SUPERKART CHAT by Gary James, Freelance Superkart Reporter & Commentator
DONINGTON PARK GP CIRCUIT 31ST MAY & 1ST JUNE 2025
BSRC SUPER SERIES ROUNDS 6, 7, 8 & 9 PLUS BRITISH SUPERKART GP & 0 PLATES FOR DIVISION 1 & F250 MONO
MORLEY MAKES IT 11 & 0
Liam Morley put on a masterful display at Donington Park to win his 11th Grand Prix title and also collected the 0 plate. Lee Harpham did his best to secure a win over the weekend but had to make do with the runner-up spot in every race. Honours were shared in the Mono class with Lee Plain securing the 0 plate while Paul Platt won an exciting GP race. Ella Stevens was unbeaten in the F125 Open & KZ LC category and also set a new lap record.
With no time for a practice session due to a packed programme it was straight into the qualifying session run on Saturday morning for 52 drivers. Australian Nick Schembri was making a welcome return to Donington Park after a 6 year gap and was first out on track determined to get in a quick time. He set the early benchmark of 1m 30.422s before Ross Allen shaved off three and a half tenths. Super Series leader Liam Morley was the first driver to dip below 1m 30s. He then traded pole position with Ross Allen before setting a time of 1m 27.634s. While the timing screens showed a 12 minute session, Liam brought the ART kart into pitlane with just over 3 minutes remaining. With traffic an issue Liam sat out the rest of the session but felt there was more time to be gained. The chequered flag didn’t appear after 12 minutes and some drivers were able to get in a couple more laps. Jack Tritton had improved to post a 1m 28.266s lap and was on a quicker lap until he made contact with a slower kart and damaged the nosecone and a tyre. The MS Kart toured into the pitlane but his front row slot was safe. Ross Allen reduced his time to 1m 28.380s as Tritton sat in the pits but then he pitted on the next lap so ended 3rd quickest. Schembri was hampered by traffic on his fifth lap but managed to get in a time of 1m 28.841s a couple of laps later for a slot on row 2. Lee Harpham had been third quickest at one stage and despite staying out to the end while others pitted dropped back to fifth on 1m 28.871s. After a bad test session on Friday hampered by electrical issues, newlywed Matt Robinson was having to run-in the engine during the early part of qually. He finally posted a 1m 28.884s to complete the third row.
Pole position in the F250 Mono class looked to be going the way of Lee Plain. After his tyres had come on he put in a time of 1m 33.225s but was beaten by Kirk Cattermole who, despite using old tyres, went quicker with a 1m 33.040s lap. Samantha Hempshall lapped consistently and was homing in on Plain’s time while he sat in the pits. Staying out until the flag, Samantha was only 37 1000ths adrift of Plain on a 1m 33.262s. Paul Platt had issues with a rebuilt Gas Gas engine which reduced his running time on Friday. His lap of 1m 33.977s put him 4th in class a second clear of Jack Bliss who was making his annual visit to Donington.
Ella Stevens had new bodywork on her Birel chassis incorporating some aerodynamic upgrades and set the pace in the F125 Open KZ LC class. Her best lap of 1m 36.768s wasn’t far off the lap record set in 2017. Ollie Holmes had joined the Birel ranks for this meeting and he was happy with his new chassis called Brian. After being a couple of seconds adrift at previous rounds Ollie was only 0.555s behind Ella. Such was their pace that they ended up 25th and 26th overall on a grid of 52 karts. Joe Rippin kept up his good form from Snetterton to qualify third in class.
Andy Powell was quickest in the Division 1 Cup after John Faulkner stopped with a broken gearbox and Nathan Barton sat out the session as he was suffering from tonsilitis.
Alan Flewitt was the quickest in the F450 class while Nick Flint only managed a single lap.
