29th April
Bird Flies as Layton Extends Series Lead
Andy Bird took overall honours and collected his first ever MSA Championship win. However, it was Jack
Layton who extended his lead in the series after his closest rivals struck trouble.
Qualifying
With the championship an infrequent visitor to Croft there were a lot of drivers who had never raced at
the circuit before. Among them was reigning champion Jack Layton who described the track as ‘a bit
brutal’. The consensus was that the surface had got bumpier and the lap record may be unchallenged.
There was a 12-minute qualifier to determine grid positions and local driver James O’Reilly, now on an
Anderson chassis, set the early pace. He was briefly headed but responded with a time of 1m22.813s to
secure pole position before pitting with just over two minutes to go when the nosecone came loose. Andy
Bird is another driver that has switched to an Anderson chassis this season. He had a bit of an issue at
Sunny but collected it all together to post a time of 1m23.430s for a place on the front row. Jack
Layton was into the pits after three laps of the session to make adjustments and on his first flying lap
set a 1m23.578s with just over a minute left on the clock. But he was beaten for third spot on the grid
by Ross Allen who posted a 1m23.563s on the final lap. Despite losing oil pressure and blowing a KTM
engine in free practice the day before, Stephen Clark was easily the quickest of the four strokes and
inside the lap record to set a time of 1m23.706s and head the third row. He was joined by Paul Platt.
Now back on his favourite PVP chassis, he did a 1m23.908s despite the kart being tail end happy due to
an oil leak. Gavin Bennett was trying a few chassis tweeks and ended up seventh quickest on a 1m23.909s,
with Dan Clark next on 1m 24.619s and struggling to get his Anderson to turn in despite moving the seat
to give more bite on the front end.
Race One
1. James O’Reilly - Anderson/Viper
2. Dan Clark - Anderson/Gas Gas
3. Andy Bird - Anderson/Gas Gas
4. Gareth James - Anderson/DEA
5. Jack Layton - Anderson/DEA
Fastest Lap - Dan Clark - 1:22.806(92.38mph)
The grid was in good order as it approached the line for race 1 and when the lights went out it was
O’Reilly who took the lead. Dan Clark made a lightning start from row 4 and slotted in second place but
behind him it all kicked off. Layton ran a bit wide on the exit of Clervaux, his new tyres not giving
him the expected grip, and this allowed Bird and James through while Hatfield spun in the middle of the
pack. Gulliford ran over his nosecone and was launched into the air but continued. Unlike Burton who
also spun and was collected by Haywood. Burton was out with a puncture caused by a damaged rim while
Haywood continued at the back of the field.
Layton’s first lap went from bad to worse when he went off at Sunny and he completed the opening lap in
11th place. Up at the front O’Reilly had opened a lead of 1.584s over Bird with Clark and Bennett locked
together. James was next with Stephen Clark the lead 450 just ahead of Allen. O’Reilly set his best race
lap on lap 2 as he doubled his lead to over three seconds while Bennett pulled off at Hawthorn with an
electrical problem.
Dan Clark got better drive out of the hairpin on lap 3 and he was alongside Bird as they started the
next lap, taking second place at Clervaux. He now set about closing the gap to O’Reilly and put in the
fastest lap of the race on lap 5. Over the next couple of laps Clark chipped away. Exiting the hairpin
on lap 8 O’Reilly made contact with Andy Johnson while trying to lap him but kept going, however his
lead was down to 1.988s as he started the last lap. Once past Johnson, O’Reilly had clear track and put
in a quick lap to increase his lead and take the flag 2.530s ahead. An excellent result on his new
Anderson chassis using the Ian Harrison designed Viper engine. Clark was fairly happy with second place,
although the handling wasn’t perfect. Bird lost ground in the closing laps as his tyres were well past
their best but was far enough ahead to claim third place. Allen was heading for fourth but his DEA
piston broke with three laps to go. When Gareth James passed Stephen Clark on the final lap he inherited
the place. Layton worked his way through after his first lap excursions and despite handling issues
finished sixth on the road. Championship rival Platt was next, but over 5s behind after a crankcase oil
seal failed.
Race Two
1. Andy Bird - Anderson/Gas Gas
2. Gavin Bennet - Anderson/DEA
3. Jack Layton - Anderson/DEA
4. James O’Reilly - Anderson/Viper
5. Gareth James - Anderson/DEA
Fastest Lap - Paul Platt - 1:22.432(92.80 mph)
With fastest lap from the earlier race, Dan Clark was on pole for race 2 and made the most of that
position at the start. He led through Clervaux for the first time chased by O’Reilly, Bird, Platt and
Layton. However, Clark’s time at the front was short-lived as O’Reilly took over the top spot during the
opening lap with Bird slotting into second place. With newer tyres fitted, Bird wasn’t going to let
O’Reilly get away this time and Platt joined the battle for the lead on lap 3 when he set the fastest
lap of the race. But his charge came to nothing when a chain tensioner broke on the following lap and he
started to tumble down the order.
