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The third round of the 2023 EnduroKA season is one that will definitely live long in the memory. Donington Park’s fantastic National configuration welcomed an abundance of Mk1 Ford KAs for a five hour endurance test, marking the halfway point in the series fifth season.
A power shortage at the circuit and around the surrounding area meant there could be no on-track action early on Sunday morning, resulting in a unique qualifying session. Straws were pulled for grid positions to enable the afternoon’s five hour race to go ahead, and at full race distance. The G&B Finch Racing team picked expertly to put the #7 KA on pole position – their first of 2023. KA Lamaty would line up in second, ahead of Autotech Motorsport #65, KAsh Strapped Racing, TouringKA Racing and KA Tastrophy. Previous round winners PRO-AM Racing would start from 31st.
Spirits were high as the race looked to get underway. G&B Finch enjoyed an excellent initial getaway, but so did KA Lamaty in second. However, the real story of the opening lap was MilnAir Racing. The #46 KA father and son duo of George and Jack Wright charged through the field from P9 to P2 by the end of the first lap, to then overtake KA Lamaty for the lead of the race on the second lap. KA Lamaty would maintain second through the opening exchanges, while G&B Finch began to fall down the order. Boston Racing and LARR Motorsport, both relatively new to EnduroKA, were each making up plenty of ground of their own. Having started 12th and 13th on the grid respectively, by the end of lap four the two KAs had began an epic duel for the final remaining podium position.
The battle at the front was hugely competitive. At the one hour mark, MilnAir Racing maintained a small lead ahead of second-placed LARR Motorsport of just 0.738secs. Both KA Lamaty and KAsh Strapped Racing quickly followed in third and fourth, with just 1.861secs separating the top four! NJM Racing #2 and had put in some great overtakes to rise through the field in the first hour, as did JW Motorsport and North Motorsport. The everchanging conditions challenged the drivers, but it didn’t stop an abundance of fantastic overtakes occurring throughout the grid – all captured on the MSVT Racing live stream!
Having started on the back row, Windgat Racing delivered an exceptional opening stint to take the #3 KA to second in the standings at the two hour classification. Incredibly, the team that joined them on the back row of the grid, GloriKA, had also navigated the field expertly to sit fourth. As the race progressed through the opening pit stops and driver changes, MilnAir Racing continued to head the field from the front. PRO-AM Racing had utilized strategy and speed to climb to second at the three hour mark, while Windgat Racing did everything they could to keep the two within their sights in third. On just their second EnduroKA race, KAsh Strapped Racing continued to impress in fourth. GM Performance #81, AxiaMetrics.com and North Motorsport all looked to push on in the second half of the race, after strong and consistent first halves of the race.
With only an hour left on the clock MilnAir continued to lead, from: GM Performance #81, LARR Motorsport, Windgat Racing and AxiaMetrics.com. However, it wasn’t going to be for the #46 KA of MilnAir Racing. A combination of a penalty for a fueling infringement and a gearbox issue resulted in the team dropping down the order right at the crucial moment, blowing the race for victory wide open. It was Windgat Racing’s trio of Leon Bidgway, Matthew Weymouth and Mike Marias who profited greatest – taking home the checkered flag first to secure the team’s first win of the season! Each of the Windgat Racing’s drivers had put in mega groundwork to secure the victory after starting second to last on the grid and were fully deserving of the plaudits. GM Performance #81’s duo of Ian Mitchell and Darren Stapleton capitalised on their obvious race pace to finish on the second step, capping an excellent day of racing for the #81 KA. The final step of the podium belonged to North Motorsport’s Sam North, Thomas Hayman-Joyce and Oliver Jackson. The #148 had chiseled away at the cars in front all race long, demonstrating consistently strong laptimes throughout the five hours and were well deserving of their silverware. Boston Racing and LARR Motorsport would narrowly miss out on the podium, finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Both teams should be proud of their efforts and overtaking along the way. Congratulations to all!
The honor of fastest lap went the way of PRO-AM Racing’s Louis Harvey. The #12 KA driver claiming the accolade with a magnificent time of 1:35:017secs right at the death on lap 164.
Donington Park EnduroKA’s Dagenham Dustbin was justly awarded to Wolf Motorsport for their Silk Cut Ford KA. The #5 KA saw off incredibly stern competition to catch the eyes (and votes!) of the Leicestershire marshals to win the award.
There’s not long until Snetterton now and the 12 Heures Du Norfolk!
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