Castle Eaton karter Richard Hughes claims Whilton Mill victory (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Castle Eaton karter Richard Hughes claims Whilton Mill victory

AFTER qualifying in pole position, Castle Eaton's Richard Hughes romped to an unchallenged victory at last Sunday's big Whilton Mill kart meeting.

The 125 Rotax Max class attracted 35 entrants, so it was going to be tough to battle through the field to win.

Each driver had to start from front, middle and back grid positions in the qualifying races and the points scored would decide starting positions for the finals.

However, the experience and pace of Hughes showed as the 2002 champion won his first heat and then notched up a fourth and a sixth in the others to claim the top-spot for the big race.

As they lined up for the rolling start in the final, Hughes timed his acceleration to perfection and shot into the lead as the lights turned green.

There was all sorts of bumping and barging behind him at the first hairpin, which delayed the pack, and this gave the Total Butler driver a two-second advantage by the time they came round to the line again.

Some quick laps followed and the gap increased to five seconds as the others battled amongst themselves. From then on, it was plain sailing and signals from the pit wall told Hughes to back off.

On lap 14, he cruised past the chequered flag with a victory punch in the air.

After the celebrations and receiving the huge trophy, Richard said: "I must thank Adrian Beddall of BRT, my Dad and my mechanic Chris for all their hard work in solving the problems.

"The Arrow kart was superb all weekend and I think I could have gone quicker if I had needed to."

Further details can be found on the team's KDesign web site at: www.bizness.co.uk/karting