Richard Hughes from Castle Eaton, near Swindon, finished a very strong second in the Midland Championships at Little Rissington on 1st and 2nd September. The two-day ‘Midland Champs’ is the premier annual event held at Rissington Kart Club, near Stow-on-the-Wold and always attracts a huge entry from all over the country. The biggest karting class was the ever popular Rotax Max 125cc with over 35 entries. This included not only local club drivers, such as Richard Hughes, but also British Championship and Motors TV stars, so the competition was intense. Hughes followed on from his success 2 weeks ago at Shenington by setting some of the fastest times in practice in his Arrow AX9 kart. Because of the large entry, five qualifying heats were to be run, with each driver taking part in three of them, starting from front, middle and back. The aggregate points scored would then establish if the driver made in through to the A Final and then the grid positions. Richard’s first qualifying heat on Saturday went well and he blasted through to third from the middle of the pack. On Sunday morning, he started 25th and nine laps later he finished 6th with some masterful overtaking moves on nearly every corner. His third heat was better still with a comfortable win from third on the grid. When the points were all totted up, Hughes just missed out on pole position and would start the big race alongside Motors TV star Daniel Russell on the front row. When the starting lights turned green for the rolling start, Hughes timed it to perfection and led into the first corner, with Russell right on his tail. Daniel tried a move at the ‘dog-leg’ chicane, but Richard came out in front. However, at the ‘elbow’, Russell forced his kart down the inside and Hughes had to put two wheels on the grass, losing traction and dropping to third. He soon got back to second and put in some fantastic lap times, close to the lap record, but Russell realised he was gaining and managed to up his pace to match. They both clocked phenomenal times within a tenth of a second during the remaining ten laps, with a gap of just 1.5 seconds at the end. The good news for Richard is that Daniel is not a club member, so Hughes scored maximum points towards the annual Club Championship. After the champagne ceremony, Richard said: “My kart was absolutely fantastic and I would like to thank all the team and especially our colleagues at BRT for the new engine. We certainly gave it our best shot and beat some very quick people. That was the fastest I have ever been round here and it’s also the best result I have had in the Midland Champs after 15 years of trying! I came 4th last year, 2nd this year, so it looks like next year could be the one!
17th June 2007 Groves reports on his weekend at Oulton
We were at Oulton Park on Saturday 16th for rounds three and four of the British Superkart Long Circuit National Championships, and I was looking to make up for the engine failure at Mallory in May. Dad rebuilt and prepared our primary engine and ran it in wet practice at Oulton, qualifing third in the 125 ICC class. The engine felt very powerful and I'm optimistic for the UK Cup at Snetterton on July 1st, where we will be running said engine. For race one, we used our secondary engine. The start/finish straight was damp, and the majority of the grid was on wets. However, two laps in, the circuit had a dry line. I made a poor start and dropped back off the two leaders in ICC, but as the track dried up further, I managed my tyres far better than others, and moved steadily up the field to finish second, gaining three tenths a lap on the ICC leader, last years Superkart GP winner, but without the time needed to catch him.
The track was totally dry for race two, I made a better start and was second out of turn one. I quickly moved into the ICC class lead, and was never troubled, winning by nine seconds in the ten lap race, taking the ICC Lap Record in the process, with a 1m36.041. After this round, I am 2nd in the National Long Circuit Championship, just 10 points behind the leader Danny Edwards, but am 44 points clear in the lead of the British Superkart Long Circuit Club Championship.
1st April 2007 Richard Rockets To Second at Rissington
Richard Hughes from Castle Eaton rocketed through the field on his Arrow kart at Rissington on Sunday. Rissington Kart Club attracted a good entry in the popular 125 Rotax Max class for their meeting on 1 April. The weather was kind, but with a high wind, so fine racing was enjoyed by a large crowd. Hughes had a problem in the first qualifying heat. Whilst negotiating the Dog-leg complex on the opening lap, another kart landed on top of him! Thankfully, there were no serious injuries and very little damage, but it ruined his race and any chance of a good qualifying position. In the second and third heats, Hughes charged through the field to finish 4th and 3rd, thereby qualifying 7th on the grid for the big race. As the lights turned green for the rolling start, it was obvious that Richard meant business! He overtook a kart on each corner, to be up in third place at the end of the first lap. Another superb passing move into the Loop on visitor, Jamie Macklin, put him in second, but leader Nathan Lawley had a huge advantage. It looked at first that Hughes may be able to close him down during the 8 remaining laps, but the task was too great and he had to settle for second place. The battle for the Club Championship is now well and truly on. One win and one second place each for Hughes and Lawley.
