The 2nd event in the Wight Karting Rental Race Championship series saw competitors take to a wet track last month, but the racers set some thrilling lap times.
It was Dale Hunt who took pole position following a 5-minute qualifying session, which was followed by a 20 lap reverse race around the Westridge track and then a standard 20 lap race.
Reverse 20 Lap Race
You would be forgiven for assuming race of this stature would start off a little tentative with the weather, however, this was not the case as drivers took any and every opportunity to overtake. During the first 6 laps the leaders Dale Hunt, Mike Jolliffe and Harrison Crickmore jockeyed for position exchanging incredible overtakes, which really set the pace.
Around lap 13, with some clear air, Mike Jolliffe decided to put his foot down and pull away – setting the fastest lap of the race, which left Harrison and Dale battling it out for 2nd place. Further down the order Dom Clements was battling hard and had lost 1 or 2 places but managed to claw them back with some very consistent driving. Henry Austin, who started the race in 9th place kept climbing the leader board and finished in 3rd.
Standard 20 Lap Race
The final race of the event started with a reverse grid to spice things up. The first couple of laps were dominated by the drives who managed to get the best start and hold the lead as moving through the pack were Dale, Mike, Dom and Henry. After a few more thrilling laps there was a clear leader with Charlie Digweed flying ahead creating an 8-second gap to 2nd place.
At the back of the field there was an early retirement with Josh aggravating an injury.
Dom and Carl battled for 5th place with Dom beating him by 0.880 of a second.
The highlight of the race must be Harrison Crickmore climbing from 10th to 2nd. Harrison drove consistently well throughout the whole race and was able to fend off constant attacks from Mike, taking it all the way to the final lap and corner. Mike engineered a brilliant exit leaving both karts side by side coming over the line with Harrison just holding on take the win by 0.008 of a second.
1st Place: Mike Jolliffe (20 points)
2nd Place: Dale Hunt (16 points)
3rd Place: Harrison Crickmore and Charlie Digweed
Driver of the day: Mike Jolliffe
If you’re interested in taking part, you can book your slot (if you have a race time of under 35 seconds) on the website here.
