4th and final round of the Winter Series
Toby and Paul racing kart 24 (Tony Kart). Luke was too busy editing holiday videos to race - oh, how he would regret that decision…
At last we seem to have reliability and speed in the same event - we normally have one or the other….. but this time we finished as 1st Max (2nd overall out of 16 entries - 1st overall was a 250cc Biland) and claimed 1st place in the Winter Series Championship in the process - perhaps it was all due to the natty roof rack we had added to the Team Motorvation van..
Whatever the reason, we went home quite pleased - with 3 trophies - two 1sts and a 2nd, and the obligatory champagne….
Just for the record a normal race report follows, a prize will be awarded to anyone who can get to the bottom without falling asleep…
Since the last event we had bought and fitted some new race slicks and sprocket/chain protectors (to try and prevent the chain coming off on kerbs and bumps - the reason for two avoidable retirements in the past 12 months). We had also discarded the ballast weight (Toby has put on a few pounds since Xmas, so we can run without ballast… so now I'm only 12kg over the minimum limit as opposed to 17kg when we run with ballast !!).
Due to there being a another event on during the day there was no opportunity for the usual 2 -3 hours of free practice. So we were limited to 40 minutes open practice followed by 20 minutes (max 12 laps) qualifying.
Toby took the kart out first and seemed to be flying - the kart really gripping and the rear digging in nicely allowing a good exit speed… 14,000+ revs being achieved on the straight showed the engine was on top form… Toby came in after 12 laps having posted a 36.09 - the fastest lap in the kart so far… the grin from ear to ear said it all.
I tried to match him but only managed a 36.52….. however, this was my fastest in the kart so far so I couldn't moan too much - but as Montoya will tell you the person you most want to beat is your team mate…. So I do have something in common within Juan after all….
The new tyres were really sticky and the physical effort was quite high so we did not run for the entire 40 mins, deciding instead to save ourselves and the kart for qualifying - actually we were knackered….
As usual I took the kart out first to warm the tyres - boy were they slippy when cold… I did 5 laps with a fastest of 36.42 which had us 3rd, but a lot of the quick karts had not been out yet.
I pitted and Toby took over for the remaining 7 laps…… hot tyres and adrenaline saw him break the 36sec barrier on 3 of his laps - his fastest, a really quick 35.74 - surely good enough for a top 6 ?
In fact it was better …. we lined up on the second row - 4th overall - 2nd Max….
Interestingly two of the drivers in front of us seemed to have "previous experience" as one was wearing Formula Palmer Audi overalls and the other TVR Henley Heritage ones (Tuscan racer ?), in Ladybird sizes, these guys must have weighed 10 stone max !… hmmm… this may be tough….
Despite his indiscretions in previous races we decided to stick with our original plan to let Toby start…. but with the threat of permanent physical injury, to be inflicted by me, hanging over him if he "lost it" again on the first few laps.
Just like the GP earlier in the day carnage ensued on turn 1, lap1…. This time however despite being heavily nudged Toby kept it on the black stuff and came out of the melee in 8th, but hot on the tail of the pack.
He was however stuck behind someone obviously slightly slower, but with a very wide kart… for 3 - 4 laps Toby tried to get past, but found the door firmly closed each time he tried, but all the time they were closing on the battle for 3rd - 6th. Then the lead kart in the pack span, causing the kart immediately in front of Toby to brake heavily, leaving Toby nowhere to go. A slight coming together worked out slightly better for us than them and so another 2 places were gained. In the meantime 1st and 2nd were edging away.. Biland (45) and Max (22).
Toby's fastest lap was a 36.05 and he was consistently in the mid-low 36s so he was gaining on the next kart quite quickly. He soon caught it and after an epic battle where Toby harried him from side to side round stadium he passed it and was now in 4th, I then saw kart 22 (2nd) pull off into the infield - so we were now third… then Metin (championship leader) slowed and hence we were 2nd - with only a Biland (45) in front… I thought….
At the change I went out expecting to see us in the top three, only to glance at the leaderboard and find that in fact we were …. wait for it, even after the stop, - first overall !! Gulp…. The responsibility of it all…..
Despite being first there were karts in front of me on the road ( a quirk of people pitting at different times) but the first obstacle was disposed of when he ran slightly wide at the 2nd apex of stadium bend allowing me to squeeze him out (fairly, I thought !) as we straightened up for the flat out left that follows.
Biland (45) was 2nd … and undoubtedly catching me fast, my times were mid-high 36s (on average half a second slower than Toby... bah !) Bilands typically lap in the low 35s…. sure enough I could see him a few kart lengths behind and a few laps later he was on my bumper…. and we were closing on a back marker… I dived past hoping the Biland wouldn't make it …. But a quick glance into the whites of his eyes confirmed he was closer than ever - I managed to keep him behind me for probably 4 laps and then a couple of nudges on the apex told me he was "keen" to get past…. So not wanting to throw it away I waved him through… and that's where the similarity with Juan comes to a sudden end… why did I let him past ? We were racing for FIRST overall for heaven's sake…..
Anyway, once past he edged away… then as I came past the pits a kart came out right behind me…. 3rd placed one ?? Was I now fighting for 2nd…… He was right behind me for 2-3 laps but eventually dropped back, phew…. The scoreboard showed we were still 2nd…… then next time round another kart came out just in front…. Oh no, who was that ? I stayed with him for a couple of laps until I eventually sneaked past… the scoreboard still showing us 2nd… then Toby showed me the red light to pit for our compulsory 2nd stop. I felt sure we would lose 2nd now….
But no…. 2nd it was and with only 5 laps to go I drove "sensibly" to secure the place and we held on to 2nd overall but more importantly 1st Max.
What a change from last time when we had retired whilst in 7th.
That result meant we got a silver trophy for 2nd overall, gold for 1st Max and then the biggest surprise of all… a gold for winning the Winter Series …. We are still pinching ourselves…
The quandary now facing us is whether to invest in new tyres for every race as we both reckon they must have made between 0.3 and 0.5 secs a lap difference…. but a £100 per set is a lot of extra cash for a 40 minute race - what price success ?
Roll on the summer series - bring 'em on !
Rye House, 2 Mar 2002