The Snetterton Round carried over from the previous meeting was due to have 42 starters with grid positions determined by the race 2 lap times at Snetterton. Unfortunately, Kosta Kyritsis had the chain break leaving the dummy grid and gave up his place on row 3, while Mike Parr was absent as he’d become a Dad the day before. Liam Morley was on the front row with Jack Tritton alongside while Lee Harpham and Tom Rushforth occupied row 2. Paul Platt headed the Monos on row 6 while Ella Stevens was the lead F125 Open KZ LC on row 10. She had Ollie Holmes and Joe Rippin in line astern behind. Nick Flint was the only F450 runner, lining up on row 13, as Ronan McClintock had switched to a Division 1 Anderson VM and Chad Jenkins hadn’t entered the Donington meeting. When the lights went out for the 12 minute race Morley made a reasonable start and led down to Redgate but he’d left a gap on his right hand side. Harpham exploited this and the MS Kart took the lead as they rushed in Redgate for the first time. Morley chopped across Tritton to hang onto second spot with the rest of the field streaming through except John Faulkner who’d had a balance pipe in the airbox detach itself on the warm-up lap. Tritton’s race didn’t get far around the opening lap when a front upright broke. Harpham led Morley by 0.136s at the end of lap 1 and they were just under a second ahead of Rushforth with Carl Hulme in 4th. Ross Alen had made good progress from row 18 to slot into 10th place. He was a fraction ahead of the lead Mono driver Paul Platt who had Lee Plain on his tail with amazingly Kirk Cattermole holding third place in class after starting on row 19. Ollie Holmes led Ella Stevens in the 125cc category with Nick Flint circulating in front of the 125s of Aston Baker and Ollie Ridout. Unfortunately, one 125cc driver who didn’t make it around Redgate for the first time was Gary Potkins whose TM seized and left him parked on the exit kerb. As a result the Safety Car was scrambled as the leaders came up to complete two laps. While the snake continued behind the SC, Ross Allen dived into the pits to replace a loose airbox and was able to rejoin at the back of the field. There were a few shenanigans behind the SC but quick work by the marshals allowed the race to resume at the end of lap 3. Harpham held off Morley at the restart, but at McLeans the Anderson driver got ahead. At the end of lap 4 they were separated by only 0.007s as Harpham tried to fight back. Rushforth had lost his third spot when the VM gearbox locked up so that elevated Hulme into third ahead of Gulliford and Edwards. Morley stretched his slim lead over the remaining laps and with a fastest lap of 1m 27.551s on the last lap he crossed the line to win by 2.455s from Harpham and claim the 0 plate.. Gulliford passed Hulme to collect third spot, his best result of the season, while Edwards also got past Hulme on the last lap to claim fourth. Allen made up ground from his earlier pitstop and just beat Tom Riley for 6th place by 0.19s. Struggling with his tonsilitis, Nathan Barton was the only finisher in the Division 1 Cup.
Paul Platt held on to the lead in the Mono class after the restart with Plain glued to his rear bumper. On lap 6 the DEA driver set the fastest lap in the class as he passed Platt into the Melbourne Hairpin. He tacked onto the back of the twin of Chris Wesemael and was able to pull away to take the win and the Mono 0 plate by 5.962s. Platt dropped back and just held off Cattermole at the flag. Hempshall wasn’t far behind Cattermole at three-quarter distance but slowed in the closing stages but was far enough ahead of Ben Ardern to claim 4th in class.
In the F125 Open KZ LC class Ella Stevens took the lead before the Safety Car was deployed. After the restart she was able to get a tow from Mono class runner John Busby and edged clear of Ollie Holmes who was stuck behind the singles of John Reader and Richard Connick. At the flag, the Birel’s were separated by 6.594s. Joe Rippin couldn’t compete with Stevens and Holmes but gained more valuable points with another third place finish to maintain his form from Snetterton.
Nick Flint claimed the F450 category win racing amongst the 125cc runners but was still unable to score any points as there were insufficient entries.
After the race there were a stream of drivers who were summoned by the Clerk of the Course for jump starts and safety car infringements. Eventually, after various discussions all were let off with a warning and the results stood.
Snetterton Round & 0 Plate Race
1st Liam Morley Anderson VM
2nd Lee Harpham MS Kart Harvey VM
3rd Andy Gulliford Anderson VM
4th Mark Edwards MS Kart Harvey VM
5th Carl Hulme Anderson VM
6th Ross Allen Jade IAME
9th Lee Plain Anderson DEA (F250 Mono class winner)
12th Kirk Cattermole Raider CAT TM (F250 Mono Cup winner)
17th Nathan Barton Anderson Barker FPE (Division 1 Cup winner)
19th Ella Stevens Birel IAME (F125 Open & KZ LC class winner)
28th Nick Flint Anderson KTM (F450 National class winner)
Race 1 of the Donington trio didn’t get underway until 6.20pm but still ahead of the curfew time. With grid positions set by the qualifying session earlier in the day, Morley and Tritton were on the front row with Allen and Schembri behind. Cattermole was on row 9 as the leading Mono with Stevens and Holmes locking out row 13 as the quickest 125s.
