Seventeen-year-old Ed Rendell wrapped up the ThundersportGB GP3 and GP3 Cup titles at Anglesey last weekend despite mechanical woes and lots of running round the paddock borrowing bits for his Honda RS125.
In first qualifying on Saturday morning, Rendell spent the session collecting information on gearing a jetting but managed to qualify a second-and-a-half faster than the next-placed rider, not bad seeing as he never ridden his Honda on that track before.
Qualifying two came round and with a few gearing and jetting adjustments, Rendell felt confident that he would improve his lap times and did so by more than a second but disaster was waiting round the corner. He had to end the session early as his temperature gauge went through the roof and he found a broken water pump to be the culprit.
With the first race lurking, Rendell frantically ran around the paddock looking to borrow a water pump, and it was looking grim until kind Gavin Lupton offered up his spare water pump, and Rendell was set to go for the Superpole race.
Rendell got a cracking start from pole, and led the race from start to finish. Lapping in the late 1'12s, he soon stormed off and took up a 16 second lead on second-places man Josh Elliott. The race got red flagged, and unluckily Elliott got a 10-second penalty for riding conduct under a red flag, so it was Tom Weeden second and Adam Robinson third.
After winning his race on saturday by a massive amount, Rendell felt confident for the remaining two races on Sunday, and with the weather being at its best, he went out in morning practice. Unluckily for Rndell, his chain snapped half a lap in, and his missed out on a perfectly good practice session!
This didn't seem to faze the 17-year-old rider and he fitted a new chain and was ready to face race one on Sunday. The lights went out, and Rendell cleared off, putting a 1'12.195 lap in the process, improving on his previous lap time and soon gapped the other riders. He came across the line not only 18 seconds ahead, but as a GP3 champion.
Celebration were shortlived there was another championship to win that day, the GP3 Cup, and he wanted that championship badly. Race two soon came and once again he disappeared, winning by over 16 seconds, and coming across the line, with the championship he worked so hard to get all year, the GP3 Cup championship.
"Coming into this Welsh round knowing i could potentially win the GP3, and GP3 Cup championship was a massive achievement," said Rendell. At the start of the year me and my team were expecting a top 10 result, and having only ridden my standard Honda for six months, we didn't think we would of have been so far ahead at this stage.
"There is one more championship title I want to try and win, and that is the ACU Clubman's, and with three rounds left there is still a lot of hard work to be put in, but I'm confident with the backing of my team we can grab hold of this title"
Rendell would like to thank Alan Roberts and Tom Brown for all their hard work and the time they have spent getting the bike up to race pace and his sponsors:
Bill Roberts at Race Fittings for Fairings
Kev at Nut-E1 Photography
John Coulston at Breadline Racing
Nigel Keefe At MotoTweeks
Everyone at the ACU Academy
Dave Stewart For running a brilliant race series
And most of all to his parents, Helen and Ray, for the time and money they have spent
