Sunday warm up rolled around and with the rain coming down, Rond took a spin and when trying to recover his kart, was collected by another spinner and was left with an injured ankle. Determined not to miss another round, he pushed through to complete the day.

A messy start to Heat 1 meant that Fountain was left with a bumper penalty from the off, a solid race from him saw him cross the line in 15th on track and drop to 18th after penalty applied. Rond was caught in an unfortunate accident adding to his day of bad luck but pushed hard to round out the heat in 24th. Mylum kept himself steady and pushed forward to cross the line 11th.

It was wet tyres on a drying circuit for Heat 2. Mylum continued his solid performance and consistency crossing the line 9th. Rond had a challenging heat constantly changing positions, and a hard hit from behind sent him into another drive resulting in a bumper penalty, leaving him to finish the heat in 16th. Fountain was left down the order after an early spin, but recovered solidly. A bumper penalty sadly dropped him back down the order and he finished out the heat 13th.

The final rolled around and Mylum was the top finisher of the Vitesse team coming across the line in P11 when the flag came down after a strong effort to hold position, but then was hit with a bumper penalty and dropped to P15. Fountain was next across the line for the team taking the Top Novice accolade consecutively, and rounding out his weekend with a P17 finish. Rond stayed in the battle for position until the very last second, and showing improvement throughout the day, to cross the line in P18.

The team next go to Forest Edge Kart Club for round 4 of the championship and the Southern Championship plate.

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After a month out of the seat due to an injury from Round 1 of the championship, Rond was back in action. Coming in strong on Saturday practice and showing little sign of being out of the seat, he was consistently in the top 15 contenders. Putting in a steady performance, Saturday’s qualifying session saw him cross the line just on the brink of a top-ten finish, eleventh. Mylum returned after a challenging round 1 with something to prove. He too was impressive all through practice, where he was fastest in the wet sessions. A drying circuit in qualifying saw him put the kart in twelfth on the grid. Fountain, who was in Vitesse colours for the first time, immediately impressed. The young novice, taking part in what was his fourth meeting, was consistent through practice and keeping with Mylum and Rond. Qualifying proved tricky as Fountain found himself in the wrong position on track and being held up, costing his best lap time and resulting in a twenty-third-place finish, something that soon proved to be no obstacle for him.

The first of two heats had the whole Vitesse team wishing for more. Mylum had a strong start but a small mistake sent him off the circuit and pushing for a recovery drive, finishing the session in eleventh. In a similar situation, Rond was involved in an incident on circuit and forced to leave the tarmac, dropping down from fifth to sixteenth on the road, and with one lap to go, finished out the race there. Fountain had a stellar start going from twenty-third to twelfth in the first lap and staying there until a spin in the wet weather saw him drop to fifteenth. Pushing forward and closing the gap, he crossed the line in fourteenth. Heat two was a better showing for the Vitesse trio with all three karts in the top eleven. Mylum was hit hard and left the tarmac, hindering any progress already made. Putting in a hard stint and securing the fastest lap, he crossed the line in ninth. Rond struggled with the changing conditions, but stayed in a consistent rhythm and crossed the line in eleventh. Fountain showed how impressive he can be, becoming highest mover on track and gaining fifteen positions to take eighth across the line. 

A drying track on slick tyres faced the drivers as they headed out for the final. The combined qualifying heats saw Mylum start in ninth, Fountain in eleventh and Rond in fourteenth. Mylum had a steady start gaining two positions into seventh, when an unfortunate spin after clipping a wet patch, sent him back down the order and rejoining the circuit in sixteenth, gaining another three places before the clock hit zero to take thirteenth. Rond was the best finisher of the three challengers, managing the conditions well and placing consistent lap times, greeting the chequered flag in eighth. Fountain also took a trip off the circuit after an early spin, but this didn’t stop his progress and he crossed the line in eleventh claiming the Top Novice trophy too. 

All drivers showed strong speed in wet weather conditions across the weekend and leaves the team feeling optimistic for Round 3 of the championship. Next up for the team is Forest Edge Kart Club for Round 3 of the championship.

