Llandow Karting Circuit hosted the first round of the Cool FAB Racing British Minibike Championship on the 24th and 25th March, kicking off the first season that the series has been named part of the Road to MotoGP™. Apt, then, that previous winners at the venue include Scott Redding (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Danny Kent (Speed Up Racing).
In the three MiniGP70 races, all eyes were glued to 10-year-old Casey O’Gorman. Starting third on the grid, O’Gorman proved unbeatable on the day despite the best efforts of Bailey Stuart-Campbell and Evan Belford, including a new circuit record from the latter.
Taking a hat-trick of victories, O’Gorman therefore leads the championship on a perfect 75 points, ahead of Evan Belford and Sean Able, who came from row two to take a podium in the 3rd race.
O’Gorman also starred in the MiniGP50 race, once more taking a hat-trick of wins - this time, from pole position. However, the race was more about the surprise of Josh Bannister, who claimed a front row start and two podiums from three races. The 8-year-old was lapping faster than O’Gorman in Saturday’s first race – just running out of time to make the decisive pass to claim his first victory in the class. O’Gorman leads the class standings by 39 points, as his nearest rivals - Dylan Mellor and Josh Bannister - both suffered a DNF.
In the AC40 Pro races, there was a developing rivalry between Mason Foster and Jonny Garness as the two rivals streamed away from the opposition. In Saturday’s first race, it was Garness who beat Foster, but the tables turned on Sunday in race two, with Mason Foster winning by over 12 seconds. In race three, both riders crashed out together, causing a red flag and bringing the race to an early finish. Troy Jeffrey therefore took the win, with Sullivan Mounsey in 2nd and James Rose in 3rd.
The AC40 Pro standings sees Sullivan Mounsey topping the standings, having been on the podium in all three races. The 10-year-old Londoner leads Norfolk’s Mason Foster and Devon’s Jonny Garness by just 7 points, as 2nd and 3rd are both tied.
The Junior LC40 Elite class saw Bailey Stuart-Campbell take three wins, beating Casey O’Gorman in a thrilling third and final race. In the opening two races, Jonny Garness was a consistent fifth in both, before a crash in another class ruled him out of contention in the final race. Amanuel Brinton was also a front runner in the class.
With a perfect three out of three, Stuart-Campbell leads the championship by 26 points from Casey O’Gorman. Brinton is third in the championship and will head to Clay Pigeon in Dorset hoping to add his name to the list of winners in the class.
The AC40 Rookies was also home to some very close racing. Samuel Munson was on pole position but only converted it once, in race one. It was seven-year-old Ruben Bray from the second row of the grid who went on to win two races and take a third, meaning he is the championship leader. 6-year-old Henry McCartney and Olly Horner complete the top three, which are covered by just 21 points.
Next up it’s south to Dorset and Clay Pigeon, with the next race weekend set for the 27th to 29th April.