Thankfully the racing was close, hard and for the most part very clean with the final proving to be one of the most intense races of the day.
Timed qualifying saw Sam Jenkins take pole position with a fastest lap of 38.31secs, more than a tenth faster than surprise package Mitchell Hale. Hale’s 38.42secs best was a mere one hundredth of a second faster than third place qualifier Max Goff with James Godbehere, Mackenzie Taylor, Jack Parker and championship leader Ryan Cooper all within one tenth of Hale.
However Hale was cruelly robbed at the start of the first heat when his kart failed on the warm-up lap leaving Jenkins with a clear path to victory from a fast-starting Taylor and Goff, who took third after a scrap with Godbehere and Armando Zamparelli. Godbehere would finish fourth with Cooper fifth and Foreman sixth despite only qualifying on the outside of the sixth row.
Even with a healthy Hale able to start the second and final heat Jenkins would lead the race from start to finish, defying the fact that he is still in his first season out of Cadets. Goff and Taylor gave chase and crossed the line less than half a second behind Jenkins but couldn’t find a gap in the Bristolian's defence. Hale finished fourth, still a fine achievement with Cooper fifth once again and Parker rounding out the top six.
A perfect start to the day meant Jenkins had no worries about qualifying on pole for the final with Goff alongside him on row one and Taylor and Godbehere on row two. After his heat one DNF Hale was only eighth on the grid but looking to move forward as long as his kart held together.
