Super 1 National Kart Championships
The Super One National Kart Championships, also known as S1 or Super One, is a karting championship based in the United Kingdom. It has been in operation since 1983 and is regarded as the premier karting championship in the UK, producing many famous drivers including Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, David Coulthard, Alexander Albon, Dan Wheldon, Anthony Davidson and Jason Plato among others. Profoundly Deaf driver Caleb McDuff currently competes in the series.
History
The first Super 1 meeting was held in 1983 at Snetterton where only 4 classes were run as part of the championship. At the time, the championship was not officially recognised as being the "British Championship" as the RAC national titles were decided over a one-weekend event. This continued up till 1990 when Super 1 secured the rights to decide the British champion over the course of the series.
Over the years, the Super 1 series has produced champions that have gone on to race in Formula 1 such as David Coulthard, Will Stevens, Allan McNish, Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson, Paul di Resta, Ralph Firman and Lewis Hamilton. Other drivers who have won a Super 1 championship and who have gone on to professional motor racing include Gary Paffett, Mike Conway, Dan Wheldon, Ben Hanley , Oliver Jarvis and Billy Monger.
Deaf driver Caleb McDuff became the first ever profoundly Deaf driver to take a podium finish in 2019, finishing 2nd at Rowrah. He went on to finish the season in first place in the championship, winning the Honda Cadet class [1]
Classes
Originally, there were only 4 classes in the Super 1 series. In 2017, 11 different classes ran within the series over 11 different race weekends.
Bambino Classes
For drivers from 6 years of age up to the year of their 8th birthday.
- Bambino (1 Round)
Cadet Classes
For drivers from 8 years of age up to and including the year of their 13th birthday.
- IAME Cadet (7 Rounds)
- Honda Cadet (7 Rounds)
Junior Classes
For drivers from 12 years of age up to and including the year of their 17th birthday.
- Minimax (7 Rounds)
- Junior Rotax (7 Rounds)
- Junior TKM (7 Rounds)
- Junior X30 (6 Rounds)
- Junior OK (6 Rounds)
Senior Classes
For drivers over 16 years of age.
- Rotax 177 (3 Rounds)
- TKM Extreme (7 Rounds)
- Senior X30 (6 Rounds)
- Senior OK (6 Rounds)
- KZ (2 Rounds)
The OK classes, as well as the TKM classes, are recognised by the Motorsports Association as being British Championships. The remaining are recognised by the Association of British Kart Clubs (ABkC) as National Championships. Each class, apart from the shorter KZ and Bambino championships, also rewards drivers with seeded rankings for the top 10 finishers in the championship standings, these finishing positions may be exclusively used by that driver in that class for the following year at any ABkC recognised event.
Races
The 2017 Championship Dates[2] are as follows:-
| Round | Date | Circuit | Host Club | Classes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 11 – Mar 12 | Rowrah | Cumbria Kart Racing Club | OK Junior, OK Senior |
| 2 | Mar 18 – Mar 19 | Rowrah | Cumbria Kart Racing Club | Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Junior TKM, Junior X30, Minimax, Senior X30, TKM Extreme |
| 3 | Apr 8 – Apr 9 | Rissington | Rissington Kart Club | Honda Cadet, Junior TKM, OK Junior, OK Senior, TKM Extreme |
| 4 | Apr 22 – Apr 23 | Rowrah* | Cumbria Kart Racing Club* | Honda Cadet, Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Junior X30, Minimax, Senior X30 |
| 5 | May 13 – May 14 | Whilton Mill | Whilton Mill Kart Circuit | Honda Cadet, Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Junior X30, Minimax, Senior X30 |
| 6 | Jun 3 – Jun 4 | Clay Pigeon | Clay Pigeon Kart Club | Honda Cadet, Junior TKM, KZ, OK Junior, OK Senior, TKM Extreme |
| 7 | Jun 24 – Jun 25 | Fulbeck | Fulbeck Kart Club | Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Junior TKM, Junior X30, Minimax, Senior X30, TKM Extreme |
| 8 | Jul 8 – Jul 9 | GYG | Dragon Kart Club | Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Junior TKM, Junior X30, Minimax, Senior X30, TKM Extreme |
| 9 | Aug 12 – Aug 13 | Larkhall | West of Scotland Kart Club | Honda Cadet, Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Minimax, OK Junior, OK Senior |
| 10 | Aug 26 – Aug 27 | Shenington | Shenington Kart Club | Bambino, Honda Cadet, Junior TKM, KZ, OK Junior, OK Senior, TKM Extreme |
| 11 | Sep 9 – Sep 10 | PF International | Trent Valley Kart Club | Honda Cadet, Iame Cadet, Junior Max, Junior TKM, Junior X30, Minimax, OK Junior, OK Senior, Senior X30, TKM Extreme |
Note: Round 4 was intended to be held at Buckmore Park hosted by Buckmore Park Kart Club, however due to unforeseen circumstances this was changed.
Officials
The current series co-ordinator for Super 1 is Sonja Game. Game is responsible for promoting the championship as well as organising the calendar/venues for each season.
There are normally 3 or 4 clerks of the courses who attend the Super 1 meetings, the most regular ones being Phil Cox, Rod Taylor and Alan Bryant. The series' chief scrutineer is Paul Klaassen and fuel is supplied by ATOL.
John Hoyle is the current promoter for the series.