all karts seemed to be circulating without problem. Box Tech 2, however, were about to suffer dramatically. Whilst looking to lap another kart, a stuck throttle saw them leave the circuit backwards at high speed. Thankfully, they made no contact with anything and returned to the pits for a lengthy stop. Leaders Box Tech then came into the pits for an unscheduled stop. Their driver had been racing for some time with virtually no brakes. They had, however, finally given up the ghost, and a lengthy stop resulted in them dropping to 6th place. As the race drew to a close, Team Slick caught and passed Cannonball to unlap themselves. With less than 30 minutes to go, however, only a problem for Cannonball would give Team Slick victory. As the chequered flag fell, Cannonball took their first ever win, with Team Slick in second and Red Mist Racing in third. Gas N Go took class victory in the Max class and forth overall. Team Slick, despite coming second, took the ThunderKart Championship with Cannonball second and Red Mist Racing third. Box Tech took the Max Class Championship and WGS took the Open Class honours in their TKM 4/. We are pleased to announce a 2 date Winter Cup, with rounds in November and February, and have provisional dates set aside for the 2006 Whilton Mill Open Endurance Championship. Interest is growing, and several new teams are looking to take part in the Winter cup. Growth looks most likely in the senior max class, although all classes from the 2005 championship will still be eligible to enter.