Joe Neale Racing

Last weekend I participated in round 1 of the Trent Valley Kart Club (TVKC) championship PFI Karting and it was a difficult weekend but one that we managed to overcome.

I started off Saturday with a snapped chain and an early retirement in the first session. My pace in the following practices was consistently strong. Battling in and around the top 5 heading into Qualifying. The session before also looked good with some purple sectors before an incident ruined my last lap. I went out in quali and found a good position. The pace wasn’t at its very best but the consistency was still there. However, I crossed the line at 0 seconds before my fourth flying lap which therefore didn’t count, with some of the other drivers making it round. Due to this, I finished P7 in group and P20 overall.

We were then onto Sunday and I would be starting P10 in both of my heat races. I had a decent start to my first race but with the track still evolving and it being slightly damp, I started to struggle. I began to lose a couple positions and some of my own moves just weren’t working. On the last lap I then had someone drive straight over the back of my kart, removing my exhaust in the process. This resulted in a disqualification due to scrutineering non compliance and yet the other driver was not penalised for the incident.

My second heat was similar and after another great start, with us now being on wets with a drying track, I continued to lose places. Eventually, I came across the line in P11 after penalties and therefore in the B final for the first time in a long while. To make my challenge even harder, I would also be starting P14 in it.

After a good start, I was already making places and setting the fastest pace of anyone out on track. I got involved in a couple of incidents but still managed to recover to P3 after penalties and qualify through to the A final, after what was a very Hectic race.

Starting P35 the aim was to just go forward and I was soon to have one of my best finals ever. After being last when the lights went out, I began to make my moves. I had a lot of momentum and the overtakes just came one after another. By the end of the race, I had made up 18 places to P17 which after penalties, turned into P14 and 21 places gained! A great recovery from a tough weekend.

As always a massive thanks to Drew and everyone at Tooley Motorsport. Thanks to Harry this weekend on the spanners 🔧

📸 Kartpix.net

This weekend I competed in the PFI Karting challenge cup and overall it was a positive weekend.

I started Saturday with a loose steering wheel and a P5 in the first practice session. The following sessions didn’t go quite as well due to not being as fast or finding good track position. However, we put that past us and got ready for qualifying. I got into a good position and put in three strong laps for my average, finishing P8 in group and P8 overall. Just 0.04 off the fastest one lap pace of anyone. Due to this result I would be starting in P5 and P6 for my heats the next day.

After warm up in the morning, we were soon onto those races and my first heat was probably the best I’ve ever had. I had a great start and was into P4. I then got my head down and caught the battling front three. We then shared some great racing for the rest of the session and after overcoming some incidents and attempted moves I came across the line in P4. However, an unexpected penalty dropped us down to P13 post-race. A great race though which showed loads of promise and ability to fight at the very front of the most competitive grid in the country.

I had another great start to my second heat and found myself fighting for P3 in the first few minutes, but after not making a move quite stick, my momentum soon began to fade. I lost a couple more places and finished in P10. I would be starting the A final in P12 after these results.

After a couple hours waiting, we were getting ready for the final and then it started raining! With every driver on slicks it was going to be chaos. I had another good start and with strong early pace, I soon worked my way up into the top 10. I was then taken out by the aftermath of an incident between two drivers and dropped down the pack. I carried on but pushed the limits of the track and the weather just a few too many times which resulted in a retirement.

Another good weekend though and more progress made in preparation for round 1 of the Trent Valley Kart Club (TVKC) championship this weekend.

Thanks to Drew and the Tooley Motorsport team, Rob on the spanners 🔧 and to all of you following me for your ongoing support 💙.

📸 Kartpix.net & LL Photography

Silverstone Invitational Test Day

It was a privilege to be invited to Silverstone’s new kart track on Tuesday with a small group of other drivers for what was their first owner driver day. It was an incredible experience and amazing track to drive which I think you will all enjoy. The pace was great throughout the event and I can’t wait to be back out on track there again. Thank you to Silverstone and Motorsport UK for having us and my team Tooley Motorsport for this opportunity and to Rob for being on the tools and hand signals as always.

📸 Foxy Red Photography

Earlier this month I participated in the TVKC winter warmer trophy and it was another very positive weekend.

We started Saturday with some decent pace and came P1 (for the first time) in quali sim by over 4 tenths just a few hours later. Actual qualifying went well again and similar to last month I came P3 in group which would turn into P11 overall due to the weather conditions and difference in it between the two groups.

