Strawberry Racing’s Tom Fawcett delivered a peerless performance at Rowrah (17/18 April) to seize the British Super 1 Max title initiative. He left his rivals trailing in his wake, scoring back to back victories in Sunday’s finals to open an 18-point lead in the championship table. Throughout the meeting it was Fawcett’s name topping the results sheets – from Timed Qualifying, through the heats and ultimately to the pre and main finals.

Behind him, Japanese star Ren Nagabuchi - demonstrating superbly that he is rapidly getting to grips with the cut and thrust of the British style of racing – had strong heat results and a top ten finish in the feature race. “Ren was really good! His first race (at the opening S1 round at PFi in March) left him a bit unsure of himself, but he’s now more comfortable with the tyres, the team and of course, the racing. He was top rookie and showed great character and that he can drive!”

Barrie Pullinger again drew praise from his team manager Warwick Ringham after another promising series of drives. Unfortunately, a crash in the pre-final saw him finish well done the order, necessitating a feisty drive back up the order in the main race, to an eventual 14th place at the finish -“Things are looking promising for Barrie. He’s another one who has much to learn, but with every race just keeps on getting better. By mid-season, I think he may start surprising a few people.”

Strawberry’s Winter Cup champion, James Greenway continued to feel the effects of recent surgery and was forced to withdraw from the event after his first heat. In the Junior class, Jack Marshall was again underlined his burgeoning talent with a brace of runner-up finishes that installed him at the top of the points table.

“Jack was really good all weekend,” said Ringham. “He’s come on loads and exceeded all my expectations. He’s beginning to look like championship-winning material – he’s quality.” The team’s latest signing, Shaun Pirie, enjoyed a solid start to his Strawberry career with a pair of top-15 finishes at the ‘business end’ of the day and impressed his new boss; “Shaun had a lot to deal with and get used to – coming into a new team, learning the characteristics of the Tony Kart EVR chassis, working with different personnel etc. He did really well. I think we have a good, solid platform to build from.”

In Mini Max, George Russell had a torrid time in the finals. He crashed in the first encounter, but fought back to 7th. In the main final, George was running as high as 2nd - but would eventually cross the line in 12th position. However, he had done sufficient to maintain his position as one of the title protagonists.

Rowrah is a tough place to make your debut, even if you’re an experienced racer, and so it proved for Canada’s Lance Stroll. Lance was also making his first appearance with Strawberry and found the experience a stiff challenge. Warwick observed, “We did throw him right in the deep-end, but fair play to him, Lance stuck to his guns, never complained and learned a hell of a lot. He’ll take a little while to get his head round our style of racing, but he comes very well recommended and I’m sure he’ll deliver.”

Despite a strong overall performance from the team, the day belonged to Fawcett. Ringham said, “Tom was the class of the field, all weekend. He didn’t put a foot wrong and it’s all looking very promising now. In fact, I’d say pretty stunning actually.”

Two season newcomers to the Intrepid Force Rotax team have continued their impressive start to the 2010 season with the Austrian-based team, completely dominating the competition at the first round of the Central European Zone (CEZ) Karting Trophy over the weekend in Hungary.

Following their recent success to be running inside the top 10 at the Rotax Euro Challenge in France, Senior Max driver Ferenc Kancsár and team mate Stefan Locsmandi in Junior Max, were quick from the word go when their Intrepid karts hit the fast 935m Kecskemét circuit for Friday practice. Both drivers consequently topped the time sheets in qualifying to start on pole position for the first race on the program in their respective classes. It was almost as if the young IFR rookies couldn’t put a foot wrong, leading from the beginning of each race and never faltering.

The afternoon races again saw 15-year old Kancsár as the former Junior champ in the CEZ, make a confident stance to take maximum points in the opening round of the 4-event series, while his 14-year old IFR buddy Locsmandi did likewise. Although the grid numbers were down from last year’s line-up due to a conflicting local meeting, the level of the rival drivers and laptimes that exceeded the 2009 records, clearly showed the undeniable supremacy the pair displayed. They each set the best lap overall for race 1 and 2, pushing all the way in the finals to hold a comfortable lead of between 6 to 7.5 seconds by the chequered flag.

