News, Race Results

HKRC Round 1: Bumpers

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We managed to get to practice on Saturday as there was no football, which helped Sam get his eye back in on this track. We love Kim, great open flowing track, great club and the chance to race with some SuperOne drivers too. With the set-up decided we headed home early.

The cold dark start on Sunday began with registration and scrutineering. The new rule for this season for MSA racing is the use of drop-down bumpers for Cadets. The idea with these is to improve driving standards, reducing the pushing and shoving often seen in cadet racing. More on our experience of that later. Another difference was the combined Iame and Honda grid leading to Sam first experience of rolling starts.

Heat one saw Sam rise from 24th to 16th which was amazing to watch with a couple of places gained early and the rest picked up in the final few laps. Sam was on pole for Heat 2 and very nervous about setting the pace for the Honda pack for the rolling start. When the lights went out he hit the go peddle perfectly, the P2 kart though broke formation too early and took a 10 sec penalty. On lap 3 the battenberg flag was out following a crash on Kimbolton Corner. On the restart all the karts were bunched up but Sam held position. As late as lap 8  Sam was still 3rd Honda but in the end he finished 5th, his best finish to date at Kim.

Sam was 7th on the Grid in the Final, but unfortunately he caught a first corner spinner with his front bumper. He made it out of the mess in 10th and ultimately that’s where he finished on track. But coming back into parc ferme his bumper was pushed in one side and so he incurred a 10 sec penalty pushing down to 14th. It seems so unfair when he was not at fault for the first corner mess but those are the rules. All in all though this was another good weekend and further evidence of Sam’s increased confidence, feel of the kart  and his developing race craft.

News, Race Results

Club2000 Round 1: Something clicked!

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5th place Clubman

What a start to 2018! After a good show testing on the 2nd January where Sam was well on the pace, the first Club2000 race things got even better. The track was icy and difficult to even stand on at 9am  but by 11am and few laps by the Senior drivers conditions had improved. Sam banged in 5th fastest time for the transponder check and then found himself on the second row of the grid for Heat 1.  Sam managed to hold on to 6th by the end of the race so a great start . Heat 2 saw a gain of 5 places to finish 8th. Heat 3 was red flagged eventually after a few laps under the battenberg flag after a first lap collision. Unfortunately Sam’s restart was not as good with contact in the melee before turn 1 but 13th was not a disaster. So some good grid points put Sam 11th on the grid in the A final. A solid start put Sam behind mate Oli and ahead of kart 10 which he held behind despite pressure. Result: Best Club2000 meet to date with 10th Overall and a 5th place Clubman trophy. Sam was over the moon! I don’t think he put the trophy down until Monday!

News, Race Results

First Full Season Done!

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So here we are, Sam at the end of his first full season of racing in Honda Cadets.  Here’s the results….

  • Club2000 at RLK (non-MSA): 21st of 54 drivers completing 10 of 12 rounds
  • HKRC at Kimbolton (MSA): 17th of 29 drivers completing 5 of 9 rounds

I would say that’s a solid, steady progress with LOTS of lessons learned for driver AND mechanic. Target for 2018 is to build on that and aim maybe for a top 10 in one or even both championships.

The November and December meetings to close 2017 were a real mix. Club2000 in November was not the best day at the office for Sam. It was pouring rain most of the day making it a real test. Sam was punted off from 3rd in Heat 1, then pulling off with damp in the electrics  and eventually rejoining to finish 19th. More than the usual front runners found themselves in the B final, which meant Sam would’t finish in the top 4 for an A Final start.

Mixing it with the SuperOne guys!

At HKRC the following weekend Sam started his last MSA meeting on Novice Plates. Heat 1 he gained one place, Heat 2 he gained 2 places. The final though saw Sam get tangled up with a kart which had gone off earlier that was then fighting back up through the pack. The resulting spin for Sam cost him time and two places.

The final race of 2017 for us would be Club2000 at RLK. Damp and very cold, I think Sam span on every heat for one reason or another.  The track was so cold we added a tooth in gearing after the first heat in the hope of improving speed through the corners. It seemed to work, in both Heat 4 and the A Final Sam logged the 4th fastest lap times. As it turns out, this would be a great way to finish the year. Sam I think is beginning to realise he can match the boys in the top 5, a confidence booster for sure.

Night Race…
Race Results

October Double Header: Club2000 & Kimbolton

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First and Second in the B Final

The weekend of the 7/8 October was to be a tiring one with racing at Red Lodge  on Saturday and Kimbolton Sunday. Optimism was high when Sam posted the fastest time in the Odd Number 3 lap practice on Saturday, in fact the 5th fastest overall. The track was damp and greasy  but drying and by the time Sam went in his first heat, fastest laps were into the 48s. Sadly Sam’s 4th place on the grid didn’t last and a collision, bending a stub axle and steering rod on lap 4 put him out. The next heat was better but heat 4 had Sam muscled down from 6th to 19th! So into the B Final we went, the now usual battle with friend Oli had Sam come out on top with a first place and Oli second. The A Final was a bit of a procession for Sam, no real drama but no big gains either.