Moving onto Sunday and after a good warmup we were soon onto the heats in which I would be starting on the third row in P6 for both. The first heat went well and in the wet weather once again, I managed to have a good race and come across the line where I had started in 6th. The second heat didn’t go quite as smoothly and after struggling a bit in the drying conditions and some moves just not working out I finished P11. Due to these heat results, I would be starting P15 for the final and after a few hours wait we were back underway. The start didn’t go quite to plan and after taking a couple of laps to settle in I had already lost a few places and due to my front fairing getting caught on the inside of my tyre from an earlier incident. However, after this I got my head down and set some of the fastest and most consistent laps of the race and managed to start catching up to the leading pack. After some late incidents at the front, I came across the line in P11 which would be P9 after penalties- our best result here to date. Overall, a really strong weekend and result that we needed to get the season kickstarted, onto the PF challenge cup at the end of the month.

Thank you to Drew and Rob at Tooley Motorsport, KR Racing Engines, Uptonsteel and Kartpix.net

Thank you Trent Valley Kart Club (TVKC) and PFI Karting for another great race weekend.

Thanks to everyone who continues to follow my progress and all your great feedback.

Final race of the year..

This weekend I participated in the Christmas Cracker winter round at PFI.

After an odd and confusing day on Saturday, finding ourselves a lot further away from the pace as usual, with me and my feeling with the kart not being 100%, we struggled in practice and in qualifying, in which we placed P19 in group and P37 overall.

With a much needed reset, Sunday (raceday) was a fresh start and I had found my form again. The first heat was set off with a questionable start, the grid was too spread out and left me a long way behind where I wanted and needed to be. After a very unfortunate collision and first lap incident, I was soon down to last place and by quite a large margin too. But I didn’t let this stop me, I got my head down to catch back up. Showing some promising pace again, I fought to get myself back up to P19, a decent drive back through the grid with composure throughout.

My start for heat 2 was much better and after 4 laps had gained 13 places up to 12th, but I then got a slow puncture (which we only found out after the race) and started to lose many places along with the handling of the kart. I finished in 22nd, without having any luck once again and making my chances of an A final much shorter.

Some luck finally came to us, as we somehow managed to qualify 28th for the A final. Under the floodlights, I had another good start and opening few laps, managing to get up to P14 before I was hit by another driver and spun out the race, costing me several places and them a penalty. Once again I didn’t give up, I fought my way through opcoming across the line in P21. A better performance, I just didn’t have the luck to go with it this year.

As always, a massive thanks to Drew and all Tooley Motorsport. Thanks also to Lewis Malin doing an incredible job on the spanners this weekend.

So what a year it has been, although the end result hasn’t quite come yet, the progression has been outstanding and that is all down to the work and support of everyone involved in my journey.

📸Chris Walker Kartpix.net

Going back to where it all began..

Last weekend I participated in the WM plate at whilton mill, after not being to the track for three years, to earn my national licence. It was a weekend of much progression and a nice return back to the venue.

We started a wet Saturday strong with a P7 in group in just my first session back and after more time on track the progress kept coming with another P7 and running in the top three at times. However, qualifying didn’t go quite to plan. I made a couple mistakes on my behalf, one of which into a puddle which cost me a lot of time and other small ones which lost me time overall, losing track position also meant a loss in time and after the 6 minutes I finished in P16 in my group, a disappointing result considering the early pace.

After a needed reset, a new day was upon us, raceday. With a quick 3 lap warm up, in which I was P7 again, we were soon straight into the heats, starting from 22nd and 21st due to my qualifying result. After the start of my first heat, I found myself in two incidents, one of which was unavoidable, putting me on the back foot for the rest of the race. I still tried to work hard and learn more about the track and after an also early drop nose penalty, I would eventually end up in P22 just where I had started. A result and situation that we didn’t need, asking for more hard work in the next one.

