SRK Championships - Season Prologue
Castle Combe Circuit
Saturday 10th February 2024
BLR’s Ben Luff had his first outing of the year with SRK at the technical circuit near Bristol, Castle Comb. Racing along side many national level drivers and teams such as BSR, Stalloni Campioni and Swift Cooper, Ben completed a successful practice round, 3 heats and then final.
Hiring a weighted seat that brings Ben’s weight up to the minimum 80kg requirement to race in SRK, Ben finished the 3 heats with 30 points from 3 P6’s and a place in the C final. After a tough day of racing, Ben gained 3 positions in the C final to finish the day in P24 overall.
Lots to take away from the day with the need to feel comfortable with his own weighted seated, event format and familiarity around timings etc. The event ultimately was a great opportunity to understand how things ran and if he made any mistakes it didn’t matter as it was a non-point scoring event.
On the whole, the gap of performance to the main group is small and Ben looks forward to returning for the official round 1 at Castle Combe on Sunday March 10th 2024.
SRK Championships - Round One
Castle Combe Circuit
Sunday 10th March 2024
BLR’s Ben Luff, returned to Castle Combe last weekend to race in round one of the SRK Championship. With the format confirmed as 1 practice round, 3 heats and a final all consisting of 7 racing laps, Ben was set for a full afternoon of racing. The weather was kind and the track was improving to almost dry, with the racing line clear.
In heat one Ben was drawn in P6 with BSR drivers Francom in P1, BIKC champion Slater in P3 and the highly respected Miller in P8. After a hectic 2 laps and running in P7, Ben begin to move through the field to a well earnt P4, beating the formidable Slater which lifted Ben’s confidence massively.
Heat two saw Ben drawn in P2 on the grid and was this time drawn with last year’s championship runner up Bayani, the practice round winner and local hero Cox and BSR’s Quinta. Holding his own and not dropping back at the start Ben fought hard to secure 4th place and another 14 points taking his tally 28 points.
Heat three positioned Ben in 7th on the starting grid. Out of the blocks early Ben made his way through the field to P4 easily and then spent 3 laps setting up a move for P3 when a move from the driver in front caused Ben to spin out. Nonetheless, Ben came home in P5 and added another 12 points to his total, and joined 10 other drivers on 40 points. With the points total and his fastest lap time, Ben qualified for the B final.
The B final was full of experience and Ben would race again with Slater and Cox. After 7 epic laps racing Cox and almost overtaking him twice he had to settle for P6 in the B Final.
P6 in this race though meant that Ben secured P1 in the SRK2 Rookies Championship, and claimed his first podium on his debut to the event officially.
Next, Ben races at Brighton Karting, Q Leisure, East Sussex, in the SRK Championship where he will be looking to add to his points tally and extend his lead in the SRK2.
SRK Championships - Round Two
Brighton Q-Leisure Circuit
Sunday 7th April 2024
Round 2 of the SRK Championship took BLR’s Ben Luff to Brighton’s Q-Leisure circuit. This superbly kept track is well known across the area as one of the best kept tracks in the UK and offers fast straight’s and flowing corners.
The format for the day remained the same with 1 practice session, 3 heats and a ranked final. After a very wet week weather wise, race day Sunday was kind to us with glorious sunshine, but a little chilly.
This race day would be the first time Ben raced competitively at Q-Leisure and racing at the faster pace. Heat 1 saw Ben start positively moving up 4 places and finishing 8th from his grid draw of 12th and scoring 8 points.
In heat 2 Ben was drawn 6th on grid with the strongest drivers in front of him. Ben had a great opportunity to hold position and take 10 points. Unfortunately, thou his draw of kart didn’t support his target and he fell to the back of pack within 2 laps with no acceleration or top speed to compete even in the mid pack and finished 13th out of 15. This heat ended Ben’s chance of a B final place and his hold on top spot in the SRK 2 overall championship, along with making the top third of the results for SRK 1 qualification for the end of season races.
With the disappointment of the last round still raw, Ben’s 3rd heat ended with a respectable 8th place and qualifying for the C final.
Starting the C final in P10, Ben put all the experiences he had gained on the day and showed what he can do by making a number of excellent overtakes and finished the C final in 3rd place after making up 7 places.
While not making the podium on this occasion, Ben’s race craft skills increased yet again with a better understanding of fast straights into corners and large group racing of 15 karts. His final standing on the day was only 3 positions away from SRK 1 promotion line and overall now positioned 6th in the SRK 2 Championship.
Next BLR travels to the Formula Fast Circuit in Milton Keynes (home to BRKC races), for round 3 where Ben will be eager to improve his championship position and qualify in the top third of the finals for his promotion goals to SRK1.
SRK Championships - Round Three & Four
Formula Fast
Sunday 5th May 2024
A super Sunday, double header round took BLR’s Ben Luff to the home of BRKC (British Rental Karting Championship) in Milton Keynes for round 3 and 4 of the SRK Championships. Holding 6th in SRK2 Championships Ben was looking to add to points tally and climb back up the rankings. Again, this event attracted some of the best kart drivers in the UK, with some owner kart drivers taking part as well in the hunt for a qualifying place for the prestigious BRKC event in January 2025.
The morning round saw a change to the normal track layout which added to the difficulty of the day. With no practice round to be had, Ben went into his 2 heats focused on top 4 finishes. In his 1st heat starting in P2, Ben fell back in the opening laps but held strong in the middle of the pack to finish P6 racing against 4 of the top 10 drivers in the SRK. Heat 2 had Ben drawn in P9 and with his knowledge of the track from the previous round moved swiftly through the pack to finish an impressive 4th. This qualified Ben for the C final where a poor kart performance left him finishing at the back of the pack but 28th overall out of 70+ drivers.
Round 4 saw the Formula Fast circuit change to its more familiar layout and one which Ben has had much success with over recent weeks. The margins here were small and after the 2 heats, Ben qualified in pole for the E final which included Zac Swannell who was sitting P1 in the championship and Jennifer Tomkins from BSR. After an excellent start and the perfect pit stop, Ben took the chequered flag in P1, 45 seconds ahead of anybody else and of course the famous fireworks on the finish line at Formula Fast. This success progressed Ben to the D final where he found another 3 places giving him 35th overall.
The weekend points tally moves Ben back up the championship in SRK 2, to 2nd overall. Next, we travel to Herefordshire in June where again he will be looking to improve on his points tally.
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