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RAFMSA Karting Championship

RAFMSA Karting Championship
Round 1 - Little Rissington - 2nd April 2006

The first round of the PAX Insurance assisted RAFMSA Championship 2006 was held at Little Rissington in April. This was the first chance for the competitors to test and show off their newly acquired hardware - quite surprising really, as most of the drivers seem to have short arms and deep pockets when I ask them for money! The Grid was 15 strong, with drivers coming from all over the country to compete at this fast, sweeping circuit. It was good to see so many new, old and ugly faces on the grid, which only goes to show that last year’s championship was a resounding success.

Rissington April 2006

After all the handshaking, mutual appreciations and drooling had finished, it was time to dust off the helmets, blow up the tyres and get down to some frantic testing to see just how fast the karts were against each other. This year already has a mixed grid of engines - Rotax Max, IAME Leopard, P.R.D. Fireball and Vortex. After a surprising dry test session on the Saturday it was back to the pits to reflect on what had worked and what hadn’t.

Sunday’s weather was very changeable and kept the drivers and mechanics on their toes, ready for highly practiced F1 wheel changes on the dummy grid! The first heat saw many of the drivers change their wet tyres to dry as they could see the track drying out quicker in some places than others. With various degrees of caution the race got under way with mixed results. A few drivers looked like they were auditioning for a part in Swan Lake - those lightning reflexes were a bit rusty at this early stage of the season. The early leader was Marcus Ramsden, closely followed by Ashley Prime until Ramsden was caught out by the circuit drainage which sent him spinning off the track. By the time Ramsden had recovered, Prime had taken the lead and finished in first place. Marcus Ramsden took second.

Heat 2 saw a dry track with Ashley Prime and Pete Beer battling for the lead when Beer was called in by the Marshalls. In his haste to take the lead, he tried a surprisingly wild overtaking manoeuvre, sending both drivers off the track and drawing the attention of the Clerk of the Course. The rest of the field took advantage of the situation - Marcus Ramsden and Kevin Meynell fought it out for first place which Ramsden won by just half a second.

The third heat was simpler for Ramsden who won hands down by a good four seconds. Ashley Prime and Kevin Meynell fought hard for second place with Prime just pipping Meynell at the post.

The Final saw Marcus Ramsden and Kevin Meynell on the front of the grid. It was hard fought final with a lot of very close racing – by far the best race of the whole weekend. With only two laps to go, any of the five leading racers could have taken it. A minor error by Meynell caused mayhem behind him, Marcus Ramsden and Pete Beer on the inside, and Ashley Prime and Luke Bourne on the outside - something or someone had to give. Beer’s kart clipped Bourne’s causing Bourne to spin off. This allowed Prime to take the lead which he held until the finish with Meynell and Ramsden finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Rissington Winner Ashley Prime

The drive of the day went to Pete Beer who has returned to the karting world after many years. He had three disappointing heats but drove to an incredible 4th from 12th on the grid. Not a bad comeback. The drivers would like to extend thanks to the staff of Rissington Kart Club for all the help and excellent support during the weekend.

1st Ashley Prime Tony/Rotax
2nd Marcus Ramsden CRG/Rotax
3rd Kevin Meynell Tony/Rotax

Report by Nez Ross
Photos by Chris Hughes

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