ISSUE 2 THE 22ND OCTOBER 2013 PURPLE SECTOR

WWW.THEPURPLESECTOR.COM

DE BOLTZ-MILLER SMASHES 24HR RECORD

50 YEARS OF BUCKMORE

CRG EYES SUDAM

GAME & PITTINGALE WIN AT CASTELLETTO HERBERT PLATT TAKES 3RD BRITISH DEMOS CHAMPIONSHIP 135CC AT BUCKMORE

Cover photo of Johnny Herbert by Simon Burchett INTRODUCTION From the editor I’m overwhelmed with the response to issue 1 so we’re now back with the second one, with some design improvements! There will be regular polls about what you’d all prefer in what is after all your magazine. Congratulations to Myles Apps for his ABkC Honda O Plate win, and equally well done to Barnaby Pittingale (Easykart Masters) and Bobby Game (KGP) for their International titles - both of those guys have been winning races for as long as I can remember. Mary-Ann Horley Press Releases & Advertising We welcome press releases although we can’t promise to publish them in their entirety. Please send anything for publication by 5pm on Monday. If you do want to guarantee your message will be heard exactly as you want it, please contact us for advertising information. Contact Details Web www.thepurplesector.com Email [email protected] Phone 07876792129 Twitter @PurpleSector26 Facebook facebook.com/purplesector Postal Address Unit 19, PF International , Brandon, Lincs, NG32 2AY Please send any letters for publication to one of the above GENERAL NEWS de Boltz-Miller smashes 24hr record Lloyd de Boltz-Miller drove into the history books when he set a new Guinness World Record at PFi on 8th October following a gruelling 24 hours at the wheel.

The freelance motorsport consultant first hit the headlines in 2009 when he set a new British and European record before going on to claim the World Record the following year. However, America’s Trey Shannon pushed the distance to 845 miles in 2011, sending his English rival back to the drawing board. Two years were devoted to planning this latest assault, with de Boltz-Miller determined to bring the record back to Britain. “We’d planned to run an aggressive strategy, as I wanted to be the first through the 1000 mile mark,” said de Boltz-Miller. “With Trey having covered 845, we’d need to push it but also create a good buffer. However, it came to light that a disputed claim of 1,054 miles (set in 2012) may have still stood. As we couldn’t talk to Guinness we needed to adjust our strategy to break this and Trey’s record. This meant that for the entire 24 hours I was going to have to consistently lap the circuit in less than 34s and that my pit stops couldn’t last more than four minutes each time. My fastest lap on low fuel and new tyres in testing was 30s dead. This meant I had to drive the entire record like a sprint!” Despite their communications equipment failing before the attempt had begun, prompting Lloyd’s support crew to invent a range of interesting hand signals to ‘talk’ to him from trackside, everything was going to plan during the opening few hours. De Boltz-Miller survived some exciting moments during his fourth stint when his water bottle holder broke, leaving his drinks container to empty its contents at the first corner, which made for a couple of interesting moments. “Throughout, the package - CRG Black Star chassis and IAME X30 engine - worked flawlessly,” Lloyd said. “We had a single issue with a sticking throttle cable but my mechanics, Shaun and Russell Carter, replaced it in just three minutes during my ninth stop.” As the hours rolled on, keeping de Boltz-Miller focused and informed without a radio led his team to try some interesting experiments, as Lloyd explains: “They tried to make life a little comical. I would come out of the last corner to find them gesturing, dancing, building human pyramids and even spelling words with their bodies on the gantry over the track. One of the film crew wrote a sign and held it out to me. It said “Make History” and this served to really put the bit between my teeth.” The physical toll also began to have its effect: “Whilst the circuit had been chosen for its pace, its physical demands were very much of an unknown over distance, but soon revealed themselves. Because of the high-speed, sweeping corners and minimal opportunities to rest, it meant that after around 10 hours the effect on my mind and body was similar to that which a very high aero car exerts on a driver. I’d have to hold my breath before entering Turn One as I was loaded with the effects of G-force for around 8s plus. But this is what I wanted - the ultimate test!” To further keep him focused on his task, friends joined Lloyd out on the circuit in their own karts and creating new competitions: “Riki Christodoulou joined me for three stints and it was a real tale of cat and mouse as we traded lap times. Olly Walker also came out and the rivalry saw me bang in my fastest time of the event a 29.61s after around 20-21 hours of running.” This tactic almost had a catastrophic effect on the challenge though, as Lloyd reveals: “I was broken though. My team had to lift me out of the kart for the last five stops, but I continued to smash the time sheets! I also had an ‘off’ 40 laps, during which I dropped half a second off pace due to agonising stomach cramps. Going into my penultimate stint I couldn’t grip the steering wheel and decided to stop using the front brakes, which are operated by a lever by the steering wheel which you need to pull firmly. Despite all my aches and pains, my speed was still good and my final stop sent me out with just over an hour to go. With 50 minutes remaining I started to crank up the pace and finally broke the record with 38 minutes remaining.” Although he had achieved his goal, Lloyd used the remaining time to put the record beyond doubt: “I wound on the pace and was lapping within a hair’s breadth of my fastest lap, every lap! I was going hell for leather. It was my chance to make history and put the record out of reach. I was 100% dialled and the clock was ticking. I really feel this was the drive of my life!” Photos by Lou Boileau More Information • Lloyd’s new world record is 1081.66 miles. As a key part of his 24 hour challenge, he is also raising money for Cancer Research UK. Donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/24hrWR. • Lloyd could not have achieved his goal without the support of a dedicated team of friends and family, plus factory assistance from CRG SPA, IAME and Strakka Racing. • For more information and updates you can follow Lloyd on Twitter, just go to @deBoltzMiller or visit his website, www.lloyd-miller.com. News in Brief After 42 drivers had raced wheel to wheel at Buckmore in a series of heats and Prefinals, victory finally went to Dartford’s Myles Apps. Zip driver Apps won the last big national event for the Honda drivers by over 7s from Rory Hudson and Matthew Hopcraft, battling terrible weather as well as more than a full grid of competitors. The fastest driver on the track was Super One champion Kiern Jewiss who finished 13th and the top Clubman driver was Oliver Appleby. Results ABkC ‘0’ Plate Honda Cadet results.pdf Trent Valley Kart Club is proud to support the North of Ireland Karting Association’s Masters Award in 2014. A new concept in 2013, the Masters Award is given to a driver who has finished in the top three at the NIKA Championships and name is pulled at random from a prize draw. The lucky recipient will receive a fantastic prize package which allows him/her to compete at the 2014 MSA Kartmasters British Kart Grand Prix at PF International kart circuit. Many 2013 kart drivers tested on Monday in Formula Renault 2.0 at Barcelona in an official collective test. George Russell, Max Verstappen, Alex Palou, Vasilly Romanov and Lorenzo Pulcini were some of them and Russell finished up 4th overall. Overall test times arehere . ROTAX RL Racing to run winter training camps in Lanzarote The first of the popular training camps runs between 6th and 22nd December at Gran Karting Lanzarote and returns to the Canary Island on 3rd January and runs until the 10th.

