Young Gun's Latest News

Juniors Top Class

The juniors put on another excellent show at Birmingham wheels at the first meeting in June, Alfie Dover had his work cut out in heat 1 when Alaster Houghton made the brake and looked like he was going to take the win, however Jordan Taylor had other ideas and punted Alaster wide which saw a half spin and him drop to 7th. Alfie just managed to conect with Jordans back bumper on the last lap and out drag him to the line with Alaster recovering for 3rd.

Heat 2 saw Rob Keys keeping up his tarmac form with a well deserved Victory and the feature was an excellent race despite a shabby start with James Eve regaining his confidance after a roll at Buxton and manging to hold on to take the final win with Rhys Humphrey second and Alaster Houghton 3rd. an excellent run in the feature for Alex Butcher and Jordan Thackra, Alex was unlucky when he span and Jordan tangled with him as Alex was setting off again. The juniors really are putting on a great show and one or two more Karts on track will make them something special to watch.

Dover Double

The Juniors had an action packed weekend at Buxton with Alfie Dover taking both features. However it was not all plain sailing and Alfie was only awarded the feature on Saturday night after James Eve was docked 2 places for Jumping the Start. Alaster Houghton had a first ever heat win on Saturday and placed well all weekend, Holly Hinckley, James Thakrah and Mitch Beaumont all had weekends to forget but Robert Key, Alaster and James all pushed Alfie hard. Alex Sherriff had a lot of bad luck too with damage in the first race that put him on the back foot but a well deserved podium place on Sunday made up for all the bad luck. Regular hirer Sam Dobbs showed his ability with consistant results on Saturday and Jessica Waraham was very quick at times. Scolarship driver Rhys Humphrey was so unlucky not to get his first win after the Yellows almost certainly robbed him of a heat win. The 11 Juniors on Saturday and 10 on Sunday put on a first class show and should all be very proud of what they have achieved.

Dover Dominates

Alfie Dover took 2 heats and a feature at the opening meeting at Birmingham. 13 Juniors made it out on track with lots of new names. The young Guns put on a great show and were a credit to the formula.

Record turn out for juniors.

Stoke this Saturday will see 14 juniors take to the track at Stoke and this will be a record for the juniors. 2013 certainly looks like it will be a big year for the juniors with more and more interest being shown by both parents and their kids.

Old new Driver!

2013 sees the return to the tracks of current gold top and national points Champion Chris Butchers son Alex. Alex has been around the formula for as long as Dad Chris has raced, with the introduction of the juniors he was gutted that the original age limit was 12 but when it was dropped to 10 he was probably one of the happiest young men around. So how can a 10 year old be an old new driver? Chris built Alex a a small kart with a roll age on and when the formula used to run at private hire events Alex used to take his Kart out with his Dad to get a few laps practice. At a Buxton shale meeting a couple of seasons ago during testing at Buxton he was even seen sticking the bumper in on ex BriSCA F1 Superstar Andy Hodgeson. 2013 will be a learning curve for Alex but there is no doubt that with dads knowledge of the karts and Alex's ability he will be a star of the future.

Stoxkarts Scolarship Driver

Stoxkarts Ltd. have announced today that they have agreed to offer a scolarship place to a new junior driver Rhys Humphrey. Rhys is known to a few of the drivers as he can often be seen in the pits helping out other drivers. His enthusiasm for the formula is infectious and hence the reason Stoxkarts decided to offer Rhys a season long Scholarship and the use the 002 hire Kart at all Junior meetings. Welcome on board Rhys.

2013 juniors looking good.

the 2013 season looks like it will be a big one for the juniors. Defending champion Joe Higgins steps up to the seniors but 2011 champion Alfie Dover has one more season in the juniors. Along with Alfie will be 3 season veteran Robert key jnr, lady racers Holly Hinckley, Jessica Warham and a new addition in Rosie Muxlow. The other juniors are Edward Moore, Alex Sherriff, James Eve and Sam Dobbs. Newcomers Alistar Houghton and Jordan Thackrah are looking forward to getting out on track. There are also several new drivers testing at Buxton in February

2012 Young Gun Champion 229 Joe Higgins

A nail biting climax to the Young gun Championship saw Joe and Alfie going into the final Stoke equal on points. A toss of the coin gave Joe the inside for heat one. As the pack shot away Joe made his Move on Alfie and drove under him, eventually with 3 to go Joe caught race leaderHolly Hinckley and moved her wide going into to turn3, alfie had to settle for 3rd behind Holly.

