The Junior BLUE Class has, over the past few months, been gathering numbers until making its appearance at Lydd for Round 5 of the BLUE Challenge. Having spent the past few months practicing on the Saturdays of the Senior BLUE Championship Rounds, the young group of novices reached and even passed the minimum number required to have their own race grid. Six keen youngsters, all chomping at the bit, took to the race circuit with the unfortunate Rudie Morten who, not being quite old enough and having to wait a few more weeks, watching on. On race day it was Sam Mitchell who with a pole and win took the opening honours. Mitch Carpenter with opposite pole and 3rd finish claimed 2nd overall from Josh Hibbard.
In Formula BLUE it was series leader David Watts who, mastering the awful conditions, took the overall win from Pole position. 2nd on the day was Paul Dible, relying on all his motorsport experience to overcome the extremely wet conditions where most of the circuit was waterlogged. Ben Joseph came 3rd on points from a start grid of 6th to 2nd after the chequered flag. It could have been more, however, in the rush to fit wet tyres before the final he did not have enough time to top up on fuel. It wasn’t a problem until the last few laps when having closed down on the lead, he developed a fuel surge out of the main corners. 4th overall was the reigning Number 1, Anthony Cleal, who used all of his talent and experience to overcome the conditions. Richard Puddle having started on 9th drive a storming race to finish 3rd in the Final and 5th overall.
In the Blue Master sub-class, Paul Dible took the day with a Pole and 3rd place finish. 2nd was Ben Joseph, despite having won the Final, his 4th place start position meant he was 1 point adrift. Anthony Cleal came 3rd overall.
Cleal did, however, take the BLUE Veteran group from Paul Dible and Stuart Gray.
Gray, in turn, won the BLUE Legend sections with a clean sweep of Pole and 1st at the flag. 2nd was David Goode on 5 points, followed by Robin Stoddart-Stones on 6 points.
In the last of the sub-groups, it was Ben Joseph, racing it out with Paul Dible, who claimed the overall win. 3rd was Ron Shone.
In the actual Championship, it is David Watts who increases his lead over Anthony Cleal. Richard Puddle moves up into 3rd place followed by Mike Bell and Russell O’Neill. In the Blue Master section, Cleal moves up from 3rd to 1st ahead of Russell O’Neill, Ben Joseph, Rob Mortimore and David Goode.
Anthony Cleal maintains his lead in the BLUE veterans sub-class from Rob Mortimore who displaced Kevin O’Neill to 3rd and David Goode swaps 4th place with David Waldron.
Following a poor result in the extremely wet conditions, Kevin O’Neill loses the overall lead in the BLUE Legend group to David Goode by the slender margin of 1 point. These two are followed by Ron shone, Stuart Gray and Chris Underhill.
In the BLUE Top weight section, Billy Thomas loses his lead, by virtue of a non-attendance. This has been taken on by teammate Ben Joseph, from Paul Dible and Ron Shone.

The Championship now moves on to the Clay Pigeon Raceway, where on July 11th Round 5 takes place.
For more information and points updates, please view the Results Page menu on the www.planetkarting.uk website. OR CLICK HERE

The 2021 Junior & Formula BLUE ‘0’ Plates took place at Lydd race circuit located down in the southeast corner of Britain. Saturday was spent in near-perfect conditions and testing had reached a high pitch of readiness. Sunday dawned fine , but clouds were looming on the horizon. Practice passed uneventfully, but then half an hour before the race programme was due to start a few rain spots were noted. These continued so that many drivers changed to ‘inter’ tyres and some to full ‘wets’! Richard Puddle, in the seniors, being the worst affected, didn’t get his ‘wets’ on in time and missed the first heat.

The resurgence in the Junior BLUE Class meant that the vacant trophy ( for 6 years), would once again be competed for. New boy Sam Mitchell was 5th fastest on Saturday, but ‘hit the ground running on Sunday dominating proceedings with only Maddie Staddon able to match him. the final, however, was so nearly a disaster for Sam, because, initially, his kart refused to start! After going through all the obvious reasons and with all the other racers having left the grid, a faulty connection ( no doubt affected by the heavy rain) was traced and he managed to get going and rejoin the slow-rolling lap. Despite an initial misfire he took and then held the lead, chased by Josh Hibbard and a rapidly improving Mitch Carpenter. Mitchell took the flag and there will now be a new name on the perpetual trophy!