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Warwick Mylum was the lone Vitesse contender in the Inter-Max category. Saturday practice was promising with the SODIKART driver putting it top in practice. Heading into Sunday, Mylum faced three-random grid heats. Never finishing outside of the top four on track, Mylum was pushed down the final starting order after receiving two front-fairing penalties. The final was all to play for as he lined up fourth. A battle for the lead into the first corner left Mylum in where he started. Quickly moving forward to second place, he turned his focus to the top step of the podium. Chasing down the leader for the remainder, and punching in fastest lap after fastest lap, Mylum knew exactly what he needed to do. In a textbook manoeuvre, he placed his kart perfectly and made the move into the final turn, coming across the line in first. Marking the first Inter-Max win for the team and the young driver. Showing that hard-work pays off, Mylum will be back for more at Whilton Mill later this month.

Junior Max saw three SODI Vitesse entries in the form of Haywood, Sarkus and new edition to the team, joining from the SODIKART OKJ team, Rao. Haywood had the kart on rails as he propelled forward in every heat, lining the kart up on the front spot for the final. Pushing hard on a fierce grid and contending for the win, the drivers race came to an unfortunate end. He ended up as collateral damage in another’s fight and could not finish the final due to a damaged exhaust. We will be back to fight for that deserved top step.

Sarkus improved on his previous efforts from Round 1. Still gaining his MSUK signatures and running on novice plates, he started from the back of the thirty four kart strong grid. Pushing forward a total of thirty three places in the heats, he started the final from seventeenth. An effort to not go unnoticed. A constant battle in the final and never giving up, he crossed the line in thirteenth and with an improved lap time by eight tenths. He will be back for even more in Round 3.

Rao had a weekend of firsts. First time at Forest Edge, in the Junior Max class and racing the MOJO Tyre. Having to adapt his driving style from OKJ to Junior Max, he already had a tough battle ahead. Saturday was about learning the circuit and adapting. Entering Sunday feeling confident, he found almost half a second in pace and looked competitive. A good set of heats saw him round out the top ten on the starting grid. Fighting forward and staying in the top ten, a mid-race accident out of his control, saw him drop down the timing board. He raced forward and crossed the line in fifteenth. The team will continue his driver development in the OKJ category through a series of test days.

Next up, the team head to Whilton Mill for Round 2 of the Club championship. We will be back with a vengeance after a difficult Round 1.

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Saturday was a mixture of practice and qualifying. Faced with the new track layout and having not taken part in earlier testing, the drivers approached it head on and with good results. Unfortunately, qualifying did not favour the young team. Rond, who took a trip off the tarmac and into the tyre wall resulting in injury, saw his weekend end before it had started. With an assessment from the paramedics leaving him unable to race under new MSUK guidelines, he had to sit out for the remainder of Round 1 of the WMKC championship, and leaves him unable to compete in the upcoming FEKC Round 2 meeting. A blow for the young driver, but the team are sure he will come back even stronger.

Mylum, now the sole Vitesse entrant for the weekend, left qualifying in 19th position out of a 34 strong grid. However, a later disqualification from the session, left him starting from dead-last. A disappointing feat after an impressive effort.

Quite literally starting from the back foot, Mylum could only go up from there, and he did just that. The two remaining qualifying heats on Sunday proved tricky to gain positions, with the majority of both being raced under Battenberg conditions. Gaining numerous positions but then being hit with a  Front Fairing penalty, saw Mylum finish Heat 1 in 25th. Heat 2 saw him gain 12 positions and cross the line in 21st.

Combined heat finishing positions meant Mylum lined up 25th to start the final. Making good progress in the first lap and pushing forward, Mylum was caught in someone else’s accident causing him to leave the circuit. Having lost time and the leading pack, he pushed hard to gain places but this unfortunately set the tone for the remaining laps. Closing out the weekend in 21st position.

The team will be back in April to fight for more. For now, the team turns its attention to Round 2 of the Forest Edge Kart Club championship.