Heat 2 saw the same outcome for Joe with a victory but Alfie managed 2nd. With Joe starting at the back of the pack for the feature he only had to follow Alfie to take the title, however it did not quite pan out like that! Alfie slowed on the first lap and Joe took the chance to shoot through, a lap later Joe was Balked by traffic and Alfie took his chance with the bumper and sent Joe fence bound, an excellent manouver that 99 times out of 100 would have seen the fenced Kart retire with chain issues. Today was not to be Alfies day as Joe managed to bounce of the fence unscathed. He set about chasing the field down and re passed Alfie but this time leaving no chance for Afie to connect with his bumper Again. Joe went on to take the Feature win along with 2012 Young Guns Title.

All the Juniors that have raced this year have done the formula proud and with 5 new drivers already signed up for 2013 it looks like the Juniors have a bright future.

Down to the wire!

The 2012 young guns championship is all set for a nail biting final at Stoke on Saturday with Alfie Dover and Joe Higgins tied on points at the top of the table. A clean sweep by joe and 2 dnfs for Alfie at Birmingham has left both drivers tied on points after the dropped scores are taken into account. Edward Moore has secured 3rd place in his first season, mechanical failures have hampered his season after a string of feature wins at the start of the season. 4th is a 3 way battle between Robert Key, Hooly Hinckley ond Ale Sherriff. The juniors have been great this year and with at least 5 new juniors looking to race it looks like 2013 will see the junior formula fully established.

Northampton Round up

Septembers Northampton once again saw Juniors as part of the main meeting. Heat 1 saw a rare mechanical breakdown for Alfie Dover which looked like it was going to give Joe Higgins the points advantage, however a race stoppage whilst Joe was leading saw his kart unable to start so he had to be pushed to the centre. With championship Rivals out Edward Moore had the chance to close the gap but he also had mechanical issues which saw new hirer Samual Dobbs take the win in his first ever race from Holly Hinckley and Jessica Wareham. Heat 2 saw Joe take an early lead with Alfie second and Edward again on the centre with mechanical problems. Joe held on for the win with Alfie second and Samual 3rd. The opening laps of the feature saw some good bumperwork between Joe, Alfie and Samual which let Edward get into a clear lead, Alfie ran second with Joe making up half a lap to pass Alfie with one to go, Alfie used his bumper to good effect and relegated Joe back to 3rd which left Edward clear for the win.

The Juniors drove superbly considering the monsoo conditions and it is once again getting very close at the top of the Charts.

Extra Junior Date.

With the Young gun series really hotting up we now have an extra date to the fixtures for the Juniors. They will be racing alongside the seniors at Buxton on 21st October. This gives them an extra chance to gain some valuable points towars the Young Guns Championship.

Web Site Problems

Appolagies for the lack of updates on the juniors section, we have had a few problems trying to upload the latest details.

It is all goon news on the junior front with another new owner driver and another lady to boot! Jessica Wareham raced at Birmingham with older sister Ashleigh racing at Birmingham and Skegness in the seniors.

The Juniors are looking very good at the moment with a couple more juniors due to join us in 2013. At the top of the tree it is a 3 way battle with Edward, Alfie and Joe all batteling it out. In recent weeks lady driver Holly Hinckley has really begun to shine with a race win at Birmingham followed by some excellent drives at Stoke over the 2 days. Although not challenging this year for the points Holly has a new Kart being built and will be a major contender in 2013.

Northampton Round Up.

7 Young Guns raced at Northampton as part of the main meeting and they put on a great show. Heat 1 saw Joe Higgins taking the lead early while Edward Moore, Alfie Dover and Robert Keys having a good battle for second, Alex Sherriff was borrowing a Kart for this meeting and was having his own battle with James Eve. Holly Hinckley was putting in some good laps at the back of the pack and getting quicker with every lap. Unfortunatly a comming together between Robert and James saw them hitting the wall and it ended up with James on his roof! Both drivers were fine and on the restart Joe took the win.

