Archive for 2004

2003 JICA British Champion Riki Christodoulou has endured an eventful but satisfactory first season in the senior Karting ranks. The sixteen year old claimed 3rd position in the ICA division of the BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA National Championship taking wins at PF and Shenington in the six round contest.

He celebrated victories in the Belgian Championship and podium positions in the highly competitive Italian Open competition. He also stepped up and made his debut appearance in the Formula A class, scoring an excellent 2nd position at the Italian ‘Industrials’ mini series.

Along the way ‘Christo’ received support from SHIFT Racing and made appearances on local BBC TV and radio. Only a controversial black flag incident in Scotland at Larkhall that dented his domestic title chances and mechanical disappointment at the European Championships in Belgium marred a decent debut senior term for the teenager.

Riki will complete his 2004 schedule with two appearances in the Winter Super Libre competition in November (7th at PF) and December (5th at Shenington). He will make an announcement regarding his 2005 plans after the race at PF.

Q: Riki, 2004 was your first year in the seniors, what are your overall impressions of the season?

RC: It got off to a good start. I took a fourth place at Whilton Mill and the Garda Cup wasn’t too bad in terms of my driving until someone crashed into me. Since then there have been little problems that have prevented me winning more often. It was either something mechanical or a small mistake by me. I feel that I have been fast enough. I qualified in the top three at almost every race and started on the front row frequently. Overall, I feel a bit frustrated by this season. On paper it should have been better, I should have won more. Then again I have been satisfied on numerous occasions with my driving. The European Championship was a missed opportunity.

Q: What was the high point of the year?

RC: I would say the pole and 2nd place I took at the Italian Championship in Lonato. The weekend got off to a bad start but I changed Kart and went much quicker. I think the result gave me a small confidence boost just before the British Championship started. The Italian ‘Industrials’ was good also. I took a 2nd after the two rounds and that was pleasing for my first race in the top flight Formula A class.

Q: You have been over to Italy quite a few times this season. How did you find the racing out there?

RC: I’ve really enjoyed racing there. At Jesolo in July I came up from 22nd to 7th and that made me feel great because it is one of the toughest tracks in the world on your arms and I was holding on right until the end. The standard of the competition is very good, a bit higher than the UK and much better than Belgium. They have drivers coming from all over Europe to race. The tyres seem to be stickier and the tracks are more exciting; Shenington is still my favourite though!

Q: What was the low point?

RC: I was really annoyed at Larkhall for the British Championship when I was black flagged through no fault of my own. The European Championship was also bad. I spun in the second heat and I was sitting on the grass thinking ‘I should have won this’. If I had managed one more lap in the second final before the engine went then I would have earned my Formula A licence and wouldn’t have needed to win in Belgium a few weeks afterwards.

Q: What do you feel you have learned through your step-up to the ICA campaign?

RC: I have improved physically. The karts are much faster and harder on the arms. I had a few races early in the year when I couldn’t hold on in the second part and had to do some more exercises to strengthen up. Terry Fullerton has been a big help to me this year. My race craft has really come-on because of him. I would get advice about lines, when to turn, how much to turn. In one or two sessions with Terry I would have the track sorted but if I was on my own it would take me the whole day to figure it out. At the Industrials there was one turn that I couldn’t get right and I was losing 3 or 4 tenths, which is chunks, it really made me notice the affects of Terry being there; that extra pair of eyes is very useful.

Racing in the seniors also means against fully grown men and it can get rough in the pack, people don’t give corners away easily, so I have had to toughen up.

Q: What did you think of the competition and the equipment you were using?

RC: I found that my main competitors were people I had been racing against from the juniors, like Fred and Jon Lancaster so I knew it was not going to be an easy year. I switched between the Tony Kart and the Birel a few times this season and looking back now maybe it would have been better to stick with one kart but some weekends the Birel was quicker and vice-versa. I found that the Birel was faster when we were abroad, but I haven’t had a chance to test the new Tony Kart yet so I am still not sure which I prefer.

