The 2026 owner/driver racing season began at Bayford Meadows last weekend, with the annual one off winter event, that offers the drivers the chance to wear the BM plates on their kart for the year.

An encouraging opening entry for the circuit guaranteed some exciting racing over the weekend, with racing held over both of the days.

On Saturday the Bambinos were split into two separate races for Electric and Comer and also on the Saturday programme were races for the new Honda Senior class.

Bambinos. 

Nine drivers in the Electric powered karts were the first to race for the BM plates and in a close finish Teddy Smith held off Cooper Galloway throughout the 8 laps to take the win by 0.505s, although Cooper did set the fastest lap at 1:01.804s on lap 6. Bryella Stephens was next up in 3rd to finish on the podium ahead of Arthur Etherington in 4th, Teddy Wesolowski in 5th, Aiden Castleman in 6th, Harriet Jones in 7th, Nicolas Ansah 8th and Jake Moreley in 9th.

In the Comer class 6 drivers battled for outright honours, with Matthew Pearson heading home the rest by 9.96s, also setting the fastest lap at 1:02.59s. Brody Pearless and Jacob Haywood-White completed the podium in 2nd & 3rd, while Steve Austin took 4th from Yusen Yang in 5th and Max Oliver in 6th.

Honda Seniors.

Four drivers were entered in the very first Honda Senior event, although only 3 started the Final where Alex Sims and Harvey Shoveller swapped positions before the former – Sims took the win by 1.389s and also the fastest lap at 56.065s. Circuit favourite Gerry Poore, was a little way back in 3rd, having forsaken his Senior 177 kart for this year.

On Sunday the drivers began with qualifying before going into a Pre Final and then a main Final. The bumper entry in the Honda Cadet class required the grid to be split before a B Final determined which 4 would join the 16 that had qualified via their two Pre Final. 

Honda Juniors.

Overnight rain and the cold overcast conditions ensured that all the drivers throughout all of the classes would experience a wet track for the morning’s races. The first Final of the afternoon was for the Honda Junior class, which had a very encouraging 15 kart entry, split into two different weight categories.

Jack Cope started from the overall pole position after a somewhat comfortable win in the Pre Final, he had Thomas Dyer alongside him after a storming drive in the Pre Final where he snatched 2nd place right at the end of the race, from starting 5th on the grid. Ronnie Deacon and Alexander Robertson were next up in 3rd and 4th, then Thomas Allen and Sebastien Barden in 5th & 6th, on the 4th row in 7th & 8th sat Lucas Dear & Jayden.

With the circuit now dry slicks were bolted on for the Final, with many of the drivers and parents guessing their tyre pressures for the still slippy conditions. From a standing start Cope led the rumbling field away into turn 1 with a fast starting Deacon soon latching onto his bumper as Dyer slipped back.

Allen also passed Dyer on the 2nd lap to move up to 3rd with Robertson next to usurp Dyer in 4th. Barden had a poor opening lap dropping down to 11th on lap 2, this put Jayden up to 6th and Dear into 7th. At the front Cope and Deacon ran as one, with Cope unable to switch his tyres ‘on’, leaving him vulnerable to an attack from a keen Deacon.

Once Robertson had demoted Dyer he was onto the bumper of Allen as these two fought hard right to the end of the race. Dyer was out of the race by lap 7 which left Jayden clear in the heavy category, with Dear next before he descended down through the field in the latter half of the race, promoting Hugo Tierney up to 6th.

With the laps counting down, Deacon saw that it was now his chance of being the very first Honda Junior winner of the BM plates in the class, as he set the fastest lap (54.66s) with 2 laps to go, however a tenacious Cope managed to hold off a now perturbed runner up, as Deacon’s passing attempt had failed to reap its rewards. Allen was next to cross the line as he fended off Robertson’s late race advances, the pairing crossing the line in 3rd & 4th.

Jayden in 5th, headed his category from Barden who had fought his way back up to 6th just ahead of Max Forbes in 7th. Tierney had crossed the line in 6th until a post-race nose fairing penalty dropped him back to 8th. In 9th & 10th finished Oscar Bridger and Freddie Fordham.

A brace of post race nose fairing penalties also hit Deacon and Robertson, which left the former Deacon demoted to 3rd and Allen promoted to 2nd, Robertson’s penalty did not affect his 4th placed finish.

Junior Rookies.

Harry Wright sat on pole for the Junior Rookie Final after cruising to victory on the wet track in the Pre Final by 5.68s, alongside him on the front row was Andrew Thomson who finished 2nd. Ashan Iqbal lined up 3rd on the grid and in 4th was Harrison McNealy. On the third row was Jerry Dufficy and Nishaun Marshall, Laila Fitzgerald and Finley Reid completed the 4th row with Alfie Burroughs alone on the 5th row behind them.

Now starting on slicks, the start of the Final proved quite chaotic as front row starter Thomson, was slow away dropping in behind Iqbal who was on Wright’s bumper going into turn 1, the leader soon found himself heading off the circuit as those behind loaded him up under braking, in an instant the Pre Final winner’s race was effectivley over, although he did recover to circulate behind the rest of the runners until the end.