The second heat saw only 5 karts racing, this one saw Edward take an early lead and Alfie and Joe had their own battle for second, Alex was having handeling problems and had a few spins while Holly came through to take 4th place.

The feature saw alex leading early, Alfie eventually took the lead and Joe and Edward were so busy batteling they could not close in on Alex. Alfie won with Alex second Edward just pipped Joe on the last bend and Holly was 5th but less than 1/2 a lap down. Excellent racing again.

Young Guns all firing!

There has been some superb racing from the Juniors so far this season and current Points leader Edward Moor has really impressed with his super smooth driving style. Unfortunatly the Juniors were cancelled after only one race which saw Joe Higgins taking the Flag. Birmingham Wheels on 26th saw Joe Higgins taking advantage of his grid position to take the win from Robert Key Jnr, Holly Hinckley and Alex Sherriff had a big coming together which saw Alex flying through the Air and Holly with a bent axle and no front wing. Heat 2 saw 528 Robert Key Jnr taking his first ever tarmac win, Further back Alfie Dover, Edward and Joe were busy fighting amongst themselves. James Eve took a spin and Joe just managed to move Edward to take second, some really good driving from all the juniors.

Holly managed to get her kart mended for the feature and took her place at the back of the grid. James Eve hit the front while again Joe Alfie and Edward were batteling together. Joe broke free and managed to catch James but they tangled allowing Edward through into the lead, a really good race for 2nd and 3rd saw Joe Higgins just managing to just beat Robert over the line for second while Edward Took his 3rd Feature win of the Year. Alfie Dover managed 4th with Holly picking up 5th with James in the final points scoring place. Well Done all of you.

2012 Young Guns Series

Saturday 7th April saw the opening round of the 2012 Young guns Championship. 7 Drivers contested the first round, there was some good clean racing with the old guard not getting it all their own way.

Heat 1 saw the new names of Edward Moore 26 driving the 5 kart as his had engine problems, James Eve 698 and lady driver Holly Hinckley 99 joining Robert Key Jnr 528, Alex Sherrif 35 in a very smart new Kart Joe Higgins 229 and defending Champion Alfie Dover 352.

The first race saw Alfie carrying on from where he left off last year after Joe lost his chain, the new drivers were soon getting the hang of the karts with Holly having a minor spin, Alfie took the win with Alex second and Robert 3rd. First of the new drivers was Edward in 4th. Heat 2 saw a non start for Joe due to not being able to sort his chain. James Eve was really getting to grips with his kart but was eventually overtaken by Alfie who went on to take his second win of the day. James was second with Robert 3rd and Edward again 4th.

The feature was a cracking race, James was away early again but Edward soon passed him and started to pull away, Alfie and Joe were having their own private battle further down the field, Alfie eventually passed Joe and set off after Edward who had opend up quite a lead. The karts were going round 3 and 4 abreast and it was great to watch, Joe and Robert were batteling for 3rd which Robert eventually got, Alfie had to settle for second this time as Edward Moore in the 5 kart took his first win in the formula. Well done to all the Juniors on some excellent racing.

Young Gun Alfie

Alfie Dover drove a tactical meeting to make sure he took the Young Guns Championship at Birmingham Wheels. Alfie knew all he had to do was finnish all 3 races to take the title. Joe Higgins won all 3 races and Alfie was runner up in all 3. Young Alex Sheriff made a return to racing after a short lay off and was soon back on the pace. With a possible 9 Juniors in 2012 Alfie will have his work cut out to keep hold of his title. A big well done to all the juniors that have raced this year you have done the formula and yourselves proud.

Young Gun Title Decider

Saturday 5th November sees the final meeting of the season for the Stoxkarts. The Young Gun Champinship title also comes down to the wire. Alfie Dover holds a 14 point lead over defending Champion Joe Higgins so a sensible drive from Alfie should see him take the title. Early season Kart problems hinderd Joes chances of defending his title and Alfies superb Tarmac form soon took him to the top of the table. A mix up between information on the website and information in the rule book has been resolved. On the web page it stated that the Juniors would also drop scores but in the Rule book it was not mentioned. Discussion between the Stoxkarts Directors has ended with the decision that all points will count towards the title with no dropped scores. We look forward to seeing the the juniors in 2012 as there will be at least another 4 regular drivers joining their ranks over the winter.