Q: With the media and BBC attention and the SHIFT deal it seems as though things are starting to take off in terms of a professional driving career. Do you feel that way?

RC: Yeah, the momentum is starting to increase and it is all good! The SHIFT association is great and their new suit is much lighter and came personalised which was cool. I will definitely be looking for a career in racing and will keep on trying.

Q: How much further do you think you can go in the Karting world before changing disciplines?

RC: I’m not sure. I have just turned sixteen and obviously I do not know everything. There are more experienced and knowledgeable karters than me; there is always space to improve. I will never tire of Karting, I could race tomorrow morning!

Category: News

Last Sunday saw another positive result for Riki Christodoulou in the Formula A class when the teenager scored 3rd position in the first of the Italian ‘Industrials’ cup races at the Parma circuit.

The former British JICA Champion is making his first tentative forays into the premier Formula A category and his top three finish last weekend complimented a decent showing with a double win at the Belgian Championships eight days prior.

‘Christo’ qualified 2nd fastest despite some early worries over a suspect engine on a twisty and demanding circuit he had never seen before. The first heat saw the youngster capture 4th place before a downpour soaked the track ahead of the next race. Starting 4th he was pushed out wide on a damp first corner and was virtually last. Further mistakes meant a difficult slog through the field but a respectable 8th position was earned by the time the chequered flag was waved.

Riki then took to the grid 3rd for the final and was fighting for a top four result until he managed to grab a placement of 3rd.
Both Christo and the team were very satisfied with the weekend overall and it was particularly pleasing for the SHIFT racing backed-driver to beat his British rivals Jon Lancaster (4th) and Freddie Martin-Dye (15th).

The second and final meeting of the ‘Industrials’ contest takes place this Sunday where Riki will again line-up as part of the MGM team. Points are counted over both events for the final ranking.

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou vented some of the frustrations experienced at the recent CIK European Championship by comprehensively winning the final round of the Belgian Championships at Mariembourg last weekend.

The 2003 JICA British Champ contested the Formula A class in a move up from his usual ICA category with a view towards a possible 2005 campaign.
‘Christo’ qualified fastest then proceeded to win the first final by an impressive eight seconds over a somewhat small entry before also leading from start to finish in the second main event. The achievement will help the teenager upgrade his licence after the mechanical troubles at last month’s Euro Championship saw him drop down the order. Formula A Karts are marginally faster than ICA prepped machines but tyre degradation is considerably higher.

Christo heads out to Italy and the Parma circuit this week to compete in consecutive weekend meetings as part of the ‘Industrials’ series and as a member of the MGM racing team. Again in Formula A, the young Brit will round off the season in southern Europe before closing the book on his 2004 schedule with two appearances in the Winter Super Libre competition in November (7th at PF) and December (5th at Shenington).

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou was denied a second consecutive British Karting Championship Sunday afternoon in Scotland after contentious officiating decisions cost the 16 year old the 2004 BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA ICA title by the slimmest of points margins.

The final round of the series took place under grey skies with scattered showers coating the venue outside of Glasgow. Christo’s weekend did not get off to a decent start as another engine problem (after more mechanical hiccups had wrecked his quest for Euro Championship glory in Belgium last week) dropped the teenager down the order in timed qualification.
An innocuous collision in the opening heat brought the first controversy of the day as the ’03 JICA Champ was dramatically black flagged for his role in the prang. Normal procedure involves the issuing of a warning but Christo seemed destined to be on the cold side of the authorities. The second heat took place in the dry and he was able to charge from 17th to 6th.

Starting from 16th in the first of the two finals, Riki forced his way into the top ten when he was hit from behind and nudged Jon Lancaster in front causing the driver to spin but able to continue in the race. Amazingly once more the black flag was hauled out of the box and a ‘stop-go’ penalty reduced his eventual standing to a totally undeserved 14th.
Curiously a similar but more serious incident during the Formula A races saw the driver concerned escape with a caution while Christo felt the full weight of the book being thrown unfairly at him.

