Phoenix FM racing driver Lochlan Bearman took time out from the two championships he is contending to compete in the London Cup at Rye House. The London Cup is a renowned one-off race which has been running for over twenty years and attracts the best drivers from across the country to compete in this televised event in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
Lochlan went into the event as one of the favourites in the Minimax category. Practice day was Saturday and although he was on the leading pace he suffered numerous technical issues with the kart – but still finished the day with the fastest time.
On race day the grid for the first heat was determined by qualifying with the fastest driver getting pole position. Just before qualifying started there was a massive downpour which left everyone scrambling to change from a dry to wet set-up. The Cooper Motorsport team did a great job and Lochlan finished qualifying 3rd fastest which put him in 3rd place on the grid for Heat 1.
In Heat 1 he was boxed in at the start and dropped to 5th but calmly picked off 2 of the karts in front to finish 3rd, which put him in 3rd place for the pre-final. In the pre-final he got a good start and was in 2nd as they entered lap 2. He followed race leader Taylor Bellini for 2 laps before diving down the inside at the hairpin to take the lead. From that point he did not look back and led to the finish.
This put him in 2nd place for the final but on the outside which usually results in dropping a few places as the karts go into the first corner ‘Stadium’. This is exactly what happened and he dropped to 5th. He made a move at the hairpin to gain 3rd position and the karts raced down to hairpin two he stood his ground as another driver tried to squeeze him out. The karts made contact and the other driver landed onto Lochlan but without causing any damage. Lochlan continued in 3rd place. He gradually clawed his way up to the lead battle and the top 3 circulated nose to tail for 8 or 9 laps. It was evident that Lochlan was struggling for straight line speed but with 3 laps to go he made a brilliant out braking manoeuvre to take 2nd place at hairpin two. Although he caught the leader Bellini who then went defensive he could not find a way past and had to settle for second.
After the race Lochlan said, “Although it is great to be on the podium at this event I am disappointed not to have won. I just didn’t have enough speed on the straight to put me I a good enough position to make a safe move on Taylor. It’s been a really good event and I’ve had great support from Grice Engines, Cooper Motorsport and my friends and family.”
Lochlan’s challenge for the Hunts Kart Racing Club championship continues next weekend at the Kimbolton Circuit in Cambridgeshire where he lies in 3rd place 49 points behind the leader and 4 points behind 2nd place. He continued, “We had a really bad start to the year at Kimbolton but I’ve been clawing my way back up. Atlhough there is a big gap to the leader there are 132 points available per meeting so with 4 rounds left I won’t give up on winning the championship.”
