STRONG SHOW AT WHILTON FOR NEW X30 SQUAD

Coles Racing Junior and Senior X30 team drivers show well at Whilton Mill for the November Winter Club Meeting. A 2nd and 5th in Seniors whilst bad luck thwarted THE Juniors...

In the second race for the team using the Iame X30 equipment, the team travelled to Whilton Mill in Northamptonshire.

A wet start promised to dry out as racing got underway.

In Junior X30, drivers Adam Smalley and Tyler Chesterton began the day by finishing their opening heat in 9th and 10th, after starting from 17th and 15th respectively in the tricky conditions.

Tyler followed up with 17th in the second heat, moving up 12 positions from where he started, whilst Adam unfortunately had to retire after just 2 corners of racing from his P3 starting berth.

Smalley bounced back in his final heat, taking 12th after starting 25th on the grid. Tyler finished his final heat in 8th.

This meant for the final the Juniors would start 12th for Tyler and 23rd for Adam after his DNF. Adam made great progress in the early stages to reach 10th position, before being unceremoniously punted off, ending his charge.
Tyler was just as unfortunate, being knocked to the back at the start, finishing 16th at the flag.

In the Seniors, Josh White and Scott Mackrell took to the fore . Josh won the opening heat with Scott taking the fastest lap and event record.
Scott took 2nd in the second heat, whilst Josh managed to gain 5 positions on his starting position to finish in 7th.

The last heat saw Scott be the victim of bad luck, after kart damage at the start restricted his progress and forced him to retire early in the race. Josh came home 11th.

The final saw Josh and Scott start 2nd and 11th respectively. Josh kept the pressure on all race for the lead, ultimately sadly being unsuccessful in his pursuit, finishing 0.5s off the race win.

Scott managed to come through the pack to a strong 5th place at the line, showing great pace as he did all day.

It was a weekend of frustration for the Juniors, both showed great pace all weekend but among the carnage the boys didn't have luck on their side! Adam Smalley took the second quickest time of the day in his first X30 race. Likewise for Scott it was a day of what could have been.

Despite this Coles have demonstrated further strength in the X30 class, in what was only their second weekend racing it!

COLES LAUNCH NEW X30 TEAM AT PFI

Coles Racing are proud to launch their Iame X30 team. The team made their first outing at the PFI Club Meeting with 2 of their Senior X30 drivers, Josh White and Scott Mackrell...

As UK Karting heads into the winter season, Coles Racing have launched their new team for the Iame X30 Classes at PF International.

Usual Rotax drivers Josh White and Scott Mackrell made the transition seamlessly into the class.

Scott and Josh Qualified in 5th and 8th in the slippery track conditions on a drying track for the timed qualifying session, which would be their starting position for the Pre-Final.

For the Pre-Final, Josh flew out the blocks, making great headway and reaching 2nd by lap 6. In the remaining laps Josh went one better, taking the lead which held all the way to the flag. Scott likewise made progress and showed great pace, as he rose 2 positions to finish in 3rd position at the flag.

Into the Final, Scott sadly wasn't able to make much of an impact after being unable to start the race. Josh held onto the lead for the first 3 laps, unable to break the tow from the chasing pack.
Over the next few laps the lead changed multiple times between 4 drivers. Josh retook the lead on lap 9 but was despatched back down to 4th the next lap, which is where he finished.

Elsewhere in the Rotax team, Tyler Chesterton moved up into the Junior Rotax category from Minimax which he has been racing all season long.
Tyler qualified 9th ready for his first Junior Rotax race. He continued to impress by showing front running pace in the Pre-Final, gaining 4 positions to finish in 5th position.

In the combative final, Tyler held his own well keeping at the sharp end of the grid to finish a solid 6th position in his first Junior Rotax meeting.

Jenson Butterfield excelled in Minimax. After taking 2nd on the grid in qualifying, he built on this by winning the opening heat after taking the lead on lap 4 without being headed.
With pole for the final, the pressure was on, but Jenson never faltered, overcoming strong competition to take victory by just 0.15s at the chequered flag.

In Senior Rotax, drivers Stephanie Le Vesconte and Tom Croydon qualified in 5th and 9th positions on the grid. Stephanie was on the unfortunate end of luck in the Pre-Final, being knocked back to 11th in the thick of the action, whilst Tom maintained 9th at the end of the race.

