Ford Power Live Event Report

The penultimate meeting of the 2024 EnduroKA season took place on Sunday 15 September, when the series made its Ford Power Live return.

With a one-hour qualifying session preceding four 15-minute sprint races, it promised to be a tremendous day of racing in front of the Brands Hatch crowd.

Qualifying

Brothers Luke and Chris Reade, racing in the #4 and #5 Wolf Motorsport KAs respectively, were immediately on the pace in the morning’s qualifying session. After the initial laps it looked like Chris had the advantage, before Luke managed to pip his younger brother by just 0.007s to set the early benchmark.

After twelve minutes of rivals trying to best L. Reade’s time, it was Jack Wright of MilnAir Racing who managed to improve and snatch provisional pole.

His time of 1m03.247s would ultimately prove too strong to be beaten and the #46 KA would start the day’s opening race from the front of the grid. Early pacesetters Luke and Chris Reade would start in second and third, with Lewis Kent (Essex & Kent Motorsport) and Yousuf Bin-Suhayl (Autotech Motorsport #64) rounding out the top five.

Less than one second covered the top ten in qualifying, only adding to the excitement for the upcoming races.

Race One

Spurred on by missing out on pole position, L. Reade stormed into the lead through the opening lap. Wright managed to hold onto second, with Kent getting the jump on C. Reade into third. Elsewhere, an exceptional start from Mark Carey (Poorsche KArrera Motorsport) saw the #96 driver rise to seventh after lap one, having started in thirteenth.

L. Reade continued to the lead as the race progressed, but was becoming under increasing pressure from Wright and Kent behind. C. Reade was keeping the front three honest, while Tommy Valentine (Burton Power Racing) was rising through the order in the #1 KA.

As the checkered flag fell, L. Reade’s defence remained resolute and the #4 driver secured the first win of the day! It was a thrilling race with just 0.515s separating the top three over the line, with Wright and Kent finishing second and third respectively.

Bin-Suhayl and C. Reade rounded out the top five.

Race Two

With the grid for each of the remaining three races being decided by the result of the proceeding race, L. Reade started the second sprint on pole. The #4 KA remained at the front of the field for the opening eight laps, but once more rivals were pilling on the pressure.

Wright was again hot on the heels, being as close as 0.062s behind the leader over the line. On lap nine of the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, Wright made his move to seize the lead. Bin-Suhayl had kept the leading duo in his sights and utilised the situation to also work his way past L. Reade.

L. Reade did manage to reclaim second, but was unable to prevent Wright from taking the first win of the day for MilnAir Racing. Bin-Suhayl held on to take his first podium of the day, finishing an incredibly narrow 0.037s ahead of Autotech Motorsport team mate Joey Da’Prato.

Tom Valentine rounded out the top five, while a strong drive from Mike Marais (Windgat Racing) saw the #3 driver finish six places above where he started.

Race Three

The constant close battling continued in the day’s third race. Again L. Reade and Wright duked it out at the front, with the Wolf Motorsport KA getting the jump on his rival on the opening lap.

Just as they had in the previous race, Bin-Suhayl and Da’Prato kept the front two honest, while C. Reade and Valentine were also pushing for the podium places.

As the race neared conclusion, Wright honed in on L. Reade and reduced the gap. However, the #46 driver would ultimately end 0.145s short of the mark as L. Reade secured a second win of the day for Wolf Motorsport.

Bin-Suhayl took to the podium for a second consecutive race, finishing just 0.553s behind the winner. Da’Prato and Valentine completed the top five, with Kent being the biggest gainer – rising from starting in P14 to finish in eighth.

Race Four

As had been the theme for the day, the battle for victory in Race Four was dominated by a gripping encounter between L. Reade and Wright.

Wright snatched the lead after the opening lap and immediately had to defend. L. Reade was less than 0.401s behind Wright over the line each lap, before a mistake from the leader enabled the #4 driver to retake the lead.

An exceptional recovery saw Wright pick his way back past L. Reade on Lap 11 and the MilnAir Racing driver would not relinquish the lead again – taking his second victory of the day! L. Reade would finish 0.603s behind, to finish second and match Wright’s record of two wins and two runner-up trophies on the day.

The battle for the final step was a breathtaking one, with Marais snatching third right at the very end from Da’Prato - just 0.027s apart!

Bin-Suhayl rounded out the top five, while C. Reade was the biggest positional riser.

EnduroKA returns to Brands Hatch for the Indy, KA 500 on October 26/27.

Photo: Gary Hawkins Photography