After one warm-up lap the lights went out and Matt Robinson made a demon start from the third row to lead into Redgate followed by Harpham, Tritton, Morley and the rest. Harpham passed Robinson into Fogarty Esses for the first time and was determined to make a break but at the end of the lap he had Robinson and Morley on his tail. Ross Allen had made up a couple of places to hold 4th spot from Gulliford, Tritton and Schembri. Cattermole led the Monos with Plain and Platt next. Holmes, Stevens and Rippin were on the back of a long train of karts leading the 125cc category. John Faulkner’s day went from bad to worse when he peeled into the pits with his FPE motor suffering from a leaking gearbox. Up at the front Harpham was trying to stretch his lead as Robinson struggled with straight line speed. Morley repeated Harpham’s manoeuvre at Foggy’s and went into second spot. At the end of the lap he was just over a second adrift of the MS Kart. Platt’s chances of challenging for the lead in the Monos disappeared on lap 2 when the throttle cable snapped at the pedal on the approach to Foggy’s. He suddenly found karts either side of him but the unfortunate Geoffroy Rivet couldn’t avoid the slowing kart and hit the back of the PVP tearing off the end plate supporting the rear wing. The Frenchman retired while Platt juggled with throttle cable at the carburettor and continued unaware of the damage over his left shoulder.
Morley’s chase of Harpham gave him the fastest lap on lap 4 with the gap down to 0.322s. Despite his best efforts, Harpham relinquished his lead on the next lap. Morley now had a chance to pull away, but lapping traffic kept the gap fairly constant. Harpham’s rear tyres were past their best and he couldn’t mount a meaningful challenge. At the flag Morley claimed his second win of the day by 2.473s. With Robinson’s lack of straight line speed he was vulnerable along the Exhibition Straight and into the Fogarty Esses. Ross Allen claimed third place at the chicane on lap 4 and pulled away as Robinson came under attack from Tritton. These two battled for fourth spot until Tritton got held up badly by backmarkers and lost touch. Nathan Barton claimed another Division 1 Cup win nearly a lap ahead of Andy Powell.
In the Mono class, Plain took over the lead from Cattermole on lap 2 who then retired a lap later with a big end failure in the TM. Jack Bliss had retired a lap earlier when the the engine sprocket came off and with Platt struggling with a broken throttle cable it was Plain sailing for the Team Wizard driver. Samantha Hempshall moved into second spot in the class and was matching Plain’s lap times but was agonisingly about three seconds adrift. She kept up the chase but at the flag the gap had grown to 6.165s. Ben Ardern moved into third place on lap 3 and pulled away from a scrap between Richard Connick, Arran Maile, John Reader and Rob Austin. Reader left the group on lap 5 when a camber bar broke on the way down through Craner Curves. Maile claimed fourth spot and maximum points in the Mono Cup when he eased clear in the closing laps. Platt continued to juggle the throttle cable with one hand and the steering and gearchange with the other and eventually finished 11th.
Stevens took the lead in the F125 Open KZ LC class on lap 2 and once again used the Monos to help her break clear. On lap 5 she set a new lap record beating the previous best set by Dan Edwards in 2017. Holmes and Rippin worked together to try and close the gap but to no avail. Stevens passed the Mono of Connick on the last lap and took the class victory by 3.327s. Rippin was ahead of Holmes as they started the last lap but Ollie reclaimed second spot into Goddards for the final time.
Nick Flint maintained a safe advantage over Alan Flewitt to claim the 450 class win..
Race 1 Results
1st Liam Morley Anderson VM
2nd Lee Harpham MS Kart Harvey VM
3rd Ross Allen Jade IAME
4th Matt Robinson Anderson VM
5th Jack Tritton MS Kart Harvey VM
6th Andy Gulliford Anderson VM
15th Lee Plain Anderson DEA (F250 Mono class winner)
18th Nathan Barton Anderson Barker FPE (Division 1 Cup winner)
21st Arran Maile Birel Honda (F250 Mono Cup winner)
23rd Ella Stevens Birel IAME (F125 Open & KZ LC class winner)
35th Nick Flint Anderson KTM (F450 National class winner)
Sunday morning was sunny and dry as the Superkarts started the day’s racing before the Bemsee bikes took over. The grid positions for Race 2 were based on the lap times from the previous race and saw Morley and Harpham line up on the front row. Allen and Tritton were on the second row ahead of Robinson and Kyritsis. Plain and Hempshall led the Monos on row 9 with Stevens on row 12 as fastest F125 a couple of rows ahead of Rippin and Holmes. Flint was the top F450 on row 19. There were three non-starters with John Faulkner returning home after the previous days’ problems, Ben Ardern who lost compression in the DEA and Toby Vincent who couldn’t clear his TM engine on the warm-up lap.
