Autosport International

The big event for Motorsport fans took place at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on January 14th 2011. I was presented with my trophy for finishing 9th in the British Cadet Championship by John Surtees. John Surtees is the only person to win World Championships on four wheels and two wheels. John won the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship in 1956 and the Formula 1 Championship in 1964. It was a great honour to be presented by such a motorsport legend. I also was presented with my 5th place award for the National Super One Cadet Championship by ex Formula 1 driver and BBC commentator, Martin Brundle.
There was a surprise during the awards presentation; I was presented with a Best Drive of the Day award for my drive at the last round at Ellough Park. This is a special prize organised by Bernie Ecclestone and will hopefully be a trip to one of the Formula 1 rounds to meet the drivers and teams.

   Motorsport News picks 50 future Stars.

On January 5th 2011, Motorsport News {The Voice of British Motorsport} published their list of 50 future stars or 'Who to watch in 2011'. The list covered all disciplines of Motorsport, namely circuit racing, rallying, grass track racing, drag racing and of course karting. Out of the 50 names listed, 5 were karters and I was pleased to be one of the names! This is a great achievement for a 'Dad and Son' team.

 A win in Wales!

Before the British Championship meeting at Glan-y-Gors on July 3rd and 4th, we decided to attend Round 3 of their Club meeting on April 18th. I qualified 4th fastest with a time of 49.65 s; this was 6/100 s off the fastest lap set by Cameron Roberts. In heat 1 I started 5th and finished 2nd, obtaining the fastest lap of 49.55 s. In heat 2 I started 2nd and finished 1st having the second fastest lap, only 0.01 s off the fastest lap set by Luke Barker. In the Final I started on pole position and finished 1st. I lost the lead on lap 1 to Jonathon Jones, but took the lead back on the last lap.......... I also obtained the fastest lap of 50.08 s; 4/100 s quicker than the next fastest driver.

  It's still a mystery!

On February 7th I competed at the PFi circuit near Grantham. This was their 2nd Winter meeting, but I wanted to attend, as I knew that most of the Formula Kart Stars Drivers would be at this meeting. It would give me a good opportunity to see how competitive I was before the British Championships starts in April.
On the Saturday I was pleased to be the fastest driver there, so I had good hopes for the Sunday meeting. Sunday was overcast all day, but luckily there was no rain!
In my first heat, {Heat 2} I was drawn 4th on the grid and managed to finish 1st. I took the lead during the 3rd lap. My time was competitive at 1m 05.14 s only 0.15 s off the fastest lap. After this heat, the top finishers were weighed and my weight was indicated as 99.8 kg. The minimum weight is 99 kg, in other words I was 0.8 kg over the minimum limit.
In Heat 3, I was drawn 29th on the grid out of 34 karts. On the opening lap I had climbed up to 17th position and then slowly started to take other competitors during the race. I came 5th, but could have come 4th if I hadn't been forced onto the grass along the finishing straight. I crossed the line on the grass, the flag marshal had to jump out of my way!!! I was not happy at the way the other driver had driven! I had the FASTEST LAP at 65.38 s. Yet again I was weighed with no problems!!!!
In the final I was on pole; on the opening lap I lost 3 places by leaving too much of a gap on the opening bend but I managed to get back into the lead on lap 6. I eventually crossed the line in 4th position after a coming together with other karts on lap 7. I was disappointed as I was hoping to win the final. A bigger disappointed was to come; when we were weighed I was 0.5 kg underweight. As a result, I was excluded from the results ~ this is the first time this has happened to our team. To change weight by 1.3 kg {2.86 lb} from the heats to the final is still a mystery. Another lesson to be learnt, weigh the kart before the final!

 Jenson Button presents awards......

The Super One Championship awards were presented at the very popular Autosport show at Birmingham on January 16th 2010. The Championship has been a 'tough battle' and I have realised that nothing can be left to chance and I have to take every opportunity in the race. The competition is very strong at this level of karting and I now feel better prepared for the 2010 Championship. I was very pleased to be presented with my trophy and a signed number board by the current Formula 1 World Champion, Jenson Button. My thanks go the Car Medic, Kart Tek and of course my Dad.

On Sunday August 2nd I attended a Club meeting at the Little Rissington Kart Club circuit in the Cotswolds. There were three heats in all…… in the first heat I started in 5th position and finished 1st, 4.79 s ahead of the second placed driver. In my second heat, I started in 11th position and took the lead on the last lap. Unfortunately I left a small gap on the last but one bend {The Elbow} to allow another competitor through to win. I crossed the line 7/100s behind the winner. In my final heat, I started 13th and finished 2nd, again with the fastest lap. This was in spite of a collision at the Dog Leg where I had to take avoiding action onto the grass. In the Final, I started on pole and lead for some of the race…….. at mid-race position, I lost the lead to James Dehavillande and eventually crossed the line in second place, 13/100s behind, but with the fastest lap!! All in all, a good meeting.

