Karting Results 2008

ST EVAL 20TH SEPTEMBER 2008

 

ODDS	DRIVER	PREVIEW OF THE RACE ON 20/9/2008
3/1	Gary Stocks	Should have won at Menheniot by a mile earlier this year and is super fast in the dry. He came 6/20 here last December in the wet. Worthy favourite.
5/1	Tony Guy	Races at the track every month so knows the course and karts very well which is a big advantage for him. Put it on pole in the wet last December and came 2nd in that race.
6/1	Mark Stocks	Super fast in this race last year when finishing 3rd of 20 on a soaking wet track. Might not be so quick here in the dry but did finish 3/14 at Menheniot this year so is obviously quick.
6/1	Steven Dash	2nd at Menheniot recently and is the lightest driver in the field so in dry weather he should have the best advantage of all the drivers. Well beaten last time in the wet round here though is a slight concern.
6/1	Ricko Barker	4/20 in the wet race here on his bday last year and is very fast round this track in the dry. Anything outside of the top 5 will be a big disappointment for Ricko.
7/1	Ben Harrison	Showed glimpses of speed on a drying track in the wet race here last year where he came 8th in the end and is the current Menheniot champion so Ben will be right in the mix.
10/1	Nickademus Johns	The Kerrow Moor man is apparently confident of romping to glory just like last years 10/1 outsider Adam Guy. Nick is a bit of a dark horse so don't rule him out.
12/1	Justin Metherell	One to keep an eye on, Justin has plenty of race pace and could be right in their if he qualifies well. He doesn't want to get bogged down in the midfield too much.
14/1	Nathan Mansfield	His drive in the wet race here last year was too bad to be true when he got lapped 6 times and came 19/20. He has pace in the dry so must have a chance at St Eval of finishing high up.
20/1	Ross Blatchford	After initially struggling at Menheniot in 2006 and at the wet race at St Eval last year, Ross showed signs of improvement at the Menheniot grand prix this year and he fancies his chances.
20/1	Richodemus	Total unknown. All we know is that he is related to Nickodemus so he could be anything.
20/1	Michael Chantler	Struggled on his karting debut here last year in the wet but has since improved at courses such as Menheniot and he's ready to give it a good go here this weekend.
25/1	Nick Blatchford	Down the pecking order in the St Eval wash out grand prix last December but will be hoping to improve on that showing with a dry track in front of him.
25/1	Matt Bennetts	The hotrod man was more competitive at Menheniot this year but he will need to keep it on the road tomorrow because the lightweights at the front will be flying.
33/1	Paul Rossou	Friend of Shaun Mellor could be a potential Nigel Mansell or a Destruction Derby heavyweight who cant steer properly. We'll find out tomorrow.
33/1	Danny Mellor	Danny has plenty of speed and will be fast at St Eval no doubt but many question his ability to keep focused and he has a habit of suddenly becoming reckless at any moment.
50/1	Jason Hoare	Heavyweight Jason had a torrid time of it at Menheniot recently but some think this track could bring out the best in him. He'll need to learn it quick and really put the hammer down.
66/1	Shaun Mellor	The big man has lost weight in his attempt to make him faster so wont go down without a fight. However, a few drivers are worried that his new woman could prove to be a huge distraction for him.
66/1	Graham Allen	Top carpet fitter Graham was miles behind at Menheniot but he loves it nonetheless. Fair play to Graham. Gets involved even when others are better and jib the event. Top man that man !
200/1	Keeley Allen	Can only win if all the other karts blow up or crash off. She's there to make up the numbers and gain experience. She's a driving instructor who will need to break all the rules at St Eval if she is to stand any chance whatsoever. At least she doesn't jib like some.

 

ODDS	FINISHING POSITION	DRIVER	QUALIFYING
6/1	1ST	Mark Stocks	Mark has been consistently quick at every kartin grand prix and after claiming pole position he had to scrap his way back to the front after losing his lead. Romped home by over 11 seconds by the end to take a well earned victory.
12/1	2ND	Justin Metherell	With rumours of his kart being super fuelled by his mate Craig who works at the go kartin track, Justin worked his way from 8th on the grid up to 3rd mid race. He was soon in a massive tussle with Tony Guy and after getting a  penalty for barging Tony off during the race, he fought back to overtake him on the final bend of the 30 laps and take a good second place.
5/1	3RD	Tony Guy	Somewhat of an expert around here and is always in the mix. He pushed hard all afternoon and went from 5th on the grid up to 2nd place rather quickly. Once Mark had got past him later in the race he had Justin all over his rear bumper for lap after lap. He held firm until the final bend when Justin managed to sneak through on the inside. A good drive from Tony though.
20/1	4TH	Michael Chantler	For many he was the driver of the day as he qualified on the front row of the grid alongside Mark and led for most of the race. He was bumped off the track with less than 9 laps to go and had to settle for 4th place just 1 second behind Justin and Tony. Mike also set the fastest lap of the day. What an improvement for him - brilliant.
6/1	5TH	Ricko Barker	6th on the grid but a nightmare start saw him down to 8th before the end of the first lap. He then had to follow Gary Stocks for the next 17 laps as Gary wouldn't budge and the gap to the leaders got too big. When Rick did finally overtake Gary, Gary had to pit with kart trouble and Rick went on to chase the leading pack, overtaking Ben Harrison on the final corner to steal 5th spot.
7/1	6TH	Ben Harrison	Ben won at Menheniot last time out and showed great speed here in the dry qualifying in 3rd and mixing it with the leaders for most of the race. Just ran out of steam towards the end and didn't get much luck with backmarkers but did very well nonetheless.
20/1	7TH	Ross Blatchford	An incredible improvement from Ross who is now showing signs of becoming a front runner after some slow races last year when he first began karting. Only 4 seconds off finishing in the top 5 today and he won't be 20/1 next time.
66/1	8TH	Shaun Mellor	Shaun was another driver to defy his massive odds and even slipped past Ricko into 7th early in the race. His pace was much better today than a year ago and he's another that could soon be challenging at the sharp end. Saw off his brother, Mansfield and Bennetts with no problems this time.
33/1	9TH	Paul Rossou	Paul drove pretty solidly on his debut. He wasn't quite on the front runners pace but he certainly beat a lot of good drivers and won his on track battle with Nathan Mansfield that raged on for over 25 laps.
14/1	10TH	Nathan Mansfield	Had to improve on his 19th placed finish here in December 2007 and he did fair better this time on a drier track. However, he was well off the pace of winning it ending up a lap and a half down to winner Mark. Mansfield drove a solid race in the midfield.
6/1	11TH	Steven Dash	Dash seemed to get one of the unlucky karts as the engine blew up before half way. dash had qualified in 7th and didn't seem to have the leaders pace as he was falling away when his kart let go. He did battle back later in the race with the 5th fastest lap of the day but really he will be disappointed.
25/1	12TH	Matt Bennetts	The bad boy finished where many expected - in the midfield. He doesn't seem to have the speed to win but he proved a dangerous hazard to many drivers. A 50-50 corner is soon in bennetts favour as he fails to back down even if being lapped. He's a tough driver to race against which makes it all the more fun.
10/1	13TH	Nickademus	The Kerrow Moor man didn't quite live up to his word of romping to glory and he battled it out in the midfield, eventually losing out to Bennetts after a long scrap during the race.
3/1F	14TH	Gary Stocks	After sticking it on 4th on the grid Gary was expected to challenge the front pack but his kart seemed strangely slow and he was losing nearly a second a lap to the leaders. He kept Ricko behind him for 17 laps and after Rick went past Gary pitted with engine trouble and then coasted round to the end as a well beaten favourite.
50/1	15TH	Jason Hoare	Goliath improved on his 17th in qualifying by 2 places come the end but never really got going. He'll be unsure which is his best track after this. He'll perhaps fair better in the rain.
20/1	16TH	Richodemus	Unknown what he could do before the race but just drove round and had a good time.
33/1	17TH	Danny Mellor	Was quoted as saying ' a few mistakes ' after the race. They must have cost him dearly as Danny never got out of the bottom 5 all race. Is prone to the odd error and brought out the red flags during the race when clouting the tyre barrier head on. It took marshals several minutes to clear up the damage.
25/1	18TH	Nick Blatchford	A strange afternoon for Nick. Must have made some errors or had a rough time of it somewhere because he stuck his kart well up the grid in 9th but ended up finishing a lowly 18th. His best lap times were consistent with the middle runners so he should do much better in the future.
66/1	19TH	Graham Allen	Graham enjoys the kartin despite being way of the pace. He trundled round and stayed in his position of 19th all day.
200/1	20TH	Keeley Allen	Keeley was 6 laps down by the end but braved it against the big boys on the day. At one point she was overtaken by 4 drivers on one bend, 2 either side of her. Crazy scenes but a good laugh.

Thanks to everyone that raced. See you at the next one.................

Page last updated on 1 / 10 / 2008