The penultimate event of the Classic and Modern Motorsport Club Southern Production Saloons would be held at Snetterton, but dramas were already unfolding before a wheel had been turned. A driveshaft failure on Team HORNET's Renault Mégane in the runup to the event put their participation in doubt, but a heroic effort by team members to remedy the situation got the team back on track in the nick of time.

Qualifying

A somewhat overcast morning greeted the CMMCS drivers, with the Production and Super Saloons drivers also being joined by the Intermarque Silhouettes on the long Snetterton 300 layout. As the green flag dropped, the priority aboard the #41 Mégane was initially to ensure that the car's last-minute emergency surgery had not produced any undesired side-effects. The out lap and first flying lap showed no issues, so the second lap of qualifying is where some proper times could be set. This plan lasted, unfortunately, all of four corners, as the #491 Ginetta G40 Intermarque Silhouette of Colin Smith suffered a miscommunication with the Team HORNET Mégane, the latter ending up briefly taking to the grass on the outside of Agostini.

This would, however, be rendered a footnote in the grand scheme of things, as further around the lap, all hell had broken loose. Unbeknownst to the vast majority of drivers, Phil Bennett's #90 BMW E90 Class A Super Saloon had dropped a significant quantity of oil at Coram, enough to coat the side and rear of the car in a distinctive brown sheen. As the #41 ventured through the corner, it hit the oil slick, pitching suddenly into a lurid slide. This was gathered up safely, but the same could not be said for those immediately behind. Dominic Ryan would spin his #127 Class TS Ford Fiesta Super Saloon, and would be hit hard by the #523 Ford Fiesta Intermarque Silhouette driven by Steve Phillips. Both cars would be written off in the incident, with Phillips taken to hospital with a neck injury. The session would immediately be red-flagged, and not restarted. As such, the somewhat disappointing best lap time of 2:22.670 would stand for Team HORNET, leaving the Renault 16th on the combined grid, 4th in the Production Saloons and 1st in Class T1.

Race One

At the rolling start, the national flag was dropped unusually early, catching multiple drivers somewhat off-guard. Terry Waller was able to get the jump initially in his #66 Class T2 Ford Fiesta Production Saloon as he made another of his trademark lightning starts. The #41 Renault Mégane would chase the smaller Fiesta for the opening tours, almost making a move along the Bentley Straight, only to find the planned gap occupied by the slowing #261 Audi TT Intermarque Silhouette of Volker Timm, as it headed towards the pits and retirement. At the start of lap 4, the Team HORNET machine was finally able to secure the inside line for Riches, and the place was secure. Later the same lap, another two positions would be gained as Phil Spinks' smoky #14 Vauxhall Tigra Intermarque Silhouette and Rod Birley's #44 Class A Ford Escort WRC Super Saloon would slow on the Bentley Straight.

This would set up a much calmer second half of the race, punctuated by the stranded #132 Volve C30 Production Saloon of Adrian Matthews, that had taken a knock to the front-right corner at Agostini. Team HORNET would complete the race in 9th when combined with the other two series, 3rd in the Production Saloons and 1st in Class T1

Race Two

There would be yet more attrition before the start of the second race of the day, as Terry Waller's Fiesta would suffer engine maladies that would rule it out of starting the second race. As the flag dropped on a now rather sparse rolling start, it would be Rod Birley who seized the initiative with a move around the outside of Riches. This prompted a mis-shift from the #41 machine, that allowed Steven Rose to slip by on the run to Wilson in his #234 Class A Audi TT Super Saloon. This wouldn't last long, as the Team HORNET machine would manage to redress the balance with an optimistic move to the inside of Agostini.

Having regained the position, things would once again calm down until Rod Birley would again slow, retiring in the pit lane with vibration issues in his #44 Ford Escort Super Saloon. This would leave the #41 car on its own for much of the remainder of the race, in a state of looking after the car and clicking off reasonably consistent laps, save for slowing for yellow flags as multiple Intermarque Silhouettes had suffered mechanical issues in the vicinity of the Hamilton, Oggies and Williams corners. The race would finish with the Team HORNET Renault Mégane finishing 8th on the combined grid, 3rd in the Production Saloons and 1st in Class T1.

Team HORNET will return for the final event of the season on the Silverstone National Circuit on October 11th, the CMMCS Season Finale.