Unfortunately, at the start of my next heat I was involved in another incident and some air time, which again we believed was unavoidable and just very unfortunate. I still carried on but with a lot of progress lost I finished in P23, knowing that we would be in the B final, but only just. I would be starting P4 in the minimum position that I would need to finish in to make it through to the A final. After a decent start, I had already made it into P2 and after a few composed and consistent laps I was soon on the back of the leader who I managed to overtake and pull away from for the rest of the race, a very accomplished and mature drive and result, with the support of family members too. With this drive I would make it through to the main event at my first time back at the track. After quite a poor start in the final, I got my head down and got the moves done when I had the opportunity, with another consistent race and the pace we needed, I managed to gain 12 places (the 2nd most in the race) to come across the line in a very respectable P19, a great result and end to our weekend back at whilton mill, where my karting journey first started.

Thanks to Rob and Drew of Tooley Motorsport
KR Racing Engines

Great weekend to end off the season 🤘

This weekend I participated in the 7th and final round of the TVKC championship and it held many positives.

After not being out for a month (since the last round) it took some time to get back into it on Saturday and this wasn’t helped by my out lap in the first session in which I decided to take way to much kerb with it being wet and hit the barrier on the inside of the corner, causing me to come into the pits after half a lap. Other than that the practice sessions went well and a P5 in quali sim left us confident for the real thing. We left the pits early and got a warm up lap in before the main pack came out the pits, in which we managed to get on the back off and after it had calmed down put two very fast laps in being 3rd fastest on track and P7 after our three lap average. This result was one that we were pleased with considering the lack of track time and the competitiveness of the grid and it turned into a P8 overall (out of over 50 drivers) due to our group being considerably quicker, we would start the highest I think we have in our heats on the second row!

With a nice team visit to the pub and a good nights sleep we were soon onto Raceday. Once again warm up was wet and this time having completed more than half a lap we came 8th, showing once again our pace in the wet. The weather was still changing and with a quick turn around the first heat was upon us and thankfully it was still wet. With a good start from P4 on the grid we were soon onto third off the race start and after strong and consistent laps, with a big gap I came across the line in P7, which became one place higher after a penalty for another driver. Good points earned for our qualification to the A final. Like previous we would start on the second row for our last heat. I had another decent start and although this was the worst conditions for us with it transitioning from wet to dry, we still managed to stay in the lead group and finish in a respectable P11, which became P7 afterwards. Thankfully, this time we knew we’d definitely be through to the A final in which we later found out we would be setting off P11, a great position and results to maintain, our best final start of the year. With another good start and surrounded by very good drivers we stayed towards the front but soon a Battenberg was called. At that point I was top 10 but we had to start all over again and with a lack of experience on restarts, I restarted in the worst place and way possible and after a couple of slides a big gap to the driver in front had formed. With a large pack behind and a lot of work to do, I fell backwards a bit and after being later on the brake than others I found myself in a collision causing me to hit three other karts and gain positions from them. Du to this move, even though it wasn’t my fault at all and it was unavoidable, I was given a 5 second in race penalty. After some incredible pace towards the end of the race (being the fastest on track for that period) I continued to make moves and finished in what would have been P11, an awesome result. However due to the tight grid my penalty would eventually drop me down to P24. This result was obviously not the one that we wanted but we were not upset about it considering the progress made and the pace shown throughout the day, once again on a top level British grid. A very positive weekend and a promising way to end our championship, more work to do over the winter and back on track soon.

As always, massive thanks to Drew, Rob and the whole of Tooley Motorsport, who continue to provide amazing support and a team atmosphere to match, it’s all starting to come together now.

Thanks to everyone for their ongoing support including
uptonsteel
Tooley Motorsport
KR Racing Engines
Kartpix.net

📸Chris Walker, Kartpix

A step in the right direction

Recently I participated in round 6 of the TVKC at PFI and it held some much needed positives.

Battling with illness, I didn’t go out in all the practice sessions on Saturday, as I needed to save my energy for the all needed qualifying session. Fitness was at a limit and just driving the kart was difficult, we still had strong pace though considering the circumstances, putting it P7 in practice 4. Going into qualifying we got ourselves into a really good position and I was catching the driver ahead, the time looked where it needed to be but I got overtaken and then was overtaking drivers on my last two laps, causing me to drop time on both, impacting the 3 lap average. I finished 20th in group but only 31st overall due to our group being considerably quicker, but I’d made it through the day!

With a long needed rest and some recovery on Saturday night, I was more than ready for Sunday, feeling the best I had for days. Warm up felt good and I felt like I had more performance back in myself, which would be needed for a long race day.

