FAT Karting League Junior Light Regional Championship, Round 2
In stark contrast to the season opener (also at Shenington), the FAT Karting League Junior Light Regional Championship, Round 2 took place on 31 May 2026 on a much warmer track - sadly with power at 80% due to incidents last round. Whilst this helped prevent others making avoidable contact, it meant a steep learning curve to find new braking points & finesse fast lines.
Morning practice went well, but struggling for power on the straights (others could quickly catch or pass,) Tom worked hard in the corners to squeeze extra time from the kart - but 3rd was the highest he could achieve in the circumstances. With the same kart all day, and little possible to resolve it, it would be a challenge to keep up with his normal rivals!
After lunch Tom found more pace, with only 0.4 secs between the top 5 in final practice, but was slightly frustrated with 5th having given it his all. Not to be put off he headed out in Quali with a positive mindset achieving 4th, only 0.18 seconds off 1st place pace (despite missing his last flying lap due to a random yellow where there was no incident)
The Pre Final start saw Tom cross the line already up to 3rd, but sadly the gain was temporary - a slight tap during a firm but fair pass meant Tom lost 2 places - & the lack of straight line speed meant he could only defend - finishing P6.
With overtaking still proving tricky Tom knew corners and defence were his only hopes for the Final, & any pass would be an epic battle to keep on the straights. Despite that he impressed massively, extracting everything from the kart to make not one but two superb overtakes & holding off stiff competition to take 4th & some valuable championship points.
While not the results he'd hoped for (or his normal pace with the days kart slow on straights), Tom had a great time off track with friends old & new and is looking forward to battling with them once again at Rissington on 14 June for Round 3!
AM Practice: P1 - P3 🥉 | P2 - P4 | P3 - P4 | P4 - P5
PM Race Sessions: P1 - P5 | Quali - P4 | Pre-Final - P4 > P3 > P6 | Final - P6 > P4