11th March Wombwell sees Three Arrow Victorys
Comer cadet was an Arrow 1 - 2 on the grid and should have been at the finish had Robert Newman not been pushed wide. Robert managed to fight back to 3rd but was pipped at the last corner to finish in 4th. Meanwhile in front Thomas Nolson drove a fantastic race to take lights to flag victory.
With a full grid of Senior Rotax it was looking tough for Tom Healy who had to start all 3 heats from the back of the grid due to his late entry. He drove 3 consistent heats and found himself on grid 6 for the 12 lap final. Tom was on a mission from the start and was soon in front and going onto record another victory on his AX9. In 4th place was Steven Oakes also driving an AX9, Steven was looking good to follow Tom Healy for an Arrow 1 - 2 but was knocked wide mid race. In Rotax 177 Arrow and Walker Racing had a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th with Mick Watkin taking a lights to flag victory 5 seconds in front of Daz Lomas and Dean Bednarek, with novice driver Jordan Richards taking 4th.
Comer Cadet Results 1st Thomas Nolson Arrow/Comer 2nd Peter Sharrocks Parolin/comer 3rd James Struggles Zip/comer 4th Robert Newman Arrow/Comer Rotax Max Results 1st Tom Healy Arrow/Rotax 2nd Jason Tingle MW/Rotax 3rd David Moore Kosmic/Rotax 4th Stephen Oaks Arrow/Rotax Rotax 177 Results 1st Mick Watkin Arrow/Rotax 2nd Daz Lomas Arrow/Rotax 3rd Dean Bednarek Arrow/Rotax 4th Jordan Richards Arrow/Rotax
4th March 2007 a podium place for Arrow in first DD2 race
Sunday 4th March saw the Arrow DD2 take its debut race at Clay pigeon raceway in Somerset England for the Rotax Super 1 Shakedown. Tom Healy was Keen to jump in the kart and give it, its first run, straight out of the box it was on the pace matching times of the more experienced DD2 drivers. After Saturdays testing in the dry conditions Tom was more than happy with the kart setup. Race day and the weather conditions had changed over night torrential, rain meant we had to start again with the setup. But with a lot of hard work and determination Tom got to grips with the kart throughout the Heats and brought it home in a very creditable 2nd position. " If we had a little more testing time in the wet we could have done it, Im only just getting to grips with the front brake you can brake so much later”
4th March 2007 Richard Hughes wins Rissington in Rotax
Castle Eaton’s Richard Hughes won the first Rissington Kart Club meeting of the season on Sunday 4th 0f March, by qualifying his new Arrow on pole position in atrocious weather conditions. The weather forecast for the Cotswolds was wet and how right it was! After a beautiful dry day for practice on Saturday, the rain started early on Sunday morning and never stopped. In fact, it got heavier and heavier and the wind picked up as well! The Richard Hughes Racing team had only taken delivery of the latest Arrow AX9 kart two weeks ago and had only run it once in the wet. However, by gathering data from other Arrow drivers they found a set-up that seemed to work for the 3 laps Official Practice. Richard then proved that they were on the right lines by setting fastest lap by over half a second in the first heat and moving through the large Rotax Max field from 15th to 3rd. In the second heat, Hughes won the race from 9th on the grid and again set fastest lap. It was wetter still for the heat three and, from grid 5, Hughes was on the tail of leader Shaun Fulford by the third corner and the two pulled out a tremendous gap from the rest. This was just as well, as with two laps to go, Richard’s engine started misfiring and he only just finished in second. The problem was traced to a loose battery terminal, but second was good enough for pole position for the big race. After a short break to give the Marshals and Officials a welcomed respite from the conditions, the finals for the first two classes were run successfully, albeit with fading visibility. However, during the third final, several karts aquaplaned off the circuit and the race was stopped. The Clerks of the Course consulted with the drivers and other officials and it was decided that the conditions were too dangerous to continue, so the meeting was abandoned. This meant that for the remaining classes, including Rotax Max, the qualifying grid positions counted as the results. “It was pretty difficult out there and they were right to stop it before someone got hurt”, said Richard as he received his trophy for the win. “It was alright if you were leading, but the spray from other karts meant that you were driving on instinct. Thankfully, I love this circuit and know it better than most, so I could judge when to brake and turn, but overtaking was a bit risky. This new Arrow kart is fantastic and I would like to thank my team and all our helpers for getting it right for the conditions,” he concluded. Richard’s Arrow team-mate, 17-year-old Alex Ashby from Worcester, also had good results to finish 6th, despite a couple of incidents in the first two heats.