When the lights went out Morley once again left a gap on his right and Ross Allen made the most of the opportunity to lead into Redgate for the first time with Harpham slotting into second place. It was a fraught first lap and a few karts went off at the Old Hairpin, among them Nick Schembri who started from the fifth row. Up at the front, Harpham had squeezed ahead and led Allen, Robinson and Morley across the line with the quartet separated by only 0.798s. Kyritsis was next from Tritton and Gulliford. Plain led the Monos with Busby up to second just ahead of Hempshall and Cattermole whose TM had been rebuilt overnight. Unfortunately, Hempshall’s race got no further than Redgate on the next lap when the back brake locked and she went off. The new pads hadn’t been bedded in. Holmes had made a great start to leapfrog Rippin and Stevens to lead the 125s with Flint the top F450.
As there were still stranded karts down at the Old Hairpin the Safety Car was deployed and picked up the leaders at the end of lap 2. Nick Schembri had managed to extract his kart from the gravel trap and joined the back of the snake but he was two laps adrift of everyone else. At the end of lap 4 the SC peeled off into the pits and Harpham timed the restart to perfection leading the pack down to Redgate with everyone well behaved after the ticking off the day before. The leaders swarmed around the circuit on lap 5 but at Coppice one kart slowed. It was Allen in second place. One of the IAME engines had seized and he toured round and into the pits to retire. This gave Harpham some breathing space and he was 1.391s clear of Morley at the end of the lap with Robinson third. Kyritsis was next unable to believe that he was in amongst the leaders of a Division 1 race followed by Tritton and Gulliford. Morley took 0.948s out of Harpham’s lead on the penultimate lap and was looking threatening as they started the final 2.4873 miles. Into the Melbourne Hairpin for the final time, Morley dived up the inside and with the fastest lap of the race took the win by 0.701s. Tritton got the better of Kyritsis and Robinson on the penultimate lap to claim third place with Gulliford also making up two places to secure fourth with Robinson just holding off Kyritsis for 5th. Barton was again the lead Division 1 Cup runner in 12th place after Andy Powell went off on the opening lap.
Plain was never headed in the Mono class and took the win by 5.309s. Second place was a close scrap. Busby got pushed back to fifth after the restart behind Platt, Bliss and Cattermole and just ahead of Maile. Cattermole’s challenge ended on lap 6 when the TM started misfiring. That left Platt, with a replacement rear wing, to just hold off Bliss at the flag with Busby 1.356s adrift.
After the restart Holmes and Stevens got mixed up with the Monos of Reader and Austin as they disputed the lead in the F125 Open KZ LC class. Stevens was able to break clear as Holmes got embroiled with the karts that were faster down the straights. Stevens set another lap record on the final lap to collect the win by 5.738s. Rippin had been lying third but the water pump packed up on the last lap when the bands broke and he pulled into the pits instead of coasting across the finish line. That gave 3rd in class to Jake Baker.
Nick Flint continued to be the top F450 beating Alan Flewitt by 22.759s.
Race 2 Results
1st Liam Morley Anderson VM
2nd Lee Harpham MS Kart Harvey VM
3rd Jack Tritton MS Kart Harvey VM
4th Andy Gulliford Anderson VM
5th Matt Robinson Anderson VM
6th Kosta Kyritsis Anderson VM
12th Lee Plain Anderson DEA (F250 Mono class winner)
13th Nathan Barton Anderson Barker FPE (Division 1 Cup winner)
16th Jack Bliss Raider Honda (F250 Mono Cup winner)
20th Ella Stevens Birel IAME (F125 Open & KZ LC class winner)
32nd Nick Flint Anderson KTM (F450 National class winner)
Race 3 and the Grand Prix for Division 1 and F250 Mono was the last track action before the lunch break. Morley was once again on pole position with Harpham alongside. Tritton and Gulliford were on row 2 ahead of Schembri and Robinson. Plain was on row 7 with Bliss right behind him while Stevens lined up on row 12 and had four karts between her and Rippin.
