Junior Grand Prix at Rogue Racing - 2009
7th March:
Looks like being a bumper year for the Juniors at Rogue Racing with 23 entries this month, with 2 new drivers and one making his first appearence in 2009.
A new scoring system meant a few changes. The grid sequence for the races has changed from the way it was drawn with the old software - this meant that Geri drew grid slots of 2nd, 4th and 6th where with the old system it would have been 1st, 3rd and 6th. Whether this would have made a difference, who knows. You race as you are drawn. The new software also decided final places on points scored after the semi-finals, the previous system took the top 3 from each semi-final and placed one from each semi onto each row of the grid so this would be amended manually before the final.
After the issues from last month, an observer was placed upstairs where the whole track could be seen, and the drivers were warned that there would be no tolerance of bad driving. drivers would be shown the black flag for causing an accident or not obeying the yellow lights - and a black flag meant a visit to the sin bin where they would be told what they had done wrong, and a loss of 15-20 seconds at least! A final small issue was the screens with the results and driver line-ups were illegible, this would cause some delays as drivers were not always sure they were due out.
Heat one saw Callum Bradley on pole from Daniel Truman (a new driver to the series), Patrick Harper, Joe Sheraton, Mark Camden (the other new driver) and Harry Macaulay. A crash at the end of the first lap saw Callum drop from first to last, and the first black flag of the day was shown to Patrick. Daniel has plainly visited the circuit a number of times before entering the series as he went on to win the heat with a creditable best lap of 27.54 from Joe (28.82), Harry (28.43), Mark (29.38), Callum (29.43) and Patrick (29.77).
Heat two, the change in grid sequencing didn't prevent Matt Hayes from taking his usual pole position. Here he lined up with current series leader Brandon Wilson, Karl Bonney, Ben Fryers and Ben Humphrey behind him. At the end of the first lap, Matt and Karl were out front and running bumper to bumper, by the end of lap two they were still bumper to bumper but the gap back to Ben Humphreys in 3rd was a long one and Brandon had not yet managed to pass him. Brandon got by Ben at the start of the bottom straight on lap three but there was a 4 second gap up to second placed Karl. Brandon gave chase hard and was visibly narrowing the gap at a rate of a second a lap. By lap 6 the gap was down to 2 seconds, at the same time Matt was finally edging clear (a couple of lengths) from Karl. At the back the two Bens were swapping places, sometimes twice a lap before Ben Fryers finally managed to break free and cement 4th place. On lap 9 Matt was a second in front of Karl but Brandon finally caught up and passed Karl at the start of the bottom straight on the final lap. He tried hard but Matt held on to record the win with fastest lap of 27.88 from Brandon (27.27 and FTD so far), Karl (27.86), Ben Fryers (28.44) and Ben Humphreys (29.47).
Heat three, Alex Milton on pole from Sam Conn, Ben Sissons, Daniel Truman (already out for his second race), Luke Doig and William Tregurtha. Alex seemed to get off to a flying start but it all went wrong at the end of the top straight and the first lap ended in the order Sam, Daniel, Luke, Ben, William and Alex, the last 4 running bumper to bumper. On lap 2 Luke caught and passed Daniel, a lap later Luke was in the lead. Luke went on to take an easy victory with fastest lap of 27.65 from Daniel (28.12), William (28.13), Sam (29.83), Alex (29.02) and Ben (32.23). Having completed two races already, and having a 1st and 2nd place, Daniel headed the leader board on 15 points with Luke and Matt next up on 8 points each.
Heat four and Geri's first race of the day. Jordan Donegan was on pole from Geri, Callum Bradley, Karl Bonney, Patrick Harper and Matthew Hopcraft. Jordan was quick enough to make Geri work for a win, but Geri got by on the first lap coming off the upper ramp. Callum spun at the end of the first lap bringing on the ywllow lights just as Karl passed Jordan for second place. The drivers had been warned to slow for yellows, Geri reverted to his old self and slowed too much allowing Karl to catch right up on his bumper, and Jordan was left well back in 3rd. The last three drivers were running nose to tail on lap 4, Jordan having fallen to the back of the group. Jordan passed Callum on lap 7 and got straight past Patrick to regain 4th place. A couple more yellow light sessions gave a familiar story, Geri's lead of 3-4 seconds was cut back to nothing as Karl closed right up on him, then Geri just drove off again as soon as the yellows were extinguished. On the final lap, Geri lapped Callum but half the race had been done under yellow leaving Geri to win the heat with fastest lap of just 27.33 from Karl (28.08), Matthew (28.27), Jordan (27.95), Patrick (29.55) and Callum (29.62). Two heats later Geri drove the kart Jordan raced in this heat and declared it had no brakes at which point it was removed from proceedings.
Heat five and the return of Will Barker for his first outing of the new year. Will started second on the grid behind Guy Grigsby, with the remainder lining up as Matt Hayes, Sam Conn, Ben Humphrey and Tom Holland. The heat finished with a win for Will (27.85) from Tom (8.71), Matt (27.85), Guy (27.58), Ben (27.99) and Sam (30.14).