By the time the Senior BLUE’s took the rolling lap for the final, the heavens had really opened up. Dave Watts, on pole, and Paul Dible opposite, had the benefit of no Karts in front throwing up water and so impairing the vision of all behind. 2nd row included Sylvain Vessier and the current number 1 Anthony Cleal. Behind these two sat multiple ‘o’ plate winner Stuart Gray , with Ben Joseph alongside. Row 4 included Sam Dible and Mike Bell. the last of the top 10 had Richard Puddle and Serita Shone ready for action. From the ‘off’, Watts took the lead, chased by Vessier. Mike Bell having forgotten his gloves !!, was ‘orange balled’ and had to leave the circuit. Taylor Waldron and Russell O’Neill made meteoric starts and were up to 8th and 9th by the end of lap one. By lap two Paul Dible had lost 2nd spot to Cleal and Joseph. Stuart Gray spun out of 6th dropping down to 17th. Robin Stoddart-Stones also dropped off track whilst in 11th reappearing in 19th spot. Lap 3 and Joseph was past Cleal. Puddle was up to 8th having passed Russell O’Neill. David Waldron accounted for Ron Shone and moved into 11th place. Lap 4 and Serita Shone was ahead of Dible, and Puddle followed her through. Next lap and Joseph was into 2nd spot and set his sights on Watts at the front. Paul Alexander passed Rob Mortimore for 13th only to ‘throw’ it off the track the next lap. By half distance, Watts was clear at the front but was being closed down by Joseph. Vessier held a clear 3rd from Cleal. Puddle had now joined that battle after passing Serita Shone. Further back, David Waldron accounted for David Goode and 10th place. Things stabilised over the next 3 laps until Vessier lost a complete side pod bar and 3rd place! A recovering Stuart Gray, from his earlier spin, was now back up to 10th position. The last 4 laps were relatively steady with Joseph having closed down Watts, but unable to make any move stick, as he suffered from fuel surge. Puddle manage to pass Cleal for 3rd place and Alexander slip past Tom Parker for 14th place. At the flag, it was David Watts ( retaining the ‘0’ Plate !!) from Ben Joseph, Richard Puddle, Anthony Cleal and Serita Shone. Serita was later to lose 5th spot with a front spoiler infringement incurred when Gray spun earlier in the race.
Once the points ( where you start plus where you finish, added) were collated the ‘0’ Plate results were as follows.
For more results and details please view the results page / NKRA Championship on the www.planetkarting.uk website or CLICK HERE
JUNIOR BLUE
1st Sam Mitchell 0 + 0 = 0 pts
2nd Mitch Carpenter 2 + 3 = 5 pts
3rd Josh Hibbard 5 + 2 = 7 pts
FORMULA BLUE
1st David Watts 0 + 0 = 0 pts
2nd Paul Dible 2 + 5 = 7 pts
3rd Ben Joseph 6 + 2 = 8 pts
4th Anthony Cleal 4 + 4 = 8 pts
5th Richard Puddle 9 + 3 = 12 pts
BLUE MASTER
1st Paul Dible 0 + 3 = 3 pts
2nd Ben Joseph 4 + 0 = 4 pts
3rd Anthony Cleal 2 + 2 = 4 pts
BLUE VETERAN
1st Anthony Cleal 2 + 0 = 2 pts
2nd Paul Dible 0 + 2 = 2 pts
3rd Stuart Gray 3 + 3 = 6 pts
BLUE LEGEND
1st Stuat Gray 0 + 0 = 0 pts
2nd David Goode 3 + 2 = 5 pts
3rd Robin Stoddart-Stones 2 + 4 = 6 pts
BLUE TOP WEIGHT
1st Ben Joseph 2 + 0 = 2 pts
2nd Paul Dible 0 + 2 = 2 pts
3rd Ron Shone 3 + 3 = 6 pts

With two new drivers increasing the level of competition in the Junior Blue S.W. Series, it has become more crucial to maintain the ‘flow ‘ of scoring points. Although Jamie Dart got his fastest lap sorted early on, Rhys Reed gradually improved to where, in the end, he secured 2nd place, this allowed him to remain in the lead with a 4 point margin. Behind these two, Josh Hibbard and Rudie Morten fought it out for 3rd and 4th. New racers, Sam Mitchell and Maddie Staddon steadily improved throughout the day, but were to show their potential later on in the Blue Challenge.
Mitch Carpenter didn’t feel up to it and sat this one out. The next round of the series takes place at the Clay Pigeon Circuit on Saturday, July 10th.
For more details and up-date points view the results page on www.planetkarting.uk website or CLICK HERE

