Aug 26, 20223 min read

Buckmore Park Junior Championship - Round 6

Updated: Aug 30, 2022

So here we are, back to Buckmore Park for Round 6 of the Junior Lightweight Championship, with only 3 more rounds to go this Championship really could go anyway, you won't want to miss any updates on this one.

We headed out for the Practice before the start of Heat 1 as usual, this was just a 5 minute warm up and the times were irrelevant as at Buckmore the grids are already set, but this generally gives you an idea of if you have a quick kart or not and I needed one as I was starting P14 on the grid.

During this practice I was stuck in traffic wherever I ended up really so I think I only got 2 clear laps so I couldn't really tell if the kart had good pace or not. When I come by the timing screen I was top of the table but not by a massive margin, so this could be quite a difficult first heat for me.

We was lined up on the grid and I was starting in P14. I didn't get the best of starts but still managed to make up 1 position off of the line. The initial start of the race was a bit strange for me really, every time I made up positions, I seemed to lose them just as quickly and I can't really tell why that was. After a few laps, I settled down into a much better rhythm and started working my way through the pack. I had a good battle with Rory at the front and took the lead and first heat win of the day.

Heat 2 was up next and I was starting P6 on the grid. I got the most insane start to this heat and flew off of the start for it to be restarted due to a stalled kart on the grid, just my luck! The restart was OK, not as good as the first start but again made up 1 place. Going into Hairpin 1, I overshot the corner but was lucky enough not to make contact with anyone so avoided getting myself into trouble.

I was soon into the mix of a 5 way battle for 1st and my goodness what a battle it was. There sure was elbows out from everyone and the lead was continually changing, one lap I was in P3, the next back down to P5 and starting the battles all over again and this happened on more than 1 occasion. In the end I managed to get myself into P2 and did the move of the century to gain the lead by going all the way round the outside. Once I was passed I managed to pull a gap and where behind was all battling for position was left alone for the reminder of the race and took the 2nd win of the day.

Heat 3 and again I was starting P6 on the grid. Exactly the same thing happened on the start as Heat 2 and it was restarted again. I got a very average start and just held my position going into the first corner. It didn't take too long before I was making my way through the pack again but by this time the light had completely gone and the floodlights were all on. Going down into Paddock I completely misjudged the corner and did make contact with P1, he held the position & I backed off & apologised. Once we were back onto the straight I restarted racing and took the lead. This completed the hat-trick of wins for me on the day, next up would be the final, could I make it a clean sweep and maximum points?

We were lined up on the grid and I was sitting on pole with a very fast Mikey next to me. I was concentrating so hard all the way through and there was some epic battles going on. I could see as we was racing round that 1 lap I was going purple on the timing board and the next lap Mikey was purple, we was literally trading fastest lap times throughout the race. I think that I was gaining on the straight, whereas Mikey was making up times in the corners. Mikey took the lead after I went a little wide but I managed to regain this and hold it for the remainder of the race to secure a Round 6 win. My first maximum points finish at Buckmore Park and the highest points score of the season from any driver. All in all, a VERY good day.

At Buckmore Park over the season you are allowed 2 drop rounds, if we take the drop rounds into consideration this will now have me leading the Championship by 4 points with 2 Rounds to go.