Fast on Track, Slow in Writing | Easykart UK Round 2 Three Sisters

On the weekend of the 18th-19th April the second Easykart UK round was held at Three Sisters in Wigan. I know it was a long time ago but I'm sure that doesn't matter.... too much.
Wigan is a fair distance away so no staying at home this time. Having never been to Three Sisters before I wasn't too optimistic about getting a decent result (Podium) but it was still a possibility.
Arriving on Friday allowed us to be setup and pretty much sorted for Saturday before hand, this meant I could do a track walk and actually work out the circuit before going out. Having never been I obviously didn't really know the track. There's only so much you can learn from Youtube.
Saturday was quite simply about learning the track and trying to go a bit quicker than the majority of the others
After completely destroying the sprocket protector during the first session and throwing the chain, we decided to run with out a sprocket protector. By the end of the day I was running pretty well, seemed to be in the top 5 time wise so I was looking forward to Sunday. There were a few huge incidents with the air ambulance having to be called. Luckily all those involved in the incidents were OK, if a little bruised.

Sunday. Race Day. We arrived at the track, obviously, and were setup on time. Warm up was uneventful with me simply getting some heat into the tyres as per usual.
Qualifying. Now this was interesting. I was stuck behind a group of slower drivers but wasnt sure I'd be able to get through them in time to give me a quick lap, so  I decided I'd drop back enough so I'd catch them just after I'd completed the lap. This meant I'd be able to hopefully get the slipstream down the back straight but also be far enough back that they wouldn't compromise on my time. After a few good laps my dad started signalling for me to just go for it and push through the pack, so I did. A couple of laps from the end I had cleared the pack and set a few quick laps in. I came into the pits thinking I'd probably have qualified around 5th or 6th place but no, 2nd place was mine once again!
The heat was one of my best races giving me my highest finish in a race of 3rd, only losing 2nd to Jenson. Nothing really astonishing happened in the heat so not much I can say except good clean racing by all.
The pre-final was a bit more difficult with me struggling for grip near the start, I lost a place to Jonathan and was down into 4th place. I made an attempt at getting past but slightly misjudged it, jumping a kerb and going off the track. I made it back onto the track but was down in 5th and a fair way back.
The final, the big one. My aim for the final was to try and get 3rd, as 2nd or 1st seemed to be out of reach unfortunately. I had a blistering start, jumping from 5th to 3rd by the end of the first corner. Unfortunately, tyre pressures failed us yet again and I struggled for grip toward the end of the race. I was close to 3rd and 4th but a huge slide around the hairpin before the pits left me too far behind to catch up by the end of the race. A 5th isn't too bad I guess, still holding 4th in the championship but no podium yet. Llandow next!

Touching Distance | Easykart UK Round 1 Shenington

Well the first race of the season has come and gone. As the first round was at Shenington this year we didn't need to stay in a hotel. We arrived at the track early Saturday morning as we needed to pick up the engine from Andy's since it had been in for a full rebuild. We were set up and ready very early considering the first session was at 11 am. The first session + 5 laps I was taking it easy to run the engine in.

It felt like a pretty good day testing, seemed to be pretty much on the pace. I had some fun in the last session just racing with some of the others, not really concentrating on lines as much. It has to be one of my best test days to date. Hoping for good things on Sunday.

Our Setup

Sunday arrived and we, junior, were first out all day. Warm up went as expected, pushing it a bit to try and get some heat into the tyres, but not going full out so they didn't get ruined for qualifying.
In qualifying I only did 8 laps as my times didn't appear to be improving. This turned out to be a great decision as my fastest time from those 8 laps granted me my second front row start! I qualified 2nd.

The heat went ok, my start kept me in second and I managed to hold my position for just over 7 laps, at which point I unfortunately got overtaken. I finished the heat in 4th place so it wasn't too bad.

Front Row for the heat

The pre-final went pretty much without a hitch. I started 4th and finished 4th however there was a fair amount of position changing during the race. I was up to 3rd a couple of times but unable to hold onto the position whilst keeping with the guy infront.
The final was the big one, the one being filmed, the one for the trophies. Unfortunately I finished 4th.... again. Although this matches my best result to date I could have had 3rd. I was up to 3rd on the final lap but left the door open going into Bruno Chicane. This proved to be a huge mistake as Jonathan shot up the inside, held the position and defended the rest of the lap. If it wasn't for that stupid mistake I would have gained my first podium and my best result.
It was a good but irritating weekend and lessons were definitely learnt.

The Easykart Paddock

Looking forward to round 2 at Three Sisters in Wigan. Round 2 is ALSO being filmed so fun times.