Pole position, fastest lap, race victory and championship title. All in all not a bad afternoon’s work for the Akita boys.

With the championship all but sewn up, Akita 2 barely had to turn up to this race to take the title. In order to lose, BIX2 needed to win the remaining 2 races and Akita to not score. Despite the inevitability of it, Akita were not taking anything for granted and even competed in the morning’s Premier and Clubman race in preparation.

If that wasn’t enough, their main rivals BIX2 had hired Ryan Ferris. The combined crash record of Ferris and Dyll Davies should have guaranteed Akita the championship before the race even started. However, it was Alex Ring who ballsed things up by getting a black flag in practice that relegated the team to the back of the grid.

To add insult to injury, Akita 2 cruised to pole position with a lap time nearly half a second quicker than anyone else. The first of “anyone else” was Gaucho Productions. After a couple of dismal races, they were back to their fighting best. Third was Pot Hunters Inc but the least said about them the better. The next proper team was the Anti Heroes with Raggo Racing rounding out the top 5.

Sean did the job for Akita and was buoyed up on the grid before the start and revealed that the team strategy was one of attack.

“I think the practice this morning helped. The kart felt good but not as good as the one we had this morning but it’s obviously quick enough so I’m really happy with where we are. Obviously with BIX2 starting at the back, this makes things a little easier for us so we have to go for glory today. We’re not going to relax until it’s over so we will be fighting for the win today definitely.”

The Pot Hunters muscled their way into the lead at the start. Gaucho Productions unsurprisingly lost out at the start; the outside line into turn 1 proving once again to be the wrong place to be. If their back of the grid start wasn’t bad enough, BIX2’s penchant for trouble continued as excessive kerbing caused their exhaust to break early on.

Over the course of the first few laps, Akita appeared to be playing it safe. They dropped a handful of places and seemed to be making an effort to stay out of trouble.

There were, of course, 30 other teams in this race and the team out in front was Pot Hunters Inc, who were a one-off entry consisting of Clubman drivers and not eligible for points. Out of the genuine contenders, the Anti Heroes were well up and Gaucho Productions were looking very racy and looking like being contenders. Allistair Weaver was quietly confident of a good result and hinted that his team may move up to the Clubman championship next year.

“We’ve had a few terrible races that ultimately cost us the championship. We’ve had a bit of bad luck and a few mechanical issues that have caused us to overdrive a little bit. We qualified well today but got punted at the first corner but managed to get back near the front by the end of the stint which was pleasing. Hopefully we can pick up a few more places and hopefully finish on the podium.”

Raggo Racing were also in the mix and the Wing Nuts had also got themselves well up in the first half of the race and looked to be on for a good haul of points. However, a spin and a long wait for a pusher kart dropped them out of contention.

While the main focus was with the championship leaders, there was more happening further down the order. The Anti Heroes and Gaucho Productions both continued to show good pace and maintained their status at the talented end of the field. The Hairpin Hooligans were well up too. BIX2 were slowly working their way up through the field and were on course for some impressive points. Given the combination of black flags, exhaust failures and the potential demolition derby that is the Davies/Ferris pairing, this was quite an impressive achievement.

Kingfisher Racing were having a more competitive showing than usual whereas Akita MNR, Core.GB.com et al were in their usual position of propping up the min-field. The Wing Nuts were also back here after their earlier spin.

Back nearer the sharp end of the field and Raggo’s Dan Milner seemed content with his afternoon’s work.

“It’s pretty close at the front and this race is looking quite good for us because BIX2 have had a pretty dismal showing so that’s good for us. Hopefully we can get a top five and maybe a podium.”

Seemingly not deterred by the interference of pot hunting Clubman drivers, Akita 2 proceeded to put them to shame by stretching out a 13 second lead. They made it look easy as they cruised over the line to win the race – their fourth of the year – and take the championship in style. After the trophy stealing squad were removed from the equation, The Anti Heroes were second with Gaucho third. Raggo Racing took valuable points with fourth with the Hairpin Hooligans fifth. BIX2 took a commendable sixth.

The Akita boys ran out of superlatives when being interviewed after the race. Quite frankly, there aren’t enough superlatives in the English dictionary to describe the job they have done this year. This is how the newly crowned champions felt.

“Over the moon. Absolutely brilliant. We did a fantastic job today and none of us made any mistakes. To beat basically a premier team fair and square to win the race is brilliant. We’ve been getting faster and faster all year. We’ve been getting more poles and fastest laps and things have just clicked. We are looking forward to next year and racing with the big boys.”

Personally, I think the guys will hold their own next year in the Clubman class. If they continue to make the improvements they have over the last 2 seasons, they may well be a team to watch.

http://www.club100.co.uk/race-reports/inters_2011_r10.htm

The sky’s the limit for Akita

Another pole and another win put the boys firmly at the top. Still, they were given a good run by a bloke called Dave.

If you go to the Visit Suffolk website, they claim that your senses will be brought to life by visiting their county. I visited Southwold last year and I had a sense of what life must have been like in the 1950’s. I was once told by someone who was born and bred in Suffolk that the county had more sky than any other place in the country, which gave me a sense of the average IQ of the natives. I’ve been to Beccles a dozen times now and I get sense of pure adrenaline in 2 stroke form. Turning up on Saturday morning, I also sensed that it might be a bit wet.

