How a Club100 Junior Northern Championship Race Day Works

For anyone new to the Club100 Junior Northern Championship, a race day can seem like a lot to get your head around at first. There are multiple sessions, two sets of finals, and a points system that rewards consistency across a long season. Once it clicks though, it's a brilliantly structured format that gives every driver a fair shot and keeps things interesting right through to the final round.

Here's a rundown of how it all works.

The Championship
The Club100 Junior Northern Championship is a seven-round series for young kart racers, running from February through to September. Joshua races in the Super Lightweight class. The 2026 calendar is:

- Round 1 — 28 February, Silverstone
- Round 2 — 11 April, Whilton Mill
- Round 3 — 9 May, Glan y Gors
- Round 4 — 18 July, Rowrah
- Round 5 — 15 August, Glan y Gors
- Round 6 — 30 August, PF International
- Round 7 — 26 September, Warden Law

Each round features two points-scoring races per driver, giving a total of 14 races across the season. Only your best 10 results count towards the final standings — so there's a small margin for a difficult day without it costing you the whole season.

Practice
Before qualifying gets underway, each group gets an 11-minute practice session on track. It's a chance to shake off any nerves, get a feel for the circuit conditions on the day, and remind himself how a club100 kart feels.

Qualifying
Qualifying comes next. Drivers are split into two groups of up to 26, each getting 11 minutes on track to set their fastest lap. Under normal conditions, every driver's fastest lap time is compared across both groups, and that combined order decides the qualifying grid.

The one exception is when track conditions change significantly between the two groups — a sudden downpour, or a rapidly drying circuit — making a straight time comparison unfair. In that case, each driver's grid position is based on where they finished within their own group: the fastest driver from each group shares the front row, the second-placed drivers from each group share the second row, and so on.

Pre-Finals
Once qualifying is done, the top 22 drivers go straight into the Pre-A Final. Everyone else lines up for the Pre-B Final, which runs first.

The Pre-B Final is 11 minutes of racing. The top two finishers earn their place in the Pre-A Final, starting from the back of the grid in 23rd and 24th. Crucially, they don't score points for their Pre-B result — their points will come from how they get on in the Pre-A Final instead. Drivers finishing 3rd and below in the Pre-B Final score championship points there and then, starting at 105 for 3rd place and dropping by one point per position.

The Pre-A Final brings together the top 22 qualifiers plus the two promoted drivers from Pre-B. Another 11-minute race, with the winner taking 130 points, 2nd place 128, and each subsequent position dropping by one point. Everyone in the Pre-A Final scores, wherever they finish.

Trophy Finals
The A and B finals follow the same pattern, with grid positions based on how drivers finished in the pre-finals.

The B Final runs first. Again, 11 minutes, and again the top two finishers earn promotion — this time to the back of the A Final, starting 25th and 26th. They score nothing for the B Final itself. Drivers finishing 3rd and below score from 103 points downwards.

Then comes the A Final — the main event of the day. Up to 26 drivers, 11 minutes, and the same points scale as the Pre-A Final: 130 for the winner, 128 for second, dropping by one point per position from there.

Why the Format Works
What makes this championship interesting is that no result is ever wasted. A driver who has a tough qualifying session can fight their way up through the Pre-B and B finals, earn promotion at each stage, and still end the day having scored points in two races. Equally, a driver starting from the front has to back it up across multiple sessions to make the most of their position.

Over a 14-race season with the best 10 results counting, it rewards drivers who are consistent and keep learning — which is exactly the spirit Joshua is heading into the 2026 season with.