2026 has been a valuable season for me in RMC Poland. I only started in three of the seven rounds, but racing against much more experienced drivers gave me the chance to measure myself at a higher level and keep improving throughout the year.

Despite limited starts, I showed that I can compete with strong drivers and take good results when the opportunity is there. I finished the season in 14th place overall, scoring points in the rounds I entered.

I am proud of the progress made this season and grateful for everyone who has supported me along the way. It has been an important step in my development, and I am already focused on coming back stronger next season.

For the second time in 2026, Team HORNET would take an excursion to the Classic Sports Car Club's Wheeler Properties Turbo Tin Tops series, this time around the iconic Silverstone GP circuit. A combined grid that also included the Co-ordsport Tin Tops and the Trackday Solutions Puma Cup would ensure that, despite the length and width of the Silverstone circuit, there would always still be plenty to keep all of the drivers extremely busy throughout the scheduled 40-minute race.

Qualifying

A bright and sunny morning would set the scene for a 30-minute qualifying session. The #41 car of Team HORNET would be out on the circuit early, but with a brand new pair of front tyres on board, it was planned to take things nice and easy for the first third of the session, gradually bedding in the new rubber. This plan worked a treat, as the anticipated call to the pits for minor pressure adjustments fell just as the safety car was called, with an errant Fiesta stranded between Brooklands and Luffield. With no competitive running time lost, this plan had unexpectedly worked to near-perfection.

Once back out on track and able to push harder, the best time achieved was 2:31.130, a new personal best by 1.8 seconds over the time set back in 2024. This would see the Mégane line up 18th on the combined grid, 9th of the Turbo Tin Tops entries, and 4th in class TA.

Race

A capacity grid of 60 cars barrelling into Copse after the rolling start was always destined to produce drama, and it would certainly not disappoint. Further ahead, the #42 Honda Integra DC2 lost drive just after the apex, being tipped into a spin by the close-following #37 Audi TT. This resulting spin would collect the #501 Volkswagen Scirocco and the #86 Honda Integra DC5. With damaged cars and debris littering the track, the safety car would be deployed, with the race being suspended under the safety car until the wreckage was cleared.

The restart would see an interesting battle between the #41 Team HORNET Mégane and the #6 Abarth 500. The smaller, more nimble Abarth would have advantages in some areas, but the larger, more stable Mégane would be able to draw level on a few occasions, particularly into Village. The battle would be punctuated by the arrival of the Team HORNET Renault into the pit lane to serve its mandatory stop.

That pit stop would prove to be well-timed, dropping the Renault into a pocket of clear track to lay down some consistent lap times, and hopefully gain track position over the opposition. Aside from a couple of close encounters with some of the Puma Cup contenders, this portion of the race would all be about maintaining consistency. This would be the case up until the arrival of the #126 Honda Civic, which would initially show great pace and pull away from the #41 Mégane, forcing the beginning of a race-long chase. Further complications would be found at Village and The Loop, where the #30 Honda Integra DC5 and the #46 Honda Civic had come to blows, with the two cars stranded just off the racing surface and debris littering the track. The chase of the #126, though, would finally bear fruit as the Civic's pace began to slow with just minutes left on the clock, the first opportunity at a passing manoeuvre scuppered at Luffield by the unexpected presence of the #24 Ford Puma, which had seemingly lost a wheel on the exit of the corner. The move against the #126 Civic would finally be completed heading through Becketts. From there, it was a case of bringing the car home.

After an extremely busy race, Team HORNET recorded a result of 12th on the combined grid, 8th in the Turbo Tin Tops and 3rd in Class TA

Had great heat 1, finishing 4th from 10th

Heat 2 finished 9th from 13th.

Penalty in the final put me back to 22nd

nothing has happened because i haven't started karting yet i have been chillin at home playing a bit of football to hopefully make the wait go quicker.

Charlie will be at Teamsport Stockton on 24 October 2026 for the British Indoor Karting Championship Regional Finals, with full practice days on 3 and 17 October.

After a strong Local Finals performance at Teamsport Preston, where he kept his head down and drove his heart out, we are really proud to see him progress to the next stage.

He has faced setbacks in previous British Indoor Karting Championship campaigns, but he has kept working hard, balancing school and racing, and he has more than earned this opportunity.

A big thank you to everyone who has supported him so far. We are all behind Charlie and hoping this is his time to shine.

Starting in a new championship can be challenging for anyone but that can only be beaten by the excitement of know that racing will be on every month !

