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Monday 24 September 2012

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.


23rd September 2012, Glan-Y-Gors Race day. When we woke up it was freezing and I happened to be the 1st 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 2nd 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 27th, 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 21st 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 26th 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 24th-25th November which leads into the 2013 season!(Although the 1st race of 2013 is in March I think) 

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