The second final proved to be something of a vindication as the SHIFT RACING backed driver aired his frustrations on the field. Beginning from 14th, again in the wet, he carved his way through the pack to place 3rd. The title was lost by three points and the advantage of positions further up the grid, lost by the black flags fiasco, would have placed Christo squarely in the frame for a Championship celebration.

“I don’t mind saying it, and I don’t care what people think, but the officials today cost me the Championship,” he lamented. “It was a complete joke. In the first heat I pulled alongside a driver on the straight and he swept into the corner so I ended up t-boning him. He spun and I took the corner letting around ten people get through. I was given the black flag for knocking into him from behind, despite the fact that I was clearly alongside and the collision was unfortunate and unavoidable. For the second incident I was walloped from behind and hit Lancaster in front but was adjudged to be in the wrong! The drive in the second final was pretty good but to be honest I was just taking my anger out on the track. I got through to third from being down in 14th on the first lap and thought maybe that I had done enough but Chris Lamare has been good in the wet this year.”

Riki ended up joint 3rd overall in the standings, which was still a good effort for his first season out of the juniors.

Full Larkhall results and final classification:

Final 1:

1, Freddie Martin-dye, 13:29.13
2, Chris Lamare, 13:31.16
3, Tom Brown, 13:33.21
4, Charlie Bruce-white, 13:35.00
5, Jonathan Miller, 13:36.85
6, Sam Hill, 13:37.08
7, Jonathan Walker, 13:38.60
8, Simon Andrews, 13:38.99
9, Raymie Eastwood, 13:40.87
10, John Joe Walsh, 13:41.79
11, Jason Moore, 13:41.91
12, Jon Lancaster, 13:44.08
13, Elliott Cole, 13:45.98
14, Riki Christodoulou, 13:49.61
15, Chris Foster, 13:50.63
16, Robert Wightman, 13:59.09
17, Tom Armour, 14:01.33
18, Rowland Kinch, 13:29.93
19, Danny Cruttenden, 13:48.06
20, Jody Whitmore, 14:09.25
21, Minty Ward, 6:17.44
22, David Batch, 2:39.89
23, Kieren Clark, 0:00.00

Final 2:

1, Chris Lamare, 13:13.05
2, Charlie Bruce-white, 13:14.51
3, Riki Christodoulou, 13:19.20
4, Raymie Eastwood, 13:20.41
5, Freddie Martin-dye, 13:21.88
6, Danny Cruttenden, 13:24.93
7, Sam Hill, 13:26.04
8, Jonathan Miller, 13:26.65
9, Jon Lancaster, 13:27.31
10, Simon Andrews, 13:29.06
11, Jason Moore, 13:29.26
12, Elliott Cole, 13:30.26
13, Robert Wightman, 13:33.23
14, David Batch, 13:36.90
15, Chris Foster, 13:37.31
16, Minty Ward, 13:44.51
17, Rowland Kinch, 13:51.93
18, John Joe Walsh, 13:49.37
19, Tom Armour, 13:26.25
20, Jody Whitmore, 8:00.26
21, Tom Brown, 8:00.26
22, Jonathan Walker, 4:32.15
23, Kieren Clark, 0:00.00

Provisional 2004 ICA Standings:

1. CHRIS LAMARE              447
2. FREDDIE MARTIN-DYE           446
3. DANNY CRUTTENDEN           444
4. RIKI CHRISTODOULOU         444
5. CHARLIE BRUCE-WHITE       426

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou’s hopes of causing a major splash at the ICA European Championship meeting at Mariembourg, Belgium, this afternoon were swiftly drowned after engine problems forced the ’03 JICA British Champion out of action.

Among the annual gathering of the continent’s best drivers ‘Christo’ was the fastest within his group and clinched a heat win during qualification yesterday by an unprecedented five seconds. A spin in the second race unfortunately meant that he was back on the eighth row in 15th for Final A today but the pace shown in the emphatic victory on Saturday, coupled with his strong speed in practice and testing the previous two days, gave the team hopes of a very positive overall result.

