EK Spa (AKA Glan Y Gors) 2012

22nd September 2012, Glan-Y-Gors Practice. Throughout the Saturday I was doing 48 second laps around this amazing fast circuit which is known as the Spa of the Easykart Calendar. 

When we arrived we tried to start up the engine however the starter motor wouldn't cut out, we would turn it on with the button, it would go, we would release the button and it would still keep going, the only way to stop it was to pull out one of the wires that connect the starter motor to the electrical part. We went to see Andy and he said that it was probably the starter motor that was the problem; I missed all 3 of the morning sessions just trying to get it sorted! We bought a new starter bendix; however that did not stop the problem so Andy said to open the electrical part even though it explicitly says not too. Nothing seemed to be out of place so we just tightened every screw we could see and that seemed to do the trick - it must have just been a loose connection. I made the afternoon sessions but I couldn't get below a 48 second lap. I thought 48 seconds was good until I saw what people like Thomas Bukman and Mitchell White were doing, Thomas was doing 46.6 seconds a lap I think but I knew I would never get close to his time, Mitchell however (who I am usually the same as) was doing 46.8 or 46.9 second laps so I knew I was well off the pace. Really annoying. So Saturday did not go well however we did go out for a really nice meal at a pub called Y Giler Inn, the food was really nice and all the staff were friendly, so Saturday was not all bad. We slept on site in a tent, it was FREEZING. Dad and I got warm inside our sleeping bags and tried to get some sleep.

23^rd September 2012, Glan-Y-Gors Race day. When we woke up it was freezing and I happened to be the 1^st junior driver up on site. Everyone else was either off site or asleep in their caravan e.g. Mitchell White. We had delicious Bacon butties for brekkie from the Cafe on the ground floor of the club house, it was very nice.

We got the kart sorted and went out for the warm up however I still wasn't getting any faster! Sophie Harris and I both waited for everyone to go out, however when we were coming up to the 2^nd corner at about half speed we both spun as if we got to the corner, we were both amazed that we spun because although we knew it was quite slippery and damp we didn't think it would be that easy to spin. When we got off the track and I looked at my times I was still doing 48 second lap times and this really frustrated me. We talked to Sophie afterwards and she said to me that if I braked later into one of the corners I might go a bit faster and also that I should go straight from the brake to the throttle, no coasting. Weirdly that made me strip one second off my time and so in qualifying I managed to do a 46 second lap, I was really pleased with that.

In qualifying I drove pretty much as I would normally maybe braking slightly later and a bit less coasting but I was astonished that that had really taken a second off my time, but that doesn't matter, the point is I did.

The Heat went quite well for me because at the start I managed to gain 3 places which is a real achievement for me as I have rarely gained places off a rolling start before. The race was going well and I was pulling away from Sophie who I overtook at the start until I tried to take the last corner too sharply and it pulled me wide at the exit, my wheels hit the grass and I found myself spinning around at 60 mph going towards a barrier. Luckily I had slowed down by the time I reached the barrier and I didn't do any obvious damage to me or the kart. Unfortunately Sophie got passed me when I was trying to get back onto the track. Scott was very close behind me and I was just trying to keep ahead of him for long enough to finish in front of him. However Scott had set his kart up for top end speed which I didn't have, so along the straights he would gain on me however through the corners I would pull away, but it was not enough. About 4 laps from the end Scott overtook me so I finished in 27^th, ahead of Mitchell.

The Pre-final was carnage because one of the people at the front managed to knock the cone over making it fly across the track almost hitting Sophie who swerved to avoid it at the same time Scott swerved, they collided causing at least 3 karts to crash, I got through unscathed and managed to follow quite a few people who weren't slow. Throughout the race there were quite a few crashes and by the end I had managed to get into 21^st place, which I thought was pretty good.

The Final was quite tense because before we went out it looked like it might start to rain and lots of people were wondering whether to put wet tyres on; we were sure it wouldn't rain so we went for slicks. Luckily we were correct so we didn't have to rush back to get the wet tyres  Unfortunately at the very start of the Final when we were racing, not just doing the rolling start laps, I didn't see Brandon Bishop, who had spun, and so I somehow flew over the top of him, all 4 wheels in the air. My front bumper got crushed and my steering was messed up, I had to go to full left lock to go round most of the corners slowly. I was a hazard on the track so I decided to come in before I caused anyone to crash or mess up their race. In the end I came 26^th out of 29 which isn't great but it isn't last.

My next entry will be after the E-plate at Clay Pigeon on 24^th-25^th November which leads into the 2013 season!(Although the 1^st race of 2013 is in March I think) 

Whilton Mill 2012, Double Header!

