Karting GP 7- St Eval 15th May 2010

FULL RESULTS / FASTEST LAPS / PHOTOS / PREVIEW

 ST EVAL 15TH MAY 2010

 

ODDS	QUALIFYING	FINISHING POSITION	DRIVER	GAP BEHIND WINNER	FASTEST LAP
14/1	4TH	1ST	Michael Chandler	-	1M:01.154 [2]
4/1	3RD	2ND	Tony Guy	4.3s	1M:00.940 [1]
15/8F	2ND	3RD	Mark Stocks	4.9s	1M:01.233 [3]
8/1	POLE	4TH	Gary Stocks	19.2s	1M:01.375 [5]
12/1	9TH	5TH	Craig Stocks	40.5s	1M:02.527 [12]
33/1	8TH	6TH	Nick Blatchford	45.0s	1M:02.313 [9]
100/1	15TH	7TH	Daley Turner	52.1s	1M:02.497 [11]
33/1	7TH	8TH	Ross Blatchford	52.8s	1M:01.937 [7]
25/1	11TH	9TH	Nick Johns	?	1M:01.950 [6]
80/1	10TH	10TH	Mark Higman	?	1M:02.118 [8]
40/1	12TH	11TH	Paul Rossou	58.4s	1M:03.087 [13]
16/1	6TH	12TH	Chris Meaney	58.6s	1M:02.382 [10]
14/1	5TH	13TH	Ricko Barker	58.8s	1M:01.322 [4]
5/1	13TH	14TH	Justin Metherell	1L:19s	1M:03.705 [16]
14/1	-	15TH	Tristan Tamblin	1L:23s	1M:03.327 [14]
66/1	14TH	16TH	Matt Bennetts	1L:36s	1M:03.950 [17]
100/1	-	17TH	Nathan Mansfield	1L:41s	1M:04.222 [20]
150/1	-	18TH	Mike Taylor	2L:19s	1M:05.057 [22]
150/1	-	19TH	Geoff Rundle	2L:41s	1M:03.951 [18]
40/1	-	20TH	Matthew May	2L:44s	1M:04.024 [19]
100/1	-	21ST	Richard Pursall	3LAPS	1M:03.390 [15]
66/1	-	22ND	Shane Commons	3LAPS	1M:04.336 [21]

* The St Eval time sheets were very inaccurate this time and I've done my best to make sure all the stats are correct. If the grid positions are wrong please let me know but I think I've just about got it right!

SUMMARY OF THE RACE

4th favourite Gary Stocks qualified on pole for the 7th www.fishingmatch.net Karting Grand Prix since 2007.

He was surrounded by plenty of talent and his brother [ race favourite ] Mark, made it an all Stocks front row.

There were improved qualifying performances from Ricko Barker, Chris Meaney and Ross Blatchford, who all made the top 7 while 3rd favourite Justin Metherell would have to slice through traffic if he was to win, down in 13th on the grid.

At the start Mark got the jump on pole man Gary into turn 1 but Gary regained his lead within 2 laps.

Debutant Mark Higman and Justin Metherell found themselves in the tyre wall very early on, ending their hopes of winning.

The front 5 were edging away in the early stages as Michael Chantler overtook Tony Guy and Mark Stocks for 2nd place.

Ricko Barker shadowed the leaders every move in 5th and briefly overtook Mark Stocks for 4th before losing the position again.

Craig Stocks worked his way up the pack into 6th position mid race and Nick Johns was also making steady progress.

After 10 laps Gary Stocks was streaking clear of the chasing Michael Chantler and Tony Guy.

There were surprisingly very few incidents on a very packed track [ 22 drivers ] .

An unforced error from Ricko Barker on lap 11 when pushing Mark Stocks hard for 4th left him down in an unrecoverable 16th.

Daley Turner was slicing his way through the field and pulled off a top 6 finish by overtaking Ross Blatchford on the very last lap.

Gary Stocks had victory in his hands with a huge lead, but met an untimely end when backmarker Shane Commons rammed him off the track with just a few laps to go. Gary was down in 4th now handing the lead to Michael Chantler.