While holding 10th in the first competitive foray the big end broke on the 15 year old’s Kart negotiating lap 11 of 14. The DNF meant that Riki classified 30th and was even further back on the grid for the main final. Still hopeful of gaining a respectable finish Christo took to the track in the repaired Kart but with the engine still under performing and eventually ‘conking out’ was relegated to the role of a bystander.

It was a frustrating event for the driver who had hopes of shining on the international stage and certainly has the ability and speed to do so.

Team Christo’s next major meeting will be the final round of the ICA British Championship next weekend at Larkhall where Riki still has a chance of taking his second consecutive national title.

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou experienced a mixed day of fortunes during qualification at Mariembourg, Belgium for the ICA European Karting Championship this afternoon but an emphatic charge to victory in his final heat immediately established his credentials for Euro glory as his finished Saturday as the second highest British driver.

After a series of regional events earlier in the year, the 2003 JICA British Champion was competing among the elite of European drivers and was fastest in his group after timed chrono yesterday and this morning.

Entering the heat events this afternoon Riki started from 3rd best overall and assumed this position on the grid. ‘Christo’ grabbed a steady second place in the first race and was holding the same position in the second sprint until a small mistake saw the teenager spin and drop down the ranking. The team made some technical adjustments that allowed the Brit to clear off and win the final heat by almost six seconds. The end result is that Christodoulou lines up 15th for tomorrow’s main events but the pace and domination of his last race triumph gave good cause for optimism.

“I needed that win,” he commented. “After the second heat we made a few little alterations and I changed my seat and felt much better in the Kart. It was my own fault because I wasn’t so happy after the first race and the adjustments we came up with made the Kart understeer, a small error later and I spun. I got into the lead early in the third race and pulled away. I was pleased with my pace and I feel as though I can win this; I hope I can!”

Category: News

JICA British number one Riki Christodoulou was untouchable yesterday at Shenington for the fifth round of the ’04 BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA ICA British Championship taking two wins and placing himself firmly back in the title hunt with one round remaining.

The 15 year old was superlative on his home circuit, posting the fastest time in qualifying and scoring results of 1st and 3rd in the heats to earn pole position for the first of the two finals. The Tony Kart and SHIFT racing back driver then controlled proceedings from the front, leading from lights to the chequered flag for a perfect 100 point haul.

‘Christo’ had been among the quickest of the drivers from the first lap of pre-race tests and the double whammy represents his best ICA result of the season. Some inclement weather meant that a slightly unsteady drive in the second qualification heat was the only small blight on an otherwise perfect weekend. The first final was won with the minimum of fuss and Riki stretched out an advantage of three to four seconds, continually bettering the lap-times of his rivals and able to increase his pace when required. The second race was a closer affair but the teenager from Sutton Coldfield was able to stare at mainly clear road for the duration.

He has now scaled the standings by three positions to second place and only one point behind series leader Danny Cruttenden.

“It wasn’t as easy as it looked,” he commented afterwards. “I had to work a lot in the second final because Freddie Martin-Dye was pushing hard. The first race was simple after I had broken away with a three second lead, then I could cruise to the finish. I tried to repeat it for the second final but Freddie was hanging on and catching little by little but he just ran out of laps. My engine was slowing at the end and not performing as well coming out of the corners. I am now right back in contention for the Championship. With the fastest time, pole and two final wins, this weekend was the best that I could have hoped for.”

After the Kartmasters meeting this weekend Riki embarks on a well-earned fortnight holiday with his family.

The last round of the Championship is due to take place at Larkhall on 12th of September in what is bound to be a tense and exciting affair.

Category: News

2003 JICA British Champion Riki Christodoulou knows the pressure is on this weekend if the 15 year old wants any chance of capturing successive titles as the ’04 BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA ICA British Championship enters the final stages.

