The Long Way Round | Easykart UK 2015 Rd 8 & E plate

"Leaf no tyre marks" - Steve Webb 2015

On the weekend of the 26th-27th September the final round of the Easykart UK 2015 championship was held. This year it was combined with the e-plate, which gave a reason for everyone to go for the win. I was coming into this round comfortably in 3rd place in the championship, and knew pretty much all I had to do was finish in the top ten in each race.
We arrived late Friday evening to drop the trailer off, acting like complete yobs with music blaring out of the car. Then it was off to the premier inn for dinner and a good sleep before testing the following day.
Saturday, Practice. We got set up early (seems like a repeating pattern here) and went on a track walk. We were expecting it to be damp up at the first corner because, it being Buckmore and late September, that's the norm. However it was dry, a nice surprise I have to say.
Any way the first session felt a bit slippy as we had the tyre pressures a little too high, but after that they were pretty much as we hoped, good grip through the corners, no understeer and the only time I had oversteer was when I went a bit too quick through a corner. I set some good times on the Saturday and was feeling very confident about Sunday.
Sunday, Race Day. We arrived in plenty of time, discovered we had nothing really to do on the kart so went out to check how dry the track was. Not a damp patch in sight. JV did his usual drivers briefing and then we were ready.

The Koden certainly looks a bit less.... mean compared to the Bell.

Warm up. We planned to go out in the warm up for maybe 5 laps, taking it fairly easy for the first 4 laps then doing one flying lap before coming in. Unfortunately we couldn't do that. As I tried to start my kart the end cap of the exhaust decided to evacuate the area. I didn't realise this, I just thought my kart hadn't started, so I did the normal thing and try to start it again. This was met by a unanimous response of "STOP!" from everyone else on the dummy grid. In the end I was allowed to do 1 lap just to check that the transponder was working. I couldn't hear anything for about a minute after I got into the pits as the noise from the unsilenced exhaust was deafening!
Qualifying. Having not been able to get the tyres scrubbed in I had to use the first couple of laps of qualifying to get them up to temperature. It was an uneventful qualifying for me, since I didn't know where I was after each lap. I managed to get 3rd which was good as it was on the inside for the first corner of the heat.

They knew I was one to watch

Is this what you call "eco friendly"?

Heat. I was hoping to have a decent race as, well, that's expected. I pulled out of the dummy grid for the rolling up lap and didn't seem to have any acceleration. I just assumed it'd sort itself out so continued with the rolling up lap. It didn't sort itself out so I had to be on high revs for the majority of the final rolling up lap (Buckmore is 1.5 laps for rolling up). Anyway I managed to get a half decent start, pulled a bit of a gap to 4th in the first couple of corners. However, as I was coming down the hill my rear axle felt like it locked up a for a split second, and my kart whipped round. There was nothing I could do and to top it off my engine stopped. Everyone flew past. I got my kart back onto the track and tried to start it. It didn't. I rolled it back into the dummy grid where it finally started, and amazingly was allowed back out on track, 1 lap behind. I was pretty annoyed with myself at this point, so finished the race in 16th, 1 lap behind everyone but with lap times pretty close to the front 2. And knowing my performance at G-y-G from the back I was fairly confident.
Pre-final. Starting 16th clearly was not ideal, but I knew I had a few overtaking spots so it wasn't too much of a problem. It was a fairly uneventful race. I made up 6 places in the first 3 laps and then had to try and close up a gap of about 3 seconds to the guys in front. I managed to make up the gap and get past before the end, putting me in 9th for the final. Up 7 places!

Just checking it is actually my trophy

Final. Now this was the big one. Final race of the day, my final race in juniors and most likely my final race for an uncertain amount of time. I know, no more blog updates! How will you survive!? Anyway, back to the race. By the first corner I was up to 6th place I think, and was hot on the tail of 5th. I then made a move on the second lap and was up to 5th. My aim originally had been a podium, this then changed to top 5 after the heat, however given this amazing performance (Not vain at all) by myself I was pretty confident I could make the podium. I closed in on 4th place Toby Goodman fairly quickly, he seemed to be being held up a bit by Harry Barlow in 3rd but couldn't find a way past. I dived up the inside at one of the corners and made it stick without losing too much time to Harry. I caught up and was right on his tail as we approached the lower end of the track. I knew I could overtake down there in a few places and did. Up to 3rd, within touching distance (again) of the third step of the podium. I held 3rd for a few laps before Barlow found some speed and managed to get back past, giving the push signal. Normally this would annoy me but I could see that we still had about 6 minutes of the race left so I let it go and stuck to his rear bumper for a few laps. I could see we weren't making any ground on the leading duo so made a move down the bottom again to put myself into 3rd. This caused a little bit of jostling and dropped the group behind me back a bit. Having a decent gap was good as it allowed me to just think about my driving. With clear air my times started to improve, and I began closing in on Jenson ahead. I didn't think I had enough time left to catch him but kept pushing just in case he made a mistake that I could capitalise on. Unfortunately he didn't, but I held 3rd place so I was happy. Since this was also the E-plate I got a second trophy for getting 3rd in that! (Its the shiny gold one in the picture!)