Richard Pursall had a spectacular off under the bridge and his kart ended up near vertical on the bank ! Classic stuff.

Mark Stocks was all over the back of Tony Guy for 2nd place but Tony hung on in the closing stages.

The race remained dry and sunny for the whole 25 laps.

RACE REVIEW

Michael Chantler shocked the big boys to win GP7 but will feel relieved as it seemed Gary Stocks had the race sewn up before his off. Then there was the fact that St Eval officials gave the race win to Mark Higman who came home somewhere in the middle of the field. It seems that when Mark had his spin early on, the computer, instead of putting him a lap down....put him a lap up!! 

Obviously the result could not stand and Mike was fairly awarded the win. Gary Stocks refused all interviews after the race and was heard giving last placed driver Shane Commons the full English Dictionary of swear words.

Solid drives from Tony Guy and Mark Stocks again, although Gary seemed to have the edge on Mark this time ;)

Trouble free drives from Nick and Ross Blatchford, Craig Stocks and Nick Johns saw them all finish in the top 10, although well off the pace of the leading bunch.

Daley Turner was driver of the day for finishing 6th after qualifying 15th !

Chris Meaney will feel aggrieved he couldn't improve on his qualifying, Paul Rossou pipping him and Ricko on the line by a split second.

Ricko Barker lost 45 seconds with 1 spin but was only 58 seconds behind the leader at the end of the race with the 4th fastest lap of all the drivers. No doubt has the pace to win, but needs to keep his head together for the whole race.

Justin Metherell was in trouble from the start and had a day to forget....and a kart that needs to go to the scrap yard.

Most of the other guys down the back end of the field were first timers who got better as the day went on and will hopefully be back for more.

Thanks to everyone for coming...hope you had a good day.....see you at the next one...watch this space......

PHOTOS

THANK YOU TO JAMES TURNER FOR TAKING THESE PICS DURING THE RACE.