The penultimate round takes place at Riki’s home track, Shenington, and the Sutton Coldfield resident knows nothing less than a double victory in both finals is sufficient if he is to regain ground in the title chase and move up from his current fifth position standing.

The SHIFT RACING backed driver has so far taken results of 5th-DNS, 1st-3rd, DNF-8th and 5th-6th in his debut ICA season and will test both Birel and Tony Kart machines during practice on Friday before choosing a kit for the heats and finals over the weekend.

“We are coming to the end of what has been an eventful season but the title has not quite gone yet,” remarked Riki’s father Rick Christodoulou. “We simply have to do our best because it is not out of reach, Danny has been consistent and took advantage when Jon Lancaster had some bad luck recently. We have to make sure we are in a position to capitalise if someone else has an off-day. We are hopeful of a strong meeting this weekend and we should be contenders for the win.”

Christo lies 5th, 30 points behind leader Danny Cruttenden with 50 points counting for each final win.

The 1200 metre track sees laptimes of low 41’s and boasts a quick, flat and challenging layout. Located near Banbury and forming part of the Shenington airfield the club first hosted an event back in 1960, watched by some five thousand spectators! The venue is regarded as one of the best in the country and former racers to have learnt their trade reads like a ‘who’s who’ of F1, with names such as Mansell, Coulthard, Herbert and Button, just some of the luminaries to have rounded the Oxfordshire curves.

Riki scored results of 8th and 2nd in the JICA contest 12 months ago.

The weather for the weekend is bright but cloudy.

The final round of the domestic series occurs at Larkhall in Scotland on 11th-12th September.

Current Championship standings:

1. Danny Cruttenden           341
2. Jon Lancaster            329
3. Chris Lamare            325
4. Freddie Martin-Dye        321
5. Riki Christodoulou        311

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou walked away with 8th position from the fifth and final round of the competitive Italian Open Masters series at Azzura, Jesolo last Sunday but the meagre result hides perhaps his best drive of the 2004 ICA campaign.

Christo, who had taken a runner-up position at the second round of the Championship driving for the MGM team, this time faced difficulty in qualification and the opening heats as an unsatisfactory 11th in the chrono became worse in the first race due to a collision and pit stop for a nosecone change dropped him down the order and 19th position by the flag.

At a circuit he had never seen before the 15 year old, who has just finished his exams, started from 19th in the second sprint and cut his way through to 11th. The overall result from the heats meant that Riki entered the final lining up on the grid in a lowly 22nd. From here the JICA ’03 British Champion set about making positions and establishing a race time that placed him second fastest on track. His persistence paid off and 8th was an admirable comeback considering the ground that had to be recovered.
After qualifying the MGM squad actually discovered that the chassis on the Kart was slightly twisted and this would not have helped the SHIFT backed driver’s plight.

The team now have a busy time ahead with the penultimate round of the British Championships occurring at Riki’s home track this Sunday (Shenington) and then a Kartmasters meeting the following weekend before a well-earned holiday.

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou has qualified as top British ICA driver for the European Championships due to occur at Mariembourg, Belgium on 5th September thanks to scoring 8th overall this afternoon at the Qualifier for the Western region taking place at Lavelanet, France.

Christo, the defending British JICA Champion, earned a brace of 13th positions in an eventful afternoon that begun with a strong 2nd place in the remaining qualifying heat. Starting from 7th spot on the grid for the pre-final Riki forced his way to 4th place before having to make an off-track excursion due to a rival’s Kart cutting out in front of him ending the fast lengthy straight. The 15 year old caught back up to 13th by the chequered flag. The second final was a tough affair and Christo started well but suffered with the speed and set-up of his Kart finally crossing the finish line with another 13th. The final ranking of 8th (well within the elimination bracket of 26 for Belgium) left the Sutton Coldfield resident as the best placed Brit and content with his work completed and objective achieved.