🏁 My First National Championship Season – 2026

What a first season!

At the beginning of 2026, I had never competed in an outdoor kart race. By the end of the year, I had completed my first national championship, stood on a national podium, collected trophies and finished 9th overall out of 42 drivers in the Super One Rotax Micro Max Championship.

It's been a massive learning experience and a season I'll never forget.

My outdoor racing journey started in March at Rowrah, when I competed in the O Plate with XKart. This was my first ever outdoor karting competition, so everything was new — racing outdoors, changing weather conditions, working with data and setup, and competing against experienced drivers. I finished my first outdoor Final in P7, which gave me a lot of confidence going into the championship.

Just a few weeks later, we returned to Rowrah for Rounds 1 & 2 of the Super One Series, where I competed in a national karting championship for the first time.

From there, the season took us around the country to Glan-y-Gors (GYG), Clay Pigeon, Fulbeck, Whilton Mill and Shenington.

One of the biggest challenges was that all but one of the circuits we raced at during the championship were new to me. While many of the drivers around me already had experience at these tracks, I was often using Friday practice to learn the circuit before going straight into national-level competition.

That meant learning quickly became a huge part of my season.

🥉 My First National Podium

One of my biggest moments came at GYG in May.

It was my first time at the circuit, but throughout the weekend my pace and confidence continued to improve. In Round 3, I crossed the line P6 before the official results promoted me to P3, giving me my first ever national championship podium.

The following day I finished P6 in Round 4, collecting another trophy and leaving GYG P4 in the championship standings.

It was a weekend that gave me a huge amount of confidence and showed me what we could achieve.

🏆 Top Rookie at Clay Pigeon

Next came another completely new circuit at Clay Pigeon.

The weekend had plenty of challenges, including changing weather, being spun around and a red flag that took away positions I'd gained in the Final.

But there were also some really positive moments. I qualified P5 in Round 5, showed strong pace throughout the weekend and finished Round 6 with another top-10 result in P10.

I was then awarded the Top Rookie Trophy for Round 6, another really special achievement during my first national season.

We left Clay Pigeon sitting P5 in the championship.

💪 Learning to Keep Fighting

Fulbeck brought another new track and another very different challenge.

It wasn't our easiest weekend, but it taught me a lot about staying focused when things aren't going your way.

I finished P10 in the Round 7 Final before an incident in Round 8 left me with a DNF in Heat 1 and meant I had to start the Final from P18. I kept fighting and made up six positions to finish P12.

We left Fulbeck P7 in the championship.

🏁 Back Inside the Top 10 at Whilton Mill

Whilton Mill was the one circuit on the championship calendar that wasn't completely new to me, and it was also one of my favourites.

We had the pace to run around the top 10 throughout the weekend, with P9 in the Round 9 Final giving me another top-10 national result.

Round 10 was more challenging and I finished P14, but we maintained P7 in the championship going into the final weekend.

🏁 Finishing the Season at Shenington

The championship finished at Shenington, another circuit I hadn't raced at before.

Friday practice was really encouraging, with our pace allowing us to run with the front runners.

The weather then completely changed for Saturday, bringing extremely wet conditions for Round 11. Sunday returned to the dry for Round 12, giving me three very different days and another opportunity to learn and adapt.

I finished the final weekend with P16 in Round 11 and P13 in Round 12, bringing my first national championship season to an end.

🏆 2026 Super One Championship – P9 Overall

When we started this journey, 2026 was about learning.

It was my first season racing outdoors, my first national karting championship, and almost every circuit was somewhere I'd never raced before.

To finish the season 9th overall out of 42 competitors is something I'm incredibly proud of.

Along the way we achieved:

• 🥉 First national championship podium – P3 at GYG

• 🏆 Multiple trophy finishes

• 🏆 Top Rookie – Clay Pigeon Round 6

• 🏁 Multiple top-10 national results

• 📈 Reached P4 in the championship standings during the season

• 🏆 Finished P9 overall out of 42 competitors

But for me, the season has been about much more than results.

I've learned how to adapt quickly to new circuits, race in everything from hot and dry conditions to extremely heavy rain, work with my coaches and mechanics using data, understand kart setup better, race against some really competitive drivers and keep pushing when weekends haven't gone to plan.

A massive thank you has to go to everyone at XKart, especially Jack Burgess, Ian Burgess and Morgan, for everything they've taught me and all the work they've put in throughout my first national season.

