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Strawberry fights on two fronts
Team competes in France and Scotland this weekend
11th September 2009
Strawberry’s Rotax and KF drivers are all in action this weekend (12 / 13 September), with Ben Cooper and Chris Lock aiming to improve their title hopes in the penultimate round of the British Super 1 championships at Larkhall in Lanarkshire - whilst their Rotax team-mates; Luke Varley, Joseph Reilly and Josh Webster could emerge as champions in the conclusion of the Euro Max series, held at the renowned Salbris circuit in central France.
Ben currently leads the KF1 title-hunt by an impressive twenty five points, but knows that he can’t afford to ease up one iota in such a tightly-packed field. However, with such a strong advantage, he knows that he can afford to drop points whilst some of his rivals need to win, if they are to remain in touch with Ben.
Ben Cooper
After a controversial visit to Nutts Corner in the previous round, the team’s KF2 star, Chris lies in fifth place and will be keen to avenge the disappointment of Northern Ireland. However, he will need a perfect weekend if he is to stand a chance of fighting for overall honours in the season finale at Fulbeck (Lincolnshire) in October. The team is confident that the combination of Chris, the Tony Kart EVR and Vortex motor is more than capable of delivering the result he needs.
Strawberry owner Paul Spencer agrees, “I just want Ben to keep on doing what he’s been doing all season. It’s important that he takes maximum points whenever possible but if he can possibly win, then that’s what we’ll be pushing for. We won’t be sitting back.”
He adds, “With regards to Chris, we have a lot of work to do. There’s going to be a lot of argy-bargy in the run in to the end of the season, so we have to make sure we keep out of trouble whilst going for maximum scores. We’ll just have to see what happens.”
Luke Varley
Over in France, the Max team has an embarrassment of riches in terms of their chances of lifting the Senior and Junior class titles. Although he is the sole representative in the junior category, Josh is leading the way. Like Ben he can’t afford a slip-up, but his recent performances at home and in Europe suggest that he is very much in form and with a little bit of luck, he could well be the latest of Strawberry’s Euro Max aces.
Of the previous three meetings, Luke and Joseph have shared a win apiece and thanks to their front-running consistency, occupy the top two places in the table. In the penultimate round of the Super 1 Max championship, Joseph sportingly opted to protect Luke from attack and his team-mates’ bid to win the British title at. At Salbris, it is unlikely that Luke will return the gesture as aims to emulate Chris Lock’s 2008 double.
In what might be one of his last kart races before he graduates to cars, Joseph would dearly like to end his career as the European Rotax Champion. He will certainly be giving it ‘full beans’. And don’t rule out James Greenway, who has also enjoyed a podium this season and was the early points-leader before a blood infection put-paid to his chances at Busca. Now fully recovered, James will be fighting for one of the three places awaiting the championship’s top three – automatic entry to December’s Rotax World Finals, held at the stunning Ghibli Raceway, located in the desert near Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Having recently graduated from junior to senior Max, Barrie Pullinger is continuing to impress with his pace and adaptation to the faster karts and front-brakes. Having taken his first top ten finishes with the team at home, the team is hoping that he can replicate this form at Salbris
As team manager Warwick Ringham says, “I’ve got everything crossed! It would be a dream come true if the lads can lock-out the top three in senior and Josh take the junior crown. Every one of them deserves it and we’ll be doing our utmost to get the best possible results we can achieve. There’s less pressure on Barrie because he’s still learning but if we can get him into the top ten again, well right now, that would almost be like finishing on the podium.”
Opportunities to race with Strawberry’s KF and Rotax teams in 2009 are now available. For more information, please call Warwick Ringham or Paul Spencer on 0114 269 6215/0114 288 9933 or e-mail
info@strawberryracing.co.uk
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