Dovers Delight

Alfie Dover looks almost certain to have clinched the Young Guns Title for 2012. Alfie won heat 1 at Birmingham with Joe Higgins hot on his heals, Robert Key and the 2 Wareham sisters had a great race between themselves. Heat 2 was full of incident, Dover and Higgins Clashed with Ashley Wareham before the Green which saw Higgins retire with a broken Chain. Robert Key and Jessica Wareham had a race long battle but with one lap to go Roberts Kart slowed allowing Jessica through to second. Although Alfie took the win he was docked 2 places for contact before the Green, giving Jessica her first win.

The feature saw Alfie pull off a brave move around the outside of 3 karts and take the lead. Joe was slowed in the traffic but was slowely catching Alfie but he could not get close enough to mount a Challenge and had to settle for second. The final Junior meeting of the season is at Birmingham on 5th November where Alfie just has to finnish all the races to take the title.

Young Guns Blazing

This weekend sees the penultimate Young Guns Meeting at Birmingham wheels. The fight is on between points leader Alfie Dover and defending Champion Joe Higgins. It looks certain that Robert Keys will secure 3rd place but with the Wareham sisters returning to track it will make winning or placing second even more important for the top 2. Stoxkarts Driver Chris Butcher will be stewerding the remaining 2 meetings for the Juniors to make sure that they keep up their exemplery driving standards.

Key to Success.

Robert Keys showed his shale form again by taking the feature win at Stoke with a great drive. Joe Higgins took 2 heats and second in the feature which closes him right up on series leader Alfie Dover. The last two meetings at Birmingham will seee the Young Guns Title go right down to the wire! The regular Juniors were joined on track by Ministox racers Franke JJ Wainman and Hayley Williams, both soon got to grips with the Karts and put in good performances.

Stoke Juniors

Saturday 16th sees the Juniors final shale meeting of the year. Robert Key Jnr will be hoping to keep up his excellent Shale form while Alfie Dover and Joe Higgins will be still fighting it out for top spot in the Young Guns Championship. Stoke will also see the 2 Wareham sisters making their shale debut.

Dover & Higgins Take the Spoils

Alfie Dover took 2 heats on Birmingham showing again his excellent Tarmac form, however he was not able to make it a clean sweep as Joe Higgins pipped him in the Final. Robert Key Jnr managed a consistant 3 3rd place finishes with the 2 new drivers the Wareham sisters putting on a good show for their first time out, they obviously enjoyed it as the Girls have booked to race at Stoke.

2 New Juniors for Birmingham

Saturdays Birmingham meeting will be boosted by 2 female drivers in the Juniors. Jessica and Ashley Wareham are the daughters of ex F1 & F2 Racer Mark Wareham. The girls will be making their debut with the intention of Kart shareing in 2012 with Jessica racing in the Juniors and Ashley who will then be 16 racing in the seniors. With a couple more Karts on track the Regulars will have to be on top of their game to make sure they keep the fight going for the oung gun championship.

Juniors Take a Break.

With racing at Crimond and Skegness the next 2 meetings for the Stoxkarts, the Juniors will not be racing again untill the September Birmingham meeting. As the season will then be entering the final quarter it is all to play for in the Young Guns Championship!

Higgins Takes the Honours.

Joe Higgins took a Heat and Feature doble at Birmingham wheels on Saturday night. A spin from Robert Key saw Higgins get through to lead where he remained for the rest of the race. Alfie Dover won the second heat with Higgins 2nd and Key in 3rd. The feature saw Higgins take the advantage as Key and Dover tangled in turn one, Dover recoverd quickest and despite closing on Higgins in the last few laps he had to settle to second as Higgins made it a heat and feature double.

Dovers Double

Alfie Dover won heat and final at Northampton on Sunday with a 2nd place in his second heat, which went to Joe Higgins who was runner up in the other 2 races. With both drivers having 1 heat win Alfie lost the toss for pole in the feature but raced round the outside of Joe in turn 1 where he stayed for the rest of the race.