Proceedings got under way at the venue not far from the city of Toulouse and the Pyrenees in damp conditions and although the majority of the field took to the track with slick tyres the asphalt itself was a mix between dry and wet sections.

Christo, racing as part of the MGM team with whom he has been contesting rounds of the Italian Open series, was keen to get the day off on the right foot after clocking the 3rd fastest time in Qualifying practice on Saturday and then earning 8th, 3rd and 10th in the 11 lap heats with his Birel/TM kit.

“I would have liked to have won obviously,” he remarked. “But to finish top Brit was good and to have made sure of qualifying was the main goal. I enjoyed the first heat and was leading for five laps before being able to cruise for second. Things went OK with the team but I lacked some speed with the Kart because I was struggling coming out of the corners. Nevertheless it was a pretty good weekend.”

The next major race for Team Christodoulou will be in two weeks time for fifth round of the BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA ICA Super one British Championship at Riki’s home track Shenington on 25th of July.

Category: News

Team Riki Christodoulou have travelled to the south of France and the Lavelanet circuit this week for qualification heats in order to ease their way into the European Championship due to take place at Mariembourg, Belgium on 5th September.

The defending JICA Champion embarks on his first ICA Euro meeting this season in what is the annual highpoint of the Karting calendar. The proceedings at Lavelanet begin tomorrow with Open testing, continuing on Friday through to qualification heats on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. The aim of the meeting is to finish in the top 26 and ensure entry to Mariembourg. Two other similar ‘heats’ are also occurring this weekend for the different regions of Europe and the top drivers from the UK have to gather near the Pyrenees just south of Toulouse to survive the cut to Belgium.

Riki tested at the facility just over a month ago and was happy with his lap-times. The circuit itself does not have the best infrastructure but the layout involves a quick and lengthy track that the 15 year old enjoys.

“I think I have a good chance of winning here,” he remarked. “I have beaten a few of the European guys at the Italian Open series so I more or less know what to expect. The track is good even if the building and surroundings are not that great. It is not really like any course in the UK. It is long with a 50+ laptime and some nice fast corners.”

80 entrants will be vying for the 26 positions this weekend and Team Christo will be using their Birel TM Kart to try and top the classification.

“We used the Birel with the Italian team when we made appearances in their Championship and I am happy with the Kart so we have it this weekend.”

Category: News

Reigning 2003 JICA Champion Riki Christodoulou scored a 5th and 6th today at Clay Pigeon in the two finals for the fourth round of the BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA ICA British Championship.

Christo adapted well to difficult race conditions as the rain plagued proceedings. The clouds emptied half way through the first final race and remained present for the second affair.

After setting impressive speed on Friday practice the SHIFT Racing backed driver obtained the 5th best qualifying time. He then crossed the line in 5th place during the first heat and suffered a DNF in the next outing due to a chain problem. This meant that the 15 year old was relegated to 18th on the grid for the opening final and pushed through to 6th as the rain fell for a decent result. Christo was unable to make clean passing moves in the soaked second final and had to settle again for a 5th using the new version of the Tony Kart machine.

The meeting was not so positive for rivals Jon Lancaster, who DNF-ed twice, and Freddie Martin-Dye, who also failed to register points in one race. The steady performances of Christodoulou might not have spectacular by his own admission but should see him slide up a few more positions in the Championship standings.

Chris LeMare won both ICA events.

Race Results to follow when available.

The fifth round takes place on the 24th and 25th of July at Shenington.

Category: News

After a several week lay-off from competitive racing Team Christodoulou have roared back into life for the BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC MSA ICA British Championship at Clay Pigeon this weekend by setting the fastest times this afternoon in practice.

The reigning JICA number one was alternating between a Birel Kart and the brand new Tony Kart machine but was several tenths ahead of rivals such as Jon Lancaster and Freddie Martin-Dye throughout the day. His best time was also set on used tyres in cloudy but warm conditions.