I look like I'm going to fall off....

A good end to a surprising season. Very happy with 3rd overall in the championship, collecting a couple of trophies along the way as well as technically a race win. No pole position from qualifying but you can't have everything. What I'll be doing next year is still undecided, but I'll try and keep an eye on the championship, putting comments on here when I feel it deserves it!

Points vs Possible Prizes | Easykart UK 2015 Rd 6 & 7 Whilton Mill

I like the new Le Man style grid - works well!

On the weekend of the 5th and 6th of September, the 6th and 7th rounds of the Easykart UK championship. This was an unexpected double header, my second at Whilton Mill, but it played into my hands quite well. Whilton is my local track and I've logged plenty of hours there over my time in Easykart, so I was expecting a good result. Since it was a double header the official practice day was scheduled for Friday 4th.

Discussing tactics I'm sure....

We arrived on Friday fairly early on and got set up. The day was dry which was good - allowing us to get sorted for Saturday and Sunday which were forecast to be dry. The first session I was running in my engine, so the footage we got is absolutely exhilarating... Anyway the rest of the day felt good. I was certainly quick - not pole position quick but up there. There was a new junior testing who'd not done Easykart before, so for the last lap or so of each session where, to be honest, my tyres were starting to disagree with their treatment, I followed him and gave him a few pointers. We managed to shave 6 seconds off his time over the day. Friday finished and we felt we had a decent setup - only tyres to sort now.

Sticking to the back of Jonathan a lap before I get past

Saturday, Race day #1. We arrived bright and early thinking the track may be a bit damp as there had been some unexpected rain overnight. But no. Dry track so all looked good. Juniors and Cadets were given a 15 minute warm up instead of the usual 5 minutes as quite a few of them were unable to test on the Friday due to it being the first day back at school after summer, however only 2 or 3 drivers used the full 15 minutes.
Qualifying went ok - I was struggling for pace as the tyres just weren't giving me enough. We had tried to inflate the tyres enough to allow me to set some quick times early on, slow down to let them cool, and do another fast stint. However that didn't work. The tyres took a long time to heat up and I only managed to get 4th place - setting that time on my last lap. The good side was that I was only 0.005s off 3rd place.
Heat. I got a bad start and dropped back to 5th by the end of lap 2. I managed to hold this position to the end of the race which, for me, was pretty uneventful. I was glad to be on the inside as well as my starts tend to be good, and hoped to be able to make up a place or 2 off the start.
Pre-final. Unfortunately my hope of making up places didn't happen. I held 5th until Jonathan made a slight mistake and ran wide, slowing down to regain control. This allowed me to take 4th place, obviously, which I held until the chequered flag. I actually finished 3rd as Jenson's chain and guard decided they'd had enough and removed themselves from his kart. Starting on the inside again for the final, in a prime position to gain a place into the first corner.

Close racing

Just about hanging onto the back of Sam

Final. Starting on the inside I was hopeful for a good start as throughout the day they had been pretty much perfect. My luck held and by the first corner I had made my way into second place. I held 2nd for about half the race, not feeling pressured but knowing any mistake and I'd lose 2nd. By about haf way Jenson had managed to drive his way from the back and onto my tail. I only knew this as going into the boot he flew up my inside. I tried to compensate for this and ran a bit wide with a view to putting myself on the inside and take 2nd back almost immediately. Unfortunately Jenson ran wide as well so all I did was lose time. I was, in the failure of my 'counter move', overtaken again and dropped into 4th place. I held this till the end of the race. No podium but good championship points and a chance to do it all again the next day.
Sunday, Race day #2. We arrived bright and early again to a dry track. Warm up was only 5 minutes this time and my strategy was exactly the same as every other warm up, about 5 laps 5 seconds off my pace from the previous day.

Showing off the 'expensive' new sticker kit

Qualifying. Now the problem with a double header is that everyone has time to work out what they were doing wrong in the previous day. I felt qualifying was pretty good however I didn't think we had quite got the tyre pressures right, but hoped for a decent position. I got 6th, not far off time wise, but still a fair way down the grid.
Heat. Now unfortunately because I was on the wrong side of the grid, and a couple of rows back, my start wasn't brilliant. I lost no places but didn't gain any. I managed to get into 5th on lap 4 and started closing on the leading quartet who, by this point, had started to squabble. I didn't have enough of a lap time advantage to get into the fray but I wasn't far off. And finishing 5th meant I was on the good side of the grid for the start of the pre-final.