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Inter-Max saw Nathan Rond and Warwick Mylum sporting the SODI colours. Both drivers closed out their three heats with consistent top 6 finishes. Rond’s best was P5 and Mylum’s P3. They lined up alongside one another for the final, with Mylum in P5 and Rond P6. A strong start for both drivers saw them tow one another for the majority of the opening lap, until an unfortunate off for Mylum saw him drop down the order. He didn’t let this stop his charge and pushed back to chase the leading pack, that had Rond fighting in. Unfortunately, an accident ahead meant Mylum had to take avoiding action and leave the circuit. Thinking this was the end of his race, the team were disappointed, but he rejoined the fight as the clock ticked down. Punching in fastest lap after fastest lap, Mylum was lapping three-tenths quicker than any other driver on the circuit. Although an incredible push back to the front, the timing-clock was not on his side and as the race finished out he came across the line in P5 and taking the fastest lap accolade with one of the best performances the team has seen from the young racer. 

Rond proved consistency was key when it comes to results. Pushing the entire race and staying with the leading pack, putting in his best performance of the day. As the last lap board came out, Rond was sat comfortably in P4 but knew this wasn’t all he had. As they exited the Grandstand corner, he kept his eye on the prize and made a last lap manoeuvre to move him forward into P3. Putting in an impressive defence, he took the chequered flag in the podium position, giving his best-ever finishing result! Having pushed for this moment since entering the inter-max category at the beginning of last season, Rond thoroughly deserved the trophy. The team will continue to push forward and climb the podium.

Dalton Haywood returned to the team after a hiatus from kart racing to race motorbikes. He first ran in Vitesse colours during the inaugural season of the SODI UKC Academy in Micromax, but now joins us in Junior Rotax. Having to miss the majority of Saturday practice due to illness, Haywood started on the back-foot. With the all clear from the medical team, he was set to go for Sunday’s racing. The heats were a mixed bag of results after receiving a front-fairing penalty in Heat 1. He recovered well in the remaining heats with two top 4 finishes and started the final from P7 on the gird. The first lap set the tone for the rest of the race. A competitive train remained for the final and made it tough to gain positions. After a hard fight, Haywood finished up the final in P5 after two well-placed overtakes. Leaving the final feeling we had more to give, the team and Haywood will be back at Round 2 to fight for that podium finish. 

Aronas Sarkus joined the SODI Vitesse Junior Max roster this weekend and gave a promising first performance of more to come from the novice driver. Having to start from the back of the random-grid allocations, Sarkus was up against it from the start. This didn’t hold him back and he gained a total of 36 positions across his three qualifying heats. Entering the final in P14 on the gird, Sarkus was the highest novice by 6 positions. Weighing in at 10KG over the Junior Max weight, Sarkus could be at a disadvantage, but this didn’t stop him pushing hard and retaining his position, crossing the line in P14 at race distance. Taking home the Top Novice trophy whilst he was at it! 

The team are back in action at Whilton Mill for Round 1 of their championship at the end of the month and are looking forward to building on the foundations laid at Forest Edge. Hopefully adding more trophies to the team collection! 

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After missing practice and a Qualifying Heat on Friday due to schooling commitments, Nathan Rond was starting the weekend on the back foot.

Saturday consisted of the three remaining qualifying heats. Heat 2 was a strong 12th and in Heat 4 he came across the line 18th. An unfortunate DNF in Heat 3, after being caught up in someone else’s accident whilst inside the top 10, meant he had two none-finishes.

Rond didn’t let this hold him back and went into Sunday and the remaining races full force. In an incredible push to get to the front, Rond made his way from 24th on the grid to 7th by the end of Sector 1 on the first lap in the Pre-Final, which made him the highest mover of the day in Inter-Max. Delivering consistent laps saw him cross the line in 9th at full race distance.

Lining up 9th for the Final, Rond went into it all or nothing. After a challenging opening stint, he settled in and placed strong lap times. When the chequered flag came down, the SODI Vitesse driver finished up the race in 14th. An impressive stint from the young driver sees the team looking forward to what else he can achieve this season, especially when luck lines up on his side.