The Grand Final saw both drivers make progress to finish in 7th and 8th positions after following each other in formation for most of the race.

"We are very proud as a team to show such great pace in our first X30 race. We have been limited to testing the X30 equipment as all drivers and mechanics have had a busy schedule in Rotax, but as the results show we have hit the ground running." said a delighted team boss Adrian Coles.

PENALTY AT PF RUINS PODIUM RUN

The final round of the Rotax Super One British Championship provided drama and controversy aplenty, as a penalty for Fulk halts the Coles Racing Podium Haul...

The final round of the Super One British Championship for the Rotax Classes took place at the PF International Circuit in Grantham.

Heading into the final round, the best placed Coles driver was Zak Fulk in Junior Rotax, still with the chance to take a top 3 in the championship.

In Minimax, Tyler Chesterton kept up his amazing run of form in qualifying as he took Pole Position for the heats after setting a time just 0.02s fastest than the 2nd place man.

In the first heat, Tyler sadly didn't even make the start due to a technical issue. Jenson Butterfield made amazing progress up from 17th to finish 2nd at the flag, as Webb and Barrett also gained positions.
Another DNS for Chesterfield was a cruel way to end his great run. The second heat was a combative affair seeing all drivers knocked back in various skirmishes.

The drivers faught back well in the Grand Final, as Butterfield and Webb worked together well to come in 7th and 8th in the final, with Webb taking fastest lap.
The nightmare weekend for Chesterton sadly ruined his championship as he dropped outside the top 10 in the standings, finishing 12th overall.

Zak Fulk qualified in 8th position for his two heats in Junior Rotax, as Charlie Cudlipp suffered from issues hampering his pace.
The first heat saw Zak make good progress, gaining 5 places to finish in 3rd. Fulk backed up his heat 1 result with a 6th position  Cudlipp made good progress to finish in 13th.

Final 1 didn't go to plan for the Coles Drivers, as Fulk's progress was thwarted by being knocked down to 12th on the opening lap. Zak later faught back up to 7th in the tightly packed train of karts battling for the podium. In the Grand Final, Fulk made a be-line to the front of the pack! Taking the lead on 9th lap. As the pack closed up in the final stages of the title fight, positions changed frantically.  A forceful moved force Zak to cut the track,this would later to turn out to penalise him as he was deemed to gain an advantage despite given the position back.

Zak finished 3rd on the road, but a 1 lap penalty demoted him to the back, cruelly robbing him of vital points. Zak finished the season 5th overall in the British Championship.

In Rotax Max, Scott Mackrell shone in Qualifying, taking pole position for the heats. Mackrell continued to impress in the first heat, battling throughout with Sam Marsh. A collision during the race meant Mackrell was penalised a lap, denying him a great 2nd place finish,

Scott bounced back in the second heat however, taking a strong 2nd position holding off a train of karts to the end. Morgan managed to gain a few positions showing good pace to come home in 11th.. Barrow was knocked back from 9th position in the combative race. Despite working his way back up he was knocked back again ruining his good work.

Final 1 saw another great result by Mackrell, gaining 8 positions from his 12th place grid position to finish P4 at the end of the race. Morgan Rose also made great progress, making his way up to 9th despite he lowly start from 16th.

The final final of the championship wasn't the finish that the Rotax Max drivers wanted. Mackrell was knocked back at the start on the unfavoured outside  In the hotly contested race, Scott was restricted to finish in 6th position. The Coles Racing teammates Barrow, Rose, Le Vesconte and Croydon all finished in formation at the end of the last race.

The 2015 British Championships finished with Stephanie Le Vesconte taking the Rookie Title in the Rotax Max Championship, whilst the best overall finish was achieved by Zak Fulk with 5th in Junior Max.

"It was a challenging season, but we can be proud of our great podium run of finishes in the previous 4 rounds. The drivers have loads of potential and we are positive going into the winter" said owner Adrian Coles.

WET WHILTON PROVIDES PODIUM PRIZE

Downpours on race day at Whilton Mill for the 6th Round of the Super One British Championship didn't prevent the team from continuing their podium run with Chesterton...

The Super One Series headed to Whilton Mill for Round 6 of the Rotax Max British Championship.

