Autosport – 25 July 2019

Rushforth won final

Division 1 contest

Gareth James was a fan of

the compact Knockhill lap

25 JULY 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 67

NATIONAL REPORTS CLUB AUTOSPORT

Having last raced north of the border

a decade ago, the Motorsport UK British

Superkarts made a welcome return to

Knockhill last weekend. A total of 42

karts across the F125 Open, F250

National and Division 1 categories

turned up, with the racing proving

popular with drivers and fans alike.

But while the high-speed, flowing

circuits of Donington Park and Silverstone

are more suited to the lightweight pocket

rockets, the confines of Knockhill may

just point to a new niche for Superkarts.

“The thing with the 250 single and

twin-cylinder karts is that they love to

stretch their legs on high-speed circuits,”

said British Superkart championship

representative Gary James.

“They’re probably not suited to

somewhere like Knockhill in reality, but

the racing should still be very exciting.”

And the racing was exciting, with

lap records tumbling. Gareth James

extended his F250 National points lead

over Superkart Grand Prix winner and

reigning 250 champion Paul Platt with

a hat-trick of wins, while Liam Morley

took two F125 Open victories.

Unlike Platt, this was James’s first

visit to Knockhill, with the Welshman keen

to see the championship adopting less

conventional circuits to future calendars.

“I like the tight and twisty nature

of the track and it means that you

have to concentrate the whole time,”

James said. “It keeps you on your toes.

It’s a lot shorter than the tracks we

race on normally, but it’s a different

challenge. By the time you’re out

of one corner, you’re into another.

“I think that’s what makes it such

a challenge. You need to have that

variety in the championship, I reckon.”

The calls for a return to Knockhill

next year from leading drivers certainly

gives some food for thought, particularly

when the Scottish Motor Racing Club

continues to look for greater interest

from spectators and competitors alike.

“The Superkarts have been

exceptional,” said SMRC business

development manager Rory Bryant.

“We had over 40 cars across the two

championships here and that says a lot

about their interest in racing at Knockhill.”

On top of the competitive karting on

display was a lunchtime demonstration

from the East Scotland Karting Club

around the circuit’s tri-oval loop, offering

young local karters the chance to

experience an SMRC event, and vice versa.

It’s this sort of integration that both

Bryant and leading Formula Ford 1600

figure Graham Brunton want to see more

of in an attempt to bridge the karting/

single-seater divide in Scotland.

“We want people in karting to see

FF1600 as the next step up in their

careers,” Brunton said. “But the main

sticking point with getting karters

to move into cars is a general lack of

testing opportunity. I think we can

do a lot more between us to make

that working relationship better.”

STEPHEN BRUNSDON

SUPERKART DRIVERS ENJOY A NEW CHALLENGE

AROUND THE TIGHT AND TWISTY KNOCKHILL

KNOCKHILL

WEEKEND WINNERS

SCOTTISH FORMULA FORD 1600

Races 1 & 2 Matt Cowley (Ray GR18)

Race 3 Jordan Gronkowski (Van Diemen JL012K)

SCOTTISH SPORTS & SALOONS

AND IRISH GLOBAL GT LIGHTS

Races 1 & 2 Andy Forrest (Radical)

Race 3 Ron Cumming (Nemesis Kit Car)

SCOTTISH MINI COOPER CUP

Race 1 Michael Weddell

Race 2 Ian Munro (below)

Race 3 Vic Covey Jr

SCOTTISH LEGENDS

Heat 1 John Paterson

Heat 2 David Newall

Final David Hunter

SCOTTISH CLASSIC SPORTS & SALOONS

Races 1, 2 & 3 Alastair Baptie (MGB GT V8)

SCOTTISH CITROEN C1 CUP

Race 1 Ryan Smith

Race 2 Ross Dunn

MOTORSPORT UK BRITISH SUPERKART

CHAMPIONSHIP F125 OPEN

Race 1 Sam Moss (Anderson DEA)

Races 2 & 3 Liam Morley (Anderson DEA)

MOTORSPORT UK BRITISH SUPERKART

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION 1/

F250 NATIONAL/F450

Races 1 & 2 Andy Bird (Anderson VM)

Race 3 Tom Rushforth (Spynda VM)

SCOTTISH MINI COOPER S/FIESTAS

Races 1, 2 & 3 Oly Mortimer (Mini)

For full results visit: speedhive.mylaps.com

Baptie was unstoppable in the first race,
beating John Kinmond’s Rover 3500 by
more than eight seconds, and unchallenged
in race two after mechanical woes prevented
Kinmond starting. Baptie completed his
domination with another victory in the
wet final race of the weekend.
A win and a fourth enabled Ryan Smith
to move back into the lead of the Scottish
C1 Cup championship as Finlay Brunton
endured a frustrating weekend.
Brunton could only manage sixth in
race one as Smith escaped a four-car
battle for second, eventually topped by
race-two winner Ross Dunn, before
then taking a lonely fifth.
STEPHEN BRUNSDON