The chequered flag falls on the 2016 season

The chequered flag fell over a fantastic 2016 Pembrokeshire Karting Championship with the crowning of our new Champions. Michael Lloyd Davies (Carmarthen) triumphed over Brian Newton (Llanybri)by just two points to become the Heavyweight Champion whilst Sam Joseph(Swansea)became the Lightweight Champion by defeating Stuart Davis(Milford Haven) and William Samuel Dolbear (Sageston).
Drivers arrived at the circuit to find rain and uncertainty on what the track conditions would be like. Rain hasn't affected a PKC event since 2015 so several drivers who hadn't experienced wet weather driving were understandably nervous.
The Fastest Lap Challenge opened the event with Sam Joseph taking to the track first as the rain continued to fall. Looking for grip on his out lap Sam spun but recovered to ultimately post the quickest time, despite the rain stopping and the track drying out as his rivals headed out after him. His lap gave Sam his first win of the evening by topping the final leader board of the Fastest Lap Challenge and gifting him with a driving experience in a Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Round 7 began with Sam Joseph quickly setting the pace with a victory in Race 1 but title rivals Stuart Davis and Sam Dolbear fought back and took the wins in the remaining races. At times it looked like Stuart and Dolbear could cause an upset and win the round and in the end Sam Joseph was tied on points with Stuart but just narrowly won the event after going down to the better qualifying record.
In the heavyweights, Michael started on the back foot despite several strong performances indoors allowing him to open a gap to Brian, who preferred outdoor racing. Off the line Brian was quick to seize the advantage and won the first three races but a collision in the feature race allowed Michael an opportunity to take enough points to secure the title.
Despite losing the title, Brian picked up the Masters Cup for the second year in a row for being the best over-40's driver on the grid. Melany Howell(Deface Felindre) did a fantastic job to claim the Ladies Cup for the second year running ahead of mum Tess Howell (Deface Felindre) and was 4th overall in the lightweight standings. George Rogers (Carmarthen) began the season with little experience and was near the back of the field, however he showed progression throughout the season and overcame the other new drivers to become the Rookie of the Year and one to watch for next year.
2016 has seen the standard of racing stepped up from previous seasons. Every driver who has taken part has raced hard but fair and have displayed tremendous skills in a variety of racing conditions.
Pembrokeshire Karting would like to thank every driver who has participated in this years PKC and hopes to see everyone again in 2017. We would also like to thank Daniel Francis and Ian Davies from West Wales Karting along with Nigel Morgan and Daniel Eddison from Carew Karting who have both sponsored this years PKC and hosted our events. An extended thank you is given to Huw Jones of Smith & Jones Electrical Ltd for his continued support of the PKC and Ryan Thomas ofStanceBound who has generously taken time this year to be our official photographer. Thank you to Ryan Forward for religiously sharing our posts throughout the season. We've never met or spoken, but it's nice to know there is someone out there who is raising the PKC profile to a wider audience.
We'll be carrying out our annual end of season survey in the coming days to gauge feedback for next year.
Our attention now turns to our Winter Endurance League which will start in November or December. Keep an eye out for updates over the coming weeks.