Modelling career perhaps?

Pre-final.  I have to say this was one of my best starts to date. I made up 2 places by the first corner, so I was into 3rd, and managed to hold them for the rest of the race. Toward the end of the race I started to close on Sam and Jenson, but as usual it wasn't enough to pressure them.
Final. Starting 3rd I was, as usual, hopeful for a good result. I made an ok start and was sitting in 3rd. However a small mistake in the infield allowed Jonathan to get past and dropped me into 4th. I felt I had the speed to get 3rd back, but it would involve going 100%-105% for the entire race. Although a trophy would have been nice the championship, I felt, was more important. The rest of the race was rather processional and I crossed the line within touching distance of 3rd, but not actually in 3rd. A good day for my championship hopes but not for my trophy cabinet. Roll on Buckmore for the final round!

I'm sure there's meant to be a bolt here....

Chain Reaction | Easykart UK 2015 Rd 5 Glan-y-Gors

See that kerb in the front? I don't like it

18th/19th July was the weekend of round 5 of the Easykart UK championship, this time at G-y-G. Last year was the first time I'd finished the main final at G-y-G so I was hopeful this year, especially after my performance at Llandow.
We arrived at the track Friday evening to drop the trailer. Then off to our B&B, the same as last year and the same room, to leave our stuff. The pub was full when we went for dinner so I settled for scampi and chips from the chippy opposite.
Saturday, Testing. We arrived and got setup in time, as usual, and got an extra screw for the carb in case we should have a repeat of Clay. The practice sessions were OK, I definitely wasn't the quickest out there but I was there or there abouts. I had some fun tailing people and working out where I was quicker and giving them the odd nudge down the straight. Some people, no names, seemed to feel a dive into the pits would solve the problem. Anyway, testing over, the Easykart Cricket/Rounders match thing occurred. The team I was on won, mainly because the other team couldn't hit the ball....

Starting the Heat in 10th place

Sunday, Race day. Warm up felt half decent, didn't try too hard on the tyres as usual but still did a 44.something lap - bit fast I thought but didn't feel I was going over the top.
Qualifying came and the kart felt under powered. I was struggling for top end and acceleration was about as good as on Saturday, so not a trade of acceleration for top end, just a lack of top end. Anyway I completed 2 laps in traffic, then had some clear air and decided I just had to go for it and try and make the most of what I had. Unfortunately on that third lap I threw my chain going slightly too far over the rumble strip on the pit straight. That signaled the end of my qualifying session. Somehow I managed to get 10th place out of 19 with only that 1 clean lap.

Throwing it into the first corner

Heat. This was a good race for me, didn't get into the top 3 or get into the same times as them, but I managed to make up places. I was in 5th place before the half way mark - that's under 4 minutes! The rest of the race was rather uneventful, only making up 1 place to finish in 4th.
Pre-final. We had a couple of false starts but eventually got going. I managed to get the jump on Toby in 3rd, and held 3rd for a couple of laps. Unfortunately a mistake from me allowed Toby past and dropped me to 4th. In my attempt to get back to 3rd I had a repeat of Qualifying and threw a chain on the same rumble strip. However I didn't go fully over the kerb so we assume the chain was a bit loose, rather than hit by the kerb. Anyway this meant I had to start the final from the very back of the grid, all the way in 19th place - such a long way from the podium!

See, 4th place. I can do well at GyG sometimes

Final. As usual a couple of false starts were necessary to make sure everyone knew where the accelerator was, then we were under way. I had made up 3 places by the end of the first lap and then proceeded to gain at least 1 position for the next few laps. I was up to about 9th position by half way, looking good for a decent finish, when I was tagged from behind and spun around. I got dropped down to 16th. Anyway I managed to gain places as before but could only manage 10th place as the field was so spread out. Looking at the "Sum Diff" on the timings it looked like, had I not been spun, I would have been on course to challenge for the podium positions as a kerfuffle at the front meant both Sam and Toby had to retire.
Ginetta, an Easykart UK sponsor, were at G-y-G as well. They were giving passenger rides around the track for 4 Cadets, 4 Juniors, 2 Lights and 2 Masters. Unfortunately I wasn't picked so no lovely pictures of that. Good to see sponsors taking an interest in the series enough to go to deepest darkest Wales to give competitors an experience of the next step on the motorsport ladder.

White Pods obviously improve aerodynamics!

Not our best weekend at Glan-y-Gors but definitely not our worst. Roll on Whilton Mill, Double Header!