Drivers from across the whole of the West Country braved the inclement February weather that settled over Devon’s premier race circuit to contest the opening round of the 2010 karting season. With Saturday practice run mostly in the wet with occasional hail shower, there was not much to be gained in set ups. Sunday was meant to be much of the same but in true Dunkeswell style the weather at the circuit was nothing like the forecast had predicted which caused problems as the track dried out a slow rate. In addition to the usual classes raced at the circuit there was a welcome return of the Junior Blue and TKM classes after being AWOL for a few seasons.

First up in the heats were the Cadets and Connor Hall made his intentions clear from the start taking wins in the first 2 heats with Ryan Anderton taking the 3rd heat. The MiniMax heats were run as a libre class with the Junior Blue and TKM entrants. Despite a small mix up at the start of heat one the system worked well. Ollie Pidgley, Piers Hickin and Mac Austin all took wins whilst in the Junior Blue/TKM heats Ben Pearson took all three wins. The Junior Rotax Heats carried on from where they left off last season with Jack Drinkall and Cody Tree battling it out for wins whilst newcomer to the class, Sam Morgan stole the win in heat 3. In the Senior Rotax class, 2 drivers dominated, namely, Richard Wake who took the win in heat 1 and Adam Murphy who took the wins in heats 2 & 3. It was a similar story in the Rotax 177 class. In the absence of Nigel Mansell and Nigel hughes, Matt Isgrove and Stewart Baker battled it out for the spoils with Isgrove claiming 1 win and 2 second places to Bakers 2 wins and 1 second place. Last up and still as mad as ever were the 250 National Boys. With a reduced grid, 8 drivers battled it out with 3 drivers each taking a heat win, Max Lawry, Nigel Steed and Andrew Gulliford all claiming the top points. Lurking in place and ready to pounce was Luke Plain. With the weather closing and the programme delayed due to several red flags as drivers were caught out by changeable conditions, the finals were run straight after the heats. First up and Connor Hall grabbed an early lead to take the chequered flag. Behind him and battling for lap after lap were Bradley Drowne and Harrison Thomas. Unfortunately, Drowne lost out in the closing laps to Ryan Anderton who recovered to take 2nd from Thomas in third. It was a similar story in the MiniMax final as Mac Austin, took an early lead on the first lap and cruised to victory. James Moorcroft managed to battle his way up to 2nd from 5th and Ollie Pidgley maintained his place to take the final step of the podium. Sandwiched between the MiniMax and Junior Blues was James Chubb in the lone TKM entry who came over the line in 8th place but top of his class. Ryan Edgecombe took the win in the first Junior Blue Final of 2010 with heat dominator, Ben Pearson following in second whilst Ashley Goodliffe had a sterling drive considering he was on Novice plates to take 3rd. Hopefully, this grid will develop and all junior Blue drivers are invited to enter for the next round. Next up and continuing their battle for dominance in the Junior Rotax Class, Tree and Drinkall were line astern for the whole race, with Drinkall failing to find a way passed a determined Tree. Sam Morgan recovered from a first lap excursion to regain 3rd place on lap 3 which he held till the flag. This is definitely a class to watch. In the Senior Rotax class, normal service was resumed as Jacques Jensen, class and club champion, demonstrated why he had earned these titles by dominating the final. Close behind and keeping him fairly honest was Adam Murphy. With Charlie Robertson some 16 seconds behind in third, Jensen and Murphy were clearly in a class of their own! The battle between Isgrove and Baker continued on in the 177 final. However, Baker led from lights to flag with Isgrove coming through from 3rd on the grid to take second whilst Richard Raymond grabbed third. The 250 National grid formed for the final race of the day and Luke Plain was pole man courtesy of his strong finishes in the heats. He held an early lead before a spirited drive from Gulliford snatched it from him on lap 4. However, Gulliford succumbed with a mechanical fault on lap 7 and Plain retook and held the lead to the flag. Behind him were Nigel Steed in second and an ever improving Frazer Everett in third. Despite the weather, it was a good weekends racing and this success will be developed and built on in the coming rounds. Dunkeswell remains the premier circuit in the South West and anyone interested in racing is encouraged to have a look at the clubs new website at www.dunkeswell.com . Thanks must go to all the support staff including the Timing Team, Race Control admin, the Medical Team and especially the marshals who bore the brunt of the weather without complaint. Thank you! www.mansellraceway.com .