June 30, 2009 Official Report: Llandow Kart Club – Welsh Championships 2009
Despite being moved the height of summer to mid-June, and clashing unavoidably with the F1’s British Grand Prix, the annual Welsh Kart Championships still attracted 100 entries, with drivers from all over the country being blessed by some dry, and occasionally sunny, weather.
Host club Llandow fielded all the regular classes, with a guest appearance from the Dadson masters, and rewrote five lap records in the course of two days of racing, before the weekend’s winners were presented with the prestigious ‘C’ plates which they will be able to use all over the UK for the next twelve months.
In addition, good causes benefited from the action, with some £2500 raised by the competitors for Wales Air Ambulance.
A big Cadet Comer field produced a new lap record for Jordan Gilbertson (Bristol) in heat two, setting the tone for a duel between the Englishman and Thomas Harvey (Bonvilston) in the final. Despite Gilbertson holding sway for much of the event, however, Harvey made his move on the penultimate lap and held on to win by just eight-hundredths of a second. Owen Griffiths (Narbeth) took third.
Cadet Honda also saw its lap record lowered as the weekend proved to be the domain of Robbie Gallier (Lympsham), the circuit regular setting a new mark in qualifying before going on to win both heats and the pre-final. There was heartbreak in the final, however, when Gallier suffered a mechanical failure, leaving door open for Ross Chell (Narbeth), Marcus Lewis (Bridgend) and Daniel Jones (Maesteg) to fill the podium.
The Junior Honda class produced a first Welsh title for Celtic champion Jamie Warren (Llanishen), who was chased hard throughout – as always – by Lloyd Sealy (Pencoed).
Not being familiar with Llandow did not seem to affect Junior TKM 2-Stroke pacesetter Lewis Jones (Wrexham), as the circuit debutant proved dominant until his chain flicked off in the closing stages of final. Dilip Singh (Llandaff) was best placed to capitalise, with Jade Paveley (Coventry) and Sam Morgan (Pencoed) crossing the line behind him.
Junior TKM 4-Stroke produced a three-way battle all weekend, with Andrew Davies (Pontypridd) taking on cousins Zach and Liam Jones (Ystrad Mynach). After all looking a good bet for honours, however, it was Liam who came out on top in the final, with Davies preventing a family 1-2.
A fantastic duel between 2008 runner-up Sam Marsh (Bovey Tracey) and defending champ Steven Handford (Llanelli) characterised the MiniMax class, with Marsh equalling the track record as he avenged last season’s defeat by three-tenths of a second in the final. Daniel Sweeney (Stockport) completed the podium behind Handford.
A big entry in the Junior Max class could not deny Marsh the honour of becoming the first driver in recent memory to lift two Welsh titles on the same day. A dominant display from the regular Llandow visitor denied anyone else a look-in, leaving Callum Drew (Uley) to take a battling second place from Dominic Gorrett (Crediton). The class lap record was also reset, but new fastest man, Craig Mooney (Verwood), could not repeat his qualifying form and only finished fifth in the final.
Senior Honda may not have been able to produce the size of class seen in recent years, but produced a typical race-long duel, this time involving Ashley Pearce (Rhoose) and double defending champ Gareth Lewis (Sebastepol). There was to be no hat-trick for Lewis on this occasions as Pearce edged the result by half a second, reprising the result form each heat, with Simon Evans (Haverfordwest) completing the final podium.
Two dozen entries and some spectacular action marked the biggest Senior Rotax final in recent Welsh Championship history. Dan Rodde (Pontarddulais) was the man to beat all weekend, claiming both heats and the Pre-Final before getting the jump at the start of the main event and breaking the lap record on his way to victory. Dan Jones (Cowbridge) and Sam Taylor (Caerphilly) claimed second and third after a frantic battle.
The visiting Dadson Masters provided plenty of thrills and thrills, with former British karting and British rally champion John Weatherley (Hythe) grabbing victory from Ken Churchill (Windlesham) and Melvin Francis (Carshalton).
RESULTS
CADET COMER – sponsored by Brynamor Digital Press
- Thomas Harvey (Zip)
- Jordan Gilbertson (BRM)
- Owen Griffiths (BRM)
CADET HONDA – sponsored by Wheels Direct UK Ltd
- Ross Chell (Project One)
- Marcus Lewis (Project One)
- Daniel Jones (Project One)
JUNIOR HONDA – sponsored by Brynamor Digital Press
- Jamie Warren (Jade)
- Lloyd Sealy (MS)
JUNIOR TKM 2 STROKE – sponsored by www.uk-vans.co.uk
- Dilip Singh (Venom)
- Jade Paveley (Tonykart)
- Sam Morgan (Venom)
JUNIOR TKM 4 STROKE – sponsored by Braces Bread
- Liam Jones (Jade)
- Andrew Davies (Jade)
- Zach Jones (Jade)
MINI MAX – sponsored by Chell Construction
- Sam Marsh (Tonykart)
- Steven Handford (Tonykart)
- Danny Sweeney (Exprit)
JUNIOR ROTAX – sponsored by EHD Telecom
- Sam Marsh (Tonykart)
- Callum Drew (Tonykart)
- Dominic Gorrett (RedSpeed)
SENIOR HONDA – sponsored by Nick Jones Racing
- Ashley Pearce (7Kart)
- Gareth Lewis (7Kart)
- Simon Evans (7Kart)
SENIOR ROTAX – sponsored by Iles Funeral Services
- Dan Rodde (CRG)
- Dan Jones (Tonykart)
- Sam Taylor (Tonykart)
DADSON MASTERS – sponsored by www.nav-tv
- John Weatherley (CRG)
- Ken Churchill (Alonso)
- Melvin Francis (Kosmic)
DRIVER OF THE DAY: Stephanie Phillips (Junior Rotax)