“We’ve selected Gran Karting Lanzarote not just for the terrific winter weather but also the different features and benefits it offers to us and the driver,” says team principal Steve Armstrong. “The track has a nice variety of corners and offers long laps. This presents drivers with a series of technical and physical challenges. Also, the much better weather is an obvious advantage, as the dry conditions create the opportunity for a greater and more consistent number of laps, in which to fine tune the driver and their equipment.” He adds: “The daily schedule consists of a lot of seat-time - up to 300 laps per day - plus we devote plenty of time to detailed analysis of the driver and their kit. I genuinely believe that the RL Racing Department training camp makes you fitter, faster and better prepared for the new season.” More Information • Call Steve on 07843 586416 or contact him via [email protected]. Drives available for 2014 • RL Racing Department (Tony) - Steve Armstrong on 07843 586416 or accounts.rlracingdept@live. co.uk • KR-Sport (Tony) - Ashley Orchard on 07921 225680 or [email protected] • ST Racing (Gillard) - John Stewart on 07500 958789 or [email protected] CIK-FIA CLASSES Sudam testing at Lonato CRG is looking for drivers to test what could be the successor to KF.

CRG is trying to get numbers of interested drivers for a test day with the Sudam engine at Lonato. The day would be free once you’ve got yourself to Italy. Sudam is a multi-manufacturer formula used in South America and until recently was homologated by the CIK-FIA. The Sudam is in essence a 125cc version of the old ICA engine, i.e. water-cooled and push started and was put forward by one of the manufacturers at a recent CIK test of the ideas mooted for the next engine homologation in 2016. Anyone interested in testing at Lonato should register their interest via reporter Andy Gould at [email protected]. Thonon moves to Praga The Belgian driver has signed to the Slovakian team for KZ in the rest of 2013 and 2014.

