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2011
British Super One Minimax Champion. |
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NEWS 2012 |
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Gunn has his first single seater trial on the Silverstone Stowe circuit……. Along
with 17 other chosen drivers around the Country, some of these
already Formula Ford or single seater drivers, Gunn was invited
to try the new 'winged' Formula Ford 200 with the 'new' Eco Boost
200 engine on December 15th 2012. 200 indicates the metric horsepower
{ps = Pferdestarke, German for horsepower} of the engine; this
is equivalent to about 197 hp imperial. For 2013, the cars will
be fitted with front and rear wings and using slicks, thus giving
increased handling, but they also give the car a more aggressive
look. At Silverstone, the only two FF 200 cars so far built, along
with their six speed sequential gearboxes, were available for
the drivers to test.
Gunn
hopes, with the appropriate sponsorship, to start Single Seater
racing in 2013…. Gunn's CV {see link below} will be sent
out to interested parties after Christmas.
Gunn interviewed on BBC Three Counties radio…………… On October 19th, just over a year since the last BBC radio interview, Gunn was interviewed on BBC Three Counties radio {see link below} following his success at becoming the British Super One Junior Rotax Champion. Roberto Perrone, presenter of the Drive program {15:00-19:00 hr.} interviewed Gunn and asked about the forthcoming World Finals in Portugal at the end of November. Gunn will be representing GB in the Junior Rotax class. BBC Three Counties covers the Counties of Beds, Herts and Bucks........Bucks being Gunn's home County. We would like to thank BBC Three Counties for the interview and also for allowing us to use the interview recording for others to listen to ................ http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/programmes Gunn wins at Shenington Club, Round 9 ……….. In
preparation for the final Round of the Super One Junior Rotax
British Championship, Gunn attended Round 9 of the Shenington
Club Championship on September 16th. Racing with number 34, as
32 was already registered with the Shenington Club, Gunn came
4th in the first heat from 21st position ~ Note:- grid positions
'drawn' out of a hat, unlike Super One ~ recording the fastest
lap of 43.03 seconds.  Gunn on pole for Kartmasters British Kart Grand Prix ……..  As in 2011, when Gunn became the Mini Max G.P. winner at the British Kart Grand Prix {see roll of honour below}, Gunn attended the Kartmasters British Kart Grand Prix at the Paul Fletcher International circuit near Grantham, Lincolnshire. This prestigious meeting was held on August 4th and 5th, this time with Gunn in the Junior Max Formula. The meeting attracted a large number of entrants, a total of 215 drivers. Nine different Formulae covering WTP, Honda Cadet, Comer Cadet, MiniMax, Junior Max etc. were competing for the highly acclaimed GP plate for each of the Formulae. 2012 sees the 17th anniversary of this legendry kart race meeting. Over the event's history, many 'GP' plate winners have been crowned. Names such as Lewis Hamilton, Gary Catt, Jonathan Davies, Ben Hanley, Craig Dolby, Alexander Sims, Oliver Oakes, Euan Hankey, Oliver Rowland, James Gornall, Jack Hawksworth and Alex Albon all appear in the Kartmasters roll of honour! The event, being arguably the most important event in the karting calendar, was televised for Skysports HD.  
Over the four days, the format for this very 'busy' meeting was....... testing on Thursday and practice and timed qualifying on Friday, three heats on Saturday {due to the size of the Junior Rotax entry, see above} and two Finals on Sunday. The result of the Grand Final would decide who 'claimed'' the coveted GP plate. On Thursday, Gunn felt that the testing went well on the circuit which for the whole day was conducted in dry conditions. Driving for Tooley Motorsport, Gunn was approximately 3/10 s faster than any other Junior Max driver. Gunn currently holds the Junior Max PFi lap record at 57.91s. Gunn was hoping to break this record during the weekend. Due to the amount of entrants in Junior Max {48 drivers}, time qualifying {TQ} was conducted in two sessions on Friday afternoon. Each driver drew their names to decide in which session they would qualify; Gunn was in session one. Gunn was lying 8th fastest for awhile, with Hyman on the fastest time of 57.99 s, but with three laps to go, Gunn shot to the top position with a time of 57.88 s. This was maintained until the final lap when Tom Harvey and Lando Norris obtained times of 57.86 s and 57.87 s respectively. In the second TQ session, no one bettered the top three times {Harvey, Norris and Gunn}, so Gunn had qualified 3rd fastest, only 0.02 s off the fastest time.  