Gavin Bennett was making up places from his row 8 starting place and by lap 4 he was on Platt’s tail in
fourth spot after passing Layton at the hairpin. This became third on the next lap but he was over 4
1/2s behind the leaders.
Bird took the lead on lap 5 but couldn’t shake off O’Reilly. However, starting the last lap the gap had
grown. O’Reilly was in trouble and judging by the sound coming from the Viper engine it was easy to
guess that the exhaust had broken. Bird reeled off the final lap and punched the air as he crossed the
line to record his first ever MSA British Superkart Championship victory. “It’s my first wedding
anniversary today and my wife would only allow me to race this weekend provided I came home with a win.
Job done.”
O’Reilly struggled round the final lap with a gaping split in the exhaust and eventually crossed the
line fifth behind Stephen Clark, the 450cc class winner. Bennett’s drive from 16th on the grid was
rewarded with the runner-up slot ahead of Layton whose Anderson was handling slightly better after the
team had made some changes. Gareth James had another solid race and passed Dan Clark on the penultimate
lap. The Redspeed driver couldn’t get the kart to handle properly and was unable to match his earlier
pace, only losing out to James at the flag by 0.1s. Platt soldiered on with the broken chain tensioner
affecting acceleration out of the slow corners. He eventually finished 10th in class and more
importantly handed Layton a 16-point advantage in the championship. There is still a long way to go.
Race Three
Race name
1. Gavin Bennet - Anderson/DEA
2. Stephen Clark - Anderson/KTM 450 (F450 National class winner)
3. Gareth James - Anderson/DEA
4. Tom Hatfield - Anderson DEA
5. Paul Platt - PVP/Gas Gas
Fastest Lap - Gareth James - 57.280 (103.1 mph)
The final encounter of the day saw Rushforth once again on pole position. This time he made a better
start but at the end of the opening lap it was James in the lead. Rushforth held second spot from Platt,
Bennett, Gellately, Hatfield, Stephen Clark, Gulliford and Layton. The first nine covered by 1.6s. Only
0.329s separated Needham, Morley, Connor, Rayman and Edwards at the front of the F125 Open scrap.
Layton moved in to 6th place on lap 2 but this caused some concern amongst the Parker Motorsport team as
their drivers were now running line astern in the battle for the lead– Gellately, Layton and Hatfield.
Platt was the first driver to lap in the 58’s and opened up a useful gap at the front. But on lap 5 that
changed when Bennett set his personal best and pulled alongside as they crossed the line. Morley and
Needham were also side by side as they headed the 125cc class just ahead of Edwards and Connor.
At half distance, Platt regained the lead from his old adversary and set his best lap time while behind
them Clark set a new F450 class lap record and James set a new F250 class record as they joined in the
scrap at the front. This became a five-kart battle on lap 10 with only 0.9s covering Bennett back to
Layton. But Layton’s chances of success disappeared at Beckett’s next time around when he tried to go
around the outside of Clark and spun. Gulliford also retired on this lap when the chain broke, another
second in class ruined. In the 125cc class Edwards had been delayed but set a new lap record on lap 12
as he closed onto the back of the group led by Morley from Needham and Connor.
Up at the front, the group became fragmented as Platt’s times dropped off and Clark also lost ground.
This left James and Bennett to fight over the lead. Starting the last lap, they were side by side. Who
was it going to be. As they entered Brooklands for the final time there was a huge cloud of smoke as
James half spun but somehow managed to regain control. Unfortunately, Harpham who had just been lapped
had nowhere to go and spun in avoidance and out of the race. This handed Bennett a clear run to the flag
and he won by 3.154s. “We have had all sorts of engine gremlins today and scraped together various parts
to get a motor ready for this race. Hopefully we have cured the problem but our fingers are crossed for
Bishopscourt.” Clark picked up second place as James hobbled over the line just ahead of Hatfield. James
problem was revealed when he got back to parc ferme. A bolt had come out of the front right upright and
the wheel was loose. He was lucky to finish. Over the last four laps the 125cc battle could have gone to
anyone. Morley, Needham, Edwards and Connor were locked together. Starting the last lap they were
covered by 0.332s but it was Morley who secured his third class win of the day from Needham by 0.028s
with Edwards third. “That was a right good race,” advised Morley.