THE SUN SHINES ON CHAMPION KIMBERLY

Considering it is Autumn the weather was remarkably warm for the BRSCC’s North Western Centre’s two day meeting at Anglesey Circuit last weekend and one young man who was basking in the sunshine by the end of proceedings was Austin Kimberly who secured the Post89 class of the Avon Tyres National FF1600 Championship in the last race of a triple header finale. To top it all Austin celebrated his 19^thbirthday on Sunday while his mechanic Ryan Ginnis celebrated his 21^st.

Kimberly had fended off fellow American and Cliff Dempsey Racing teammate, Skylar Robinson, to win the first two encounters. This left him with a points tally that was enough to only require a third place finish in the final round. Things were looking good when Austin took the lead from the start but Robinson pushed him down to second on lap 7. Worse was to come when James Raven and Luke Cooper demoted him to fourth (and off that crucial podium) over the next couple of laps. As the first four cars were covered by less than a second the Championship was reaching a thrilling climax. With five tours remaining Raven found himself running wide at Rocket and Kimberly nipped through into the third position that he so desperately wanted. Raven put him under tremendous pressure during the closing stages which Kimberly described as “…some of the toughest laps of my season.” But he held on to become the first American to win the BRSCC National FF1600 title and, with Skylar Robinson finishing as runner-up in the series, it was a great day for the USA and Cliff Dempsey Racing.

In the Pre90s, a trio of thirds was enough for Jamie Jardine to be confirmed as the National Champion in that category. As Chris Hodgen raced away in the opening encounter Jardine tussled with Jaap Blijleven for second. As this pair held each other up, Mario Sarchet was able to catch them and indeed get ahead of Jardine before losing control on the kerbs at Church where he spun right in front of an alarmed Jardine. Sarchet’s gyration allowed Blijleven to break away. Not only did this guarantee him the second place on the podium but also it put him on the outside of the front row for race 2 from where he shot into the lead and was never headed. The KLM pilot looked set to win again in the final outing for this class but was out-dragged on the run up to Rocket by Hodgen on lap 7.

The Fun Cup runners enjoyed a couple of 3 hour races which were full of drama. The reigning champions of this series, Team RaceLogic, took a brace of victories even though they were never ahead with 15 minutes remaining! On Saturday a stop and go penalty for overtaking under the yellow flags put the car 30 seconds behind the leader before a late Safety Car period negated that disadvantage however they were still running fourth when the field was unleashed with 13 minutes to go. With Nigel Greensall at wheel the car stormed through to take the win. Greensall had more passing to do on Sunday as the Fun Cup regulations forced RaceLogic to start from the back of the 19 car grid. It took 17 laps to get into second but then the car endured many fluctuations of fortune before the team ended up back in the runner-up spot when another Safety Car period ended 10 laps from the finish. Greensall soon dispensed with the car in front to earn RaceLogic’s second set of laurels.

Like their Formula Ford counterparts, the Advantage Motorsport XR Challenge contenders enjoyed a triple header. Even though Michael Heath was pushed sideways after contact from Steve Poole at Rocket midway through their first thrash he still held on to win. An impressive manoeuvre by Poole round the outside at the same corner early in race 2 put him into the lead but Heath fought back to dispossess him shortly before the finish. At the third time of asking Poole was finally victorious after Heath spun at Church on lap 1. With his two wins, Heath accrued enough points to secure the ‘Champion of Anglesey’ title.

Friday was Coffee Morning Day across the UK to raise funds for the MacMillan Cancer Support charity however, MedinaSport don’t do things by halves and they held a Coffee “Morning” for the entire weekend at Anglesey. They sold an abundance of cakes from under their awning in the paddock and raised a fantastic £750.