Praga owner Peter Ptacek told Kartcom on Saturday night that Jonathan Thonon had just signed a three year contract to drive for the Praga team. At Lyon the day before, Jonathan had told the French website about his search for a new team. Sodi was one of the possibilities, but finally Praga prevailed, giving the Belgian champion an opportunity to revive his career after a difficult 2013. Praga will rely on Thonon as a top driver at the WSK Final Cup at Castelletto alongside Patrik Hajek to take the blue chassis with a Parilla engine to success. Events coming up The third round of the KFJ French Championship will be at Angerville, on November 8th and 9th during the last round of the Endurance French Championship. It was originally to take place at the Bruno Grana Trophy but there were too many entries. More information from: Team Karting Compétition 20, rue des Fosses Rouges 77590 Bois le Roi France +33 6.85.13.29.26 The Industrial Trophy will be at Lonato on November 10th and top drivers such as Lando Norris, Enaam Ahmed (both KFJ) and last years KFJ winner (KF) have already entered. Entry forms and all information about the race are at www.parmakarting.it. Platt takes 3rd British Superkart Championship Paul Platt and Gavin Bennett took the MSA British Superkart Championships and BSA National Championship for Division 1 Superkart respectively.

Platt was three times BSA National Champion for 125 Open and now he has topped it by taking the MSA British Superkart Championships for three years on the trot. This is a massive achievement in karting let alone Superkarts. Paul was full of emotion as he came in to the pit lane after Race 1, having successfully stuck to his race plan. The relief was clear to see as he took his helmet off before being interviewed by MotorsTV. Gavin Bennett wrapped up the Division 1 title in Race 1 and elected to not go out in the rain soaked Race 2. A wise decision as he heads off to Le Mans for next weekend’s showdown in the CIK-FIA European Superkart Championship. Results 134231krt.pdf KGP Game wins KGP “World” title Toby Sowery looked as if he would be the only driver to challenge Bobby Game at Castelletto until an engine failure.

Game went on to win by 4.5s from Danny Keirle who was a massive 12s ahead of Riccardo Scotti in the wet conditions. Keirle took pole after 4th and 1st in his heats with Game lining up next to him on the grid for the Final. Game took the lead at the start and led throughout the race. Sowery has always been unlucky at the International Finals, going back to his Easykart days. This weekend, he said: “Had bad luck all weekend having to qualify with a cracked cylinder head putting me down in 20th. Then oiling up in one of the heats. Started P11 on the grid and got up to 2nd going on for the leader and bang! The big end fails. Luck isn’t on my side this year whatsoever.” Results kgp direct drive - international trophy - race results - 2013-10-20 17.24.02 EASYKART Pittingale takes yet another Easykart international win Barnaby Pittingale started 9th at Castelletto but after chaos at the start of the wet Final came out in the lead and finished 0.8s ahead of Marco Ianotta.

Davide Spreafico was 3rd and the next best Brit was Sam Dimelow in 4th, who believed he would have been higher if he hasn’t had to deal with a recalcitrant backmarker. Ayrton Hirst was 8th after going too low on tyre pressures and then was taken out by a local driver. In Juniors, Vaclav Safar won the Final and the top British driver was Esmee Hawkey in 15th while Callum Croxon didn’t finish and Thanassi Barnicoat was given a penalty in the Repechage. X30 Dramatic results in X30 Finals at Lyon The biggest class, Seniors, had 119 competitors, pulling in drivers from across the world both from KF and established X30 competitors.

Frenchman Nicolas Gonzales won in Seniors on a drying track, finishing 5s ahead of his compatriots Anthony Cout and Kevin Breysse, but Cout (after Qualifying 1st and winning his heats) didn’t weigh after the race and was disqualified, promoting Thomas Ricci to the podium. Jules Bollier is the new Junior champion from Amaury Bonduel and Julien Andlauer but Britain’s Josh Price was down in 25th although he had shown well in the heats on unfamiliar equipment. Frederic Blin won Masters but was disqualified for celebrating with family before Parc Ferme so the honours went to Thierry Raccamier, and Mike Halder won the X30 Shifter Final. Meanwhile, in the UK the IAME X30 engine will be launched in 2014 with drivers starting to try the engine out in Junior and Senior form at PFi, with tests available from JM Racing and Maranello UK. CLUB & CIRCUIT Buckmore Park celebrates 50 years With F1 star and Buckmore old boy Johnny Herbert in attendance, Buckmore Park Kart Circuit’s 50th anniversary celebrations over the weekend were a great success despite best efforts of the British weather.

