#TKC @TKC_Kart_Club Round 4 #Karting

Sunday 24th July saw Tullyallen Kart Club (TKC) host Round 4 of the 2016 championship at Athboy Kart Centre, Co. Meath. A first in TKC history, the day was at tale of two seasons, in terms of weather, and was split between junior classes and senior classes. The first part of the day demonstrated difficult conditions as juniors ran their practice, heats and finals in wet weather. This paved the way for some excellent races in all classes.

Following the lunch break it was the seniors turn to take to the track, with the weather forecast taking a full 180 turn with competitors needing sun cream and tinted visors were at the ready.

The results of the day are as follows.

The 2016 Bambino class once again produced some of the most sportsmen like racing of the day! The young guns battled the slippery track conditions and each other all for a place on the podium. It was once again Luke Agnew who continued on his fine 2016 form with a win in the final. Callum Doak took 2nd place and 3rd place went to Jack Burrows. Burrows evidently will be a promising addition to the 2016 TKC Championship as the championship heads to Midland Karting on September 3rd. To add TKC also noticed a remarkable comeback from a shaken Ollie Matthews who unfortunately had to seek medical attention following an incident in heat one. However following this Ollie was determined to get back in the kart and finish his day on a high. TKC officials noticed that Ollie drove brilliantly the rest of the day and a big well done to Ollie is in order! These Bambino drivers are made of some hard stuff.

The Junior Cadet Iame class saw a fierce battle on track for first place between Brandon Boland and championship leader, Jake Cudden. Boland drove a fantastic race in the final to win from Cudden and third placed Ryan Caldwell. It was an unfortunate Round Four for Andrei Dabija who lies in second place in this year’s championship from Cudden. Andrei ran into technical problems however we are sure he will bounce back and be back with the front runners at the next round of the championship.

Gavin Dewart once again demonstrated his talent at the wheel of a kart with a win over second placed driver Letisha Conn. Conn’s efforts did not go unnoticed however, as TKC officials decided that Letisha’s continued progress in the Junior Cadet Open class should be awarded with the prestigious TKC Driver of the Day trophy. This will be presented to Letisha at Drivers Briefing at the next Round of the championship at Midland Karting. Well done Letisha, Great work! Letisha was followed home by third paced driver Andrei Lomov.

The Senior Cadet Iame class produced some brilliantly close racing with all drivers running very closely together throughout the day. Cian Caldwell eventually took victory from second placed driver TJ McDonnell with JP Sleator finishing third. This made it a Team CRG 1,2,3. Well done team CRG!

The Mini Max class once again entertained spectators with first place eventually going to CRG Team driver Karl O’Brian. Karl drove a clean and faultless race at the front and was very deserving of the top step of the podium. Karl was joined by Carrickfergus drivers Jack Irvine in second and third placed Ben McDowell. This result means that McDowell now extends his lead in the driver’s championship over his contenders Irvine and Purcell.

Cian Broderick and Aoife Melia both enjoyed great drives in the difficult conditions slippery conditions which pushed both drivers to their limits. Broderick took the final win from Melia with Broderick using this opportunity to close in on championship leader Matthew McDowell, brother of Ben in the Mini Max class.

Shane Mullins had another dominant day at the front of the Senior Rotax Max 165 class, with championship rival Oscar Mangan finishing in second, Oscar will no doubt dig deep to reduce Mullins lead as the two head to Midland Karting 104 points apart in the standings. Darragh Cormack finished in third place to take the final step on the podium. Continued progress was noted in TKC 2016 newcomer Padraig Dowdall whom is closing in on the midfield race by race. Keep going Padraig!

It was Barry Smith that once again drove faultlessly to win the final of the Rotax Max 180 class. . Slane’s Andrew Duff finished in second place with Packie McKenna rounding off the podium in third. Smith’s championship contender Domhnall Lennon unfortunately suffered a blow to his championship ambitions with finishing outside the top three, Lennon now trails Smith by 61 points, Lennon will need to ensure that victory is on the cards at the next round on September 3rd to keep his championship ambitions alive!

Tullyallen Kart Club were thrilled to be able to host the gearbox class again this season, CRG team member Bobby King produced a fine drive to show his protégés in CRG how it is done! King came home with a first place finish ahead of Ashbourne’s Jack Newman, to add Ken Daly on his return to karting overcame technical problems in the final to bring the kart home in third place. It was fantastic to have gearbox back at the TKC and long may it continue!

Tullyallen Kart Club would like to greatly thank all that participated in the days events including all volunteers whom gave up their free time to assist us run our event to the highest standard possible. TKC require the help of volunteer track marshals for the next event and encourage anyone interested to get in contact via facebook or email tkartclub@gmail.com. We will see competitors at Round Five of the 2016 Championship at Midland Karting, Edgeworthstown where we will once again be hosting our annual night race, you don’t want to miss it! Please log on to http://www.tkartclub.com to submit your race entry. All spectators are welcome!

Check out our race day highlight video here: