Little Green Man Series, Round 2, Larkhall
The size of the Little Green Man grid in Scotland forced organisers to arrange the first ‘ C Final in Cadet racing. Jonny Edgar took advantage to claim his first series win.
There’s nothing remarkable about eleven drivers lining up for a Cadet race, except {hat this was actually a ‘C Final. To my knowledge, it’s the first time that one has ever been run in a major championship round for Cadets, so Larkhall was making a little piece of karting history. With 59 eager young competitors turning out to contest Round 2 of the Little Green Man series, this number provided organisers with a headache.
“The licence at Larkhall permits a maximum of 30 karts per race, so there was no way we could avoid running the ‘C Final,” explained Robert Haynes. “Rather than have 7 drivers competing for the top four qualifying places, we decided upon six qualifiers from both ‘C and ‘B’ Finals. It didn’t suit everyone, but having eleven ‘C Finalists trying to get into the top six was much more meaningful and also created quite a spectacle. We thought such an historic occasion deserved a special award and it went to young Sandy Home who showed lots of determination in holding onto sixth place.”
Earlier in the day Tom Wood, Mario Mills, Teddy Wilson and Ben Woodridge had ail grabbed heat wins. They couldn’t match the performance of Jonny Edgar, however, who claimed a couple of wins plus 4th place in the other to claim pole position for that all important ‘A’ Final. Wood was alongside him, followed by Wilson, Kiern Jewiss, Dexter Patterson and Zac Robertson. Jessica Heppenstall, Piers Henderson, Angus Moulsdale, James Taylor, Bray Kenneally and Louis Foster all joined via the ‘B’ Final.
Setting off from the grid 2 slot at Larkhall is always difficult, as Wood soon discovered when he immediately lost five places exiting Turn One. He gained a temporary reprieve when the race was red flagged after less than two laps. Unfortunately for Tom the restart placed him in even greater trouble and he dropped down to ninth. Edgar took to the front on both occasions, although Patterson was quick to relieve him of the lead. Wilson took over second for around half a lap until Edgar nipped past. Thereafter the trio were happy to work together and soon pulled out a commanding gap over the chasing pack, led initially by Joe Turney, Owen Byatt and Jewiss. Wood began to make up ground on the trio contesting 4th place and, with 4 laps remaining, put in a purple sector that took him into 5th spot. Up front meanwhile, Edgar had taken the lead from Patterson but was unable to pull away. Everything was set for a thrilling finish and Patterson hit the front once more, closely followed by Wilson, with Edgar fighting to make up lost ground after being forced onto the rough. As they started their final tour there was nothing to separate the front three. Edgar went into the lead half way around the lap and Wilson followed through. With a couple of bends remaining, Patterson nipped up Wilson’s inside and took second position. That gave Edgar breathing space and he celebrated his first win in the Little Green Man series. Around 80 yards further back. Wood claimed 4th position followed by Turney, with Zac Robertson holding off Kiern Jewiss for 6th. Owen Byatt, Fin Kenneally and Ben Wooldridge made up the top ten.
Wilson’s 3rd place finish at Larkhall means that he still tops the championship table, albeit with a reduced margin of just two points over Patterson and Edgar who share 2nd position. Wood lies 4th ahead of Robertson and Turney. “It was an exciting race to be a part of and I’m very pleased to have won,” claimed Edgar who had celebrated his 10th birthday just a couple of months earlier. “Dexter and Teddy helped me because we showed each other a lot of respect. By not making silly overtaking moves we were able to pull away from all the others and so I could afford to take my chance on the last lap knowing that, at worst, I’d finish in third place.”
RESULTS
- Jonny Edgar (Fusion-Synergy)
- Dexter Patterson (AIM-Zip)
- Teddy Wilson (Fusion-Synergy)
- Tom Wood (AIM-Zip)
- Joe Turney (Next Gen-Zip)
- Zac Robertson (Fusion-Synergy)
Privateers Cup
- Ben Wooldridge (Shark)
- Toby Stephenson (Zip)
- Archie Kitching (Tony)
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