After a rain sodden race at The Lydd Circuit on 26 & 27th June. Serita Shone closed down Russell O’Neill for 1st place in the TABOR Championship and the £ 500 prize. They go into the next round at the Clay Pigeon Raceway, on July 11th equal on points. Anthony Cleal moves up to 3rd spot, passing both Rob Mortimore and Mike Bell, with David Goode closing in on the pair of them.
for more details and up-date points please view the Results page on www.planetkarting.uk website or CLICK HERE

Team TABOR will be in attendance, with their race support vehicles at the LYDD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY on 25th, 26th & 27th June 2021, for the BLUE Challenge round 5 and the Formula BLUE ‘0’ Plates. Please note there is not any practice on Friday, other than for Juniors from 4pm – 7pm. One Team TABOR vehicle will be in attendance from 3pm on Friday.
Competitors requiring Tyres/Spares for this event, please order and purchase your requirements in advance prior to 12 noon on Wednesday 23rd June, for delivery/collection at the circuit on the race weekend.
Telephone 01305 774074
Thanks, See you there and in the meantime please stay safe !

REIGNING ‘0’ PLATE CHAMPIONS

JUNIOR BLUE – Jake Calvert
FORMULA BLUE – David Watts
BLUE Master – Stuart Gray
BLUE Veteran – Stuart Gray
BLUE Legend – Stuart Gray
BLUE Top Weight – Ron Shone

The 2021 Formula BLUE ‘0’ Plates take place on June 27th at Lydd International race circuit. With the exception of Junior BLUE, where the competition is newly reinstated, all of last year’s winners will be present.
To add to these competitors, all of last years’ single-seeded drivers have entered, plus Richard Puddle, Sylvian Vessier, Sam Dible, Rob Mortimer and Ben Joseph, to name a few, who have been making their mark in the early BLUE Challenge rounds of 2021. The weekend should be a cracker!
FOR DETAILS OF THE 2020 RESULTS – CLICK HERE
FOR DETAILS OF ‘0’ PLATE WINNERS PAST AND PRESENT – CLICK HERE

Competitors are advised that entries are now open for the FORMULA BLUE CHALLENGE ROUND 5 at the Clay Pigeon Raceway on July 11th
There will be practice, for those who wish it, on Friday, July 9th and Saturday 10th July.
The Saturday practice and the Sunday race can be entered for on the Clay Pigeon Club web link. The link for entries is also at the foot of this news brief. Friday practice is entered for at the circuit on the day.
The entry list for Junior & Formula Blue will close at midnight, on Saturday, 3rd July. Competitors are reminded that class numbers may reach the event limit, so to ensure inclusion, all ‘Blue’ competitors are advised to enter the race meeting early. The Junior Blue time trial will take place on Saturday, July 10th.
Please check the Clay Pigeon website for specific Covid requirements that may relate to this race meeting. TO ENTER PLEASE CLICK HERE