After a difficult qualifying in Minimax, Chesterton managed to bring himself back into contention with a 7th and an 8th in his heats to give him a starting berth of 6th on the grid for the first final.

Chesterton managed to further build on the progress. After a good start, he found himself in 3rd position. He engaged in a race long battle for 2nd position. Tyler finished 4th at the flag, but was promoted too 3rd after a penalty for a rival driver.

The Grand Final took place after a heavy downpour. In the now wet conditions, Tyler continued his strong form from throughout the day. By the 9th lap he took 2nd place and began to pull away from the fighting behind. The leader was out of range, but Tyler hung on for a superb second place.

Teammate Brad Barrett faired well also in the wet conditions, taking a 9th place finish after starting in 16th. Garrett Webb was less fortune, sadly being punted off in the final, undoing his strong 5th place start for the final.

In Juniors, Zak Fulk took Pole Position in Qualifying by just 0.01s to put himself in a great position for the upcoming heats.

Alex McRoberts also faired well setting the 5th best time, but was found to be underweight, meaning he had to start his heats from the back of the grid.

Fulk took two 2nd place finishes in his heats, which turned out to be enough to once again give him Pole Positon for the first of the two finals. McRoberts recovered well from having to start 27th in both heats to come home in 9th and 13th respectively. He would start the final from 9th.

Final 1 turned out to be a disaster for Fulk, after being demoted to 3rd, an ambitious move from a fellow driver took him out of contention. Alex in the meantime managed to make further progress to finish in 6th position.

McRoberts managed to hold his own in the Final, gaining a position to finish 5th at the line, finishing off a very strong recovery after his qualifying setback.
Fulk managed to gain 12 positions from his starting position of 21st, to salvage some valuable points as he still chases a Top 3 in the championship.

It was a difficult start in Timed Qualfying in Rotax Max, Spencer Barrow being top Coles Driver with a 10th place finish, setting the exact same time as teammate Scott Mackrell.

Challenging heats soon followed, as Mackrell and Barrow shadowed each other in both races, meaning they would start the final in 9th and 10th respectively.

Final One saw the pair make further good progress as they worked together to be two of the fastest men on track, coming home in 6th and 7th.
The Grand Final in Rotax Max saw Mackrell in a long race fight for the top5. Scott never dropped more than half a second off championship leader Sam Marsh in the torrid weather as he finished in 6th position, right on his bumper. Teammate Barrow finished in 9th position, whilst Tom Croydon just pipped Stephanie Le Vescone to the Rookie win.

The final round of the championship takes place at PF International in a months time where the championship standings will be settled.

CHESTERTON RACEY AT RISSINGTON

Round 5 of the Super One British Championship for the Rotax Classes saw Tyler Chesterton take a podium in Minimax, whilst Fulk faught back to 4th in Juniors...

Little Rissington hosted the Rotax Max Classes for the 5th Round of the Super One British Karting Championship.

Around the fast circuit, times were expected to be close throughout all classes.
In Minimax Garrett Webb faired the best of the Coles Drivers, taking the 8th fastest time. Tyler Chesterton was a mere 0.03s slower but ended up 5 places back.

In the heats Chesterton faired well in the opening heats before contact in the 2nd ruined his progress. Butterfield faired the opposite by performing strongly in the second heat after issues in the first heat.

The first final saw Chesterton stage a great fightback as he muscled his way through the close grid to 9th at the chequer, setting the 2nd best lap on route.
Butterfield was taken out of contention on the opening lap whilst Jenson Brown made up 6 places in his race.

Chesterton had really hit form as the day went on, the Grand Final was no exception...A fantastic drive with great pace and some clinical overtaking thrust him right in contention for victory. At the line, Chesterton finished less than 0.1s off the leader, taking 2nd place in the process.
Teammates Butterfield and Webb also made up a number of places in the race.

Zak Fulk set the 6th quickest time in Qualifying, with Charlie Cudlipp 14th and Alex McRoberts down in 22nd after some setup issues. A strong 2nd for Fulk in the first heat was countered by a luckless heat two, where contact knocked him down to 12th position, costing high valuable points in the process. McRoberts managed to lift himself up the order with two heats in which he made solid progress.

