Round 5 - 2018

There was a night of close and exciting racing at Round 5 of the 2018 PKC recently as the series returned to West Wales Karting before the Summer break.
It was a night of mixed racing with the heavyweights racing with the intermediates. Michael Lloyd Davies (Carmarthen) kept the inters honest and was able to secure the heavyweight win ahead of Andrew Cook(Clydach) and Andy Martin (Haverfordwest).
The intermediate category continued to provide thrilling racing among it's drivers with several competitors vying for the event win. Trev McCullagh (Newport) struck first with a pole in qualifying but the race format meant he started last in race 1. A strong drive saw him fight through to third with John Mason (Johnston) taking the controlled victory. Races 2 and 3 saw Tess Howell (Drefach Felindre) emerge as favourite with consecutive wins although McCullagh and Ashley Hutchings(Pembroke) continued to mount a strong challenge with Hutchings taking the final race win of the event. There wasn't much between the top 3 drivers but it was Tess who ultimately kept a cool head to lead Trevor and Ash on the podium.
The lightweight division saw the competition compete closer than ever with a mere 0.230 seconds recorded between first and last placed fastest laps in race 2 - a true testament to West Wales Karting's commitment to kart parity. Reigning Champion Sam Joseph (Swansea) was first out of the blocks with the fastest time in qualifying which translated into 4th place in race 1 ahead of closest title rival Colin Rowland Mason (Johnston) with rookie driver Eirian Joyner (Pencader) taking his first indoor win in the PKC. The preceding races saw Mason and Joseph trading places. Mason has been gradually closing the performance gap to Joseph on the indoor circuit all season and it was this round he was able to claim an event victory over Sam and his first event win since his return to the PKC! Joshua Partis (Milford Haven) is renowned for his consistency and once again proved this trait by taking a string of third places, although a last place in race 2 halted his hopes of a strong finish, instead settling for the final step of the podium. Partis is definitely a driver to keep note of as an outside bet for the title.
Andrew Cook picked up best rookie and masters driver of the event while Tess Howell claimed best female. In a slight change to the Fastest Lap Challenge format, the competition was held as drivers arrived with Sam Joseph taking the win.
A big thank you to West Wales Karting and all of their staff for looking after everyone and providing fantastic equipment enabling the competitors to really showcase their talents.
We now enjoy a period of calm over the Summer months before the PKC roars back into action for Round 6 in September!