Heat six and Geri was back out - in the kart Jordan struggled with in heat 4. Jack Macaulay was on pole from Harry Macaulay, Alex Milton, Geri, Ben Sissons and Joe Sheraton. It took Geri half a lap to get by Alex and move up into 3rd place, and until lap 3 to get by Harry. By then Jack had carved out a small lead, but as the yellow lights came on, again Geri slowed and lost 2 seconds to Jack in less than a lap. Late in the heat Jack caught up with the backmarkers and was slowed allowing Geri to catch up again. Jack got by the backmarkers on the final lap, Geri followed him through and tried to pass Jack on the final corner crossing the finish line just 1 foot behind Jack. Geri's kart was retired at this point as the brakes were not working. Jack won with fastest lap of 28.42 from Geri (28.07), Harry (28.48), Alex (29.14), Joe (28.75) and Ben (33.09). The kart Jack drove would later prove to be defective as well with steering problems but it continued in use all the way to the final.
Heat seven, Mark Camden on pole from Ben Fryers, Jordan Donegan, Will Barker and Callum Bradley. Will and Jordan soon broke free and were out front 10 seconds clear of the battle for third place between Mark and Ben by the end of lap 4. On lap 8 the track was blocked catching out Will and Jordan, but Jordan recovered quickest to take the lead in another race punctuated by many yellows. Jordan (27.98) won from Will (28.10), Ben (28.43), Mark (30.44) and Callum (29.73).
Heat eight, Brandon Wilson on pole from William Tregurtha, Guy Grigsby, Harry Macaulay, Matt Hayes and Daniel Truman, the last two drivers already in their third race. Matt was up to 4th on lap 3 and soon pulled a large back back to Harry in 5th. Harry was driiving the defective no. 20 kart that Jack raced in heat 6 and was looking uncharacteristically wayward. The front four all spread out as Brandon raced to a comfortable victory with best lap of 27.42 from William (27.48), Guy (27.19 - new FTD), Matt (27.81), Daniel (27.49) and Harry (28.64). With Daniel and Matt having completed their three races, it was hardly a surprise they were topping the leaderboard (19 points apiece) from Brandon, Geri and Will (15 points each from 2 races), but Luke Doig and Jack Macaulay were still back on 8 points each having only completed one heat in the first 8 (and won it) - but Luke and Jack would both be out in the next heat.
Heat nine saw Luke Doig start on pole from Matthew Hopcraft, Jack Macaulay, Ben Fryers, Alex Milton and Karl Bonney. By the end of the first lap, Jack was right on Luke's rear bumper up front and Karl was up to 4th a lap later despite being in kart 20. Alex crashed on lap 6 which brought on the red lights, from the restart Luke and Jack went straight by Alex to lap him and raced to the finish. Jack finally got past Luke, but alas in was on lap 11 as the finish had been missed, so the results were taken back to the end of lap 10 with Luke (27.28) winning from Jack (27.19), Karl (28.21), Ben (28.19), Matthew (28.03) and Alex (29.46). Karl joined Daniel and Matt at the top of the leader board with 19 points from 3 races, but Luke was now next on 16 from two races, with Brandon, Geri, Will and Jack all on 15 from 2 races. It was going to be close in the battle for front row places in the semi-finals.
Heat ten, Patrick Harper on pole from Tom Holland, Mark Camden, William Tregurtha, Jordan Donegan and Sam Conn. The yellows were on again on lap one as Sam collided with Mark leaving Mark adrift. By the end of lap 2 just 2 seconds separated the first four drivers in order Patrick, Tom, William and Jordan, with Sam and Mark already well out of contention. On lap 4 Jordan passed William coming onto the bottom straight and then ran side by side with Tom all the way to the final corner, passing Tom just as they came in sight of the start-finish line. However, Tom spun out and Jordan was judged to have helped him do so, earning a black flag for what had looked like a great piece of driving. The visit to the sin bin caused Jordan to drop back to last place before fighting back up into 4th place. The front three ran to the finish nose to tail, Patrick (29.24) winning from Tom (28.51), William (28.29), Jordan (27.92), Sam (29.87) and Mark (29.29). William joined the other drivers on 19 points from 3 races at the top of the leader board and was on top by virtue of faster best lap so far.