Fulk started 7th for the first final, with McRoberts 16th and Cudlipp 19th. Fulk was unable to take his starting position off the grid, meaning he had to make progress from 12th. Zak managed to work up to 8th, before an incident at the harpin docked him down again to 10th at the flag. McRoberts gained 4 positions to finish just two places behind Fulk.

A strong start by Zak in the Grand Final vaulted him up to 6th position. Now back in contention, Zak managed to get his head down and take another 2 positions to recover a strong 4th at the end of a challenging weekend. McRoberts once again made up places, completing two strong recoveries in Junior Rotax, coming home in 8th position.

Rotax Max drivers Spencer Barrow and Scott Mackrell qualified with identical times, lining up 12th and 14th on the grid for the heats. Heat 1 saw great progress made by Morgan Rose, gaining 7 positions from his original qualifying position of 16th. Teammates Mackrell and Le Vesconte we both forced into retirement after just 4 laps of racing.

The second heat was another good recovery from Barrow, once again gaining a bunch of positions to come home in 8th position. Mackerell once again was a victim of bad luck, retiring at half distance. The two teammates Le Vesconte and Croydon battled it out for top rookie honours, Le Vescone proving victorious this time round.

Final 1 saw both Mackerell and Barrow work through the pack from their back row starting positions after difficult heats., both gaining 8 positions to come home in 9th and 10th respectively.  Croydon and Le Vesconte once again resumed their private battle, with the latter again with the advantage.

A much more processional Grand Final saw Mackrell finish where he started, in 9th position. Tom Croydon was forced to retire at half distance, meaning Le Vesconte took home the Rookie prize. Spencer Barrow and Morgan Rose finished in 11th and 16th places at the end of the 15 minute final.

Whilton Mill in Northampton hosts the next round of the Championship at the end of the month, as the championship reaches the business end of the season.

FULK TAKES EUROMAX VICTORY

In the third round of the RGMMC Rotax Euro Challenge Championship, Coles Racing Driver Zak Fulk took the victory by the narrowest of margins...

Wackersdorf in Germany hosted the third round of the RGMMC Junior Rotax Euro Challenge.

Zak Fulk was the only Junior representative for Coles Racing at the meeting, with mechanic / driver coach Oliver Myers making his return to action in DD2.

Zak Fulk hit the ground running in testing, setting the 4th best time in the build up to qualifying.

Fulk matched this position later in the qualifying session in his group, being just 1 tenth off the fastest time.

When the two groups were accumulated, Zak ended up 9th fastest overall due to a faster 2nd group. This meant Zak would start 5th for his qualifying heats.

Heat One was an impressive start for Zak, as he managed to rise up to 3rd position early on in the race, sticking to the bumper of the top 2. Zak shadowed them for the entire race, finishing in 3rd just 0.2s off the lead.

The second heat once again saw Zak rise from his starting grid However this was not as clean as his previous race, as he had a battling performance to retain track position.

Zak eventually finished in 4th position, not being able to shake the pack and gain on the karts infront. Heat 3 saw Zak gain two positions up to 3rd again, in much more lonely race, he safely finished in 3rd at the flag.

These results saw Zak start the Pre-Final from 4th on the grid, on the unfavoured outside. Nevertheless Zak maintained his position at the flag in a tight group fighting for 2nd place.

Into the Grand Final, Zak made a fantastic start, establishing himself at the front of pack, setting up an intense battle for the lead with Jack McCarthy. Battling between the pair for the win was certain when the pack behind were jostling.

As the final lap began, Zak was in the lead. The pair continued to fight until the very end, Zak doing just enough to take his first Euro win!

Oli took part in his first meeting in the DD2 category. After getting to grips in testing, Oli set the 13th best lap of the session, which is where he would start all three heats.
As the weekend went on, Oli got more and more acclimatised with the kart and scored some strong performances. Heat results of two 8th positions and a 9th was a very good return for a debutant on a quality grid!

Starting from 15th in the Pre-Final, Oli had a stern task ahead of him. however he rose to the challenge, posting times that matched the race leader as he finished 14th at the flag.
The Grand Final saw Oli once again in the thick of the action. In a physical race he held his own from pressure off Birel Factory Drivers to retain 14th at the finish.

Zak is now up to 4th position in the standings after his victory weekend in Wackersdorf, with a real possibility of a Top 3 overall in the Rotax Euro Challenge.