The Year in Review: Karting
Inspired by the performance of former karting champions in Formula 1, this year’s karting championships have seen multiple on-track battles in the first rung of the ladder to senior series.
British Indoor Karting Championship
The third season of this highly competitive championship saw 35 TeamSport venues across the UK host qualifying in five different categories. Each entrant had to set three flying laps between June and August to create an average time, with the 24 fastest averages in each category (20 in Cadets) going up against each other in a Local Final. The leading runners from those went into nine Regional Finals and the front-runners in those went into the National Finals. In the under-16 age categories, Preston’s Eskild Hewitt completed his first year of karting by being crowned Cadet Champion while Basildon’s Bobby McGirr secured the Junior title. The over-16s saw Alfie Hale, from Stockton, win the Lightweight crown; Bristol’s Sam Slater take the Middleweight title at the very last second; and Harlow’s David Harvey become the Heavyweight Champion after taking pole at all levels of the final and winning every heat, semi final and final he contested.
British Karting Championship
Britain’s top young motorsport talent battled it out in 13 different karting categories this year, with plenty of close competition throughout. In IAME, Austin Gibson won the Water Swift Restricted title from Austin Newstead with seven top scores across the fiveround season, while Jesse Phillips secured the crown in the Water Swifts despite a late challenge from Will Green. In the Junior X30s, Macauley Bishop won the title after a close battle with Taylor Orridge, with Gus Lawrence winning the Senior X30s after taking eight top scores, including five in a row. In KZ2s, Morgan Porter recovered from a tough first round to secure six top scores from the remaining nine and seal the title. Yehan Kallychurn took the Junior TKM crown, 12 points ahead of Aidan Mitchell, while the TKM Extreme championship went to privateer Alfie Garford, who just pipped runner up Charlie King. In the Honda Cadets, Ryan White won the title ahead of Max Taddei, while in the Bambinos the battle between eventual champion Harry Chapman and runner up Ronnie Kempson went to the wire, with just four points separating the pair at the end of the year. Rotax and Honda were the last to finish their season, at PFi in October. Just two points separated three drivers in MiniMax 950 before the final event and Cole Denholm secured the crown with victory in the final. Emerson Macandrew-Uren was crowned MicroMax champion despite a fine last-event effort from Kian Burnard. In Junior Rotax, title winner Macauley Bishop signed off a strong season with a triple victory in the last event, while Kai Hunter won two from three at the last event to confirm his Senior Rotax title.