On Saturday, there were to be four heats in Junior Max; Gunn was in heats 1, 3 and 4. Each heat was 8 minutes plus one lap. The first heat started at 10.45 in dry conditions on the 'controlled slicks'. For this first heat, everyone had used their slicks in qualification prior to the race. Gunn lined up in 3rd position with a maximum grid size of 36 drivers. This made an impressive site as they entered the first corner! After two false starts, the drivers were given a 'talking to'. The race started at the third attempt. Gunn made a good start to lie in 2nd place at the first corner. Gunn was later assisted off the driving line in the second hairpin by a hard pressing Hyman, but Gunn retook Hyman during lap 3. Gunn then dropped to 6th but had worked back to 4th by lap 7. Gunn finished in 4th place, 1.42 s behind the winner Harvey. Gunn obtained the fastest lap at 58.25 s. This was to be the last of the 'good weather' for the day. Just prior to Gunn's second heat, the clouds darkened with thunder and lightning followed by a lot of rain. Everyone had changed to wets before the race; Gunn yet again would start this heat in 3rd position. Things didn't go quite to plan on the formation lap when Gunn spun in the awful conditions, but as the officials had decided on two formation laps, Gunn was able to regain his grid position. During the seven lap race, Gunn took the lead in hairpin 1 and maintained this to the line. Similar conditions existed in Gunn's final heat........ on this occasion Gunn would start the heat in 2nd place. As in the previous heat, Gunn took the lead going under the Lichfield bridge on the opening lap and maintained this until the end of the race. Gunn crossed the line 3 seconds ahead of 2nd place driver Oliver Myers. In both these two heats, Gunn showed his skill in wet conditions, where others were having great difficulty keeping on the 'black stuff'! With two wins and a fourth place in the heats, Gunn would line up in pole position for the pre-final. An amazing achievement for his first season in Junior Max. Gunn was hoping for rain on Finals day {Sunday} but although the sky at times looked very threatening, both Junior Max finals were conducted in the dry. In Final one, Gunn initially maintained his 'pole position' but crossed the line at the end of lap 2 in 5th position. The remaining laps of the 14 lap race were a constant change between 2nd, 3rd and 4th position. On laps 10, 11 and 12, Gunn was in 1st position but eventually crossed the line, only 0.1s behind Toby Sowery to take 2nd place. So Gunn would line up for the Grand Final on the front row of the grid in 2nd place. This was a repeat of 2011's Mini Max Grand Final when Gunn won the GP plate.   First corner of the pre-final Leading the Pre-Final The start of this important race certainly didn't go to plan with Gunn taking to the grass ~ just too many karts trying to get through the first corner under the bridge. As a result of this, Gunn dropped to 12th position by the end of lap 1. At the end of lap 2 Gunn is shown on the official results as being in 15th position. Then an amazing recovery was about to start........ by the end of lap 9 Gunn was in 9th position, by the end of lap 12 Gunn had climbed back to 4th position! At the end of lap 16 Gunn had climbed back to 2nd place..... bearing in mind the drivers at this level are the best in the UK {and Europe} this was a fantastic achievement. Gunn crossed the line only 2.53 seconds behind the GP winner Toby Sowery. Gunn congratulated Sowery on his win but also received many congratulations for such a classic demonstration of driving. Gunn achieved the fastest lap of 57.96 s only 5/100 s off his lap record. Gunn not only received his second place trophy {see below} but was also awarded a special Trophy for the fastest Junior Max lap time. Gunn
thanked Tooley Motorsport for all of their help over the weekend
along with his other sponsors. He also thanked his Website Manager
for attending the meeting. Gunn is featured on the Wholegrain Digital website ... Gunn is headlined in the Super One Whilton Mill report in Karting magazine........  Gunn wins the Pre-Final at the O Plate……….. then The
Association of British Karts Clubs {ABKC} ran the annual O Plate
event at the Cumbria Kart Racing Club, near Rowrah on June 2,
3 and 4th. Gunn was unable to attend the Friday testing, due to
school commitments, so joined the Tooley Team on Saturday morning.
Saturday's program was testing followed by Time Qualifying {TQ}
in the afternoon. Weather throughout the weekend was dry, unlike
'down South', where some of the Diamond Jubilee events were rained
off! For Monday's prefinal, Gunn was positioned on the grid in 7th position, with his Tooley Motorsport teammate, Adam Mackay alongside in 8th position. On the opening lap, the teammates touched in the 'mayhem' of the first corners, with Mackay losing his nose section. By the end of lap 4, Gunn had progressed up to 4th position and then during lap 8, at the end of main straight, approaching the Stewart Esses, made a miraculous move on the front three drivers {see YouTube clip} to take the lead! This was held until the end of the 17 lap race, with Gunn obtaining the 2nd fastest lap {see result sheet below}. Therefore Gunn was to line up in pole position for the O Plate Grand Final; only one position would matter in this……… first place, to become the 2012 Junior Rotax O Plate Champion.
With great hopes of winning the Grand Final, Gunn lost a couple of places to Myers and Harrison, during a first lap 'coming together', but regained 2nd place and then 1st position by the end of lap 5. Slipping back down to 2nd place during laps 6, 7 and 8. Disaster struck during lap 9, when Gunn was 'assisted' onto the infield, resulting in him bouncing 'violently' across the grass, to rejoin the race in 7th position. Most drivers would have given up at this stage, but Gunn 'got stuck in' regaining 3rd position by the end of lap 13. Gunn at this stage was 2.1 seconds behind the leader, but with consistent driving, was noticeably catching the front two drivers. Gunn eventually 'ran out' of laps, to cross the line 1.2 seconds behind the winner. It was a great drive. Afterwards, Gunn was called to the C of C to give his opinion on how the race had developed, especially during lap 9. Gunn felt that there was no point in going any further with any action, as only one place would be gained. If it had been the British Championship, where points matter for the various positions, then things would have been different!