And of course, none of this would be possible without my family and everyone who has supported me and helped get me onto the grid.

I'm still at the very beginning of my motorsport journey and there is so much more for me to learn, but 2026 has given me an amazing foundation to build from.

For 2027, the plan is to take another big step by moving up from Rotax Micro Max to Rotax Inter Max, with the aim of competing in The Kart Championship (TKC).

The kart will be faster, the competition will be another step up and there will be plenty of new challenges ahead.

I can't wait.

2026 was the beginning. Now it's time to see where we can take it. 🏁

Never Give Up.

🏁 Super One Rounds 11 & 12 – Shenington | August 2026

The final race weekend of the 2026 Super One Championship took us to Shenington for Rounds 11 & 12.

It was another new circuit for me, and the weekend gave us three very different days of conditions, making it another valuable learning experience during my first season competing at national level.

Friday Practice

Friday was a really positive start to the weekend.

The weather was hot and dry, the kart felt great and I adapted well to the circuit. Throughout the day, we showed strong pace and were able to run with the front runners, leaving us feeling confident going into the racing.

Round 11 – Saturday

Saturday brought completely different conditions, with a very wet track throughout the day.

Unfortunately, I struggled to find the same pace and confidence we'd had in the dry on Friday. We continued working with the team, looking through the data and making changes as we tried to improve throughout the day.

After a difficult qualifying and two challenging heats, I kept pushing in the Final and was able to move forward to finish P16.

Round 12 – Sunday

For the final round, conditions returned to dry and our pace improved from Saturday.

We still couldn't quite get back to the speed we'd shown during Friday practice, but I continued working with the team and focused on making progress throughout the day.

After qualifying P21, I moved forward to P18 in Heat 1 and P18 in Heat 2 before making further progress in the Final to finish P13.

Shenington wasn't the final weekend we'd hoped for after showing such promising pace on Friday, but it was another important part of my development.

Having to adapt from a fast, dry Friday to extremely wet conditions on Saturday and then back to a dry circuit on Sunday gave me plenty more experience to take forward.

Most importantly, even when the results weren't going our way, we kept working, kept learning and kept pushing right until the final chequered flag. 🏁

Round 11 Results

• Qualifying — P20

• Heat 1 — P25

• Heat 2 — P20

• Final — P16

Round 12 Results

• Qualifying — P21

• Heat 1 — P18

• Heat 2 — P18

• Final — P13

🏁 Super One Rounds 9 & 10 – Whilton Mill | August 2026

Rounds 9 & 10 of the 2026 Super One Championship took us to Whilton Mill, one of my favourite circuits and a track I was really looking forward to racing at.

Unlike many of the circuits I'd visited during my first national season, Whilton Mill was somewhere I already knew, so the focus was on building from the experience I'd gained throughout the year and seeing how competitive we could be.

The weather was hot throughout the weekend, but we showed strong top-10 pace and were competitive across both rounds.

Round 9 – Saturday

I qualified P11, putting us just outside the top 10 and in a good position to move forward.

Heat 1 saw me gain a position to finish P10, before a more difficult second heat left me P14.

In the Final, I was able to make progress again and bring home another top-10 national result with P9.

It was a positive way to start the weekend and showed that we had the pace to compete inside the top 10.

Round 10 – Sunday

Sunday was a more challenging day in terms of results.

I qualified P13, followed by P16 in Heat 1 and P14 in Heat 2.

I finished the Final in P14.

Although the results weren't quite what we'd hoped for, they didn't tell the full story of our weekend. Our pace showed that we were capable of running around the top 10, and there was definitely more potential than the final results suggested.

That's something I've learned during my first season at national level — sometimes you can have the pace without getting the results, but every race gives you more experience to take into the next one.

Most importantly, we left Whilton Mill having maintained P7 in the Super One Championship with just two rounds remaining.

From starting my first national championship only a few months earlier, being P7 heading into the final weekend was something I was really proud of.

Next up was Shenington for Rounds 11 & 12 and the final weekend of my first Super One season. 🏁

Round 9 Results

• Qualifying — P11

• Heat 1 — P10

• Heat 2 — P14

• Final — P9

Round 10 Results

• Qualifying — P13

• Heat 1 — P16

• Heat 2 — P14

• Final — P14

Championship position after Whilton Mill — P7