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British Superkart Association |
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Welcome to the Official site for The
British Superkart Association
Welcome to the Official site for The British Superkart Association
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Mallory ParkSeason Finale6th SeptRounds 13 and 14 - MSA British Superkart ChampionshipRounds 9 and 10 - BSA 250 Div 1 Superkart ChampionshipRounds 9 and 10 - BSA 125 Open Superkart Championship
James O'Reilly crowned as2009 MSA British Superkart ChampionPhoto by Jon Bunston www.motorsport-photography.net Tucker takes the Day but O'Reilly takes the Crown.James Tucker and Sam
Moss finished off impressive Long Circuit seasons with a win apiece at Mallory
Park. However, the points haul was not enough to catch James O’Reilly who was
confirmed as the new MSA British Superkart Champion. Timed qualifying saw
Jason Dredge top the time sheets for the second round in succession with a time
of 49.66s, two-tenths outside the existing lap record. But could he turn it into
a win. Alongside Jason on the front row was newly crowned CIK-FIA European
Superkart Champion Gavin Bennett (49.92s). Gavin had swapped two cylinders for
one this weekend and was happy with his qualifying performance. The second row
saw two young chargers with Sam Moss (49.97s) just ahead of champion elect James
O’Reilly (50.05s). Matthew Bett (50.30s) and Craig Fleming (50.31s) lined up
on row 3, with GP holder James Tucker (50.38s) and Jon Neville (50.59s) behind.
Tucker was one of the first onto the track and pounded round and round
completing a full race distance. Despite that, his quickest time was on the
fifth lap. “We need more speed and I haven’t got any grip at Gerard’s,”
he explained later. Don Kennedy (50.65s) and Paul Platt (50.76s) were on row 5,
the latter running in a new piston and not able to find the right chassis
set-up. One time front runner Dean Hawley (51.75s) was making a brief return to
the MSA Championship with a KTM 450 four-stroke motor and qualified 12th,
however he sat out both races with clutch problems. At the start of race
1 Dredge and Bennett were side by side entering Gerard’s with Dredge getting
the line through the corner. As the Superkarts plunged down Devil’s Elbow and
across the line for the first time it was Moss leading with Dredge on his
bumper. These two had opened up a gap over Bennett, O’Reilly, Platt on a
charge, Neville and Fleming. Tucker got boxed in at Gerard’s on the opening
lap and was down in 9th place behind Bett. Dredge took over from
Moss at the front on the next lap and they edged clear of Bennett who was coming
under pressure from O’Reilly. Try as he might, Dredge couldn’t shake off
Moss who went back to the front at one-third distance and led for the next five
laps. However, backmarkers were coming into play and Dredge found the best way
through the traffic and snatched the lead again on lap 10. Moss came back at him
on lap 12 but the roles were reversed on the next lap when Dredge squeezed ahead
entering Gerard’s. As they came out of Devil’s Elbow for the fourteenth time
Moss was back in front with a lap to go but then the flag came out a lap early
and Moss took the victory by 0.65s, his best result of the season. The scrap for third
place was also intense. Bennett held on for three laps before O’Reilly went
past with Platt, Tucker, Fleming, Neville and Bett next along. O’Reilly eased
clear of the pack and chased after the leaders but the gap remained static at
2s. Tucker fought his way into fourth place and then took over from O’Reilly
on lap 10 to hold third spot 2.45s behind Moss. His pursuit of the leading pair
was relentless. On the final lap he set the fastest lap of the race and closed
up on Dredge, losing out by 0.41s. O’Reilly was happy
with 4th place knowing that was sufficient to cement his championship
as his closest rival was only one place ahead. Platt had been holding fifth
place since half distance but his Honda seized on lap 14 and Neville also
dropped out from sixth place on this lap. This allowed Fleming to move up to
fifth spot at the flag followed by Bett and Kennedy. Bennett’s early speed
tailed off after one-third distance and he dropped back to 8th place
at the finish with the engine starting to tighten up. An inspection afterwards
revealed a problem with the crank main bearing and this resulted in his
non-appearance for race 2. RESULTS: 1st
Sam Moss (Anderson Honda) 2nd
Jason Dredge (Anderson Honda) 3rd James Tucker (Jade Honda) With the championship
wrapped up, the second race was going to be about personal pride. After being
three-abreast approaching Edwina’s Chicane for the first time it was Dredge
who led at the end of lap 1 from O’Reilly, Moss, Tucker, Fleming, Bett and
Kennedy. Dredge was determined
to end his season on a high and eked out a lead of 1.3s by half distance. But
there was no time to relax. O’Reilly, Moss and Tucker were giving chase and
were almost three abreast entering Gerard’s on lap 6. Slower Superkarts were
now starting to hamper the leaders. O’Reilly set the fastest lap of the race
on lap 11 and closed right onto the tail of Dredge with Tucker and Moss right
behind with less than a second covering all four karts and a backmarker. Exiting
Gerard’s on lap 12 O’Reilly’s bid for the win was over when the Honda
engine seized having overheated. That took the pressure off Dredge for about a
lap but Tucker and Moss closed in again. Starting the last lap they caught a
slower kart and only 0.39s covered them. As they came into
sight down Devil’s Elbow for the final time Tucker had got ahead and he
crossed the line to win by 0.54s. That capped a superb rookie season racing
Superkarts on long circuit having been running TKM’s on short circuits in
previous years and certainly not daunted by the increased speed. Dredge had to
be content with another runner-up spot but knew that defending his title
wasn’t going to be easy. Jason has been a superb ambassador for Superkart
racing during this year being prepared to give up time at exhibitions and race
meetings providing interviews for the media spreading the word about the world
of Superkarts. Moss had another excellent drive and was glued to his bumper at
the flag and must certainly be considered for a title chance in 2010. Fleming had a better
run in race 2 and held onto the back of the flying quartet for two-thirds of the
race but lost out over the closing stages. After O’Reilly’s demise he had to
settle for fourth place. Dan Clark drove a superb race to gain 5th
spot at the flag. Following a retirement in race 1 when the clutch cable
adjuster broke and a problem with a seat stay, he started from row 14 in the
second race and worked his way through the pack setting the second quickest lap
time of the race on lap 10 only 0.03s slower than O’Reilly. With two laps to
go he joined the Bett/Kennedy dual for 5th place and snatched the
position from Bett on the final lap by 0.08s with Kennedy finishing 7th.
RESULTS: 1st
James Tucker (Jade Honda) 2nd
Jason Dredge (Anderson Honda) 3rd
Sam Moss (Anderson Honda) FINAL
CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS 1st
James O’Reilly
345 points 2nd
James Tucker
335 points 3rd
Jason Dredge
309 points 4th
Craig Fleming
288 points 5th
Sam Moss
280 points 6th
Matthew Bett
258 points
Moss, Dredge, O'Reilly.
Hulme takes the Win in DIV1250 Division 1 report to follow
Carl Hulme - Photo by Jon Bunston
Edwards takes Max Points and Championship125 Open report to follow
Danny Edwards - Photo by Jon Bunston
Bruce Bounces Back from the Doldrums125 ICC report to follow
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