The initial first round of the 2 Counties Kart Club Championship scheduled for March had to be cancelled due to Coronavirus restrictions. Consequently, the next round at Clay Pigeon on June 13th, became the new opening round. Also, unfortunately, as a consequence, the drop round in accordance with the Sporting Regulations, has been lost!
The weekend’s weather at the Clay Pigeon Circuit was unseasonably very hot with many of the competitors taking absolute care that their cooling systems were up to scratch and their engines were running rich.
A full grid of 24 competitors were entered for Sunday’s race with the Heat winners being Anthony Cleal, Russell O’Neill, and Taylor Waldron. Once the Heat points were totalled it was Michael Bell who sat on Pole position with Sylvian Vessier on P2 grid. The 2nd row included Kieran Quirke and Anthony Cleal. On Row 3 sat Russell O’Neill and Billy Thomas.
From the lights Mike Bell took an immediate lead followed closely by Vessier. Quirke, Cleal, and O’Neill. The initial ‘big’ movers were Taylor Waldron up into 13th from 15th, Serita Shone up to 6th from 10th and Rob Mortimore up to 12th from 16th position.
The front four raced for 4 laps locked together until on lap 5 Cleal outbraked Quirke for 3rd place. Behind, Taylor Waldron was on an absolute charge and now up to 7th place. Paul Alexander passed David Goode and Rob Mortimore to sit in 12th spot.
By lap 8 Cleal had reached the front, demoting Bell and Vessier to 2nd and 3rd. Russell O’Neill accounted for Quirke to take 4th place and by then Taylor Waldron was up to 6th position. Next lap and Vessier made his move on Bell in an effort to stay within touching distance of Cleal.
The racing continued without respite all down the order with a great number of individual battles going on. On lap 13 disaster happened for Vessier, having taken 1 kerb too many, he lost his exhaust, not to mention the bottom of his seat ! His retirement from the race moved the rest of the grid up one place. At the same time Taylor Waldron took advantage and passed Bell, followed through by Serita Shone. Further back, Chris Underhill passed Phil Shears and Billy Thomas for 8th place.
Into lap 14 and Bell’s woes continued as Russel O’Neill demoted him from the 4th spot only for Serita shone to repeat the move, as she moved up to pass him.
The race then settled down to the chequered flag with Anthony Cleal crossing the line first, followed by ‘driver of the day’ Taylor Waldron, who had started in 15th position. Even more remarkable is that he bought the engine on Saturday, bolted it on to his kart, ran it in, then raced it on Sunday, finishing 2nd with the fastest lap in the Final. A truly effective endorsement of the Formula BLUE regulations, which do NOT permit any tuning whatsover, where an engine straight out of the ‘BOX’ can not only finish 2nd but achieve the fastest lap in the right hands ! 3rd was was Russell O’Neill, with Serita Shone 4th and Mike Bell 5th.
In the overall standings , Cleal takes the early lead followed by Bell, Russell O’Neill, Quirke and Thomas.
Anthony Cleal also sets the target in the BLUE Master sub-class with Russell O’Neill in 2nd spot. Thomas takes up 3rd place ahead of David Waldron and Chris Underhill.
The BLUE Veteran group is headed by Cleal from David Waldron and Underhill. Alexander and Shears are equal 4th.
In the BLUE Legend section, it is Underhill who sets the pace, followed by David Goode, Robin Stoddart-Stones, Ron Shone and Kevin O’Neill.
The last of the sub-classes, BLUE Top Weight, sees Thomas in the lead from Mortimore, Shears Ron Shone and Mike Watts.
The next 2 Counties Club round takes place at Mansell Raceway on September 26th, giving everyone a breather and the time to concentrate on the BLUE CHALLENGE which is the ultimate competition for next years’ prestigious race numbers.
For more results and details visit the Results menu on www.planetkarting.uk website.
OR CLICK HERE

The latest round of the Junior Blue, S.W. England, BLUE Challenge saw Rhys Read come out on top with the fastest lap of the day. He had to wait until the last session to accomplish it. The lead, after session 1 was held by Jamie Dart. This went to Rhys during session 2, Rhys then lowered the time again in the 3rd outing. He maintained the lead after session 4 although Rudie Hibbard was closing in on him. By the 5th outing, the front four were only separated by 0.32 of a second, with Rhys still in the lead hotly pursued by Jamie Dart. In the penultimate session, Rhys posted what was to be the fastest time of the day. Rudie Morten pulled out all the stops in the final outing to finish only 0.05 behind Rhys. Josh Hibbard equally turned it on in the last timed session to post his fastest time of the day, snatching 3rd place in the process.
The competition now moves on to Saturday 26th June at LYDD
for more details and results please CLICK HERE

RESULTS
1. Rhys Read
2. Rudie Morten
3. Josh Hibbard
4. Jamie Dart

With a start grid of opposite pole, plus a race win, Anthony Cleal wins the rearranged ( Covid) Matthew Percy Memorial Race. Second on the day was Mike Bell, with a combined score of 0 points for Pole and 4th place finish. Third overall was Russell O’Neill on 5 points ( 3 + 2 ). Serita Shone ( 6 + 3) 9 points and David Waldron ( 4 + 5 ) 9 points bring up the top five.

The 2021 ‘Percy’ race takes place at Clay Pigeon on 14th November. Drivers are reminded that all entrants for that race must have competed in at least one Two Counties Club round in 2021 prior to the race.
Top 12 results
1. Cleal
2. Bell
3. R. O’Neill
4. S. Shone
5. D. Waldron
6. Alexander
7. Goode
8. Shears
9. Mortimore
10. R. Shone
11. K. O’Neill
12. M. Watts