Club 2000, Round 11, 4 December 2021

Report by Nathan Blake

It had rained in the night to leave us with a wet track in the morning. Despite the cold temperatures, the track dried up a fair amount coming up to lunch. For heat 2 after lunch, almost everyone had opted for the slicks and stuck with them for the remaining races.

Please note - Events written here are from my point of view and may differ to yours.

Honda Cadet

Coming into the final round, the championship fight was close between Will Rogers (53) and Teddie Cooper (79) however, the pair weren’t the only drivers who were fighting hard and driving well. Hayden Gray (6) returned to Club2000 for the first time this year and grabbed maximum points despite qualifying in 2nd. However, Teddie (79) set the fastest lap overall in the final with the track in it’s best condition of the day – a 47.588.

Heat 1

Immediately, we saw a great reaction from Teddie Cooper (79) to the lights and he kept his lead. Around 4 laps in, Lucien Smith (43) held a nice power-slide on the exit of paddock. As the race continued, all the drivers spread out apart from the two leaders, Teddie (79) and Hayden Gray (6). Hayden (6) was reeling him in at a good rate and by lap 7, he was right behind. Coming into the Esses, Hayden (6) lunged into a gap to the inside of Teddie (79) and stayed ahead for the right-hander.

Heat 2

Everyone had still opted for the wets apart from Will Rogers (53), gambling on the slicks. Again, it was a clean start. On the first lap, Kiean Sullivan (26) was right behind Teddie (79) until he moved up the inside into the Esses and took 2nd. Teddie (79) was then vulnerable to Will (53) behind on the slicks. After getting a great exit out of Paddock, Will (53) pulled alongside Teddie (79) into the French Curve and had the inside into Senna. Teddie (79) held it beautifully around the outside and had the advantage coming into 180. However, Will (53) tried again. He braked early into 180, took the inside and executed a perfect switchback to stay ahead up to the Warren. Now, Theo Hamilton (30) was right behind Teddie (79) who unfortunately seemed to be going backwards in the race. After running wide on the Warren, Theo (30), close behind, stuck to the racing line and powered past Teddie (79) to take 4th. 2 laps later, Lucien Smith (43) was next in line to pass Teddie (79) and he did, as he was slow out of 180. It would be unfair to put this performance down to Teddie (79) as it seemed there was an issue with his kart. From lap 4, Will’s (53) tyres were switching on and he was catching Kiean (26). Over 6 laps, he brought the gap from 3.1s to 0.8s but the race ended before he was close enough to try and take 2nd.

Heat 3

Teddie (79) was now set up for a comeback. On the first lap, he managed to get past Lucien (43) and Theo (30). Will (53) also had a good start and took 2nd from Kiean (26) before the end of the first lap. Next, Teddie (79) made a good move to the inside of Kiean (26) around the Esses and took 3rd. He now had to push hard to catch Will (53) who was 2.5s up the road. On lap 6, Theo (30) was directly behind Lucien (43) when he pulled off a great switchback around the Warren and got a great run up the back straight to stay ahead. On the final lap, Teddie (79) was right behind his championship rival. Coming into Senna, Teddie (79) pulls off a deep lunge onto Will (53) and the pair have slight contact. Despite this, Will (53) held his line nicely and stayed ahead up to 180. Again, desperate to get past, Teddie (79) lunged onto Will (53) into the left-hander of 180 in a forceful fashion and took 2nd.

Final

It was another clean start. Lucien (43) immediately had some great pace and made it up to 4th. Just a few laps later though, there was an incident on 180. Kiean (26) had a half-spin and with nowhere to go, Lucien (43) wacked his sidepod - coincidentally helping Kiean (26) face the right way. The drivers were okay and no stoppage was required. Meanwhile, Will (53) was right behind them and passed both drivers to take 3rd behind his rival, Teddie (79). However, Kiean (26) was determined to have a spot on the podium. He was only around 0.5s away from Will (53). By lap 9, he was right behind and putting the pressure on. He got a good slip-stream from Will (53) across the line and found a gap to the inside of the French Curve. It was a very brave move and it paid off – resulting in a 3rd place finish for Kiean (26).

1st – Hayden Gray (6)

2nd – Teddie Cooper (79)

3rd – Kiean Sullivan (26)

4th – Will Rogers (53)

5th – Lucien Smith (43)

Minimax

For the final time this year, Alex Beale (43) raced as the only Minimax on the back of the Junior Rotax grid. For next season, it’s confirmed he will be racing in Junior Rotax. Yet again, Alex (43) drove consistently and adapted well to the drying conditions.