Brazilian Cup …….

The Brazilian Cup Championship Race Meeting was held at Whilton Mill Kart Club in Northants on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st May 2009. There were 19 entrants, many of these being Formula Stars and Super One drivers. The weather for the weekend was dry and warm. On Saturday morning there were two 7 minute test sessions, followed by a timed qualification, also over 7 minutes. This timed qualification decided which drivers were going into the Top 10 shoot out. I qualified 3rd fastest, as a result, I went through to the top 10 shoot out. Each driver drove an out-lap, then a timed lap, followed by an in-lap. I qualified 4th; so I started Heat 1 in 4th place and finished 1st. A highlight on Saturday was the demonstration of the Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna's Lotus Formula 1 on the kart track! The noise was 'awesome'. On Sunday, I started Heat 2 in 1st position, but after some 'bumping', I finished 3rd. In Heat 3, I finished 3rd from the starting position of 3rd. In the final, starting in 3rd position, I made a good start but came together with other drivers on the first corner. I dropped back to about 7th, but climbed back to hold 3rd position for several laps. I was overtaken on the last but one lap, to finish 4th. {See my gallery for more pictures}

  First Blade home.......

I attended the Trent Valley Kart Club meeting held at the PF International circuit {see image below} in Lincolnshire on March 1st. We decided to race the 'old' Zip Blade and was very happy with the result. There were 38 entrants and I came 5th in the A Final. At one stage I was nearly 4 secs behind the leader, but at the end of the 12 lap race, I was only 0.8 sec behind the winner. 5 karts covered by only 0.8 Sec !!! It was a very close race and I was pleased to be the first Blade home. The quality of the entrants was very strong, as most of the Stars competitors were racing. My next meeting will be at the Hunts Kart Club circuit near Kimbolton on March 8th.

    Things are getting better........

On the weekend of February 16th, I raced at Shenington Kart Club in my new CARMEDIC 'liveried' kart. There was a large entry for the various formulae, the Cadets alone had 45 entrants with all but one of the main Stars of Tomorrow competitors entered. This gave me a good indication of how I will fare in the forthcoming Stars Championship. For this weekend, I was part of the Jade Karts Race Team, getting very useful instruction from Ross {another Ross!} Allen. Ross Allen has been Shenington Driver of the year for two years running, along with being the National Super 4 250 Champion three years running. I found the instruction very useful and I would like to thank Ross and Jade Karts for all of their help.
In heat 1 I started 12th on the grid and finished 7th overall with the fastest lap. In heat 3 I started 15th on the grid and finished 9th overall, with the third fastest time. In the A Final I started 11th on the grid, but on the opening lap, due to another spinning kart, I dropped back to 19th position! I climbed back through the field, on the remaining 10 laps, to finish 8th overall, 4th Shenington Championship contender. I obtained the third fastest lap, only 0.03 secs off the British Champion!!

  Carburettor problems, again.....

On the 20th January, I went to my first meeting of the year at Shenington. I was using my new Zip Storm. In heat 1, I started 11th and by turn 2, I was up to 4th position. All of a sudden, I started going further and further back to 8th position. The carb had developed a problem and was leaking inside. Heat 2 was better, as I started 7th and by the end of lap 1 I was up to 3rd position. I then fell back again, to finish in 6th position as the high jet was in a difficult position to adjust. In the final I started 7th and again the carb was causing problems. I was pushing Julian Davies (2007 Shenington Cadet Champion) along, until we met a back marker who caused problems for us both. I finished 7th overall, 5th in the Shenington Championship contenders. Note these new carburettors have been causing problems for other competitors -
see comments on the UK karting website    http://www.karting.co.uk/Notice/Message.asp?FID=2&MsgID=0000336886

     Shenington KRC 'Most Promising Cadet driver' award 2007.........
On the evening of January 5th 2008, I went to the Shenington KRC Championship awards evening. This annual dinner dance and prize presentation took place at the Ettington Chase Conference centre near Stratford-Upon-Avon, Warwickshire. I was very pleased to be presented with the second place trophy in the 2007 Cadet Championship, but was delighted to be awarded the Most Promising Cadet Driver award for 2007. The presenter said this was mainly due to some good finishing positions, but also for obtaining several fastest laps. There are more pictures of the evening in my Racing History under 2008

   Sponsorship arrangements confirmed for 2008.......
Next year I will be participating in the British Racing Drivers Club, Stars of Tomorrow Series. This is recognised as being the premier Championship in the UK. The winner of this Championship becomes the British Comer Cadet Champion. In my bid to become the British Champion, I am pleased to announce that my main sponsor for 2008 will be Car Medic of Leighton Buzzard. (The link to Car Medic's website is on my links page). I would like to thank Andrew Hack, the MD of Car Medic for his generous support. I have also received co-sponsorship from Cooke's Couriers of Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire.
More information will be found in my sponsorship section in the next month (January 2008)

Whilton Mill Lap Record broken ..............