Heat eleven, Geri starting from the back. Ben Humphrey was on pole from Joe Sheraton, Brandon Wilson, Matthew Hopcraft, Guy Grigsby and Geri Nicosia. Historically Geri has always found Guy harder to pass than anyone else, yet if he wanted to catch Brandon, he would not have to take too long. Geri also found himself in kart 20, he would report it steered left all the time and was just as wayward as it had looked in Harry's hands a few heats ago. Brandon gained a place straight off the line, Geri and Guy moved up a place on the first lap but Geri was still back in 5th, behind Guy. A yellow light incident on lap 4 saw the front karts nose to tail but then Guy back in 4th slowed right down allowing the front three to pull a long way clear, and trapping Geri still behind him in 5th. Brandon hit the front on lap 7, Geri was still stuck in 5th behind Guy. Finally on lap 8 Guy and Geri arrived at a crash scene, Geri managed to avoid the crashed karts and came out the other side in 3rd place, a long way back from 2nd. Geri gave chase and took 2nd place from Ben at the start of the last lap, but Geri could make no impression on Brandon. Brandon won a slow race with best lap of 27.62 from Geri (27.58), Ben (28.74), Joe (28.46), Guy (27.74) and Matthew (28.25). Brandon and Geri now led the leaderboard on 23 and 22 points but Luke (16), Jack (15) and Will Barker (15) still had one race left to change that.
Heat twelve, the final heat. Ben Sissons on pole from Luke Doig, Tom Holland, Jack Macaulay and Will Barker. Luke passed Ben from the start and just drove off into the distance. A yellow light incident on lap 3 saw Will Barker black flagged and moved Jack up into second place. Luke caught up with Will on the last lap but rather than lap him, was able to follow him across the line and win by 2 seconds. Luke's fastest lap was 27.25, then Jack (27.42), Tom (28.15), Will (27.71) and Ben (31.04). The leaderboard now showed Luke out front with 24 points and 3 wins from 3, only the third time any driver has ever done this (Luke also did it January 2008, Geri did it January 2009). Brandon was on 23 with Jack ahead of Geri (both on 22) by dint of a faster lap, then Will and Tom (20), William, Daniel, Matt and Karl (19), Jordan (18) and Joe making his first semi-final with 17 points.
Thus the first semi-final lined up with the unbeaten Luke Doig on pole from Jack Macaulay, Will Barker, William Tregurtha, Matt Hayes and Jordan Donegan - but Luke had the handicap of kart 20 which had not won all day. A poor start from Luke - probably caught out by his ill-handling kart - saw Jack take the lead at the first corner and Luke fall to third behind Will. Luke got back up to second on the final lap while Matt and Jordan were squabbling over 5th and 6th place at the back for most of the race. The semi-final ended with a win for Jack (27.38), from Luke (27.52), Will (27.45), William (27.33), Matt (27.96) and Jordan (27.86).
The second semi-final lined up with Brandon on pole from Geri, Tom Holland, Daniel Truman, Karl Bonney and Joe Sheraton. Geri has been in this position before and come through, so we were not unduly worried, even though he was in kart 20. As expected Brandon and Geri would set a pace to hot for the rest to handle and they pulled clear of the pack from the start, but Geri's usual slingshot first corner move didn't work on Brandon. Geri finally set an FTD (27.14) on lap 3, the first time he had headed the lap times all day, but rather than going on from there to make a move on Brandon, it went the other way. Brandon responded in style and lowered the FTD to 27.04 on lap 7, then again to 26.95 (his first sub 27 second lap ever) on lap 10 while Geri had no answer. Brandon went on to take a deserved win by 3 seconds from Geri (27.14), Tom (27.48), Daniel (27.45), Karl (28.02) and Joe (28.63). Geri finished the race in pain, his right leg was hurting and he could barely walk on it.
The final. Brandon Wilson on pole from Jack Macaulay. Geri took third on the grid from Luke and Will took 5th from Tom - Tom's turn in kart 20. There was a short delay to check over Geri's leg, but he wasn't going to give up his winning run just because his leg hurt. There was a crash at the back on lap one and the lap was run under yellow lights. Brandon was pulling away from Jack, Geri was being held up but couldn't find a way past, Luke was right on Geri's bumper. Geri did his slingshot move on Jack on lap 5, but it took the length of the upper straight for Geri to pull fully alongside Jack forcing Jack to take the long way round to the down ramp. geri was through, and Luke took full advantage of Jack's enforced wide line to follow Geri through and take 3rd place from Jack. With three laps to go Brandon caught Will and Tom at the back, but he cut through quickly leaving Geri to lose time picking them off individually. Geri chased hard equalling Brandon's FTD in the process, but Brandon held on to take a well deserved first ever win by 2 seconds with a fastest lap in the final of 26.98 from Geri (26.95), Luke (27.09) a bit further back in 3rd having not lapped Will and Tom, Jack (27.27), Will (27.90) and Tom (27.92).
So, the end of an era as Geri's winning streak dating back to last April and 11 consecutive victories comes to an end? Or just a blip? Certainly Brandon has raised his game and fully deserved his victory, Geri sends his congratulations. Maybe the burden of the unbeaten run has become a rod on Geri's back. Needless to say, Geri plans to take the battle back to Brandon next month and try to regain his crown. Brandon ended the day with 38 points to Luke's 37, Geri 36, and Jack 35 and so extends his lead after three rounds to four points over Geri (116 to 112) with Luke on 103 and Jack 99.
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