NKRA GRANDE FINALS 2021 – RESULTS
Anthony Cleal achieved a well-deserved win at the NKRA Grande Finals for Senior Formula Blue. The 2021 NKRA Championship culminated in the NKRA’s main event of the year which this year was held at the Clay Pigeon Raceway on the 10th October. With the exception of Serita shone, confined to bed with a mystery illness, and Billy Thomas, unable to attend, all of the front runners were entered including the best from Scotland ( Stuart Gray) and Wales (Ben Joseph) .
In order to establish a more representative grid for the front of the Final, 4 heats were employed. Racers had to not only ensure no racing mishaps but also, consider tyre management, especially those in the heavy groups.
The grid for the Final had Cleal on Pole with Dave Watts alongside. Behind these two sat Taylor Waldron and Rich Puddle with Gray and Sylvain Vessier taking up row 3.
From the lights, Cleal established his authority at the front. Behind, Waldron and Vessier became involved with each other on lap 2, demoting Waldron and eliminating Vessier.
Puddle, having closed down Watts, made a move on lap 6 incurring contact. Watts recovered to finish 10th. Puddle set about chasing down Cleal achieving the fastest lap in the process, finishing 1.2. seconds behind. Cleal used all of his race craft and experience to manage his carburation to ensure that he used his lead constructively. Behind these two a battle royale was taking place between Gray, Russell O’Neil, Joseph and Mike Bell, with the positions between them frequently changing. There was a small gap to Paul Alexander whose main focus in the 21 lap Final was not to lose focus and concentration. Then came Phil Shears, Steve Groves and Nigel Vickery who raced lap after lap covered by the space of a blanket! Following this group was another race-long battle involving John Hartshorne, David Goode, and Kevin O’Neill.
At the chequered flag, it was a dominant win for Cleal from Puddle, who post-race was docked a lap having been adjudged responsible for the earlier contact with Watts. This promoted the next 11 racers. therefore, Russell O’Neill finished 2nd with Bell 3rd and Joseph 4th. Alexander brought up the top 5.
Once the points were calculated Cleal was declared the 2021 Grande Final winner from Russell O’Neill, Watts, Bell, and Joseph.
In the Junior Blue Class, Sam Mitchell secured pole from Rhys Read, with Josh Hibbard on position 3 and Rudie Winslow-Morton on 4.
After the lights, the charge down to Billy’s for the lead saw Read emerge in front followed by Hibbard with Mitchell demoted to 3rd. By lap 3 Mitchell had re-established the lead. This time it was Read who spun around. The race then settled down with Mitchell gradually increasing his lead over Hibbard and Winslow-Morten. These two spent the whole of the race nose to tail with each other. Thus the positions remained until the flag. The post-race points tally revealed Mitchell the NKRA Champion on 3 points with Hibbard 2nd on 8 points. 3rd Overall was Read on 9 points.
Competitors are reminded that the NKRA Championship Trophies will be presented at the end-of-year Awards Evening on 27th November.
For more Results and update points, please view the Results Page on the www.planetkarting.uk website or CLICK HERE