RACE PREVIEW

PREVIOUS [FM] PLACINGS AT ST EVAL	DRIVER	ODDS TO WIN [WAS]	LATEST ODDS [NOW]	NEW ODDS AT 10PM ON 14TH MAY	COMMENTS
---	RUSSELL BRASIER	10/11	N/R	N/R	RED HOT FAVOURITE AFTER CLAIMS OF LAP RECORDS HERE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO AND A GRAND PRIX WIN TO HIS NAME [ NOT FM ]. CAN HE LIVE UP TO THE HYPE AND DESTROY ALL HIS RIVALS WITH EASE? non runner as of 7/5/2010
314	MARK STOCKS	5/2	15/8F	-	WINNER OF THIS RACE BEFORE, NEVER BEEN OUTSIDE TOP 4 AND HAS TO BE ON ANYBODIES SHORTLIST
233	TONY GUY	7/1	4/1	-	HAS BEEN IN THE TOP 3 IN THE LAST 3 RACES HERE IN ALL CONDITIONS AND ANOTHER BOLD BID EXPECTED FROM THE OLD MASTER
022	JUSTIN METHERELL	9/1	5/1	-	WELL BEATEN IN THE WET 3 RACES AGO BUT SILENCED HIS CRITICS SINCE WITH 2 RUNNERS UP SPOTS. IS HE GOOD ENOUGH TO GO ONE BETTER THIS TIME?
60-	GARY STOCKS	12/1	8/1	-	STARTED FAVOURITE HERE 2 RACES AGO BUT SUFFERED KART PROBLEMS. QUICK AT MENHENIOT AND SHOULD BE NEAR THE FRONT
---	CRAIG STOCKS	16/1	12/1	-	2ND AT MENHENIOT IN THE SUMMER AND HAS GOOD SPEED FOR A LARGE BUILD. SHOULD BE FLYING
---	TRISTAN TAMBLIN	18/1	14/1	-	RACES STOCK CARS AND COULD BE A SERIOUS UNKNOWN THREAT TO THE MAIN CONTENDERS
457	RICKO BARKER	18/1	14/1	-	KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF THE LEADERS HERE IN THE PAST. 3RD AT MENHENIOT LAST TIME OUT. NEEDS TO STEP UP A NOTCH THOUGH
04-	MICHAEL CHANDLER	18/1	14/1	-	POLE HERE 2 RACES AGO AND FINISHED IN THE TOP 4. DID HE HAVE A SUPER CHARGED KART OR WAS IT GOOD DRIVING ON HIS PART? COULD BE DANGEROUS
--6	CHRIS MEANEY	22/1	16/1	-	LIKES THE TRACK AND CAME HOME FLYING INTO A TOP 6 FINISH HERE AFTER BEING IN LAST AFTER LAP 1 LATEST. SHOULD GO WELL
-05	NICK JOHNS	33/1	25/1	-	STRUGGLED 2 RACES AGO BUT FLEW HOME INTO THE TOP 5 LATEST. ANOTHER DRIVER WHO MAY SHOCK EVERYONE AGAIN THIS TIME
070	ROSS BLATCHFORD	33/1	33/1	-	NEVER REALLY GOT TO GRIPS WITH THIS TRACK SO FAR BUT IF THE RAIN COMES WATCH HIM CUT THROUGH THE PACK
000	NICK BLATCHFORD	33/1	33/1	-	SUFFERED A HORROR CRASH LAST TIME WHEN HIS WHEEL SNAPPED OFF. HAS BEEN UNPLACED IN ALL HIS 3 RACES HERE SO FAR
---	MATT MAY	40/1	40/1	-	YOUNGEST DRIVER IN THE FIELD AND HAVING HIS FIRST RACE WITH THIS LOT. HE'S IN GOOD SHAPE AND READY TO FLY
-99	PAUL ROSSOW	50/1	40/1	-	PRETTY FAST ROUND HERE AND HAS MADE THE TOP 10 IN HIS LAST 2 RACES BUT WILL NEED MORE TO CHALLENGE THE LEADERS THIS TIME
---	MARK HIGMAN	50/1	50/1	80/1	THE HOT ROD BUILDER IS THE SMALLEST DRIVER IN THE FIELD AND HE HAS PLENTY OF KNOWLEDGE ON BRUM BRUMS..BUT THIS WILL BE HIS FIRST RACE AND HE'S HEADING TO THE PUB NIGHT BEFORE RACE
00-	NATHAN MANSFIELD	66/1	66/1	100/1	BETTER AROUND THE MENHENIOT CIRCUIT THAN HERE AND HE KNOWS HE NEEDS TO TRY AND IMPROVE FOR THIS. GOING OUT DRINKING NIGHT BEFORE RACE WONT HELP
---	DALEY TURNER	80/1	66/1	100/1	THIS WILL BE HIS FIRST GRAND PRIX. THE PRESSURE IS OFF SO WE'LL HAVE TO SEE HOW HE COPES. CUT LEG BADLY YESTERDAY AND IT COULD HAMPER HIM
---	SHANE COMMONS	100/1	66/1	-	FIRST RACE IN THIS FIELD AND IS AN UNKNOWN QUANTITY UNTIL WE SEE HIS LAP TIMES
-0L	RICHARD PURSALL	100/1	100/1	-	ALTHOUGH HE WAS LAST LAST TIME OUT, HE WAS ONLY A FEW SECONDS OFF A BIG PACK OF DRIVERS IN FRONT. IMPROVING WITH EACH RACE
00-	MATT BENNETTS	150/1	125/1	66/1	THE MOST DANGEROUS DRIVER OF THE LOT. CAN WIPE OUT A RIVAL OR A TYRE WALL IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE...BEWARE....HE'S NOT THERE TO WIN...BUT QUIETLY CONFIDENT
---	GEOFF RUNDLE	200/1	150/1	-	DEBUT FM RACE FOR WOODCHOPPER RUNDLE..CAN HE PRODUCE THE SHOCK OF THE CENTURY SO FAR?
---	MIKE TAYLOR	-	-	150/1	LATE ENTRY AS HE ONLY GOT BACK FROM FIGHTING IN AFGHANISTAN THIS WEEK. COULD FIND IT TOUGH ON HIS DEBUT

0 = FINISHED UNPLACED [ OUTSIDE OF THE TOP 9 ]

- = DIDN'T RACE IN THAT GRAND PRIX

L = FINISHED LAST

FM = FISHING MATCH

NOTABLE NON RUNNERS

STEVEN DASH [ Winner at Menheniot back in the summer GP6]

BEN HARRISON [ Winner at Menheniot the time before last GP3]

JAMES SNELL [ winner here at St Eval last time out GP5]

SUMMARY OF RACE PREVIEW....WHO WILL WIN?

