The prestigious British Open Championship, where drivers compete to run the 'O' Plate for the rest of the season took place at Rowrah as a final shakedown before the start of the Super One British Championships.
Minimax saw a brilliant start by drivers Jonny Edgar and Clayton Ravenscroft, taking 1st and 2nd in Timed Qualifying to give them the prime positions going into the heats.
Heat 1 saw Edgar convert his pole position into the race victory, Ravenscroft finished the heat in 6th position after a solid race.
Heat 2 was a combative race for both drivers, Ravenscroft taking the lead at the start as Edgar was knocked back into the pack with the congested opening lap.
Edgar recovered back to 2nd at the flag, but was hit with a 10s penalty for a front bumper infringement. Ravenscroft coming home in 7th.
The Pre-Final again saw harsh luck for Edgar. Despite a race long battle for the lead, he came home in 3rd position, only to again fall foul of the new bumper ruling. Ravenscroft had a hard race in the hard fighting midfield, coming home in 5th.
Edgar on home soil put on a great fightback from 9th, to gain 7 positions and finished 2nd at a line, just missing out o a record 4 'O' Plates in a row.
Junior Max duo Adam Smalley and Tyler Chesterton qualified in 6th and 9th for the racing heats. Smalley would be the victim of bad luck in the opening heat, finishing down in 19th position, whilst Chesterton faired better coming home 6th.
Heat 2 saw Chesterton finish 4th in a super close finish in a train of 3 karts. Smalley again was luckless in the race, finishing 10th despite setting the second fastest lap.
Smalley gained 5 positions in the Pre-Final to finish a strong 6th, again with strong pace. Chesterton had a difficult race being knocked down to 10th at one point from 4th position. later recovering to 8th at the finish.
The Coles duo would start 6th and 8th in the Grand Final. In the hard fighting grid, progress was hard to come by in the race, Smalley finishing in 5th and Chesterton finishing in 15th after being knocked back in the Final.
Senior Max saw drivers Josh White, Tom Croydon and Stephanie Le Vesconte experience a difficult weekend. White fairing the best in qualifying with 5th position.
None of the drivers could catch a break in the opening heat, as all drivers faced a bad luck in an up and down heat. White finishing 8th, Croydon finishing 15th after a front fairing penalty and Le Vesconte finishing in 14th.
Heat 2 was another hard race, with the front pack breaking away, progress was hard to make in the talented field. White coming home in 5th, Croydon 13th and Le Vesconte 14th.
The Pre-Final continued to be challenging for the team, as the action hotted up in preparation for the final. White battled through to 6th, before being demoted for the front fairing, Le Vesconte came home in 10th, whilst Croydon was forced to retire 5 laps from the end.
Cruel luck restricted White to just a single lap in the Final, after being taken out of contention in the opening skirmish. Croydon and Le Vesconte faired better, making good progress to come home in 7th and 8th at the finish.
Overall it was a challenging weekend at the British Open, with the team in general missing out on that of luck needed to be victorious, despite showing great pace all round.
Attention now turns to the opening round of the Super One British Championship in just one weeks time, again at Rowah, where the team aim to make amends.