After the customary warm-up lap, the lights went out and 53 karts streamed down to Redgate for the first time. Morley and Harpham were initially side by side but the MS Kart driver missed a gear on the second phase. This time Morley defended the inside line and led into Redgate with Schembri into second spot as Tritton and Gulliford were slow away. Harpham held third from Robinson. The lead positions were unchanged as they headed into the Melbourne Hairpin for the first time, but Schembri was slightly early on the brakes and Harpham and Robinson dived up the inside to relegate the Australian driver to fourth. Morley, Harpham, Robinson and Schembri flashed across the line at the end of lap 1 separated by 0.86s. Gulliford was next with Tritton completing the top six. Plain led the Monos but Platt and Bliss were only half a second behind. This was going to be a close race. Holmes was ahead of Steven in the 125s as they battled with the Monos of Busby and Reader. Flewitt led the F450 class after Flint dived into the pits.
Morley wasn’t hanging about and determined to reclaim the GP plate from Harpham. A lead of just over a second at the end of lap 2 steadily grew over the course of the race. The gap had doubled at half distance and on the last lap Morley set the fastest lap of the weekend, 1m 26.859s, to claim victory by 4.287s. GP win number 11, a maximum of 120 points in the Super Series and the 0 plate. A perfect weekend. The Harvey Motorsport driver had to be content with another runner-up spot after giving it his best shot. It’s still all the play for in the Super Series as we reach the halfway stage and Harpham is hoping that the next round at Cadwell Park will see a reverse of fortune. Robinson wasn’t going to relinquish third place without a fight. Schembri tried on a couple of occasions to get ahead until a move into Redgate of lap 3 stuck. But he knew that Robinson would be on his tail. That was until lap 6 when the newlywed hit the back of Flewitt while lapping him at the Old Hairpin, pitching the F450 driver into the air and out of the race. Robinson almost stopped while he was trying to get the engine to rev and find a gear before he managed to get back up to race speed. That allowed Tritton, Allen, Gulliford, Kyritsis, Hulme and Edwards to get past dropping him back to 10th spot.
Schembri now had his hands full keeping Tritton at bay. But he kept his cool. The Parker Motorsport supported driver completed the podium with a well earned result after a troubled weekend. It made the long trip from Australia worthwhile. Tritton lost time on the final lap and just held off Allen at the flag, these two well clear of Gulliford in 6th. Kyritsis retired into the pits at the end of lap 7 with a cracked exhaust elevating Edwards who just held off Hulme at the flag. Robinson was closing at the end but had to settle for 9th.
The Mono class race was a close run affair. Platt took the lead on lap 2 with Plain and Bliss right behind. Bliss set the class fastest lap on lap 6 as the trio were separated by 0.794s. Plain managed to draw alongside Platt on the run down to Redgate on a couple of occasions, but each time Platt swept around the outside to maintain the lead. Plain tried again as they went into Redgate for the final time and this time they ran side by side through the corner and down the Craner Curves. Each driver just giving enough room to the other. Platt backed off slightly to allow Plain to lead through the Old Hairpin knowing that contact would spell disaster. Up though Starkey’s and McLeans there was nothing between them with Bliss nicely poised if anything should happen. Out of the Fogarty Esses for the final time Platt got a better run and dived up the inside into the Melbourne Hairpin to snatch the lead. He held on through the final corner to win by 0.452s. Phew! Both drivers wanted the win but Platt claimed GP number 5 in F250 Mono while Plain would have to wait for another year before trying for his first GP plate. Bliss drove a great race to be the lead Cup competitor. Despite a misfiring TM former GP winner Cattermole finished fourth.
Holmes led the F125 Open KZ LC class for 3 laps with Stevens and Rippin in close attendance. Stevens took over on lap 4 and Rippin moved into second place a lap later. Stevens set another lap record on lap 6 as she opened up a gap of 2.868s. The Jade supported driver wasn’t going to be caught as she passed Connick and Austin to put a buffer between her and Holmes. Ella picked up her fourth win of the weekend by 5.445s and extended her lead in the Super Series to 35 points. Holmes and Rippin had a great scrap over the final laps with Holmes getting the verdict by 0.33s.
Race 3 Results & Grand Prix Race
1st Liam Morley Anderson VM
2nd Lee Harpham MS Kart Harvey VM
3rd Nick Schembri Anderson VM
4th Jack Tritton MS Kart Harvey VM
5th Ross Allen Jade IAME
6th Andy Gulliford Anderson VM
13th Paul Platt PVP Gas Gas (F250 Mono class winner)
15th Jack Bliss Raider Honda (F250 Mono Cup winner)
19th Nathan Barton Anderson Barker FPE (Division 1 Cup winner)
22nd Ella Stevens Birel IAME (F125 Open & KZ LC class winner)
42nd Nick Flint Anderson KTM (F450 National class winner)
Thanks to Conan Wearn for supplying the images