Unknown carpet fitter Russell Brasier is the latest red hot favourite to come on the scene and claims this will be a cake walk after apparently holding the lap record at St Eval some years back. Assuming he's good enough to drive off into the distance...well...who or what can stop him?

Steven Dash was romping home last time out when a mechanical failure with his kart cost him the race, could it happen again?.. reports from the track indicate that despite new karts now being on the track [ from end of March 2010 ] some have been playing up. This could stop any driver from winning the race.

Then there's the fact Russell may not even make it to the track in time for the race ;) or he crashes his kart or he's simply not good enough to win. Red hot favourites have been turned over in previous Fishing Match Grand Prixs and there have been surprise winners. Remember Ben Harrison at GP3 winning at Menheniot.. and even James Snell here last time at St Eval? Not expected !

One thing it will be is a good race. Good luck to Russell, he is very much respected.. but if he can be beat, just who will do it?

Mark Stocks [ Flopp ] has won here before and is his closest rival. Only a bad grid slot can really slow him down and he couldn't recover at GP6 Menheniot latest after a poor qualifying. He is closely matched with Tony Guy who cant quite seem to get his nose in front despite being a track expert.

Justin Metherell has impressed most in the last 2 races but some feel he's maybe had his chance and not taken it.

In the midfield, drivers like Chris Meaney, Ricko Barker, Gary Stocks and Mike Chandler have all shown brilliant speed in by gone races and any one of them could end up in the top 3.

Perhaps one of the 8  newcomers [ other than Russell ] can challenge the favourite? The newbies certainly add a touch of interest to an already strong line up and it's a record amount [22] of entries for a race since we began these races in December 2007.Craig Stocks seems to be the speediest of the newcomers after an impressive 2nd at GP6 Menheniot last time out.

We're hoping that St Eval track marshal Craig [ not Craig Stocks! ] will once again provide us with race photos after the grand prix which he did last time for us. If you want to see those pics from GP5 here in February 2009 then click here. All results including fastest laps, race times, grid slots and winners photos will be updated onto this webpage within about a week after the race.

Discounting no driver, good luck to everyone, the odds are not set in stone, they are there for you to prove everyone else wrong, all the best, it should be a corking race with plenty of crazy scenes action.

UPDATE AS AT 10TH MAY 2010

Red hot favourite to win GP7 at St Eval next Saturday, Russell Brasier, has sensationally pulled out of the race due to other affairs. He was the odds on favourite to take the win after claims of lap records and super victories in the past. This obviously means the race has just opened up into, well, not a complete lottery as there are some good drivers with good race form to their names, but, it certainly means every driver will now feel like they have a chance if they can get a good piece of machinery on the day, a good grid slot, and perhaps a little bit of luck in running.

Mark Flopp Stocks becomes the new race favourite although many racers will be looking to make their Mark [ sorry! ] during the race. The weather forecast is predicting a dry fast race, buy you cannot predict Cornish weather easily. Good luck everyone

ST EVAL - MAY 15TH 2010 - BE AT THE TRACK FOR  9.15AM

HOPING TO START AT AROUND 9.30AM....ALL DRIVERS PLEASE BRING CASH TO PAY FOR REMAINING BALANCE...IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH YOU OWE THEN PLEASE ASK ME BEFORE SATURDAY. THANKS

RESULTS / FINAL FINISHING ORDER ETC...WILL FOLLOW ON HERE WITHIN 2-3 DAYS AFTER THE RACE AND HOPEFULLY PHOTOS AS AND WHEN I GET THEM