Iqbal came out on top of the chaos heading Thomson in 2nd, briefly Fitzgerald in 3rd and McNealy in 4th. Burroughs went from last to 5th with Reid and Dufficy in 6th & 7th, Marshall was out after also being caught up in the turn one incident.

Iqbal soon had a comfortable lead which he controlled to the finish, behind him McNealy was going much better in the dry conditions, by passing Fitzgerald first and then Thomson after they had had a good fight on the 4th lap to run 2nd to the end. Fitzgerald’s promising run was over on the 4th lap as she spent the rest of the race sitting on the grass bank with her kart nudged into the tyres in front of her.

The race settled down after the early dramas with Iqbal heading home McNealy by 3.43s, from Thomson in 3rd who was clear of Burroughs in 4th. Reid and Dufficy finished 5th & 6th ahead of the unfortunate Wright in 7th. The fastest lap was recorded on the last of the 16 laps by winner Iqbal at 47.55s.

Senior Max.

The Senior Max class was next onto the circuit with the drivers getting an extra warm up lap to scrub their slicks for their Final after running wets in the pre Final. Josh Pullen was keen to make up for last year’s disappointment after he had lost his hard fought win due to a dropped nose fairing penalty, he would start on the pole after winning the pre Final.

George Cole made a welcome return to Bayford Meadows and sat next to his Project One teammate on the front row after a battling drive to 2nd in the Pre Final.

Jack Pullen (in his first meeting in the Senior class) also fought hard in the Pre Final to take 3rd and line up behind his big brother on the 2nd row of the grid. Ayda Sexton was next up in 4th, she along with Jack Pullen was another in her first Senior race.

Sexton had impressed all watching on, after qualifying 2nd and then putting pressure on Josh Pullen early on in the Pre Final. On the 3rd row Aiden Large, who won last year’s Junior Max BM plates had Finlay Underwood sat alongside him. Rhys Rutland was enjoying his first Senior race by sitting in 7th on the grid with Reuben Mamelok lining up next to him on the 4th row.

The 18 kart grid got away well and headed for turn 1 in a blur of colour and noise, the first three rows staying side by side through the corner, further back Jemima Wooley was turned around broadside which caused chaos behind, Augustin Boulet, James Cannon, Kyle Dickens and Kieron Hammond were all caught up in the carnage, with Hammond out on the spot with damaged steering, an end to a very disappointing day for the Junior graduate. The others involved were delayed but back on their way in the race.

Josh Pullen led through the first two corners before Cole had a run at him on the inside of the first infield hairpin, snatching the lead as he did so. Jack Pullen sat behind these two over the opening tour in 3rd, Sexton was 4th with Underwood next 5th ahead of Large in 6th and Mamelok in 7th ahead of Ollie Orteu in 8th.

As the trio of Project One karts crossed the line going into their 2nd lap, the Pullen siblings pounced on Cole, who took a deeper line into turn 1, leaving the door wide open for an 8 wheeled Pullen train to squeeze past on the inside, in an instant Cole went from 1st to 3rd.

Large had battled past Underwood and Sexton into 4th place, Underwood ran 5th and Sexton 6th, although this was only temporary as soon both were out of the race, leaving Mamelok, Freddie Leppenwell and Kajust Zygmanta 6th, 7th & 8th.

Back to the front of the race and initially Jack was putting pressure on his elder sibling with Cole on his bumper watching on, however as the laps counted down Josh Pullen managed to slightly gap his younger brother to go on and take the win by 0.59s.

Cole shadowed Jack Pullen to finish in 3rd for a Project One 1,2,3. Large had no answer to the trio ahead of him as he ran alone to finish 4th for Roalf racing, ahead of Leppenwell’s Blueberry kart in 5th after having passed teammate Mamelok on lap 7. Zygmanta took 6th ahead of Mamelok in 7th, Orteu finished 8th, Matthew Angel 9th and Rutland in 10th. The fastest lap fell on the 5th tour to winner and new Senior Max BM plate holder Josh Pullen.

Junior Max.

The Junior Max Pre Final was the crossover point for slick tyres as a wet shod John Reynolds held the lead until a rear tyre spectacularly pulled off its wheel rim going through turn 1, John valiantly held onto his kart but his race was done. Freddie Wall spearheaded the slick runners, ending up taking the win to secure the pole for the Final.

Aston Tabb climbed up from 6th to take 2nd ahead of Louis Bishop in 3rd. Harrison Matthews had a disastrous qualifying and drove very well to recover to 4th, as these four drivers would line up on the first two rows of the grid for the Final.

On the 3rd row sat Noah Clare who had led the Pre Final on wets before the slick shod drivers came through, he had Daniel Thomson sat alongside him. Bertie Hodgson and Jack Wykes filled the 4th row from Jacob Jarman and Lucas Knibbs on the 5th.