However, he morning rain had started to clear by the time the Intermediate drivers took to the track. By the time qualifying started, the track was pretty much dry and Akita 2 once again showed their qualifying prowess by claiming another pole position. BIX2 were hoping for a change in fortune and started second with DAVE third, B Craft fourth and Gaucho Productions fifth. CORE.GB.COM, Hairpin Hooligans, Total Control Racing and Akita MNR all started from the back of the grid after various misdemeanours in practice.

The Akita boys were happy, if a little surprised, with their qualifying performance but appeared confident and in jovial mood prior to the off.

“I am very surprised to be here actually. I struggled to get a clear lap and I felt it was quite a poor session. The kart is really good today. It is much better than yesterday during testing and pole position sort of proves that really. Hopefully we can keep it here and if we can get on the podium then great. If we can win then that would be even better.”

A special mention has to go to B Craft. Lining up fourth in class, Les Jones was also celebrating his 28th wedding anniversary. I promised his team mate, Jim Rutledge, I would give him a special mention. Jones senior had this to say before the start.

”It’s all good. The boys are doing a lot of driver coaching with me and I’ve gone about three quarters of a second quicker than I did yesterday in testing so I’m well chuffed.”

Akita 2 got away well but it soon became obvious that they were struggling. An apparent throttle issue meant they slipped back to third before being one of the first to pit.

It became clear right from the outset that BIX2, DAVE and Akita 2 were the teams to watch in this race. SMJ were, as always, were quietly and unnoticeably getting on with the job and looking on course for good points. Despite Akita 2 complaining about their throttle and BIX2 moaning about a lack of top-end, these two teams were setting the pace. Personally I think it was blatant racing driver excuses. After all, Club100 machinery is always perfect.

On the subject of perfection, a man who was having an almost perfect weekend was Francesco Volpe. Not content with winning the Clubman race in the morning, he was also looking like making it 2 wins in a single day, running in the lead as he was with DAVE. He was also the only man who broke the 50 second barrier (although not the fastest lap of the weekend I would boastfully like to point out…) The local lad and resident rozzer gave his views.

“It’s going well at the moment. My team mates are doing a good job so far and hopefully we can keep it up. I’ve had a lot of bad luck in the endurance series and have never had a podium so it would be nice to get two in one day. I think we are struggling with a bit of bottom-end but the fact that I’ve got fastest lap suggests that the kart is pretty good really.”

Total Control Racing were having a more competitive showing. Hairpin Hooligans were starting to make headway. The Anti Heroes were also looking rapid. Ross Britten and Barney Langley were both missing from the line-up so Richard Smith had drafted in Clubman driver Jason Sichel and current Lightweight championship leader Stephanie Walters. Still very much a novice to the endurance series, Steffi gave her views.

“It’s absolutely brilliant. They are a lot of fun and have been helping me because I’m new to the endurance series. I’m really only doing races at the tracks I don’t like or I’m not very good at. Obviously I want a good result for the team but it’s also very much about me getting some practice for the sprint series.”

Hairpin Hooligans were making stellar progress from the back of the grid and by half distance were starting to make a bid for the top 6. Even a black flag during the race didn’t seem to dampen their spirits and they showed good pace throughout.

Championship contenders Gaucho Productions were having a terrible race. After getting their kart tested in practice and showing good pace early on in the race, it soon became obvious they were struggling with top-end and they became a sitting duck on the straights. Tweaks to the carburettor during the pit stops failed to cure the problem and they dejectedly slipped down the order before the kart finally failed completely.

Akita 2’s imaginary throttle issue hadn’t slowed them much and the closing stages saw an epic 3 way dice for the lead between them, BIX2 and DAVE. However, BIX2’s back luck continued when Alex Ring was rogered by a backmarker, breaking his exhaust in the process. If the stop for repairs so late in the race wasn’t bad enough, they then stalled coming out of the pits. Poor Rich Wade had obviously had enough and packed his bags early.

“We don’t know who it was but Alex is going to analyse his helmet cam footage and try to find out who it is. It broke the exhaust and, because we were rushing, we couldn’t get the clip off the weight post to change the lead so that was a total cock-up really. Then we just couldn’t get it started. It’s a shame because it is another race ruined when we were doing so well.”

This left DAVE to chase down Akita 2. Having closed the gap to less than a second, the last few laps were too close to call. In a thrilling final dash to the flag, DAVE’s Ryan Ferris was unable to make his way past and Akita 2 won by barely 0.3s. Some might call that close.

Akita’s Alexi admitted the race wasn’t all plain sailing but also acknowledged that the team are now clear favourites for the championship.

“I don’t think I helped myself by looking behind me more than looking where I was going but fortunately I think he [Ryan] got held up by yellow flags and traffic a bit more so that helped. My insert was in weirdly too so that was a bit uncomfortable but, anyway, it is nice to get another win because we didn’t think we would be there today. This is obviously great for the championship so we’ve got to be aiming for this going into the last few races.”

http://www.club100.co.uk/race-reports/inters_2011_r07.htm