Due to my qualifying I started both my heats on the outside of row 8 in P16. I had a great start and after gaining then losing a few places and some questionable defending for most of it, I came across the line in P14. Moving onto heat 2 and once again I had a strong start and gained a couple places, I came across the line P11 but had a drop nose penalty due to an unavoidable earlier incident. After other drivers penalties were applied, I finished P14 which with the penalty was a good result with very strong pace too.

Thankfully I was still through to the A final and would set off in P22. Once again after a long wait and a classic and thrilling B final we were onto the final. I had another decent start, and through all the carnage, I made some great decisions (and some not so great!) but kept my nose clean, coming across the line in P22, where we had started, which would be 19th after penalties.

Surprisingly, as we all know I have deserved better in the past, this was my best final result ever especially amongst the best of British Championship contenders and a grid of over 65 drivers, probably the most competitive I’ve ever raced against. A very positive and much needed result, felt by us all.

As always a massive thanks to Drew, Rocket Rob and the team who continue to work incredibly hard and push me. It continues to show through my improvements, as both the off track and on track detail from the team fuel my ambition and performance.

Thank you to everyone who continues to send me messages of encouragement and to everyone at:

uptonsteel
Tooley Motorsport
KR Racing Engines
Kartpix.net

📸 Kartpix Chris & LL Photography

Our time will come…

This weekend we headed to the 5th round of the TVKC PFI club championship and once again it had its ups and downs.

We headed out on Saturday morning for practice and to get back into the flow of it and after the first 7 minute session, I set a time good enough to put me inside the top 10 on what was a British Championship level grid, we were pleased with this result and the pace for the rest of the day, at times deserving to be in the top 5. Next was non qualifying practice and after just the first few laps I got driven over by another driver and had my radiator pulled loose and my steering column bent, with multiple tyre marks on the kart. This impact caused me to retire from that session and the best simulation for qualifying, which also did not quite go to plan.

I went out at the front in qualifying as I usually do and it looked like I would be in the perfect position, all I had to do was overtake another driver, which unfortunately I messed up and lost a lot of time to the driver in front who I wanted to be behind, now punching my own air, the times didn’t come in as fast as we needed and by the end of the session I was P21. We were all slightly frustrated by this result and session, mainly myself as I was aware straight away of the mistake that I had made that cost me at least a top 10 position. We had our work cut out for Sunday.

We started Sunday well with a strong practice session with great moves, which I would need to use later on, and good pace. After my qualifying result and with the grid being so large I would start both my heats from 21st place and before we knew it, it was time for heat 1.nI had a good start and within the first few laps was starting to battle into the top 15, that was until I was involved in a minor pile up at the second hairpin where my nose would get trapped with my tyre, needing me to kick it out and dropping me down to 27th place. However, I didn’t let that affect me and I got my head down and continued to make those moves, once again breaking into the top 15 by the end of the race. We were pleased with this result and my race pace and craft as it showed a lot of potential, being only half a tenth off the winning pace.

We were then soon onto heat 2, what would be the best race that I have ever had, especially at this sort of level. With my strong pace and committed moves I climbed my way up 14 places to P7, which would be P5 after penalties were applied. We were all delighted with this result as it was a true showing of what I could do. Due to this result we were sure that we would qualify for the A final. After our hard work I had turned Saturdays result of 42nd overall to a 19th overall, my best A final start to date.

After a long wait and watching some great performances from my teammates, we were onto the main event. I had a decent start and once again got stuck in I had made a few places and lost some but I was as still motivated and kept calm, that was until I had another kart go over the top of me near the end of the lap causing my exhaust to become loose and me to pull into the pits, losing us a lap and a lot of positions. However, we never give up and after a fast repair I carried on and gained a few positions from it and still had good pace when put into perspective. Another weekend with so much potential ruined by the questionable and unintelligent decisions of others. We will keep our heads down and work hard for next month.

As always a massive thanks to all the team who manage to create an entertaining atmosphere even in the difficult times and congratulations to all my teammates who all put on brilliant performances, with a special thanks to my mechanic and mentor Rob, our moment will come.

Thanks to Tooley Motorsport 💙 KR Racing Engines 🚀Kartpix.net 📸

Back on Track…

After a difficult round last month, this weekend at Round 4 of the TVKC championship held a lot of positives, in what was the best weekend of my junior career so far.