After a non-start in Heat 1 - the carburettor mixture screw had been screwed in, thus virtually cutting off the fuel supply - an unsolved mystery - Heat 2 was 'much better', when I went from 12th on the grid to finish 3rd Comer Cadet.
In Heat 3, I finished 1st Comer beating the Circuit Lap record by 0.24 sec, with a time of 53.45 seconds. During this Heat, another driver also broke the lap record with a time of 53.44, so I'm 1/100 second of the present lap record!
In the final I started 12th on the grid, mainly due to my 'non-start' in Heat 1, but I came through the field to finish 2nd Comer Cadet. I'm now lying 4th in the Whilton Mill Championship. Next weekend I will be racing at Rissington at the Midland Champs meeting.

Shenington August 19th - 1st pole position................

In a variety of conditions, dry then wet, in the first Heat I managed to 'go from' 14th on the grid to finish 3rd Comer, obtaining the Fastest lap at 52.82 secs. In the second Heat, I went from 4th on the grid to win the race and in Heat 3, I went from 4th on the grid to finish first Cadet (2nd overall). These results gave me my first pole position at Shenington!
I'm afraid in the Final, things didn't go so well, with problems at the hairpin after Pits bend on the opening lap. I dropped from 1st to 8th overall to finish the race 5th Shenington KRC Comer. Ah well.....better 'luck' next time. I'm still leading the Championship by 79 points, but the gap has closed between Julian Davies and myself by 2 points.

  On the edge at Forest Edge...........

On Saturday and Sunday {2nd & 3rd June 2007} I raced at Forest Edge kart track, Barton Stacey near Andover. This was my second visit to the circuit; the first time was about a year ago. The weekend incorporated the Southern Champs. On Saturday I had two heats and a Final {see results on my results page} and on Sunday, each driver raced in two of the three heats and a Final. I was pleased to have two wins at the weekend and qualify in second place for the Sunday Final. During the final I took the lead on the second lap but on the last lap was 'helped onto the edge of the track' to finish 7th Comer. Congratulations to Ricky Collard on his victory. See my photo gallery for pictures of the event.

I make a return to Camberley...............

On May 26th I made a return to the track where I became Cadet Champion in 2006, namely Camberley Kart Club / Blackbushe. It was good to see some 'old' competitors and friends. In heat 1 I started in 11th position and finished 3rd. In heat 2 I started 8th and finished 3rd and in Heat 3 I started on pole and finished 1st. In the final I started on pole and finished in 1st position about half a lap in front of the second placed driver. Hopefully there will be some pictures of me on the Camberley Kart Club website { see link on my Links page}. Tomorrow I will be at Whilton Mill Kart Club, where I'm currently lying 3rd in the Championship.

Nearly the fastest lap...............

At Shenington on 21 May 2007, I started the final in 9th position having been involved in 'third party' incidents in Heat 1 and Heat 2.
I was very pleased to climb through the field, finishing in 5th place overall, which was 3rd place in the Shenington Championship contenders. I was also pleased that my fastest lap was only 63/1000 sec. off the fastest time. I'm presently lying second in the Shenington Championship; next weekend I will be racing at Camberley Kart track and Whilton Mill Kart track.

 Shenington lap record equalled.............

At the 4th round of the Shenington Comer Cadet Championship on April 15th, I obtained fastest lap and equalled the lap record in Heat1. I started 18th on the grid and finished 9th overall (3rd Shenington Kart Racing Club Championship contender). In Heat two and Heat three, I obtained second fastest lap. I am now lying second in the Championship.

You can see the result sheet for the first heat by selecting the pdf link here

  Gunn shoots to victory at Shenington............

I had my first victory in the Shenington Championship on March 18th 2007. I was second Comer across the line after 13 laps in the final; first in the Shenington Championship contenders. I was only 2 seconds behind the winner across the line. I also received a trophy for coming second in the Shenington Winter Championship. Along with the trophies, I received a £40 voucher for clothing and a 'top-end' engine rebuild from Soixante Racing.