UK Karting - MSA Super 1 Series Race Report

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MSA Super 1 Series

MSA Super 1 Series
Round 6 - Shenington - 11th September 2005

Formula A
Litchfield stays number one in Super One

Mark Litchfield (Rocester, Staffordshire), emerged Super One Formula A Champion for the second year running in one of the hardest fought and closest Karting Championships in UK motor racing.

Second place finishes in both Renault-backed B4 Group / MSA Formula A Championship finals at Shenington, Banbury yesterday were enough secure Litchfield the top title in UK karting. His season had a shaky start with poor finishes at the season opener, but a double win at PF International kart circuit in April and a string of podium finishes paid off in the final reckoning.

Just four points covered the top four drivers in the championship, once the best 10 results of 12 races were considered. A win and fifth place finish at Shenington put Riki Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield) equal on points with 2003 champion Gary Catt (Andover) and Jason Parrott (Crowland, Peterborough).

Christodoulou claimed second place in the championship because he lost the most points under the dropped score system. Catt was third and early season points leader Parrott was fourth.

Barely a lap of the first final race at Shenington passed without a fresh twist to the championship battle as the top four drivers battled it out wheel to wheel. Christodoulou made a remarkable charge from 13th on the grid to lead the race by lap 13, but was overhauled by Catt and dropped to 5th when a brave move at Bruno chicane didn’t pay off.

Equally inspired was Chris Rogers’ (Waltham Cross, Herts) climb from 14th to fourth. With Gary Catt winning the first final, Mark Litchfield second and Jason Parrott third, all within half a second of each other, everything was still to play for in the second final.

Christodoulou won the second points-scoring race from fifth on the grid, opening up a comfortable lead while his championship rivals continued to fight it out behind him. Litchfield took second place and the championship with a four point lead, with Catt third and Parrott fourth after a prolonged four way battle.

Formula A Provisional Driver Standings: 1st Mark Litchfield, 467pts; 2nd Riki Christodoulou 463pts; 3rd Gary Catt, 463pts; 4th Jason Parrott 463pts; 5th Chris Rogers 446pts; 6th David Gregory 425pts.

Formula ICA
Bell wraps up ICA title

Matthew Bell (Morpeth) left Shenington circuit near Banbury with a big smile after wrapping up the Renault-backed B4 Group MSA Formula ICA British Karting Championship with a race to spare yesterday.

Third place in the first points scoring final gave Bell enough points to be able to sit out the second final and still take the ICA crown, having taken five race wins and a further four podium finishes from 12 races this year.

Bell’s main rival, Danny Cruttenden (Wilmington, Kent) was second in both races at Shenington, and finished second in the championship, five points behind.

Meanwhile Richard Singleton (Conwy) scored an impressive double win at Shenington, after missing the last four races at Rowrah in Cumbria and Larkhall in Lanarkshire. He led both finals from pole position, although he was challenged several times by Cruttenden during the second final, including a last corner scramble which saw the two finish just 0.1 seconds apart, with Henry Arundel (Arundel, Sussex) less than a quarter of a second behind them.

Cruttenden had also finished second in the first final earlier that afternoon, starting from fourth on the grid but dropping well down the field in the opening laps. He immediately mounted a strong recovery, battling with championship rival Matthew Bell, as well as Richard Kent (Olney, Milton Keynes) and Jonathan Miller (Cambridge), along the way.

Matthew Bell’s championship chances briefly looked under threat when he dropped down the order towards the end of the first final, but he neatly traded places with Richard Kent at Wilkins hairpin on the penultimate lap and his third place finish gave him enough points for him not to race in the second final, instead using the last race result as one of his ‘dropped’ scores.

Formula ICA Provisional Driver Standings: 1st Matthew Bell 478 pts; 2nd Danny Cruttenden 473pts; 3rd Daniel Rowbottom 429pts; 4th Benjy Russell 417pts; 5th Richard Kent 413pts; 6th Henry Arundel 405pts.

Formula JICA
Stevens clinches title with a race in hand

Will Stevens (Hadleigh, Essex) won the Renault-backed B4 Group MSA Formula JICA karting championship yesterday with a race to spare. He led most of the first points-scoring final at Shenington, near Banbury and although he finished in second place, he clinched the JICA crown without having to race in the second final.

Stevens came to Shenington with a comfortable 26 point lead in the championship, thanks to five race wins and a further three podium finishes earlier in the 12 race series.

A win in the second final and fourth place in the in first final by Oliver Rowland (Penistone, S.Yorks) left him runner up in the championship, two points behind Stevens, when each drivers’ two worst results of the season had been deducted.

While the championship battle was being wound up, Nigel Moore (Tockwith, N.Yorks) took his first win of the season in the first final. He started from pole position, but followed Stevens for most of the race, overtaking on lap three and again on lap eight, but not making his lead stick until lap 18 out of 20.

Londoner Richard Bradley put in a spirited run from fourth on the grid, mixing with the championship front-runners to take third place in final one.

As the karts formed up for their second final Moore looked like he would be eliminated with a technical problem, but with the grid taking five laps to get into order for the start, Moore was able to take up his pole position. Oliver Rowland snatched the lead from Moore on lap three and led him comfortably to the chequered flag.

Matthew Truelove (Sudbrook) rocketed up the field from 11th on the grid to fourth in the first few laps and benefited from Bradley’s early retirement to take third place, which he held until the end. Oliver Millroy (Claygate, Surrey), finished fourth and Scott Jenkins (Bristol) fifth, leaving the top five championship places unchanged.

Formula JICA Provisional Driver Standings: 1st Will Stevens 476pts; 2nd Oliver Rowland 474pts; 3rd Scott Jenkins 461pts; 4th Ollie Millroy 444pts; 5th Lee Bell 419pts; 6th Ben Cooper 399pts.

Full Race Results from Round 6...

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