Return to racing for karters at Boyndie Drome
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Karters returned to the Boyndie Drome circuit for the first competitive action of 2021.
The first round of the open challenge was held over Saturday and Sunday to reduce the number of people attending at the track.
Saturday saw drivers having to deal with cold and wet conditions throughout the afternoon.
The second day saw the weather improve and it was warmer and drier.
The feature trophies were the Dickie Bent Cup, which went to the driver who most impressed the marshals.
Also up for grabs was the Kildonan Shield for senior drivers.
The Bambinos took to the track to start the 2021 season and they did four timed heats with the fastest declared the winner.
On this occasion it was Frazer Anderson from Kelty who won followed by Mintlaw's Jude Buchan and William Alexander from Peterhead.
In the Prokart Light category pole man Daniel MacRae from Elgin took the lead and was never challenged to the chequered flag.
Oldmeldrum's Logan Blake had a comfortable run for second ahead of Stuart Robertson from New Pitsligo.
In the Honda Cadet section Daniel Dempster from Daviot got the best start and led for the first three laps. Woodhead's Aiden Macdonald took the lead on the fourth tour. Duncan Ingram was challenging Demster lap after lap and he got through with a lap to go.
Dempster challenged at the last corner on the last lap and the two touched. MacDonald took the victory, Dempster was second with Finlay Smith from Stuartfield third. The recovering Ingram crossed the line in fourth.
In worsening conditions Westhill's Eihli Smith took the victory in the Mini Max final beating Cameron Hobson from Hopeman.
The rain lashed the circuit for the Junior Max karters, which saw Steven Duncan from Aberchirder lead from Aberdeen's Cole Ritchie . At mid distance Ritchie’s kart came alive closing down Duncan. Ritchie got the inside line at Gate Corner and streaked away to take the victory by 3.5 seconds. This impressed the marshals who voted Ritchie the winner of the Dickie Bent Cup. Craig Steven from Elgin came third.
Kintore's Neil Halliwell took a lights to flag victory in the Prokarts heavy section. Brett Cowan from Aberdeen was second and Portsoy's Scott Duncan came through to clinch third.
In the Senior Max 162kg section Jonathan Edwards from Cornhill got the best run to MTM bend from the starting lights to lead from Oldmeldrum's Kieran Smart.
However his lead was short lived as Smart got to the inside at Pit Corner on lap two. Smart was never challenged again and took the victory by a second from Edwards. Steven Thomson from Barthol Chapel was third.
Cuminestown's Robert Strachan took a comfortable victory in the Senior Max 177kg category, with Stewart Thomson from Tarves in second and Robert Walker from Aberlour in third
Adrian Brodie from Banff won the Senior Max Clubman class beating Forgue's Phillip Paterson in second and Michael Paton from from Elgin in third.
In the Twin Engined Prokarts, pole man Murray Scott took the early lead until a problem caused him to slow. Arbuthnott's Dave Leiper took the lead and kept it until the chequered flag. Rik Christie from Aberdeen was second home followed by Carnoustie's Ralph Sturrock. Scott struggled on to finish in fourth.
For the first time in recent years there was a standing start for the gearbox karts at Boyndie, which went down well with the drivers. Ally Smith from Peterhead took the lead when the lights went out and stayed there until the finish. Second was Tore's Neil MacLennan and Rory MacLennan was third. Smith also won the Kildonan Shield.
The next race meeting at Boyndie will take place on June 13, which will be the first round of the Scottish Super Series.
The next round of the Boyndie Drome Open Challenge will be on June 19 and 20.
