CKRC 2014 - Round 3 - 20 April 2014

The third round of Cheshire Kart Club 2014 Championship took place on Sunday 20 April. With 5 Hondas racing, Samuel was given 2nd, 1st and 3rd for his random grid starts.

He had a very close first heat with Kai Hunter, exchanging the lead a number of times; Samuel crossed the line in second place 0.2 seconds behind but claimed the fastest lap of the heat with a 42.75.

Heat two and Samuel lead most of the heat but again, very close racing and he crossed the line in second place 0.1 seconds behind Kai.

During the lunch break Samuel was interviewed by a film crew from Super1 TV Productions.

Third heat and again, Samuel lead most of the heat and this time the times were even closer with him and Kai virtually side by side crossing the start finish line. Samuel claimed the fastest lap again with a 42.54 second lap.

Samuel started in second place in the 12 lap final. And once again, the racing was very intense with Samuel gaining the lead on lap 4 - him and Kai crossed the line at the same time but Samuel gained the advantage and stayed in the lead until lap 9 when he dropped back just 0.08 seconds. He pulled it back on the penultimate lap and set a new Championship lap record of 42.31 (and also track lap record!) Kai gained an unfair advantage on the next to last corner of the last lap, pushing Samuel off and was subsequently disqualified; Samuel took the win and the top step on the podium.

Collectively, the CKS team had a great racing day - as well as the Honda Cadet win, Ross took home the IAME Cadet, Nathan the Mini Max and Aaron a second place in the Senior Rotax final.

CKRC 2014 - Round 2 - 16 March 2014

Round of Cheshire Kart Racing Club Championship and the Cheshire Oaks Trophy and Samuel started with maximum points from round 1 the previous month. Through all three heats he dominated the field with a 7 second lead in the first and a 14 second lead in the second heat. Even after starting 4th in the third heat, Samuel had moved up to second by the end of the first lap but after a tustle in lap two, of which he came of worst, he dropped to 4th place but by the 5th lap he'd regained his lead.

He crossed the finish line with an impressive 17 second lead but he actually set his fastest lap time of the day in the second heat with a 43.13 which meant he had taken the fastest lap of the day and set another season lap record for the track.

Here he is on the podium along with the top Honda Novice and the Comer winner.

CKRC 2014 - Round 1 - 16 February 2014

The first round of the Cheshire Kart Racing Club 2014 championship took place on 16 February. It was rather cold - typical February weather! The random grid placings placed Samuel at different grid start places across the three rounds however he finished in first place for each of them with progressively quicker times - 49.79, 45.42 and 44.72.

In the second heat he finished a clear 5 seconds ahead of the next placed driver and set the fastest laps in both heats one and two.

In the final he started first and finished first with a 6 second margin to the second placed driver and in the fastest time of the day (setting a new season lap record) with 44.27. The final wasn't without drama - in lap 7 he dropped back to 2nd place but pulled it back by the tenth lap.

And here he is on the podium with his first place trophy

Cheshire Kart Racing Club Championship Presentation 2013

The Cheshire Kart Racing Club 2013 Championship presentations took place on Saturday 18 January. Samuel collected the Honda Cadet title and was presented with the winners trophy inscribed with his name (he is the first Honda Cadet winner!), a trophy to keep and also a large colour print of him on track.

Cheshire Kart Racing Club Championship - Round 10

Busy weekend!  Samuel raced at Cheshire Kart Club round 10 in the Championship and he went into the race with a slim 8 points lead in the Championship.

In heat 1, Samuel started 3rd on the grid with the Comer Cadets, finishing 2nd in the Honda's and 5th overall.  Heat 2 he started 4th and finished as 2nd Honda again with a 47.27 second lap which, considering the time of year was not too bad.

In the final he won the Honda Cadet race, improving his lap time with 44.84. Here he is with his first place trophy:

And with his team mates - Jordan took top Honda Cadet Novice and Aaron took top Novice in his class too!  So a good weekend for CKS!

With winning the race, Samuel has actually won the Honda Cadet Championship at Cheshire Kart Club!  He will be attending the awards ceremony early in January to collect the Championship trophy!

Straight after the trophy presentation we had to go to Three Sisters race track in Wigan for another presentation......

Cheshire Kart Racing Club - Championship Round 9

Another weekend, another race!  This time Cheshire Kart Racing Club Championship round 9.  Three Hondas racing with six Comers.  Samuel's random grid positions behind the Comers meant that he started in 6th place for heat one (finished in 3rd - 2nd for Honda) then 7th for heat two (finished in 5th overall, 2nd for Honda) and then for the final heat he was placed 7th again and finished 6th overall but in first place for the Honda's.  He almost took the fastest lap in the third heat of all the Cadets - just 0.01 seconds behind!

Going into the final, he was second on the grid for the Hondas and managed to finish in first place and third overall and set his fastest time of the day - 43.86!

Here he is on the podium with the rather large first place trophy:

And with Ryan from CKS and Troy who took top Novice for the Comers.

His next race is next week - 27 October!

Cheshire Karting Club Championship - Round 8

Round 8 of the Cheshire Kart Club Championship took place on 8 September with 13 Honda drivers in total.  This was Samuel's first race off his Novice plates and with the random grid positions for the three heats, he was placed on pole position for the first heat!  He dropped 7 places and finished 8th just 1.6 seconds behind the heat winner.

Heat 2 and heat 3 were better, starting in 6th place for heat 2, he made up 2 places and then three places in the third and final heat.  He was placed 7th on the grid for the final and maintained the place.

So no podium finish but it was a good race and experience starting within the pack rather than at the back as a Novice!

No blog post is complete without a photo so here is one of the stickers we bought from I Say Ding Dong - just so that the other drivers know who he is!

Next race is 22 September at Manchester and Buxton Kart Club!

Cheshire Kart Club - August - Top Novice Again!

Samuel took top Honda Novice again at the Cheshire Kart Club on 18 August.  He set a 43.77 lap in the first heat after starting 11th on the grid and finishing 11th out of the Hondas and Comer Cadets.  Heat 2 he did a 44.19 and finished 8th overall (3rd from 5 Honda's).

And in the final he went quicker and set a 43.87 finishing 3rd overall in the Honda's and top Novice.  Not his best time but still good enough to get on the podium and to take away a trophy!

He now has just one Novice race left before he can race properly and not start from the back each time.

Three of the boys came away with trophies - Garrett in first place for IAME and Alex with top IAME Novice - and they are all with Ryan from CKS.

Next race is 25 August!

Cheshire Kart Club - Top Honda Novice!

Samuel took part in his second MSA race at the weekend at a familiar track - Hooton Park - which is the home for the Cheshire Kart Club.  He'd had a good day practicing on the Saturday so was prepared for the race on Sunday.

As a novice he was placed 7th on the grid (at the back) for each of the 3 heats and also the final and the Honda's raced with the Comer engines.

Heat one he finished in 3rd place with a 43.24 second lap, heat 2 he finished in 5th place and did a faster lap with 42.62 seconds (which is his fastest ever at Hooton!) and heat 3 he also finished in 5th but the track was beginning to cool and he did a 43.07.

Despite the reasonable finishes in the heats, because he is a novice, he had to start the final at the back.  Samuel made contact on the first corner of the second lap and spun off and although he managed to get going again, he had a huge gap to the next driver.  He had a few more uncharacteristic spins before the checkered flag came down and finished overall as fastest Honda Cadet Novice and 6th in the Cadet class.

And here he is with his trophy:

The race results can be found here.

Next race is on 28 July!