Super 4 2026 British Championship Round 3: Rowrah

“After a frustrating Saturday practice, we headed into race day hoping that a fresh set of tyres would transform the kart. Throughout Saturday, nothing we tried seemed to improve the setup, and we struggled to find the right balance. Fortunately, fitting the new tyres on Sunday made a significant difference. During the morning warm-up, the kart immediately felt much better. The increased grip allowed me to carry more speed, and I found myself using a gear higher through every corner compared to the previous day. While this was encouraging, it also meant that heading into Heat 1 I effectively had to relearn the circuit, as the kart’s handling characteristics had changed dramatically from Saturday.â€�

Heat 1 (Grid: 2^nd)

“We didn’t get the start we were hoping for and lost several positions heading into the first corner. It then took around four laps for both the kart and myself to fully adapt to the new tyres and find a rhythm. Once settled in, our pace improved considerably, and I was able to stay right on the back of the driver running in sixth place for the remainder of the race. We crossed the line in seventh position, providing a solid foundation for the rest of the day.â€�

Heat 2 (Grid: 8^th)

“Starting from 13th on the grid, I moved up to 11th by lap eight following some early attrition ahead. Kart 11 was tapped at high speed on the straight and was sent into the barriers, while kart 56 also retired on the same lap, promoting me up the order. By half distance, there was a long train of karts running from fifth to twelfth, all closely matched for pace. The key moment came approaching one of the hairpins, where three karts ahead became involved in an incident. I reacted quickly, diving to the inside and avoiding the crash completely while gaining several positions in the process. That move elevated me to eighth place, and I was able to maintain that position until the chequered flag.�

Heat 3 (Grid: 16^th)

“I made a strong getaway and climbed to 14th within the opening two laps. The momentum continued as I worked my way forward to 11th place. Unfortunately, disaster struck shortly afterwards. Exiting the right-hand hairpin, the kart suddenly lost power and came to a stop, forcing me to retire from the race.    

“Back in the paddock, we began investigating the issue and discovered that the spark plug gap had completely closed. Further inspection of the piston crown revealed numerous impact marks, suggesting that debris had passed through the engine and damaged the spark plug. We quickly replaced the piston and worked against the clock to prepare the kart for the final, ultimately making it to the dummy grid just in time. However, the rushed turnaround meant we didn’t have sufficient time to adjust the carburettor for the changing track conditions.â€�

Final

“For the final, the kart was running too rich due to the lack of time available to adjust the carburettor settings after the engine repair. Starting from eighth on the grid, I lost three places off the line. Throughout the race, the rich carburettor setting caused the engine to misfire on corner exits, making it difficult to accelerate cleanly and defend against attacks from behind. Despite the performance limitations, I managed to keep fighting throughout the race and brought the kart home in 11th position.

“Although the weekend began with a difficult practice day, the new tyres transformed the kart on race day and allowed us to be competitive. We secured strong results in the opening heats, highlighted by a seventh-place finish in Heat 1 and an eighth-place finish in Heat 2.

“The DNF in Heat 3 was a major setback, but the team’s effort to diagnose the issue, replace the piston and get the kart back onto the grid for the final was exceptional. Despite being hampered by an overly rich carburettor setting in the final, we still managed to finish 11th and salvage valuable championship points from a challenging weekend.

“Next stop is Fulbeck in Lincolnshire.�

Super 4 2026 British Championship Round 2: Forest Edge

Heat 1

“Starting from the second row, I got a strong launch and initially held position well. However, for the opening stages of the race I struggled badly with understeer, particularly through Midgets and Tilly’s, which allowed a kart behind to get through and dropped me back to fifth place.

“From there, the race became an intense battle for fourth. I spent virtually the entire heat tucked right under the rear bumper of the kart ahead, applying constant pressure and trying several different moves to find a way through. Despite a number of attempts, I just couldn’t make a pass stick and eventually crossed the line in fifth position.�

Heat 2

“Lining up 20th on the grid, I made a monster start and immediately gained several places by avoiding a couple of slow starters. By the first corner I had already climbed to 15th.

“On lap two I picked off two more karts, moving up into 13th, and from there the race became incredibly close. At the halfway point, positions fourth through to fourteenth were covered by just 10 seconds, showing how competitive the field was.

“On lap seven, I passed a slow-moving kart that appeared to be struggling with an issue, promoting me to 12th place. With two laps remaining, the kart behind managed to get a stronger run down the back straight and I lost the position again. The racing remained tight right to the flag in another highly competitive heat.

“On the final lap, a kart a couple of positions ahead spun on his own water, which shuffled the order once more in another hectic finish to an extremely close race.�

Heat 3

“I made an immediate gain on lap one with a move at Haynes Loop, before pulling off another pass out of Midgets heading into Climate. Early on, we found ourselves in a long train of karts all being held up by fifth place.

“Later in the race, I lost two positions going into Midgets, dropping me back to 10th, but the pack remained tightly bunched behind the battling karts ahead. On the following lap, heading down into Winger’s Dip, sixth place made a move underneath fifth. That forced fifth place off-line and created an opening for several of us to get through, keeping us right in the middle of the battle.

“From there I was fighting hard with the five karts ahead but, despite staying in the mix, I just couldn’t make a move stick.

“The race was eventually red-flagged with just under two minutes remaining after a kart went off entering Midgets — one of the fastest sections of the circuit, approached at around 95mph. Thankfully, the driver was okay.�

Final

“Our heat results put us eighth on the grid for the final.

“In the early laps the understeer issues returned, as we again struggled to get the tyres working quickly enough. On lap two I lost a place coming out of Midgets, but a retirement ahead soon promoted us back into eighth.

“From there, the race became a long battle for seventh with kart 59. I was slightly quicker in places and stayed right with him throughout the race, but despite the pressure I couldn’t quite find a way past. Towards the closing stages my tyres began to fade, although the two of us had managed to build a six-second gap back to ninth place.

“On the final lap, the race leader retired, which promoted us up to seventh position at the flag to round out the weekend.�

Post-Race Analysis

“It was a solid weekend and the first in years where we had no issues on either Saturday or Sunday, with nothing to fix and the kart running well throughout.

“After Round 2, the team sits 7th out of 24 in the championship standings.�

Stay tuned to hear how Marcus gets on as the 2026 Super 4 British Championship season continues…