KADWELL PARK - EVENT REPORT

Sunday 6 September saw EnduroKA return to Cadwell Park for a six-hour race that would provide plenty in the way of entertainment.

MilnAir Racing’s driver lineup of George Wright, Jack Wright and Jonny Milner emerged victorious after 164 laps of the ‘mini-Nurburgring’, with GM Performance beating KaHoona’s Race Team to second place by a mere 0.396s!

Qualifying

KAsh Strapped Racing’s Ben Smith and 11Tenths Racing’s Gianluca Elia were amongst the early pacesetters in the morning’s qualifying session, however it was Ka Lamaty’s Adam Bonham who became the driver to beat.

Bonham improved on his previous best time to set a strong benchmark for competitors to beat. For over forty minutes the #121 KA remained at the top of the timing sheets, before an excellent lap (1m55.405s) by Jack Wright secured pole position for the #46 KA with less than five minutes left on the clock.

Ka Lamaty would still qualify strongly, joining MilnAir Racing on the front row. SuKAru finished the session P3, only 0.006s ahead of Windgat Racing in fourth and 0.015s ahead of Boston Racing in fifth!

Burton Power Racing, Autotech Motorsport #65, KAmotion, AFK Racing and KA-Chow rounded out the top ten qualifiers.

Race

Having just missed out on pole position, KA Lamaty were clearly keen to make their mark on the race and stormed into the lead by the end of the first lap. KAmotion also enjoyed a fast start, moving up to fifth, while MilnAir Racing had to settle for second.

After retaking the lead on the third lap, MilnAir Racing continued to pave the way for the majority of the opening hour, but with KA Lamaty hot on the leader’s heels. It was becoming a great battle to watch, with less than one second separating the leading duo over the timing line on almost every occasion until the first pit stops were made.

It was immediately apparent there were some varying pit strategies at play, ranging from the likes of PRO-AM Racing pitting early to other rivals like SuKAru and Boston Racing going longer into the race. Throughout the grid there were battles to be found, as each KA looked to propel themselves up the running.

At the two hour classification, MilnAir Racing were back in front, but with Ka Lamaty still on their case. KaHoona’s Race Team had enjoyed a fantastic rise through the field to run third, while: Burton Power Racing, Boston Racing and KAmotion remained amongst the front runners. KAsh Strapped Racing and LDR Performance Tuning #49 had both made headway from where they had started on the grid, as had Wolf Motorsport.

Through the middle stages of the race, 11Tenths Racing enjoyed a spell in front, before MilnAir Racing’s consistent pace returned them to the race lead. PRO-AM Racing’s strategy had launched the #12 KA towards the top of the order, as had NJM Racing and Team GooZoo Racing – with the latter now running within the top ten in their first race of the season.

Heading into the final hour, MilnAir Racing remained in first and were looking strong. GM Performance had returned to the pointy end to run in second, but the #81 KA had just a 3.148s gap to the chasing KAsh Strapped Racing. The race for the podium places was truly hotting up, with: KaHoona’s Race Team, Burton Power Racing, PRO-AM Racing and 11Tenths Racing all keeping close tabs on the leading three.

When the checkered flag fell, MilnAir Racing hadn’t relinquished their lead to take a well-earned victory at KAdwell Park. Congratulations to the team and their drivers George Wright, Jack Wright and Jonny Milner for a great result – completing 164 laps and over 360 miles of Cadwell Park enroute victory!

An epic finish for the two remaining spots on the podium incredibly ended with just 0.396s separating second and third place. In their first EnduroKA race of the season, GM Performance just managed to defend a hard-fought second place finish courtesy of splendid drives from Ian Mitchell and Darren Stapleton. KaHoona’s Race Team were the team to narrowly miss out, but still recorded a great third-place finish having started P13 on the grid. Congratulations to Kosta Kyritis, Philip Truman and Ian Perkins!

KAsh Strapped Racing finished P4, ahead of: 11Tenths Racing, PRO-AM Racing, Boston Racing, Burton Power Racing, Autotech Motorsport #65 and KA-Chow.

The fastest lap of the race was set early in the race by KA Lamaty - an impressive time of 1m56.156s.

Elsewhere, KA-Chow were the team to catch the eyes and votes of the Lincolnshire marshals, winning the latest Dagenham Dustbin!

A series debut at Croft is up next for EnduroKA on Sunday 19 October, with race entries now open here.

Photo: Gary Hawkins Photography