Joe Kerry takes Rd4 of British 200mm Nationals
Round 4 of the British 200mm Nationals was held at the Wombell track. The weather was decent with temperatures above 20°C, but the windy conditions and very bumpy surface made it difficult to get a good set up. The grip level was very low to start with but did improve a little later on. The competition was very tough and at the end of Saturdays practice the top drivers were all separated by just 1/10th of a second. On Sunday the temperatures were cooler and there was much less wind. In round 1 of qualifying it was Mark Green who set the pace from Alex Thurston and John Zottl. Round 2 saw Thurston finish just ahead of Green with Zottl again taking 3rd but all three drivers were slower than before. The third qualifier saw Thurston finish in front of Green again while Joe Kerry took 3rd overall after missing the opening two qualifiers with some radio problems. Into the last round of qualifying and Joe Kerry was matching TQ pace until a small mistake ended his chances. With Mark and Alex also not finishing their runs, it made way for John Zottl to come through and take 3rd overall for the final.
Qualifying results:
1. Mark Green – Serpent/Novarossi/Ennetti
2. Alex Thurston – Serpent/OS Speed/Contact
3. John Zottl – Serpent/OS Speed/Contact
4. Joe Kerry – Capricorn/OS Speed/Capricorn
5. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic/Shepherd
6. Kai Grainger – Capricorn/Tesla/Contact
7. Matthew Cook – Hot Bodies/OS Speed/Contact
8. Pete Spratley – Xray/Orcan/Matrix
9. Neil Wallace – Capricorn/Tesla/Capricorn
10.Chris O’Donoghue – Capricorn/Tesla/Ulti
Tyre wear was very high so it was important to make the right strategy for the 30 minute final. The race started in grid order with Mark and Alex fighting up front. On the opening lap Joe overtook John and was chasing down the leaders. After the first fuel stops Mark was in front, while Joe had got ahead of Alex into 2nd. With around 5 minutes remaining Joe was leading just ahead of Alex with Mark in 3rd. Mark then had to come in to change tyres having run out which put John Zottl onto the podium. Just 2 minutes later Alex also ran out of tyres, but with so little time left he stayed out to try and hold position. On the very last lap though, John Zottl was able to get past to take 2nd place. This meant that Joe was able to cruise home during the final minute or so, and gave the Capricorn LAB-C03 its first National win in the UK.
Final results:
1. Joe Kerry – Capricorn/OS Speed/Capricorn – 92 laps
2. John Zottl – Serpent/OS Speed/Contact – 91 laps
3. Alex Thurston – Serpent/OS Speed/Contact – 91 laps
4. Pete Hastings – Shepherd/Sonic/Shepherd – 90 laps
5. Mark Green – Serpent/Novarossi/Ennetti – 88 laps
6. Chris O’Donoghue – Capricorn/Tesla/Ulti – 86 laps
7. Pete Spratley – Xray/Orcan/Matrix – 84 laps
8. Kai Grainger – Capricorn/Tesla/Contact – 84 laps
9. Neil Wallace – Capricorn/Tesla/Capricorn – 79 laps
10.Matthew Cook – Hot Bodies/OS Speed/Contact – 62 laps
The next round of the Championship takes place at the Halifax track on the 4th/5th July.
Source: Capricorn [capricornrc.com]