According to the IFR team chief technician Steve Chapman, both drivers were more than deserving of the great results achieved against some very good drivers in the field, It’s been a fantastic weekend for our boys here in Hungary, who not only won because of having the best equipment we could provide for them from our partners Intrepid and HRS, but also due to the combined effort and hard work they’ve done together with their mechanics Istvan and Mike. We made the most of every session to do the groundwork and got through a lot of valuable testing leading up to when it counted. On behalf of our team, I want to congratulate Ferenc and Stefan on a job well done; they really drove well and stayed focused to make this all possible!

The track-time and preparation will no doubt prove to be an advantage for the duo as they join their fellow IFR team mates for the round 1 of the German-Austrian Rotax Max Challenge this weekend at the famous Michael Schumacher complex, Kerpen. However, it is Hungary’s Pannoniaring that will play host to the next event on the CEZ international race calendar on May 22-23.

Round 1 of the Rotax Euro Challenge for 2010 returned to the popular “drivers’” circuit of Sologne Karting, Salbris, France last weekend where the weather played a very significant role in the results, but failed to affect the spirit of the highly competitive racing.

At almost 1.5km in length, the rather technical track that’s been a selected venue for the series on a handful of occasions now played host once again for 180 competitors coming from five continents of the globe including several new nations being represented in 31.

Friday’s official timed practice was definitely determined by the ever-changing conditions that caught many drivers out. However, the heavy rain mixed with a little ice at one time didn’t stop the program going ahead. In both the Senior and Junior Max classes, the field was divided into several groups due to the large number of starters. Each session was run under varying track conditions which saw some drivers miss their qualifying chance when they failed to clear parc fermè in sufficient time while attempting to make some last minute changes…

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This weekend (27-28 March) sees the opening round of the Easykart season kick off at Ellough Park Raceway, a cracking little gem of a circuit that has been refreshed, rejuvenated and redeveloped by the indefatigable Richard Lock and his team, and proudly hosts the first visit of a national championship of 2010.

On paper, this year promises to be one of the most open and competitive seasons yet. None of the current champions will defend their crowns, making way for a host of new hopefuls to rise up and make their mark. Reigning Light champion Terry Langley is taking a sabbatical from racing, but will be a regular presence in the paddock as he turns his attentions to driver coaching. The Heavy class’s number one hinted that he might abandon his crown when he finished third in last November’s E Plate meeting at Clay Pigeon, and indeed Kieran McCullough has confirmed his switch to the Light category.

Similarly, Junior champion Patrick Lay will come of age in both senses of the word when he makes his Light debut on Sunday. After steamrollering the Cadet opposition, James DeHavillande will test himself against the Junior regulars and a welter of newcomers.

After its successful inauguration into the calendar last summer, the Cadet class has quickly established itself as an exciting alternative to other classes for 8 to 13-year olds. The championship organisers Club100 have received more than double the number of entries for the corresponding first round fixture last year. As its Managing Director, John Vigor says: “It’s going to be great. Ellough is a superb place to go racing and I’m delighted that Easykart will be the first national series to christen the new track extension. With every one of our 2009 champions moving on, we’re guaranteed to see new race-winners and champions emerge and that can only be good.”

In total over 120 drivers have entered and both senior classes will require B finals. John comments: “We’ve had a very healthy influx of new competitors come into Easykart and I’m really pleased to see that they’re all new to karting – not just guys transferring from other categories or championships. That means our package is really attractive to the sport’s newcomers. But that’s not to say we don’t listen to our existing customers. This year we’ve introduced a new format to the racing, based on what the drivers wanted.”

The new schedule will now see one timed qualifying session, with a (ten minute-plus one lap) heat replacing the old second session. Following the European model, the event will then consist of a repecharge and two finals, pre and main.

If you’re looking for a fast, friendly series where the emphasis is on driver ability rather than budget, then you’ll love Easykart. Sunday’s meeting is a great way to meet the drivers and receive advice from them and get information from the UK Easykart importer, Andy Cox of ACR and series promoter, Club100’s John Vigor. The action starts from 10:00am on Sunday at Ellough Park Raceway, near Beccles.