TWO FROM TWO FOR PLATTEN

Race Details: 22nd – 24th April ’22 | Shenington | MSUK British Nationals Round 1

This weekend saw Team BMR attending Round 1 of the Wera Tools MSUK British Champs. With Current LGM leader Harry Platten and Sam Heading representing the team in the Senior Iame X30 category, along with Micahel Rapsey and new boy, Jack Hobson representing Team BMR for the Junior X30 Category, we were sure our team line up would be at the forefront of the racing!

Fridays official practice went well. Both the Juniors and Seniors were in the front pack, with only a few tenths separating the top 10. This weekend really was about the drivers as times were so close!

Saturday…qualifying. Jack put in a sterling performance. His first time out with BMR and qualified 7th in group and 13th overall! Michael struggled a little but managed to qualify 31st in group. Harry qualified 2nd for the Seniors, but Sam had engine gremlins and only managed 27th!

Junior Heats

Rapsey’s first heat got under way and due to an incident, didn’t make the end of lap one. Heat 2 saw both Jack and Michael racing. Both Hobson and Rapsey had a monster first few laps. Jack up to 7th, Michael, upto 22nd! They both ‘put a shift in’ and fought wheel to wheel. Hobson finished 9th and Michael, 25th. Jack’s final heat was a tough one. Spectators likened it to a demolition derby, rather than a circuit race. With Jack mixing it with the best of them, but being on the receiving end of a few incidents he crossed the line in P16. Final Classification after the heats Hobson P24 and Rapsey P45.

Senior Heats
The heats were battles… at both ends of the field. Harry fought at the front, battling for top honours. The lead change multiple times and as ever the Senior race was a spectacular race to watch. Platten took the lead on lap 4, then a dive by a competitor saw him drop as low as 5th! In true Platten style, he carved his way back into the top three. Sam had a battle, but as we’ve seen this season, the boy can battle! Starting dead last in P27, Sam nailed the start and by lap 1 had made up five positions. Heading continued to punch his way through the field and ended heat 1 in 16th, up 11 places and the highest climber! Heat 2 was much the same as the first heat. Harry muscling his way to the front of the pack, a few decent battles, but a chance move by a competitor saw him drop to 5th. Platten then clawed his way back to third with a lap to go, then a tussle with 2nd saw Platten take to the grass and drop to 6th. Heading again battled from the back and yet again showed a masterclass of karting. Heading manoeuvred through the backmarkers and steadily climbed up positions. By the end, Sam had made it to P15. Both drivers were mega… roll on the Finals!

Junior Finals
Due to Michaels DNF earlier on in the weekend he had to make do with the repechage. Rapsey was akin to a scalded whippet… the light went green and Rapsey tore through the field. He certainly showed that he deserved the finals and was well on the way to making them vie the Repechage. From 17th to 7th, narrowly missing out on the finals by one position. Next time Michael! Jack made a mega recovery after his ‘demolition derby’ in the heats. Starting 24th for the Prefinal, Hobson has shown what a talent he is as an established driver and what an asset he’ll be in the BMR camp. After gliding through half of the grid, Jack crossed the line in P10! The final was due to be sensational, but an incident on turn one saw Jack drop to last and the final was to be a recovery drive for well earned points! What a recovery drive! Hobson knuckled down and drove his race boots clean off! 33rd after one corner to 14th in 17 laps! MEGA recovery and an awesome display of skill, next time Jack!

Senior Finals
With Harry having an awesome time at the front and Sam clawing some decent results the boys were both raring to go. Harry again kept calm, stayed in the mix at the front and showed a mature racing head, staying with the front pack, toying with them and making a place or two. Platten crossed the line, where he started in P4 with 0.55 seconds separating them. Harry had secured the 2nd row (and favoured inside line) for the final! Sam, well Sam wasn’t happy with his P15 style, so, as in the heats, he ripped the opposition to pieces! Crossing P7, securing him an outstanding start for the finals! The lights go green and they’re off for the final time. Platten, was nothing short of outstanding and displayed why he is the rightful owner of the ‘GP’ emblazoned BMR wagon. Sublime, maybe, sheer skill…absolutely. From lap 6 of the 20 lap final, Harry was never out of the top 2, with the lead changing SIX times before the penultimate lap, where once more Harry made the move for the lead. With two laps to go and the gap to 2nd 0.1 seconds Platten defended. Platten made that kart unpassable and deserved to see that chequered flag! Harry took the win by the tiniest of margins, but the first round of the MSUK Wera Tools Nationals belong to Platten and Team BMR! Sam had a mega race too, starting 6th and was finally ‘in the mix’! A tough battle with the top bunch meant going forward was going to be tough. Heading certainly deserved to be at the front of the pack and crossed the line in P6. The front six had pulled away with the rest of the pack and anyone of them could have taken the win, it really was that close!

Well, round 1, done! Roll on Round 2!