Monoposto Rounds 5, 6 & 7 - Donington Park - 24/25th June
The Leastone team had an up and down weekend at Donington last weekend, with a couple of mechanical failures scuppering some good results across the triple header. Codey Keogh was again seeing a track for the first time but managed to get some decent running on Thursdays test day and he put this running to good use in qualifying on Saturday morning, logging a time good enough for 3rd in class. David Heavey would slot in behind in 4th, while Morgan McCourt also showed good pace to secure 6th in class.
When lights went out for Race 1, Codey suffered an unfortunate stall and was clipped by a competitor, ending both their races on the spot. Dave was able to benefit from the chaos to jump to 2nd place and tried to hold onto the lead Jedi while also having his mirrors full of Jedi behind. Morgan also jumped a couple of places to 4th before the safety car was deployed mid race.
Heavey was never really in a position to challenge for the lead but looked to be comfortable in 2nd before his GSXR1000 began to suffer a loss of power shortly after the safety car pulled in. This dropped him down the order, but such was the high rate of attrition during the race, he managed to hold onto the final podium spot. This was also due to teammate McCourt suffering a similar fuel related issue, but he still managed to take the chequered flag in 4th place.
Race 2 started better for Codey, as he vaulted up from the back of the grid to run 4th early in the race, with Heavey in tow. Morgan would make it a 4-5-6 to the team by the midpoint of the race, before Codey suffered a suspension failure that pitched him off the road at the chicane. Heavey would benefit from this and the subsequent safety car to move into 4th overall, while Morgan suffered a recurrence of his fuel pressure issue which frustratingly resulted in him coasting to a halt on the final lap.
With only 2 hours between the days 2 races, the team could not repair the damage to Codey's car and given his position in the championship, Heavey offered up his No.62 Leastone to the teenager for the final race of the weekend. This change in car would see Codey have to start at the rear of the field once again but despite the unfamiliar car, he made good use of it by jumping inside the top 5 in the early part of the race. He then benefitted from mechanical trouble for the race leader to snatch the final podium slot and some much needed championship points from a challenging weekend. Morgan’s issues were resolved during the break and he followed his teammate home for his second 4th place finish of the weekend.
Despite 2 non-finishes, Codey remains in the championship hunt with just 5 points separating the top 4. Attention now turns to Brands Hatch GP, which will bring a unique challenge for Codey as he will be unable to test the daunting GP layout before race day. A further spanner in the works will be combined Monoposto races, with all classes filling a 38-car grid. In addition to all of that, the event is compressed into a single day – with qualifying and both races taking place on Saturday 8th of July.
