PRO-AM Racing win at Donington Park by less than ten seconds!

The hotly-anticipated third round of the 2025 EnduroKA season took place on Sunday 20 July, as a 33-strong grid of Mk1 Ford KAs took on the iconic Donington Park Grand Prix circuit for a five-hour endurance test.

Qualifying

SuKAru’s Adam Bessell hit the ground running in the morning’s qualifying session, battling with the likes of Wolf Motorsport’s Angus Whiteside and MilnAir Racing’s Jonny Milner for the top of the timing sheet.

As the teams became more acclimatised to the tricky conditions, the lap times started to drop. KA-Chow’s Lee Taylor spent time a significant amount of time on provisional pole, trading fastest times with MilnAir Racing - now at the hands of Jack Wright.

Taylor looked to have secured the front of the grid for the #95 KA, but right at the death George Wright posted a decisive time of  2m18.622s to ensure it was MilnAir Racing that would start the afternoon’s race in pole position. KA-Chow would start second, outqualifying Shine Automotive by only 0.011s!

Early pacesetter SuKAru would line up fourth, ahead of PRO-AM Racing and Autotech Motorsport #65. Boston Racing, Windgat Racing, Burton Power Racing and Wolf Motorsport #5 rounded out the top ten qualifiers.

Race

A difficult opening lap for the teams starting on the front row relegated both MilnAir Racing and KA-Chow down the order. SuKAru profited most, ending the first lap in first place with a decent gap to the chasing Wolf Motorsport and Windgat Racing. KAsh Strapped Racing and Ka Lamaty were also on the rise at the hands of Ben Smith and Marcus Batty respectively.

At the one hour classification, SuKAru had managed to hold onto their lead and were making solid progress. KAs were starting to initiate their pit-stop strategies and the order was constantly evolving. Windgat Racing and KA-Chow were within the top three of the running order, with PRO-AM Racing, Boston Racing and KaHoona’s Race Team all in close proximity.

As always with EnduroKA, constant overtaking throughout the order ensured there was plenty of entertainment for those watching on, as well as those out on circuit. By the three-hour mark, MilnAir Racing had recovered to lead the field, with NJM Racing #2 on a tremendous charge to P4. KaHoona’s Race Team were still within the top ten, while KAsh Strapped Racing’s strong start ensured they were still in sight of the leading #46 KA.

With the race heading into the concluding hour, the final pit stops were being made and the order was taking shape. An intriguing battle at the front was developing between PRO-AM Racing and MilnAir Racing. PRO-AM Racing had utilised some well-timed, quick stops and consistent driving to lead, but with Jack Wright on the charge closing the #8 KA down.

The gap between the two continued to decrease throughout the final hour, but Oliver Furnell ultimately didn’t put a foot wrong to ensure that it was PRO-AM Racing who took the checkered flag first to win their first race of the 2025 season! A massive congratulations goes to the entire team, including drivers: Furnell, Will Hillyard and Josh Benson who all put in good performances behind the wheel.

MilnAir Racing may have missed out on the victory, but should still be proud of making it three podiums from as many races this year. It was another strong outing from the #46 KA and its drivers Jonny Milner, George Wright and Jack Wright eventually only missed out on the top step by 9.808s!

Boston Racing enjoyed a very solid race of their own, consistently matching the pace of the top-running cars. The team was rewarded with a first EnduroKA podium of the year, courtesy of stellar driving from: Andrew Fells, Jacob Fells and Eduardo Correia.

KaHoona’s Race Team gained an impressive thirteen places from their starting position to come home fourth and on the lead lap, while Shine Automotive overcame a challenging test day to finish a very respectable fifth place in the race. KAsh Strapped Racing, SuKAru, KA-Chow, KAmotion and NJM Racing #2 completed the top ten.

The third Dagenham Dustbin of the year was awarded to KA-Chow, after an unanimous vote from the Orange Army in attendance at Donington Park! Elsewhere, while in pursuit of PRO-AM Racing, Jack Wright posted the fastest lap of the race – a 2m08.863s.

Well done all!

EnduroKA will return on Sunday 7 September, at Cadwell Park, for the fourth round of the 2025 season.

Photo: Gary Hawkins