EnduroKA – Cadwell Park

Report by David Gowshall

22 May 2021

A new experience for my first outing of the 2021 season, saw me attend my local track, Cadwell Park, on Saturday, for the 2^ndRound of the 2021 EnduroKA race series, which was launched in 2019 to provide a cost-effective, fun introduction to motorsport without a huge financial outlay. 

A standard three door Ford KA Mk1 with a 1300cc Duratec (59 or 69bhp) engine, produced between 2002 and 2008, must be used, (in right hand drive only), which are readily available, enabling enthusiasts to dip their toes in the sport for the first time and experience real racing on a budget. 

Lots of suitable cars can be found for under £1000, though you can spend considerably less and still be competitive, and it’s possible to buy and DIY prep a car for £4K to £5K. 

Entry fees vary but average out at about £1K per event, although you do get a lot of track time for your money.

The original KA silhouette must be maintained, except for the variation caused by the fitment of approved front driving lights for events that are held in the dark.

KA’s must be presented in a racing livery, (competitors are actively encouraged to use their imagination, which leads to some very colourful and photogenic opportunities), and must be standard, with the exception of the suspension, front brake pads, tyres and roll-cage.

EnduroKA features a mix of 5/6 hour races, with a highlight 12-hour summer race at Snetterton in June and a 500-minute season finale at Brands Hatch. 

The series visits some of the best circuits in the UK, giving a varied and diverse endurance experience. For races of six hours or less, similar to this weekend’s race at “KAdwell” Park, each car must have a minimum of two, up to a maximum of four drivers. 

Furthermore, three mandatory driver change / pits stops are required, with no driver being allowed to drive for longer than two hours and ten minutes continuously, and having to rest for at least one hour between driving stints.

The first round of the series, held over 5 hours in April at Donington Park, which saw the lead in the event change several times, had led to a victory for the red, black and white Octane Junkies #111 car driven by Martyn and Adam Smith, (who incidentally won the last EnduroKA race held at Cadwell in 2019, by just 1 second !!!), with IP Racing cars camouflage liveried #36 and #63 cars filling the podium spots. 

An interesting participant in the event at Donington was 2015 Le Mans winner and international sports car driver, Nick Tandy, who was part of the JTR (#128) team, who finished fifth overall. 

Armed with my virtually unused Canon 80D, acquired in deepest winter, when motorsport was very much off-season, and my Sigma 150-600 telephoto lens, which only saw a few outings in the COVID truncated 2020 season, I set off on my first photography assignment of 2021 with huge enthusiasm.

The weather forecast was mixed but having missed virtually two months of 2021 motorsport action, held behind closed doors due to lockdown, nothing was going to stop me making the short but scenic journey through the Lincolnshire Wolds from my home, to what many regard as the best circuit, for both competitors and spectators alike, in the country.

The EnduroKA series typically attracts very large grids, which are set during a one hour qualifying run earlier in the day.

44 cars lined up on the start line at a re-scheduled 12 noon start after the qualifying had been delayed for an hour due to two extended red flag stoppages.  The only problem was the grid was not in qualifying order!!!

After eighteen minutes of maneouvering on the narrow Cadwell Start and finish straight, and with everyone located in their rightful grid position, the race eventually got under way in damp and windy conditions.

The grid re-formed, albeit in a single line this time, which necessitated more shuffling of places, and the race eventually got underway again. 

Second time round, a degree of common sense seemed to have descended on the competitors for a few laps at least, but the marshals were soon busy again at various points around the circuit. 

Taking full advantage of the chaos behind them, cars #36 and the Octane Junkies #111, clocking laps of around 1 minute 55 seconds, and who had fought out the previous meeting at Donington, began to open up a substantial lead.

Yellow flags, warnings for indescretions, the most common of which were for “exceeding track limits” and flying bodywork, could be seen on almost every lap, but the racing was intense and real fun and held the attention of a small crowd, most of whom seemed to in charge of a large lens.

 

Intermittent breaks for Safety Car periods, whilst stricken cars were loaded onto the back of flat-bed trucks, kept the interest, as all the cars bunched up and a new race effectively started.