At the start of the Final Wall & Tabb blasted towards turn 1, with Wall on the inside briefly sideways and Tabb’s Blueberry kart running wide and onto the banked concrete run off, which let Bishop’s GMS run kart through on the inside and into 2nd leaving Tabb 3rd. Matthews held 4th from Thomson, Hodgson and Knibbs in 5th, 6th & 7th.

Over the opening laps Wall was flying, pulling a gap over the rest as the drivers brought their tyres up to temperature. However once the race had settled it was clear that the leader could not sustain his early pace as Bishop closed in. Tabb in 3rd was soon under pressure from Matthews who was starting to look strong as the race developed.

Just after mid distance Bishop’s pressure on the leader was increasing and soon he made a pass at the bottom hairpin as Wall was struggling for grip, he then led Wall into the first infield left hairpin before an ill judged move by Wall sent Bishop wide, letting Wall back past.

Matthews, who had found a way past Tabb, grabbed the chance to pass Bishop as he was recovering, to run 2nd. Bishop also fell foul of an attack by Tabb to drop to 4th several laps later, no doubt unsettled by his earlier contretemps with Wall.

Matthews was soon putting pressure on a struggling Wall in the lead, with the two running side by side into turn 1 and also at the bottom hairpin, with Wall just about holding on. With 3 laps to go Wall struggled once more, sliding wide at the bottom hairpin and letting Matthews get alongside, crucially Matthews had the inside line on the exit of the hairpin, Wall still alongside, tried to stick it out around the outside spinning and ending up facing the wrong way, effectively his race was over.

Matthews, now leading, went on to take the win, which the Nexgen driver deserved after starting his day on the back foot. Tabb was just 0.60s behind in 2nd at the finish in his Blueberry kart, in 3rd amazingly was Eden Salvidge who had charged up from last, after a shocking Pre Final, the 2025 class BM plate holder setting the fastest lap at 46.61s during his rise up through the field in his Nexgen kart.

Bishop was disappointed in 4th, having felt his efforts deserved a lot more. Knibbs was 5th on the road but a 5s penalty dropped him back to 8th, promoting Thomson to 5th, Jarman finished 6th from Hodgson in 7th, Clare in 9th and Reynolds in 10th.

Senior 177/Masters.

There were only 6 entrants in the Senior 177 classes for the BM plate race, split into two groups of three, for 177s and Masters. Ollie Owen controlled the 177s taking his 2nd BM plate after winning the Senior Max class last year, his margin of victory was 1.09s over Jamie Salter who had earlier run on Owen’s Roalf racing kart’s bumper in the Pre Final, but couldn’t match that pace in the Final.

Jason Mills was running third before retiring with one lap to go. The Masters class was won by Dennis Trzeciak from last year’s BM plate winner Colin Walker and David Ives, with the three enjoying an exciting opening lap as Ives briefly grabbed the lead before spinning and then Walker leading until the 6th lap before Trzeciak moved ahead. Salter set the fastest lap at 47.85s on the 7th tour.

Honda Cadet 200s.

The bumper entries in the Honda Cadet class were split into two ‘odds’ and ‘evens’ Pre Finals, with Marcus Cooper taking the odds victory and Harry Parker-Rae the evens. A ‘B’ Final then determined which 4 drivers would join the already qualified 16 from the Pre Finals, this was won by Ralph Rider-Birch, joining him in the main Final were Teddy Moreton, Zara Janes and Alfie Bi.

The majority of the Cadet drivers remained on their wet tyres for the Final as Parker-Rae, in his Lewis Hamilton Ferrari replica kart, led the keen youngsters away from the pole position. Cooper shadowed him for a lap before diving inside at turn 1 to take the lead before pulling clear of the other 19 drivers.

George Lilley and Harrison Maxwell led the chase of Parker-Rae in 3rd & 4th, behind them lay George Pickett 5th, and Jenson Drummond 6th, who was on a real charge up from 13th, Reggie Dufficy was next in 7th. As Cooper extended his lead Parker-Rae dropped behind Lilley now 2nd and then also fell victim to Drummond’s incredible charge in his JSF run kart.

Maxwell, Pickett and Dufficy battled hard as Dufficy eventually came out on top of this trio, also demoting Parker-Rae as he did so. As the laps counted down Cooper wasn’t threatened and took a comfortable win, Drummond got the better of Lilley on lap 10 to come home in 2nd place after a great drive, with Lilley’s C.H.D.D kart earning a well deserved 3rd place on the podium. Dufficy’s drive up through from 9th rewarded him with 4th, Pickett took 5th, Parker-Rae 6th, Ellis Honey 7th and a 5s penalised Maxwell in 8th. Ollie Spooner-Green and Eric Grzybek completed the top 10. Both Cooper and Dufficy recorded fastest laps at 52.26s.

Unfortunately for Marcus Cooper he was disqualified post race for a technical non compliance which was out of his control, which therefore bumped the finishers all up one in the results and rewarded Jenson Drummond and JSF with the 2026 Honda Cadet BM plates.

The full results from the event can be found here – https://results.alphatiming.co.uk/bmkr/e/348745

The first round of the 2026 BMKR championships begin next month on Feb 14-15th.