Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge - Nov 2013 - Official Race

[Paulaweybridge]

Hi everyone,

Hope you are having a great summer.

I should have named January's race at Autosport International " The Autosport International Karting Challenge " not the "2013 Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge". However it was hosted by Johnny Herbert in memory of the late Dan Wheldon and the charity Alzheimer's that was very close to Dan's heart. See: http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=135248

You can see how successful the race was in raising money for the charity which is also dear to my heart as my brother has Alzheimers.

See: http://www.johnnyherbertkarting.co.uk/

BUT Roy Craig, who has been organising for many years with others the official race on behalf of Johnny Herbert, has recently announced that it's back on Saturday November 30th 2013 at the Raceway in Charlton, South East London before the 'Autosport Awards' the following day.

The 'JHKC' race was last run there in December 2010.

Mike Segal and his Raceway team have supported the event for years now and we are all glad that it's returned to it's spiritual home. His hospitality and catering is legendary ...

See: http://www.theraceway.com/

Also it will be great to return to a dedicated kart circuit instead of the slippery temporary track at the NEC in Birmingham.

So my team 'Hamilton's Flyers' is already booked in and I am certain that it's already heavily booked by many of the other kart teams and celebrities that have supported Johnny and his chosen charities down the years.

Even if you are not racing, it's really worth coming to and supporting the event. There is only a small donation/payment to make at the door towards the chosen charity.

The food is always good and the bar is open afterwards.

Also you can meet some of the famous celebrities and race car drivers that always attend, get their autographs and take fotos of them on their own or with you and/or others.

See some of you there and we can't wait.

[Paulaweybridge]

Latest news: October 25th 2013

I must be psychic but last Tuesday I thought something was wrong with this year's Challenge, so I tried to call The Raceway and there was no answer. I also looked at their website and it was no longer available.

I was hoping to arrange practice for my team.

So I called organiser Roy Craig and he too had just found out about the sudden closure of the venue.

So, we are going to a new track in Barking on November 30th and it's longer at 1050m than 'The Raceway'(850m) or outdoor track 'Daytona Sandown Park' (900m), making it the longest indoor track in the UK.

It even has an 80 metre straight for speeds in excess of 45mph!!

They are using the same make of German karts that Michael Schumacher uses at his kart circuit(s).

Here's Roy's news: http://www.johnnyherbertkarting.co.uk/

Paula


Shock Closure of The Raceway means a change of Venue

It was with shock and surprise when I learnt of the sudden closure of The Raceway Docklands circuit …. we have been associated with this company for many years and of course are very saddened by this news ……..but …… by sheer coincidence another even bigger circuit is about to open not far away in Barking…….this is where we will be on Saturday 30th November so it will be a challenge in more than just a name.

Although the owners still have much work to do before their official opening on 7th November we look forward to being their first big event to be held………..there will be a new fleet of Rimo karts for you to race and of course this new track to try out your skills…..with the likes of Johnny himself, Sam Bird, Danny Watts, Ollie Millroy and Tiffany Chittenden and more it will be great to see new lap times set.

We can’t expect the same level of space that we are used to in the Catering area so please bear with us while being part of this new venture.

The address is: Capital Karts Barking ..Rippleside ..IG11 0RJ……….check it out at www.capitalkarts.com

I look forward to joining you all in this new chapter to The Johnny Herbert Karting Challenge

Roy Craig

[Paulaweybridge]

Only just over two weeks before the race ...

Our team 'Hamilton's Flyers is really looking forward to the event and racing at the new circuit in Barking is going to be very different.

Anna Richards
Lucy Owens
Peter Griffiths
Matt Tiffin http://www.matt-tiffin.com/
Tony Fisher
Matt Hamilton http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/matthew-hamilton/

I am too ancient and slow to compete but will be looking after my team.


Some old karting friends from 10+ years ago and ex Formula 6 drivers are taking part this year, so it will be great to see them again.

There are Ben Langford, Oliver Cooper-Welton with James Skyers.

So hope that some of you will come along and support the teams.

There is a small entry fee of £5.00 which will go to the charity.

See the latest news .. http://www.johnnyherbertkarting.co.uk/ including details of the auction after the race.

Cannot wait now ...

Paula

[Paulaweybridge]

Hi everyone,

Once again the JHKC was a great success with 19 teams taking part.

Considering the venue has just opened, overall Capital Karts did a pretty good job.

I am sure that they will make many improvements over the next few months.

Here are the results.

http://www.johnnyherbertkarting.co.uk/

!st Place – The Halow Flyers - headed by Sam Bird – team members = Tom Hunt – Tamsin Germain – Riki Christodolou and Connor Mills


2nd Place – Howard Kayman – ran solo for the whole 3 hours but pitted as many times as all other teams


3rd Place – Rapid Response -headed by – Lane Bednash – team members – Daniel Gibson – Glen Beard -Michael Prager – Ashlee Bablee


A new lap record was set by Connor Mills of 66.890 secs ………The Halow Flyers will now have there name added to the JHKC shield


Qualifying .. .. Pole position was won by Hamilton’s Flyers .. a team entered by retired motorsport photographer Paula Hamilton by sheer coincidence the pole sitter was none other than New Zealand Kart Champion Matt Hamilton…2nd place was taken by The Halow Flyers with PDS Motorsort 3rd.

As far as my team were concerned, they were brilliant considering what happened. Thanks team ...

Johnny Herbert charging up through the field punted pole sitter Anna Richards's kart straight off into the barriers around lap 3 of the race which dropped us down to last place while the marshals waited for all the teams to pass by before pushing her kart out of the barriers... Otherwise I reckon we could have achieved a podium. Johnny did give both Anna & myself a hug during the race and said 'Sorry'... Fighting back through the field from last to 10th was very creditable and great to watch. As I was hoping for a top 10 finish this year, I am fairly happy but also sad for the team after achieving pole and setting consistent fast laps throughout the race.

Matt Hamilton's pole position was 68.521 secs and as the track rubbered up, lap times fell but he also achieved the second fastest race lap of 67.072 secs during the team's final stint to get us back up the leaderboard !!!

At the end Johnny Herbert's team ' The 2 Johnny's ' were only two places in front of us in 8th position.

Sadly Lucy Owens was unable to attend because she was unwell so we had a team of 5 drivers. Get well soon Lucy.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Roy Craig and all his helpers for their stirling efforts this year.

After the sudden closure of The Raceway in Charlton back in October, we were indeed fortunate to have a race at all.

So there we go and already looking forward to 2014's event.

Merry Christmas folks and a Happy New Year.

Paula