We started with practice on Saturday and we were on the pace straight away, finishing in the top 5, where I would stay in for most of the day. With a P3 at one point, my pace was looking very positive ahead of qualifying and so I just had to drive how I had been doing. I managed to get out in a good position and complete multiple laps with only a minor tow, chasing the leading pair. I came in P3 just missing out on pole by 0.08 over a three lap average!! This was the best qualifying session I have had at PFI and we were all very proud, but we still had work to do on Sunday.

With the weather drastically changing overnight, it was as wet as Silverstone for the F1. But in the full wet conditions for the first time in 6 months, which I really enjoy, I came P5 in early morning warm up. Due to my qualifying position, for the first time ever, I would start my heats at the front on the third row. After another large downpour, the sun came out, so the conditions were changeable which are the most difficult for me. However, we powered on and after a bit of early contact, I sadly lost a couple positions. I didn’t give up though and made my way back up to P10, setting the fastest lap of the race on my last lap!! By far my best performance in those conditions.

Moving on to my second heat, it rained again so I was looking forward to it. I had a very calm and solid race as I maintained my position in P6 and came across the line in that position. With two of my best heat results this time, we knew that I would definitely be through to the A final in which I would be starting 11th.

After a long break, some delicious pizza and watching a very wet and hectic B final, we were back out there on track. Like earlier on in the day, I had another brilliant start getting myself up into the top 5, until disaster struck once again. Whilst going for a move up in to the podium places, I was heavily hit from behind causing me to smash into another driver and spin, leaving me stuck facing the wrong way in the middle of the track. Like earlier, I still didn’t give up, even though I was right at the back in 36th position. So I got my head down, pushed really hard and I gained 14 places in a matter of only a few laps finishing 22nd on track. A great race on my half, but with huge disappointment with how I had started and the positivity that I had previously shown. So many positives and enjoyable moments over the weekend which has has been the best at PFI so far.

Big thanks as always to Tooley Motorsport and my amazing coach/mechanic/mentor/dad’s counsellor: Rocket Rob 🚀. It was great to share a garage with our friend Harry and Aadish. it was an amazing weekend full of laughter and pace, thanks to these incredible people who push me to be the best that I can be. Just need some luck now 🍀.

Thanks to uptonsteel, KR Racing Engines and Kartpix.net for the amazing 📸

Last weekend I participated in round 2 of the TVKC championship and it was a very positive weekend overall.

We started Saturday strong, being able to overtake others and stay within the top 5 for most of the session, although I didn’t get the best last laps and so I finished the session in P7 which was a very good session for us. The rest of the day we struggled quite and bit and we weren’t quite sure why, that was until we found a crack in the chassis which can be a big performance loss and cause me to understeer on the tighter corners, with that in mind it was damage limitation for quali and after 3 consistent fast laps, I still managed to grab P10 and P19 overall which we were happy with, saying how the rest of the day had gone and the circumstances we found ourself in.

Moving onto Sunday and early warmup was fine and then we were straight into my first heat, which also went very well. I started P13, as I would for my second heat, and after a good start and a nice round the outside move at hairpin one, I got my head down and got stuck in with the leading pack which I found myself in, however after a move and collision that I could not avoid I was handed a 5 second penalty and although being 6th at one point and coming over the line in P8 I was dropped to P13.

Heat 2 didn’t go as well, as I just seemed to keep going backwards after a couple of questionable moves from other drivers and a couple of moves from myself that didn’t work out. I ended up being involved in an incident with two other drivers and when one rolled back after spinning, I went over the back of him and bent my rear axle. I still finished the next lap which was the last but the damage was done and I finished P28. Luckily, I managed to still qualify for the A final and would be starting P29 towards the back of the grid. After an ok start, I began to grow into the race and my pace was great, managing to make some good moves and pick drivers off one by one. After only a few laps I was breaking into the top 20, until disaster struck and my rear bumper started to drag and hang off causing me to lose a lot of lap time and positions which meant I came across the line in P27 and then P26 after penalties.

Not the result that we wanted but definitely a big improvement in racecraft and race pace which we were very happy with, just waiting for a proper shot in the final.

It was also great to have my mechanic Rob back, he was faultless all weekend. Drew as ever was pushing me hard and looking for every single tenth he could find.

Thanks as always to the team for the continued support, and the new suit looked amazing out on track 😍.

Thanks to

Tooley Motorsport
KR Racing Engines
Kartpix.net
uptonsteel