Round 1 and Round 2 - Hunts Kart Racing Club - Kimbolton

Date: April 12th 2009
Weather: Cold with a drying track

I was to race in heat 2, heat 4 and heat 7 ……. In my first heat, I started 5th on the grid and made a good start to lie 2nd into the first corner. Unfortunately, I was 'helped' off the track and went backwards into the tyre barrier fairly heavily. Uninjured, I rejoined the race in last position but soon realised that the rear tyre had been deflated as a result. I finished, but in a poor 25th position. It was also noticed that the performance of the kart was very different to Friday's practice when we used our own fuel! In my second heat I started 18th on the grid and on the opening corner {again} there were several karts spinning in the track. I was lucky to avoid the problem, but as a result, I was put back to 22nd position. I managed to climb back through the field to 14th, but this was still very disappointing. The kart yet again didn't seem to have any speed on the main straight. If this wasn't bad enough, on my final heat, I started in17th position and later pulled into the pits as the carburettor/fuel problems were again making the kart 'painfully' slow. All in all, a very disappointing set of heats. As a result I started 5th on the grid in the C final……… I have never been in a C final before! I won the C final and as a result went straight into the B final starting 26th on the grid to finish 19th. A very poor start to the Championship. After testing the engines on Saturday night, it was shown that the lack of power was explained by contaminated fuel issued by the race authority. No other changes had taken place between Friday and Saturday…….. thus our conclusion.

On Easter Sunday, {Round 2} for the first time at the British Championship, timed qualifying was used to determine grid positions in the various finals. I was drawn to be in the second timed qualifying session and due to power problems, we decided to gamble with dry tyres on the drying track. Our gamble didn't pay off, the track was still too wet for slicks……… after the qualification, we changed the engine, carburettor and final drive ratio to start the C final in last position; a result of being 3.04 sec off the pace in the timed qualifying! I managed to finish 3rd in the C final, which put me into the B final in 27th position, last but one position. In this race, the race officials allowed teams to use their own fuel as the control of fuel had become 'unmanageable'……….. I climbed from 27th to 6th place as a result. Another indication of our contaminated fuel in the earlier heats! Due to my good drive, I was continually mentioned on the public address…….. a small consolation for the problems that we had encountered.

Overall a very disappointing weekend; the fact that I managed to gain 21 places in the B final when using our own fuel, 'lightened' the weekend!. Next time, let's hope for better results and better control of the fuel in such poor weather conditions!!!.

The next round of the British Championship was held at the impressive Paul Fletcher International circuit near Grantham, Lincolnshire. We arrived on Thursday evening, ready for testing on Friday. The weather on Friday morning was 'horrendous', with rain coming down like I had never seen before. Even so, we managed 7 sessions, which were generally in the wet. In the main, things went fairly well, with the occasional carb problem. I was about 1-2 tenths off the pace. At this meeting, we were part of the Kart-Tek Team. I would like to thank Darren and Ken for their help during this weekend.

On Saturday, we had four sessions of practice in the dry! I was still about 1-2 tenths off the pace. I was to race in Heat 1, the only heat for me on Saturday, Before the heat, we made changes to the kart, including an engine change along with a new carb and the use of a different floor tray made by Iztech. Also we started the heat on brand new tyres.
I started Heat 1 in 18th position and worked my way through the field to finish 4th on the track. Due to a collision during the last lap, one of the drivers in front of me was penalised three places; this promoted me to third position! I was very pleased with this result, especially the last lap when I gained 3 places.

On Sunday, in my second heat {Heat 4), I stated badly, as on lap 1 I dropped to 13th position from 6th. This was due to being 'helped off' the track by other competitors! I managed to climb my way back to 7th position by the end of the race, even though I had a carb. Issue. In my final heat {Heat 6} I started in 15th place and made a reasonable opening lap, working my way through the field to finish 2nd. At one point I lead the race for half a lap.

With such good results in my heats, I was due to start the A final in 6th position. This was run in dry conditions, but there were still wet patches on the circuit following previous rain storms. As a result, we were on dry tyres but the times were generally slower than normal. On the opening laps I was quickest on the track, catching the leader in the process, and managed to get to 4th place for a few laps. Unfortunately my carb began to 'play up' and I eventually finished in 8th position.

In summary, I was happy with my performance, but was disappointed that my kart didn't capitalise in the final. This set of results will certainly improve my overall position in the British Championship ~ in fact at the moment I'm lying 17th on drop scores out of 63 entrants!

We made the long trip to Genk Kart track in Belgium for this double header on Wednesday {August 12th} morning. Thursday was spent testing; I hadn't been to this circuit since the meeting last year, so I found this very useful. The weather was wet for half of the day, but even so, I was very fast even on half worn wet tyres. During the 6 sessions, we tested two engines. On Friday, the weather became very hot and during the 6 sessions we managed to test a further 4 engines, making 6 tested over the two days. The sessions were trouble free!!

On Saturday we had three laps practice in the morning, before the heats started. Yet again the weather was very hot and 'still no rain'! My first heat was Heat 2, starting in 18th position. On the first lap I had a collision at the first right hander and dropped to last position. I managed to climb back through the field to 13th position but then kart problems developed. I thought, from the sound, that it might be piston problems, but in fact the pull cord housing had come loose and was rattling badly against the engine. This caused overheating problems. I managed to hold on although losing nearly 8 secs on time, to finish 14th. In Heat 4, I started 15th and finished 8th. I made a good start on the opening lap to take 3rd position, but a slight mistake, easy at this level. dropped me to 12th. I managed to get back to 8th across the line. In my final heat of the day, I started 4th and finished 6th. On the first lap I dropped to 10th position, mainly due to being pushed off at the 1st corner whilst trying to cut inside. Sometime during the race I was hit on the finger by a stone! I was to start the A final in 17th as a result of my heat results.

In the A Final, I made a great opening lap going from 17th to 5th! I was pushing Sam Vanderpump and as a result of working together, we caught up with the top 3. At one stage I got to second and then dropped back to 5th. On the last lap I passed Ricky Collard and Alex Gill to take my first podium position of 3rd! To win a Formula Kart Stars trophy is a great achievement and I would like to thank Dad, Car Medic and Kart-Tek racing for all of their help. As a result of this success, I was interviewed for TV and hopefully this will be broadcast on Sky Sports in October.

On Sunday, the second round of the double header took place. Instead of heats, timed qualifying would determine where drivers would be positioned in the A final. I was drawn to qualify in Group B. During the 10m warm up before the qualifying, the chain came off. Thank goodness this didn't happen in the qualification! Working with Max Vaughan, I managed to qualify 5th in my session, putting me 9th in the A final. During the final, I made a good start off the line, but then was hit firmly yet again in the first corner. I was spun around and was lucky not to be T boned! Working with Harry Webb, I came through the field to finish 12th. Not bad after the 1st corner incident. What was more exciting was the fact that my time gave me fastest lap. This turned out to be the fastest lap OVER THE WHOLE WEEKEND! What with getting 10 extra points for getting fastest lap, I scored an equivalent score for 4th place or better!

In summary, this was a great weekend, obtaining my first Formula Kart Stars trophy, which very few obtain and being interviewed for Television. My thanks to all concerned.