It was at one of these Safety Car interventions that the two leaders took the opportunity to take one of the mandatory pits stops, re-joining the race well down the field.

The lead changed several hands during the middle part of the race, as the effect of others driver changes took effect, with cars #98,#64, #77 (twice), #30 (twice) and #1 all taking turns to head the field before another Red flag just before the halfway point in the race, again on the downhill approach to Mansfield, brought proceedings to a halt.

A lull in proceedings to re-form the grid again in order as a result had little impact on the driving styles of the competitors. Hard fought positions were not given up without a fight and overtaking opportunities, often built up over many laps, as the cars were so evenly matched, had to be snatched when the opportunity arose. As a result, the yellow flags and Safety Car periods kept coming up.

Soon after the re-start with all the driver changes complete, a pattern began to emerge and IP Racing car #36 and Octane Junkies #111 driven by Adam Smith, Martyn Smith and Bazza Ward, having both skilfully avoided all the incidents and carried out a pitstop strategy the Mercedes F1 team would have been proud of, found themselves at the front of the field once again.

With an hour to go the gap was 38 seconds. Lap times began to fall and the race to the flag was on.

Adam Smith, piloting car #111 on the last leg, seemingly inspired by a “stop / go” penalty that briefly halted his progress, began the determined pursuit of Adam Blair in car #36. 

The chase was by no means easy, as all the other cars still left in the race were involved in their own battles, but the gap inexorably continued to fall.  At the same time the 6 hour mark was approaching.

The final lap was completed and the gap between the two after 6 hours of racing was just 3.267 seconds!!



The winner?  IP Racing’s Car # 36, piloted during the day, at one time or another, by Scott Parkin, Oliver Wilmot, and in the final leg, Adam Blair, whose winning margin was the short distance between the finish line and the exit to Barn Corner. Adam Smith’s progress on the final lap having being hampered by five cars battling for places, spread between him and the lead car, over this short length of track.

The two were the only competitors on the same lap, having completed 140 laps of the undulating ribbon of tarmac.

One lap back, and completing the podium places, was Burton Power Racing’s car #1, driven by Andy Burton, Kyle Sagar and Tom Valentine, who had been consistently up at the front throughout the full six hours, leading briefly at one point.



During the race, 1 hour and 4 minutes had been behind the Safety Car, and the race had been stopped for two red flag incidents totalling 53 minutes.

I lost count of the number of times the yellow flag flew, and thanks to all the marshals on the day who fulfilled their duties, as always, in a diligent and efficient manner. 

The Orange Army are very much appreciated, particularly on days like this.

Also appreciated, having completed a marathon session of commentary, were David and Adam, whose knowledge and enthusiasm kept the sparse crowd informed throughout.



I had begun my day looking forward to the opportunity to try out my new camera/lens combo, but slightly sceptical about the idea of watching a field of 1300cc Ford Ka’s circulating lap after lap for 6 hours. 

I ended the day, having been thoroughly entertained from start to finish by a “grass roots” event, accompanied by the never-ending squeal of tyres, that kept me interested from the first to last lap, and which left me wanting more.



Well done every one of the drivers who between them completed 5,109 laps. 

Photographic Post Script

The following day I was once again at Cadwell Park, this time behind the wheel, taking advantage of MSV’s Drive! Experience, introduced this year, which enables you to drive your standard road car behind the MSV’s BMW safety car for 3 full laps of the circuit.

The event was organised with military precision by all the Cadwell Park staff on duty 

The experience certainly gave me a different insight into the track and all its famous landmark twists, turns and inclines, not least the steep downhill approach to Mansfield Corner that had proved so troublesome to the previous days competitors, some of which might come in useful for future photography expeditions to Lincolnshire’s mini-Nurburgring.

Sharing the experience were my wife Helen and youngest daughter Lauren, both avid Cadwell fans, who thoroughly enjoyed it too.

Being on the other side of the camera (a free photo download of our car taking the chequered flag) at a circuit where I must have taken tens of thousands of photographs over the years, was a very strange feeling, and made me appreciate the efforts of the EnduroKa drivers the previous day.

You can see more of David’s work here