Tiff Chittenden, Rick Osborn and Adam Christodoulou in the final

 

With rain predicted for much of mid-June 2007, it was a welcome surprise that on June 13th the sun would decide to shine on Rye House, the venue for the 2007 EVO UMMS cup.

 

Set in Hertfordshire, Rye House was the chosen venue to provide the appropriate backdrop to the finale of the UMMS academic year. With the track offering a couple of long straights with a similar number of tight hairpins, near flat out kinks and turns, Rye would prove to be a real test for all the drivers' skill and bravery. The event was a culmination of months of careful planning, with a maximum grid of 20 drivers competing over two heats and a final in sweltering heat.

 

As well as UMMS members being present for the day, the society also welcomed two of its ambassadors to one of its events for the first time. Tiff Chittenden, presently leading the British Super1 DD2 championship and Riki Christodoulou from British Formula Renault made the journey to Rye to meet UMMS members for the first time. Both drivers put in exemplary performances, with Chittenden winning the final and R.Christodoulou ending up with fastest lap of the day.

 

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Schedule and grids from the official race programme

 

Practice began at 3pm, with each driver getting their first taste of the track in Club 100 karts on the day and acclimatising themselves with the extremely grippy surface. With many members having never raced 2-stroke karts before, there were a few near misses and leary moments as people got used to the big step up from indoor to outdoor karts. After the 10 minute session was complete, many drivers were desperate for a drink as the sun beat down high in the sky - the prospect of fifty more minutes of track time would place a premium on driver fitness as well as talent.

 

Poleman Riki Christodoulou

 

Heat 1 saw R.Christodoulou and Chris Gornall line up on the front row, closely followed by ex-Club 100 champion Marc Mercer and ex-Super 1 cadet and Yamaha star Ed Perren. A crazy first few laps saw Rick Osborn tangle with Tarasch Rawjee on lap 2, with a myriad small battles between drivers breaking out as the race became more and more strung out. Up front Chittenden, Christodoulou and Mercer broke away from the pack, often changing position many times with each circulation of the course, however they finished in that order come the chequered flag. Gornall rounded out the top five, harrying the rear bumper of A.Christodoulou all the way to the flag.

 

 

Having taken a 10 minute break to reflect on the frantic action of Heat 1 and take on some fluids, Heat 2 saw even more mayhem than the first race. With the grids reversed and the more experienced drivers being put to the back, overtaking was a common occurrence in the opening laps as drivers battled for position. Heat 2 winner Chittenden got caught up in a few scuffles, impeding her progress through the grid, meaning she finished seven seconds adrift of race winner Riki Christodoulou, in spite of her 42.39 lap time being the fastest of the heat. R.Christodoulou was closely followed home by his cousin Adam, with Mercer demonstrating his considerable Club 100 experience to finish just behind Chittenden to take home a solid 4th. Perren also performed excellently despite a weight disadvantage by aggressively throwing his kart around, 6th place the reward for his efforts. Newcomer to 2-stroke racing Mike Douglas also did fabulously well to outshine those with a history of Club 100 racing by finishing in the top 10 in 8th place in the #13 kart. Most consistent driver of the day so far was Myles Ahmed-Shaman who amazingly managed to exactly match his fastest lap of Heat 1 with a 44.33. Neil Turner and Dave Osborn also put in particularly good drives in this heat to finish 9th and 12th respectively.

 

 

The temperature both on and off the track had now reached its highest with many drivers showing signs of fatigue as the event wore on - all this with the final race to come. Both ambassadors for the society filled out the front row as expected, however what was to happen in the race was certainly not. With the Union Jack being waved for the final time of the day, the race began with Chittenden grabbing an early lead and Vice-Champion of Karting R. Christodoulou being hung out to dry through turn one. Further back Douglas made a rocket of a start, briefly pushing up to sixth place through the early turns. On lap 2 the top seven was nose to tail dicing for position, when at hairpin one R.Christodoulou made an audacious attempt to slip past his cousin. Unfortunately for the youngster, he braked far too late, clattering into A.Christodoulou and spinning himself out in the process. This let the chasing pack through, headed by R.Osborn making a recovery after poor performances in the heats.

 

As R.Osborn went in search of hunting down leader Chittenden, others jostled fiercely for position, notably Julian Norman and Jonny Philp who had been enjoying a private dice all afternoon - a tussle eventually won by a determined Norman. Salvatore Sirignano also improved his pace for the final, the Manchester BUKC representative finishing 11th after quickly circulating in the 44 second bracket. R.Osborn's day finished in spectacular fashion, his fortunes going from bad to worse when he retired in an accident with Turner. As part of the top trio of Chittenden and a recovering A.Christodoulou, R.Osborn tried to slip through a gap to pass Turner, however Turner did not see Osborn and the pair collided. Turner managed to carry on to finish 16th, however R.Osborn was out with a broken track-rod.

 

As the race wore on, the karts became gradually more spaced out and A.Christodoulou was unable to catch Chittenden, fresh from her 2nd place at PFI in the recent Super 1 championships. Mercer finished 3rd eight seconds back, struggling slightly with weight, but a strong performance nevertheless. Gornall in the #2 kart had been quietly impressive all day, being close to the sharp end in every session - a 4th place finish beckoned for the one time PFI Kartmasters victor. Despite earlier attempts to drive through his cousin rather than round him, R.Christodoulou's kart showed no loss of pace as he managed to set a stunning fastest lap of the day with a 42.16 on lap 18. He was followed home by the excellent Perren - 1st of the UMMS members - with fastest debutant of the day immediately behind him in the impressive Douglas. A special mention must also go out to Canadian Rawjee who managed to race all race with a bent axle which must have shook all the fillings out of his mouth - an appointment with soon to be dentist Perren has already been booked.

 

 

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Julian Norman, Ed Perren and Tarasch Rawjee on the UMMS podium -/- Overall winner Tiff Chittenden

 

The racing over, all the drivers then took in the final presentation. Moët & Chandon provided champagne for Chittenden and R.Christodoulou to welcome them to the society, with another pair of bottles awarded to Perren and Douglas for their victories in UMMS members and 2-stroke debutant classes respectively. Perren was given a trophy for his efforts, as well as a model Jaguar E-Type from EVO and a stylish shirt and hat from Italian motorsport racewear designers Alpinestars.

 

Committee members with Tiff Chittenden and Riki Christodoulou -/- Alpinestars prizes

 

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves on what was a long and very hot day in Hertfordshire. New drivers such as Chris Slinger and Andy Hopper were given an exciting first experience of 2-stroke racing and are no doubt ready for more of the same soon. The UMMS has already begun plans for an even bigger and impressive event next year, so keep your eye out on the website for further news on how you can be a part of that event.

 

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Race programme cover

 

The UMMS committee would like to extend its thanks to a collection of people. Without them, this fantastic day would not have been possible. We would like to thank EVO (particularly Phil Mitchelson, Marketing Manager), Alpinestars and Moët & Chandon for providing the prizes for this day, giving extra glamour to an excellent day of racing. Further thanks must be given to Henry Catchpole, writer for EVO who took time out of his busy schedule to make a guest appearance and field many questions from our members during the day. A large thank you also goes to Club 100 and Rye House for ensuring smooth running of the day throughout and putting on an excellent event. James Knopp and his film crew must also be thanked for filming the entire event, the footage of which we hope to provide in DVD quality in August. Finally, we wish to say thank you to our ambassadors Tiff Chittenden and Riki Christodoulou for making an appearance at this event.

 

Alpinestars -/- Club 100-/- EVO -/- Moët & Chandon -/- Riki Christodoulou