The team look to Forest Edge Kart Club this weekend for Round 1 of the 2024 FEKC campaign, competing in Inter-Max and Junior Max.

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Qualifying was difficult and left Blantford on the back foot. Pushing forward from 62nd was not going to be an easy feat and Blantford gave it his all.

The Qualifying Heats saw 5 contests for each driver to give the top 60 qualifiers for the Pre-Finals A and B. Blantford after consistent heat results, but unfortunate to have seen a DNF in Heat 4, progressed to 50th overall in the standings. Starting 25th for Pre-Final B, Blantford went into it with an ‘all or nothing’ attitude.

After an impressive start, having made it to 15th by the third corner, Blantford got caught in an on track incident and took a nasty hit, causing injury to his wrist. Still pushing through the remaining 17 laps, he came across the line 22nd.

The accumulated points from the Heats and Pre-Final weren’t enough to push Blantford through to the Final and so the weekend ended there. Nevertheless, Lucas showed what he was capable of on a highly competitive gird in a class he hadn’t driven before.

Lucas ends 2023 there and will spend the off-season in recovery, ready to push forward into 2024.

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The heats proved mixed for Mylum who made up numerous places in both Heats One and Three, but Heat Two saw an incident on track result in a loss of places. The combined heat results meant Mylum started 5th for the final. After an impressive start, a penultimate lap incident left Mylum unable to finish and resulting in a DNF. Prior to the incident, Mylum showed his potential and constant improvement.

Rond showed consistency was key across the weekend. With a solid set of Heat results across all three contests, he started 8th for the final. Battling throughout the race, the chequered flag came down and he crossed the line in 5th. Rond displayed his developed race craft and ability to be consistent.

Willcox joined the SODI Vitesse ranks for the first time and impressed immediately bringing home Top Novice, climbing 4 positions in the final and finishing 8th. On his first outing with the team, he demonstrated his ability to push forward and make decisions when it counts.

In Senior Rotax, Bobby Rosier immediately took to the SODI Sigma RS3 chassis and showed its competitiveness on a tough grid. Rosier was never far from the podium positions, with his worst finishing position being P7 after a 8 position climb in Heat 3. Lining up P2 for the final, Rosier took the lead from the first corner and never looked back. Leading by over 2 seconds, a battenburg put a stop to Rosier’s charge, but he never lost sight of the goal. The green flag waved and in a textbook style drive, Rosier lead to the finish line. Not to mention setting purple lap after purple lap. Leading every lap and taking fastest lap, it was a drive to remember.

The team look to Italy, as they compete in the WSK Final Cup at South Garda Karting with Lucas Blantford in the OKJ category.

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The team had two entered into the Inter-Max category with Warwick Mylum and Nathan Rond.

After an incident in practice leading to a red flag, Mylum could only get one practice under his belt before qualifying. Going into qualifying, Mylum started strong with consistent P6 pace, but another incident on track left him being unable to complete his last two laps, crossing the line 12th. Rond had a strong start in the damp conditions during practice, but struggling to switch the tyres on in the short qualifying period, meant the best he could achieve was 26th.

Going into the heats the team were confident they had more to give. Mylum put in two stellar performances to finish 17th and 7th, leaving him to start 9th for the final. Rond was hindered early on with a penalty in heat 1 leaving him 28th and pushed forward for 19th place in heat 2. His results combined meant he started 25th for the final.

Both drivers started the final with a point to prove. Mylum pushed forward to P8 before an on-track tussle dropped him back down the order. Still nursing an injury from a prior accident in the weekend, he remained in the fight and crossed the line 12th. Rond put in a stellar performance to push forward 9 places before a mistake from another driver resulted in Rond being pushed off the circuit. Having to start his fight over again and with damage to the kart, he crossed the line in 29th.

Despite the final results, the team look positively on the weekend as both drivers showed real potential and development in their driver ability.

We head back to PFI next weekend (27/28/29 October) for the start to our Winter testing.

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