Gunn thanked Tooley Motorsport and his sponsors for 2012, MATT, Beechdean Dairy Ice Cream, Wholegrain Digital, Interplex Select Moulds and Trilogie {more details on Sponsors page}. Gunn shows that he is 'No fool' by setting a new lap record at PFi. With
the first round of the Super One Junior Rotax Championship only
four weeks away, Gunn decided to attend the first round of the
Summer series at the Trent Valley Kart Club's PFi circuit near
Grantham on April 'Fools Day'. Since Gunn's last visit to PFi,
the circuit has been slightly modified around the garage complex,
in readiness for the CIK-FIA World KF1 and European KF2 and KF3
Championships on 19-22 July. Following the normal Club format
of allocating grid positions in the three heats, unlike in Super
One when grid positions will be determined by qualifying times,
Gunn started his first heat in 19th position. Racing again for
Tooley Motorsport, Gunn progressively climbed through the field
and by the end of lap 3 was in 15th position. Gunn eventually
finished the 9 lap heat in 8th position whilst setting a new
Junior Rotax lap record of 57.91 s.  Start of Heat three with Gunn on pole 
Gunn wins Heat three by 3.73 seconds As a result of Gunn's heat results, Gunn started the Final in third position. This was to be a tough race, with Gunn gaining the lead during lap three. Gunn lead for six of the eleven laps but was taken by a hard pressing Bobby Thompson on lap 9. During lap 10, a slight mistake by Gunn, that's all it takes at this level, allowed George Line to move into second place. During the final lap, Line lost his second place to Luke Knott with Gunn retaking George Line in the process; this allowed Gunn to finish the hard fought race in a very respectable third place, only 0.34 s behind the winner. Gunn
was slightly disappointed with the result, feeling that he could
have won if he had not made the mistake…………
but was very pleased to set a new lap record! The season has started and as the song says….Things can only get better! Gunn
attended Round 1 of the Shenington KRC championship on 22/1/12
in preparation for his attack on the 2012 Junior Rotax Super One
championship ~ this starts on 28/4/12 at Whilton Mill. The format
of this meeting was by the normal Club method of nominating grid
positions by drawing names 'from a hat'. In Gunn's first heat,
he was drawn in 15th position and during the opening lap got 'tangled'
up with some other karts to drop to 19th position. During the
9 lap heat, Gunn drove with great purpose to finish a commendable
4th, only 3 seconds behind the winner and with the second fastest
time {0.2 s off the fastest lap}. Things didn't go quite so 'well'
in Gunn's second heat………. going into Pits bend
for the first time, several karts came together, Gunn being forced
into the barrier with damage resulting to his suspension. If this
wasn't enough, a following kart then 'went over the top' of Gunn;
tyre marks on the right shoulder of Gunn's overalls showed how
close Gunn was to a serious personal accident. In the incident,
the other kart landed on Gunn's hand, resulting in Gunn receiving
medical attention. Although his wrist had not been broken, Gunn's
hand was very painful and it was decided to 'call it a day' by
the team principal of Tooley Motorsport. Gunn,
still suffering from a swollen hand, attended Whilton Mill the
following weekend. In Gunn's first heat {Heat 2 of four heats},
Gunn was drawn in 29th position, there being 32 karts in the race!
By the end of a 'hectic' first lap, Gunn was in 16th position!
In this 7 lap race…….. not much time to 'get to the
front'……. Gunn finished in 10th position with the fastest
lap {45.96 s}. In Gunn's second heat, this time he started in
14th position, whilst overtaking in Christmas corner, Gunn was
turned around and rejoined in 27th position! Gunn eventually finished
in a disappointing 21st position. In Gunn's third heat, Gunn finished
in 5th position having started on pole…….. Gunn commented
during the post race debrief, that the kart was starting to misfire.
This was overcome by changing the petrol pump. Gunn started the
A final in 13th position and made some excellent overtaking manoeuvres
to be lying in 5th position by the end of lap 4. He was challenging
the 4th position approaching Boot 1 when………. the
throttle cable snapped! Gunn was disappointed, as he felt that
he could have won the race, but went away from the meeting knowing
that he had been the fastest Junior Rotax driver at the meeting!
As most of the Super One contenders were at this meeting, Gunn
felt very positive about his forthcoming Championship challenge. Autosport International 2012 and Super One awards evening…….. The
prestigious Autosport International event took place at the National
Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on January 14th. Gunn was awarded
the British Super One Mini Max trophy in front of the public and
later during the show, was interviewed for Television. Gunn thanked
all of those who had made his season so successful, especially
the Tooley Motorsport team. In the evening, Gunn attended the Super One awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel, Warwick. The successful 2011 season was finalised, when the British Championship MiniMax trophy was presented to Gunn in front of a large attendance. Gunn was interviewed on stage and indicated that his plans for 2012 were still 'somewhat provisional', but he hoped that he would still be with Tooley Motorsport, racing in the Junior Rotax formula….. "Much still depends on the available finances….".
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2012
Autosport Interview. Gunn's
kart on display at Autosport.
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