The 15 year old has been undergoing exams at school in recent weeks but has not relented with his testing schedule, building up speed approaching the  fourth round of the national series. While any chance of the title now means an uphill fight, Riki will not give up with two meetings still to run (Shenington July 25th, Larkhall September 12th).

Although not one of Christo’s favourites, the 815m Clay Pigeon track is a familiar, tough and technical challenge where the youngster has completed a lot of testing miles over the last month. There are few passing opportunities meaning that a high grid placement will be more of an advantage than usual.

In 2003 Riki scored a 1st and 2nd place in the two JICA finals.

The weather forecast predicts a sunny start on Sunday but showers arriving later in the day.

Current ICA Championship standings:

1. JON LANCASTER             279
2. FREDDIE MARTIN-DYE       252
3. DANNY CRUTTENDE            247
4. SAM HILL                   233
5. CHARLIE BRUCE-W            229
6. TOM BROWN                  227
7. RIKI CHRISTODOU            226

Category: News

Riki Christodoulou’s hopes of a 2004 ICA British Championship title took a major dent at Lydd yesterday after a mistake with the 15 year old’s transponder during qualifying meant that he was forced to come back from the rear of the grid and barely was able to register points.

‘Christo’ claimed 8th position in the second of the two finals held at the venue in Kent but the qualifying heats as well as the first main race of the day were instantly forgettable.

As a result of the mishap and subsequent result nightmare (Christo was bogged down in traffic right through the Semi-Finals and the Final races themselves, taking a DNF in the first main event of the day) the 2003 JICA Champion has lost a lot of ground in the standings with three meetings left to run. Dropping two places down from fifth to seventh Christo now trails series leader Jon Lancaster by 33 points and needs his rivals to also experience some poor luck.

“The mistake with the transponder was disappointing but we tried to make the best of it,” reflected the driver. “I just about got through the Semis after coming from the back and started the first final in 12th. I got involved in a crash while trying to pass some drivers and that ended the race.

“In the second final I again had to set-off from the rear of the grid. I was making the same laptimes as the leaders and got up to sixth but had another bump that bent the steering column, which meant that I dropped off the pace and could only take eighth. It’s true that the Championship is looking difficult now but I am optimistic that we can still do very well. We have to go to my home circuit, Shenington, so there is hope.”

The next round of the British series occurs on June 20th at the Clay Pigeon circuit. Team Christodoulou will be testing next weekend but their next race is likely to be in June.

Category: News

British Champion Riki Christodoulou heads to Lydd in Kent this weekend for the third round of the BTE Lawline/Renault AbkC ICA Championship eager to boost his current standing in the series.

The 2003 number one, who has moved up a category this season, lies fifth in the Championship table 29 points behind leader and rival Jon Lancaster. ‘Christo’ finished 1st and 3rd in the two finals at the last meeting; a wet PF circuit on April 4th.

Team Christodoulou travelled south from their Sutton Coldfield base yesterday (Thursday) to set-up for the first days of testing and practice before the action real gets underway on Sunday.

“The track is nice in layout but the state of the circuit is not the best,” admitted team manager Rick Christodoulou. “We did well a couple of years ago in the juniors taking pole position and we know our speed is pretty good. After a small break it will be nice to get racing again.”

“Lydd is fast, flowing and a bit of a challenge,” remarked SHIFT Racing-backed Riki. “We tested there a few weeks ago and I wasn’t that quick in the wet or the dry so it is going to be a tough weekend. Although we have made a few changes to the Kart that have improved the speed so we are optimistic.”

There are three rounds of the Championship remaining after Lydd with the next event occurring on June 20th at Clay Pigeon. There was no 2003 MSA meeting at Lydd.

The weather forecast for the weekend unfortunately predicts rain.

2004 Formula ICA standings:

1. Jon Lancaster (23)            192
2. Charlie Bruce-White (48)   173
3. Freddie Martin-Dye (21)     167
4. Chris Lamare (7)               166
5. Riki Christodoulou (51)      163

Category: News