05/05/2026
Race report for Round 5 of the Club 2000 Championship at Red Lodge Karting Ltd, *PART 2* 😉, Kay'ce Fenner racing in Jeremy's Junior Rotax kart, with Jeremy as coach and mechanic and Brian as Mentor 😁👍
I didn't expect to be writing this one as early as this in the season! 😲
Kay'ce showed her natural skill in corporate karts, graduating from the excellent Youngstarz training and was really keen to start racing in Junior Rotax as soon as she was confident enough. Jeremy gave her a few hints and tips whilst he was helping out as an instructor at Youngstarz, and noticed how well she listened and precisely applied what he had said, improving all the time. So when Kay'ce and her family asked Jeremy to help get her racing in Junior Rotax, he was more than happy to help.
As with her corporate racing, Kay'ce was fully committed to learning and improving as much as possible, always taking Jeremy's advice and applying it to her driving. She had done all the test days this season and, like Bailey, was keen to do more, and the extra test day that Red Lodge Karting and Club 2000 added on Friday 1st May was perfect timing.... with the race day the following day, it would be the ideal way to introduce Kay'ce to Club 2000 racing, but we wouldn't force her to do it, it would have to be her and her families decision... even though Jeremy had said she is definitely ready 👌
Friday test day
Kay'ce took to the track looking very smooth and under control, matching her best lap time from the previous test day in her first session!! As the lunch break approached, Jeremy asked Kay'ce if she would like to race the next day at Round 5, she was keen but unsure if she felt ready, so her and her family said they would arrive first thing and join in the scrutineering and drivers briefing, just to experience it all.... after the lunch break she did another session and improved her lap time again..... she came back to the pits and said to Jeremy that she would like to race!! 😁we were chuffed to bits! Kay'ce did one more session and let Jeremy have a few laps in the kart just to check it over ready for racing 👍
Race day Saturday
We had a good set of Junior Rotax tyres set aside ready for Kay'ce when she started racing, Jeremy fitted them and prepped the kart, then we guided Kay'ce through scrutineering, Jeremy did a track walk with her to give her a few tips on certain corners, then she attended the drivers briefing. Mick the race director likes to go through a few things with new drivers after the drivers briefing and Kay'ce was really excited, not as nervous as we thought she would be 👍
Practice
There was a nice large number of entries in the Junior Rotax Class, so practice was split into two sessions, one for all odd number drivers and one for all even numbers, this way the track is not so crowded and the drivers have a little more space to put in some good laps.
Kay'ce was one of six novice drivers, the fresh tyres were better than Kay'ce had driven on before and she was soon up to speed, finishing 8th out of 12 drivers, faster than 4 experienced drivers! A great confidence boost for her!
Heat 1
With all the Novice drivers at the back of the grid, Kay'ce nervously took her random grid position, 18th out of 20 drivers. She had never done a rolling start before, we talked her through the procedures and off they went.... already having to move up one position and swap sides due to the 4th place kart not making it to the grid!.... then as the warm up laps were so scruffy at the front of the grid, they had two false starts! Kay'ce handled it really well, keeping her position nicely on the roll up to the start, and off they went!! Kay'ce managed it superbly, moving up 4 places in the first few corners!! She quickly caught up with the 13th place kart and lap after lap she tried to pass him, making moves and putting him under pressure just like Jeremy would! It was fantastic to watch, and on lap 8 she finally got past cleanly, then started to pull out a gap of nearly 3 seconds before the end of the heat, finishing 13th out of 20 drivers! Not only that, her fastest lap time was a whole second quicker than the test day, and only 6 tenths off the fastest lap of the heat! A fantastic start to her racing career!
Heat 2
Kay'ce's random grid position was 16th for this heat, the lead Novice on the grid. Another good clean rolling start, and she made up one place in the first few corners again. She settled in to a nice rhythm and made up another place on lap 3 into 14th. Just before the end of the heat, the kart behind Kay'ce made a move and she dropped back to finish the heat in 15th on track, ahead of all the other novices 👍 during scrutineering after the heat, one of the top three finishers was found to be underweight and was disqualified, promoting Kay'ce back up to 14th.
Heat 3
Lining up 19th and last on the grid for this heat, Kay'ce managed her start superbly again! Moving up to 16th in the first few corners, again showing amazing kart control and maturity, Jeremy was super impressed as were we all, a little shocked too! On lap 3 she moved up another place and again on lap 6, where she finished in 14th, gaining 5 places in the heat!
Final
Incredibly on her first race day in a Junior Rotax, Kay'ce qualified 16th in the A final! The only Novice to be placed in the A final, all the other novices and a few experienced drivers were placed in the B final. We were all super proud of her, what an achievement! The top four finishers in the B final joined the back of the grid for the A final, so Kay'ce started the final 16th out of 20 drivers. Again she had a clean start and made up one place in the first few corners, then on lap 5 there was a crashed on the start finish straight, with two karts stuck in the tyres facing the wrong way! Luckily the drivers were unhurt and Kay'ce slowed down correctly through the yellow flag zone, she was now running in 13th place! With the incident cleared away, they were racing again and Kay'ce relentlessly chased down the kart in front of her, just as she caught up to him, he must of had a problem and pulled into the pits, Kay'ce finished her first Junior Rotax A final in 12th place! 😁 her best lap time was only 8 tenths off the fastest lap time! Add to that she was the top finishing Novice and received the Best Novice trophy 🏆
An absolutely incredible debut race day, Jeremy was super proud of her, she definitely has a natural ability and we are really excited for the rest of the season 😁👍
Many thanks from all of us at Jeremy Lock Motorsport to Castrol Classic Oils
http://www.castrol.com/uk/classics for their continued support 👌 Kay'ce will soon have her Castrol Classic livery added to her kart 😁
Massive thanks as always to Mick and his Club 2000 team for all their hard work 👍
And many thanks to Stu Stretton Photography for the awesome photos 👍