Many of the kart circuit’s old boys came back to in join the celebrations and also John Surtees OBE, the only man to win the World Championships on two and four wheels and a great supporter of the venue for many years, popped in during the day as part of his work for the Henry Surtees’ Foundation Charity set up by John in memory of his son Henry who was killed in a freak motor racing accident at Brands Hatch. Johnny Herbert was the star of the show demonstrating a restored 135cc Cobra/Komet which he used to win the British Karting Championship in 1982. The Kestrel/Cobra kart brand was manufactured by circuit owner Bill Sisley in the 70s and 80s and was one of the most successful karting brands, winning the British Championship for 10 consecutive years. Also joining in on the day was Indian F1 star Karun Chandhok who actually started his motor racing career at Buckmore as a youngster. Further kart demonstrations during the day included circuit owner Bill Sisley, a kart champion himself in the 60s and 70s, and his son Tom, a multi-kart and car champion in the 90s who demonstrated the prototype 1959 ‘Yellow Peril’ go kart, the first ever machine to be built in the UK. Further demonstrations included a high speed demo by the U18 World Champion Henry Easthope, using the very latest 100 mph KZ1 125cc international equipment karting equipment, and a display by the British Historic Kart Club of machinery from 1961 – 1982. Buckmore Park is the circuit where many current and past drivers learnt their trade, including Herbert and World Champions Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton (who was discovered by Ron Dennis in the 1996 Champions of the Future Event held at Buckmore Park). Recent F1 graduate Max Chilton also started his career at the circuit as did Mercedes F1 reserve driver Sam Bird. The circuit also played host to Princes William and Harry who made their debut in 1992.

Buckmore boss Bill Sisley commented: “It’s was a fantastic weekend and I am really grateful to Johnny for spending so much time here and to all the other Buckmore ‘old boys’ who came back to see us. I’m also sure that one of the young drivers that we saw over the weekend in the Honda Cadet race will be in Formula One in 10 years time.” Photos from the top: Johnny Herbert demonstrating a restored 135cc Cobra/Komet; Tom Sisley demonstrating the prototype 1959 ‘Yellow Peril’ go kart; Honda Cadets SINGLE SEATERS Barnicoat and Kodric to Fortec for Renault Autumn Cup will field four drivers in the Protyre Renault ‘Autumn Cup’, with 2012 KF European Champion Ben Barnicoat set to make his car racing debut with the Daventry squad.

The 16-year-old, who has been part of the McLaren Young Driver Development Programme since 2010 and is also supported by the Racing Steps Foundation, is widely regarded as one of the UK’s premier motor racing talents and will be making his ‘slicks and wings’ debut in Protyre Formula Renault (formerly BARC) at Rockingham International Super Sportscar Circuit on 16th - 17th November. He has already tested at Anglesey and Rockingham. “It’s a big step in any kart driver’s career,” said Barnicoat. “But the Foundation is making sure I do it in the right way with the right team in the right series. The other RSF drivers who have taken the same route in the past have shown it’s the right way to go so I’m delighted to get the same sort of backing to move me on. “It won’t be easy racing against drivers with a lot more experience than me but I’ll be doing my best to make sure I do as well, if not better than the other RSF drivers who have gone before me. That’s what the Foundation will be expecting and that’s what I’m aiming to deliver.” Croatian 16-year-old Martin Kodric will also make the move to single-seater competition for the first time, having enjoyed a highly successful karting career in Europe. Winning his first title in 2008 in the Croatian Comer Cadet Championship, the Zagreb-born racer went on to claim the 2010 Italian Rotax Max Junior Challenge crown and the prestigious Trofeo Andrea Margutti in 2012, racing with Ricky Flynn Motorsport for the last few years. The other two drivers are the Chinese driver Hongwei “Martin” Cao who had an excellent season in the main Protyre Formula Renault championship this year, and Yosuke Yamazaki, the 2012 Asian Formula Renault 2.0 Champion who is making his UK debut. “The Autumn Cup is a great extra addition to have at the end of such a competitive season, giving the rookies their first races and an opportunity to develop as a driver and, more importantly, develop their racecraft skills”, said Fortec team manager Daniel Mitchell, “Having Cao back once again is great news, not only has he developed into a race winning driver this year but also as a leader. “Both Ben and Martin Kodric have both shown promising pace in the little testing they have done to date, we’re looking forward to seeing how they improve. Yosuke is an exciting prospect, he is a proven race winner in the Chinese Formula Renault series so we can’t wait to see how he gets on.” Photos from the top: Ben Barnicoat and Martin Kodric, by Chris Walker THIS WEEKEND Racing on 26th & 27th October International • WSK Final Cup, Castelletto, Italy • European Superkart Championship, Le Mans, France Club • Lincolnshire KRC, Fulbeck • Camberley KC, Blackbushe • Jersey KC, Sorel Point • Bayford Meadows KC

Also on this week is the Henry Surtees Challenge, coming up tomorrow at Buckmore Park. Drivers of all levels will compete on equal Club 100 machinery for prizes and car tests that will do a lot to boost the careers of the winning drivers.