Round 3 - Race Report
Sunday 12th June seen Midland Karting, Edgeworthstown play host to the much anticipated round three of the 2016 Tullyallen Kart Club Championship. Weather conditions for the event remained with sunshine however small downpours throughout the day resulted in competitors using their finest wet weather skills to negotiate a wet track on slick tyres. This provided a few surprising yet very well deserved results in many of the classes.
Bambino
Midland Karting seen another strong turn out of Bambino racers ready to drive their young hearts out for the win. Following close battles throughout the day victory eventually went to Callum Doak with Luke Agnew in second and third place going to a well deserved Kenzie McNally. Charlie Gardiner finished in fourth and Newtownards youngster Ollie Matthews secured his best result as yet in 2016 finishing in a fine fifth place.
Junior Cadet Iame
Junior Cadet Iame produced yet another show down between Andrei Dabija and Jake Cudden with this round going in Cudden’s favour, the Duleek driver drove exceptionally well to win heat one and the final with Dabija managing to consolidate points with a victory in heat two and a third place in final. Second place went to a resurgent Alex O’Grady whom is race by race gaining momentum on the top two championship contenders, this is certainly turning into a three way fight for the title.
Junior Cadet Open
Heat one in Junior cadet Open class produced a terrific and class act performance from number 42 driver Kyle Thompson. Thompson stormed to his first ever victory in karting in his first ever season of racing, the Lisburn driver was on top form following on from his win in heat one unfortunately he struggled to find the pace in heat two and the final to continue to push the front runners. Victory eventually going to a delighted Gavin Dewart who worked his way back up to the front following on from a stalled motor on the grid losing his pole position in the process. Cian Stanley finished in second and Letisha Conn rounded off the podium in third. Great racing again from the junior cadet open class.
Mini Max
Mini Max produced a great drive from Sean Purcell who secured victory in the final from Carrickfergus youngster Ben McDowell with Strabane’s Haslely Crawford finishing in third. Sean Purcell has now gained significant ground in the championship fight with Ben McDowell and as the championship fight heads to Athboy for round four - it's all for the taking for both drivers.
Junior Max
Although Junior Max seen a significant drop in entrants for round four of the championship, the class produced close racing between Anton Martin and Matt McDowell. Both McDowell and Martin headed into the final with a heat win each, and after a close final of bumper to bumper racing, Martin pipped McDowell to the line to receive his well-deserved first place trophy. A fine drive from both drivers and an excellent example of sportsmanship from both.
Senior Max 165
Senior Max 165 finally delivered a different winner for 2016 following on from dominant wins in every race so far from Shane Mullins. Delvin’s Stephen Joyce returned back to winning ways clinching a fantastic heat one win and a second overall in the final, his best result since moving from Junior Karting to Senior Karting, this achievement was enough to convince race officials to award Stephen with TKC Driver of the Day for round three. Mullins continued his winning ways with wins in heat two and the final to make it three wins from three finals in 2016 thus far, a fantastic accomplishment from the Galway man. Mullins and Joyce were joined on the podium by Conor Gilhooley in third.
Senior Max 180
Monaghan’s Barry Smith produced a dominant performance in the Senior Max to secure a hat trick of wins in both heats and in the final. A great result from Smith who opened the Championship points gap up from 2nd place in the championship Domhnall Lennon. Frank Joyce rounded off the podium in third.
TKC wishes to pass on our greatest thanks to all track marshals, paddock marshals, Midland Karting staff, scrutineering attendants and to all competitors and followers of the club. We now await a month gap for the next round of the championship taking place at Athboy Karting Centre on July 24th. We look forward to seeing everyone again very soon. As always we welcome new members and spectators. Anyone interested in getting involved in karting please visit our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tullyallen.karting and send us a message