Snr Rotax Max Results 1st Richard Hughes Arrow/Rotax 2nd Nathan Lawly Tony/Rotax 3rd Olly Poiser Tony/Rotax . 6th Alex Ashby Arrow/Rotax
25th Febuary 2007 Luke Hughes wins Winter Cup at Wigan
10-year-old Luke Hughes took victory in the Cadet Cup at the Three Sisters Kart Circuit in Wigan on Sunday 25th February. Luke who was competing in his first MSA event aboard his new Arrow chassis, only had Friday and Saturday to find the perfect racing combination on the kart and with the weather constantly changing this was never going to be easy. The kart proved able to perform fantastically well in all kinds of conditions and during these 2 days of testing Luke and his team were pretty confident of challenging for the victory. First up was timed qualifying and with 30 plus karts on the field it was important to get everything right. Luke put in a good qualifying time and was placed joint 3rd less than a tenth of a second from the pole. In the first heat Luke was on the pace straight away and looked like he meant business, after battling for the lead for the duration of the heat Luke just got the nod on the line and won, in what can only be described as a photo finish. Heat 2 and yet again Luke was looking very competitive and with consistency from Luke and his new Arrow chassis It looked like Luke was going to take another win which would have put him on pole for the pre final but as Luke went to take the lead he was touched from the back which sent him in to a spin, unfortunately left him down in 9th place which put him on grid 5 for the pre final. With the rain starting to come down and all the drivers on slicks the pre final was always going to be difficult. Luke just kept cool and used his head to bring his kart home in 4th Luke knew that to be able to win the final he needed to be on the first couple of rows, so a 4th in the pre final meant 4th on the grid for the main final. On to the final and there was a mixture of nervousness and expectancy in the Hughes/Walker Racing camp. Luke was driving superbly and the kart was getting better and better. With a 25-lap final Luke had to stay out of trouble but also be quick enough to stay with the leaders. He did not disappoint he was quickly into second with still 17 laps remaining Luke just sat there and you could tell he was just waiting for the right moment. It seemed a long haul as the laps counted down but then on the last corner of the last lap Luke made his move round the outside of his competitor to take the inside line for the last corner and then the chequered flag. Luke has got a bright future in motor sport there is no doubt about that but as he gels with his new kart and his new team. I have no doubt you will hear a lot more of Luke Hughes, Arrow karts and Walker Racing throughout 2007. Luke Hughes Arrow / Comer Daniel SweenyZip / Comer Ryan BurnsZip / Comer
Comer W60 Cadet Results 1st, Luke Hughes Arrow / Comer 2nd Daniel Sweeny Zip / Comer 3rd Ryan Burns Zip / Comer
13th February 2007 Walker Racing are having a Clearence
Here at Walker Racing we are offering for sale a selection of new and used Arrow works chassis at unbelievable prices! These must be cleared in preparation for our New stock of Arrow karts which are arriving shortly, so grab yourself some quality kit for the right money today - first come, first served.
New Cadet Chassis from £800 New Rotax Chassis from £1100 Used Chassis from from £700
All prices shown exclude VAT
11th February 2007 Healy and Bednarek win wombwell in Rotax
An impressive start to the season for Tom Healy in Senior Rotax he fort his way through the heats to put himself on pole, after a shaky start he had dropped back 4 places been overtaken by quick S1 and club drivers. Tom tracked them down and over took them one by one setting fastest lap and finishing 2.75 seconds in front. In Rotax 177 Dean Bednarek also took victory the second this year.
Snr Rotax Results 1st Tom Healy / Arrow 2nd Stephen Hoppwell / Tony 3rd Catherine Conner / Tony Snr 177 Rotax Results 1st Dean Bednarek / Arrow 2nd Lee Picking / Tony 3rd Irvine Cobb / Arrow 4th Mick Watkin / Arrow 5th Daz Lomas / Arrow
4th February 2007 Luke Hughes uses the new Arrow Cadet
Luke Hughes impressed us first time out on the new Arrow Cadet at Glan Y Gors in Wales. Straight out of the box the combo were putting in some impressive times and with a few more tweaks to the chassis Luke looked well at home in the new Kart achieving lap times close to the lap record set by Luke last summer. Luke will be using the Arrow chassis through out the year competing in Motors TV, Super 1 and Stars of tomorrow.
3rd Febuary Well done Alex Short for winning a new Arrow
For the second year running Walker Racing and South Yorkshire Kart Club have donated a new Arrow chassis as a raffle prize at the annual dinner dance. This year Alex Short pulled the winning ticket and has bagged himself a new kart, well done !!
17 January 2007 the all new Cadet Chassis arrive in to the UK
The all new cadet arrives in at Walker Racing. The newly homoligated chassis has new features including two king pin positions, two pedal positions, adjustable rear ride height. Now the chassis can be used in Honda due to the rear rail of the chassis been further forward and and adjustable right hand seat stay.The chassis will be visiting the track in a weeks time.
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