For the first time, 36 drivers descended on Three Sisters in Wigan to make history: compete in the first NRKL event ever. The event would be held under the lights, with the track itself greasy and drying out, meaning our drivers would have a true test to start off.
With equal entries over our 3 classes: Lights, Middles & Heavyweights, all 3 classes would be mixed together for this inaugural event. That meant that everyone would race against each other, regardless of class, making a true challenge for our drivers. The grid itself was made up of drivers from various series around the country including the world of indoor karting and outdoor karting.
As the heats started, it was clear there would be some battles throughout the whole field. Each of the 6 heats were hard fought contests, with elbows out throughout the whole field. By using the heats to establish a driver's grid position for the final, every position mattered.
When the heats were over, the points were totted up and drivers were slotted into the A or B final. The big talking point when the grids came out was that John Paragon was the only heavyweight to qualify for the A final, meaning he was guaranteed a top 2 finish. This was only because the winner of the B final would start in last for the A final, meaning if the 11 remaining heavyweights wanted to take the victory, they knew what they had to do.
The B final itself ended up being won by middleweight Connor Ratbhone after a late penalty for Oliver Bailey dropped him outside the top 5. Behind him, Cayle Simmons and Tom Owens finished top 1st & 2nd in heavyweights, earning them a step on the podium, and Guaranteeing Paragon the victory before the A final started.
The A final itself saw an amazing race long battle between Tommy Lee, Barry Lakes and James Barrett. The trio were inseparable despite Tommy & James being lightweights, and Barry being a middleweight. Despite having a near perfect run in the heats, it wouldn't be David Metcalfe's night, an incident going into the first corner dropped the favourite out of the running for the win. Behind, Rathbone was blazing a trail through the field, managing to run as high as 7th despite starting 18th and last.
The race would end with a drag race to the line between the top 3, with Tommy Lee breaking the beam first to take the overall win with James Barrett second and Barry Lakes 3rd, the top 3 separated by just a single tenth at the flag. Behind them, Scott Clenaghan won the battle for 4th ahead of Adam Davis and Jacob Sharrock who were also separated by a hand full of tenths.
"A massive thank you has to go to everyone who turned out to race, having 35 drivers on the grid for our first event is more than I could of ever expected and only shows the interest in what we are doing here." said championship coordinator Tom Gibson. "Now we are looking forward to the opening round of the 2023 season with lots of drivers showing interest in joining us for the full season, it promises to be a great season."
The full NRKL calendar will be coming soon!
