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!

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!

It's Taken Me Three Years | Easykart UK Round 3 Llandow

Some close racing - even on the Saturday

On the weekend of Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th was the third round of the Easykart UK Championship. This year held at Llandow. It was the third round in 2012 that I attended my first Easykart Event, making this 3 years of Easykart for me and 3 whole seasons completed. Just wanting to thank everyone at Easykart for being so kind and helpful, it appears this kind of camaraderie is unique in karting, with everywhere else being closed awnings and the like. Also thanks to everyone who supports me back at base but is unable to come and watch me race. Thanks guys for making these years possible.

Calm as usual

Anyway, onto the race review.
We got up to the track Friday evening to drop off the trailer, then onto the Premier Inn for dinner and sleep.
Saturday morning we were up early as usual and were at the track by around 8:15 I think. With a drivers briefing scheduled for 10:45, and the first Junior session at 11:00, there was a lot of time to kill. We were set up by about 9:00 so I went for a wander to see who was about, and then a track walk. Having sustained a bent axle in the pre-final at Three Sisters I was running with a bent axle for the first 3 sessions. Unfortunately this meant that my braking was a lot worse and harder to control. I was really struggling into the big hairpin but I managed. During lunch we changed the rear axle and fitted some new brake pads. Although this meant I would have to bed the brakes in during the 4th session I wasn't too bothered, I had a decent axle so my braking should be a lot better. As it happens I set a time only 8 hundredths slower than I had in the previous session, and the track was starting to get slower. By the fifth session the air had warmed up a lot more so times were slower, but I set a pb of 45.2 - not as quick as Sunday but I was happy.
Saturday evening was a laugh. Having had food we sat with the combination of the Fox's and the Jerger's for a drink, orange juice in my case (Not quite on the alcohol), and ended up doing a lemon challenge of all things. Apparently eating the whole lemon slice, rind included, isn't normal.... When we got back to the room I was asleep in a couple of minutes max.

Modelling Career?

Sunday, Race Day. We arrived at the track to find sun shining. Actual sun! In Wales! It was a sign, I'm sure.... maybe. Anyway, warm up went well, setting times about the same as the Saturday but trying a lot less.
Qualifying was rather annoying. I went out and immediately I could feel the rear end slipping a lot more than normal. Admittedly on cold tyres this was to be expected, however it didn't sort itself out. I spent the whole session sliding around each and every corner, trying to get grip. Anyway, my run of 2nd place qualifying sessions has ended. I qualified 5th.
Heat. This has got to be one of the longest races I've ever done. A whole 3 laps! I made a lunge into the hairpin on Toby, and got past him. Unfortunately I caught Harry's rear bumper, pulling my front pod off my kart and giving me a mechanical. Luckily I was the only one to lose out, so no DSQ for me. However it did mean I would have to start from P14, right at the back of the grid.

Driver coach putting me to sleep?

The pre-final was a great race, from 14th on the grid up to 7th place. Overtakes were many and I have to say it was a very enjoyable race, even if I didn't get as many points as I would have liked. Finishing in 7th meant I had a chance, if not a very good one, of getting a podium. It would require a lot of effort though...
Final. The first start resulted in a rather large pile up with damage being done to most karts, luckily mine was only cosmetic, a few dents in the front pod. From the restart I held my position, and by the end of the first lap had made my way to 6th position. By this point the front 3 had pulled a bit of a gap, so overtaking quickly was a must. I was up to 5th by the end of the 2nd lap but with a fair gap to the guy in 3rd. Although I was quicker than 2nd and 3rd place drivers at this point, I was unsure if I was quick enough to catch up and overtake them both. Luckily I had the speed and the consistency to do so. Once I caught up it didn't take me long to get past them. Now I was into 3rd, as during my overtakes Jenson managed to get past. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for Jenson, his exhaust was loose and he was given a mechanical flag towards the end of the race. This promoted me to 2nd. I held 2nd for the rest of the race until the final corner, where I decided to go very defensive to stop Toby and anyone else behind him from cutting up my inside and stopping me from getting my podium. This plan didn't really work. I kept my podium but ran a bit wide, allowing Toby to creep up the inside and collect 2nd place by only 0.033s. I'm looking forward to the official footage to see how much space I had before that corner, and whether I'd have been able to take my normal line.

3rd step, only 2 to go

3rd place isn't something to be unhappy about. 3rd full year in Easykart, first podium, highest finish to date. Hopefully the first of many podiums.

It has been announced that Rowrah has been cancelled and removed from the Easykart calendar as not enough people signed up for it. It's a shame as its a new track for me. But on the bright side a double header at Whilton has been chosen as a replacement. Roll on Clay Pigeon!