British Blokart Championships at Gwithian, Cornwall
by Justin Heap 21 Oct 2008 18:47 BST
18-19 October 2008
The final round of the British Blokart Championships sponsored by ICS Communications & RuRoc Helmets was hosted by Speedsail UK at Gwithian in Cornwall over the weekend. A fleet of 26 competitors attended with a forecast of building breeze throughout the event.
Racing started in 8-10 kts of wind on a windward-leeward course with a spreader mark. In the light conditions Team BlokartNorthWest proved dominant with Justin Heap, the reigning National Champion lapping the majority of the fleet. Production class champion, Gwen Heap was battling with the Performance karts having left her own class behind. An oscillating breeze provided plenty of excitement with occasional gusts & shifts combining to create tight laylines. With the karts approaching the leeward mark at up to 30mph with opposite lock applied as the karts oversteer into the corner there was plenty of entertainment in the mid-fleet. A few minor crashes caused by a mixture of spin-outs at marks, red mist (over competitiveness) or just “sand in the eyes” resulted in nothing more than good banter.
Wind increased for the second day to 14-18 kts & the majority of the fleet changed down to the 4m sail although the relatively wet sand caused by a lake behind the beach necessitated a fuller set-up than would otherwise be the case. Again a windward-leeward course was set but with a leeward spreader the karts were launched towards the breakers on a hot angle approaching 40mph. The drag of the sail causing understeer when tacking resulted in a few having a closer encounter with the sea than intended. At least you can see the gusts when in the water up to the axles!
Results for the second day remained fairly similar to the first although the heavyweights made some inroads into the placings in the breezier conditions. After the final race Justin Heap was once again National Champion with Steve Harvey & Josh Sharp taking the battle for second right to the end. Gwen Heap retained the Production title with Tim Seed & Rosie Tribes filling the placings. Pasty Power propelled Harry Smith & local legend Kevin Meyers to second in the junior fleet & a near podium position respectively.
Some of the fleet are now preparing for the journey to the big European winter events in Holland, Belgium, Mallorca & Lithuania in the New Year for the Ice Europeans.
Thanks go to the event sponsors ICS Communications, RuRoc Helmets & Dales for event support vehicles.
Overall Results: (after 10 races)
Performance Class
1st Justin Heap
2nd Steve Harvey
3rd Josh Sharp
Production Class
1st Gwen Heap
2nd Tim Seed
3rd Rosie Tribes