Round 4 Promax Challenge: Bayford 8th January 2005

Titan take series by storm
The final round of the Southern Promax Winter Challenge took place on the 8th of January and was a home match. The circuit remained dry throughout but boy was it windy.

This final round completes three very happy years of Promax endurance racing and it is sad to see the passing of such a great class. Created initially by Andy Stapley of ASM and pushed along by the sterling efforts of our very own scrutineer Kelvin Nicholls as well as by Ted and Sue Poole who ran the first British Championship for the class. Buckmore played its part too with a two year series for owner/drivers and lease teams. Ian Ward then took up the reins as the class entered the third season and ploughed huge quantities of enthusiasm into the campaign to keep the class afloat. Despite the protestations from all who competed over the 36 months that it was the best class for endurance racing, the grids never reached the magic thirty entries and so becomes another closed chapter in the history of karting.

Anyway, back to the plot and the qualifier for the final series decider. There was no surprise when Titan again took pole, though frankly they have been so professional throughout the year that they would have probably been able to do just as well from the back of the small grid. Dogz attempts to achieve a better result were hampered when they dropped a chain in the middle of the session. Just a whisker of the inside line of the front row were PDQ who seem to have been plagued with more than their share of bad luck this season and it was good to see the boys back on the pace. K1 and RSM filled row two and it was way back in seventh for series front runners SRP.

K1 and PDQ had a coming together at turn two which delayed everyone except Titan who used the opportunity and extended their lead to a full second. RSM came through to second place in the melee. As the fight was now for second place and defensive driving is never as quick as a good attacking drive the margin to Titan was allowed to increase still further. Auto 1 have been one of the most improved teams of the season and were again doing well when a fuel pick up problem scuppered their hopes in the first half hour of the race.

PDQ suffered a second setback when they ran out of fuel in the middle of the circuit at fifty five minutes. Zero suffered the same lack of gasoline but at least managed to coast into the pits, thus losing minimal time. Dogz run of bad luck continued when they shed another chain and were forced to await retrieval to the pits. Chain three now in place, the team rejoin the fray. Once all the teams had completed their first pit stops it was clear that Titan now had a lead approaching forty seconds and barring mechanical misfortune were likely to see their third successive win today. SRP have given their all to their series campaign but it was all to no avail when they became stranded mid circuit and sans petrol. How depressing to watch as everyone streams past and you drop from third to next to last in a matter of seconds. With over two hours of fine driving at the sharp end of the race it was doom and gloom for RSM as a recalcitrant clutch finally let go. Midas had problems of their own and a couple of pit stops were required to secure a loose floor tray.

Titan took the chequered flag for the third race in succession and secured the series win with a perfect 150 points after dropped round. K1 came home for race second just 38 seconds behind the leaders. Titan 2 took third place but this of course had no effect on the standings as this was the first time the team had graced the tarmac during this campaign. With the results known it was time to look at the leader board to see who had secured second place. In the event it was a tie on points between SRP and Auto 1 who both notched up 125. The tie breaker was the dropped round and by this method the silver went to SRP by two points. Auto 1 should be feeling pretty pleased with themselves though as they have played with the big boys this year and managed to keep them under pressure.

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who have contributed to making the class so much fun over the years. To the teams who gave their loyal support, to Ian Ward, to the sponsors who not only raced but made it possible for a decent marketing and trophy budget, to Kelvin, Roger, Neil and all the marshals and medics for standing out in the wet and cold to make it all possible and to the back room girls and boys, a big THANKS.

A big thanks too for Jeff Johnson who supplied the pictures for this report. Cheers Jeff