I am writing this over 2 weeks after the actual race so some of the content may be a bit vague or there might be little about the actual races.10th August 2012, Whilton Mill International Practice. It was a baking hot day and everyone was quite pleased with this mainly because we could get some decent testing in. My kart didn't seem to have the power and I told my dad and he asked me to see if it happened in the next session, it did. Luckily Sam has a mychron 4 and we rigged it up on my kart and I was told to look at the max revs when i was going down the back straight. My kart is supposed to reach 14000 rpm roughly however mine was struggling to reach 12000, we went to see Andy, he owns ACR, and he said that the front sprocket was worn and the chain was jumping so we had to get a new chain and front sprocket. Dad and I thought that if it was jumping then surely that would increase the revs but we did as Andy said and strangely that did the job and my kart then started running at 14000 revs again. I then had the top end speed except my engine would suddenly stop accelerating as if it had a limiter on it but if i slightly eased off on the accelerator it would then speed up, dad thought it was something to do with the carb but he didn't know what, unfortunately on my final session I wasn't able to do many laps but it felt ok because I could almost get the timing right on the accelerator, as I was coming round a corner the front of my right side-pod came out of it's housing and the spring flew off, I was just in front of the pits at this point so I just drove in and half way down the pit lane the whole side-pod came off and I had to go back and collect it before anyone else came in. 

11th August 2012, Whilton Mill International Race Day! Race day was a bit cooler so that made the tyres last a bit longer and it gave slightly more grip I think. Unfortunately we hadn't been able to get the set up sorted on Friday thanks to all the problems we found. We used Saturday as a bit of a second practice day to try and get the set up right for Sunday. Lots of my family came to watch on Saturday, my Granddad, my Uncle, my Cousin, my Mum and my Sister all came down to watch me race. 

The warm up went OK, no crashes and I had clear air in front and behind me the whole time although the fuel:air mixture wasn't great according to my Dad so we went to see Andy, he said we had added an extra gasket onto the carburetor and it was half blocking a tiny hole that allowed fuel to get into the engine, we took that off and the kart started to work again.

I felt good going into Qualifying however when i went to get my times I found that I had yet again failed to come anywhere other than last, 'Great' I thought 'two races running and I have failed to qualify anywhere above last.', but I guess I can only go up if I start from the back of the grid. My Mum and Sister arrived in the middle of qualifying and made them selves comfy in our little area that we had claimed.The Heat went well and I made up 4 places and finished in 24th. I got a couple of good overtakes and 2 people didn't finish but i didn't see their accident. I finished 2 places behind Sam Nicholas so I was right behind him on the grid in the Pre-Final. I didn't know this at the time but all of the family I mentioned earlier arrived just as i was going out on track in the Heat.

The Pre-Final went well and I managed to keep my position even after dropping right back after the rolling start, I still cannot get the rolling starts right. I did a few good overtakes as I was a bit faster than the people infront of me. There were a few crashes but I didn't see them.The Final went quite well except when I had just overtaken about 5 people when Scott Beacham tried to do a sneaky overtake around one of the corners however he literally drove over my left bumper, the my left foot and break pedal, then off my front bumper. He bent my brake pedal right over so I could barely touch it. I came in on that lap and in the end I finished 26, dropping 2 places form my grid position. We had to buy a new brake pedal even though my Granddad fixed the pedal and it pretty much as good as new.

12th August 2012, Whilton Mill Zulu Race Day! The warm up didn't go very well because I couldn't seem to get the Zulu part of the course sorted so I felt really really slow. I let everybody past and then I forgot about the Hairpin and almost went full pelt into a set of tires but I managed to slam my foot onto my new brake pedal and spin so I only knocked the tires rather than smashing them all over the place. I then drove to the edge of the circuit and waited for every one to pass. And that was the most drama of the day pretty much.

Qualifying ended the same as Saturday with me qualifying in last and that really put me down but I then realised that I am more of a consistent driver and I have good race pace so I didn't feel to bad. My Mum turned up to watch the heat and onwards even though I didn't know she was planning to come (well I don't think she told me.)

The Heat didn't go bad mainly because I couldn't lose any places, Mitchell White, Scott Beacham, Sam Nicholas and Sophie Harris were all fighting for position infront of me with Scott at the back. I kept putting pressure onto Scott and eventually he cracked and took a corner too fast and he went onto the grass at the side slowing him down and letting me get past. I then concentrated on getting passed Mitchell which I did right near the end.

The Pre-Final didn't go very well for me and for Thomas Bukman, he got spun very early on and he had to make up about a lap. He caught up with me and told me to follow him but I got one corner wrong and by the time I caught up he was past 2 people, Sophie got spun my Mitchell and she couldn't finish the race but I had to go on the grass to get out the way, but on grass there is no grip so I spun and had to get going quickly so I didn't lose to many places, I lost 1 place overall in that race.

The Final was a great race, I lost a few places on the rolling start as usual and was chasing Mitchell and Sophie, Mitchell just couldn't find a way past and he believed that she shouldn't have been blocking him even though there is no rule saying she can't. A couple of laps from the end they were literally wheel to wheel and slowed each other down and I just slipped past, two for one. In the end I finished in 19th because sooo many people crashed. It was a great race and I am looking forward to the next and final race at G-Y-G, Glan-y-Gors