Sunday bought Round 8 of the HKRC Championship at Kimbolton and another damp start. Again Sam posted a good time, 10th fastest of 22 drivers. In the first heat Sam completed just 3 laps, before retiring with damage from a collision. A bent stub, steering rod and steering column meant a lot of work before the next race. Heat 2 was less eventful and as Sam gained one place to finish to 16th. In heat 3 Sam gained 2 on lap 1 going up to 16th before another coming together a few laps in put him down to a 21st place and second to last. Starting in 22nd and last in the final meant just one way to go, Sam gained 2 off the start benefiting from a first corner incident further up the pack. He lost one of those later but then ended up chasing pit bay buddy Freya, eventually over taking her to finish 20th. So off home for a well earned rest!

Race Results

September Round 7 @Kimbolton: Wet or Dry?

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Wet Wet Dry Dry Dry Dry…damn it!

A busy weekend, football on Saturday morning meant just two practice sessions at Kim in the afternoon. All the previous sessions had been dry but a downpour meant our sessions would be wet. At least there was some seat time and we got signed on and scrutineering completed.

Race day on the Sunday started at little damp but dried out. In heat 1 Sam was 15th on the grid (still on novice plates) but he got past his mate Oliver quickly and battled with him and others until the end finishing 12th but behind Oli. Heat 2 was not good for Sam, a lap 3 incident put him to the back and that’s where he stayed. Sam was 17th and last on the Heat 3 grid but a good start in the first half of the race Sam made steady gains to rise to 14th and chasing Oli again. On lap 8 Sam took Oli but over the next couple of laps Oli took it back and another place was lost to finish 15th.

The rain radar and the view across the fields suggested the A Final could be a wet one. We went to assembly with a bag of inters/wets to put on. Spots of rain in the air but the clock ticking down, decisions had to be made. In the end we were one of only a handful choosing inters. It turned out to be the wrong choice as the race was dry but Sam can make inters work on a dry track. Sadly, Sam couldn’t avoid a first corner mess and having started made a good start gaining a place from 15th he was back in 16th with Oli behind. Both Sam and Oli got around karts 44 and 88 but Oli got Sam so a 14th place finish was all he could manage.

The real achievement of the weekend was Sam shrugging off his dislike of wet racing, he actually wanted it to rain and that’s good stuff. Rain levels the field and can throw up some surprises….can’t it Seb!

Next: October double header Club2000 and Kimbolton in one weekend!

News

Best Practice @ Red Lodge

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Ready and weighting!

Sam put in a hard days practice and testing at Red Lodge on Tuesday this week. By the end of the day he had more than 100 laps under his belt and lap times tumbling from 50s in session 1 to the low 48s from session 2 onward. Achievements in the day were consistency of lap times a few 10ths every lap and a very ‘racey’ attacking style. Sam is looking hungry to race now and hopefully we’ll be out at Kim the weekend after next. Sadly we missed Club2000 races in August due to our holiday and September we miss for other family things. Another highlight was the film crew we had following us.  Nora and Arie from Human Postcards were filming for a project where I work. Looking forward to seeing the final 1 minute postcard.

Race Results

July Meeting Club2000: Best A Final Yet!

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A Final Grid: Focus….Don’t look at Freya!

I’ve kind of given away the ending! What that doesn’t tell you though is that two of three heats were a challenge yet again for Sam. Heat 1 saw him slump to 22nd from 19th, the result of a bump on lap one and then scrapping at the back. Heat 3 Sam started in 6th but as the quicker drivers stormed through places were lost dropping to 10th which would have been ok but another tangle with Macie which put Sam off track down to 18th. On the plus side Sam’s fastest lap at 47.75 was only 3 tenths of that of the leader.

Heat 4 was Sam’s best heat of the day starting 9th and climbing to 6th with a fastest lap withing just 0.1s of the leaders fastest lap, a great drive.

That heat 4 result got Sam a good grid position in the B Final, on the front row along side awning buddy Freya. Charlie flew up from 5th over taking his brother, Sam and one other in the first to take 2nd. Sam chased him all the way to take 3rd and another visit to the winner pen in parc ferme with buddies Freya and Charlie.

That finish earned Sam an A Final grid spot (22nd). Passing 3 karts in the first lap and another in the second Sam was on a flyer. Later on problems for 2 others put Sam up to 16th now. He then passed kart 85 and then set about chasing Macie once again crossing the line 0.18s behind her in 15th. Brilliant racing to watch and Sam’s best A Final result at Red Lodge to date. #Proud.

Next: Holidays! No racing until Kimbolton in mid-September

Race Results

June Meeting Club2000

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In the winners enclosure!

Sam’s June race marked something of a change in fortune. The heats were a challenge again but the B Final was great to watch! Heat 1 saw Sam make another of his trademark stonking starts gaining two places in the first corners only to drop four places in the second lap. Sam’s luck returned though as others had problems spinning out allowing him to climb from 23rd to 19th.

Heat 3 was Sam’s next race but it was an out and out disaster. Starting 2nd Sam dropped to 21st by lap 3 and that’s how he finished. Heat 4 was a difficult watch with Sam trading places with a number of different drivers, starting in 13th dropping to 18th and clawing back up to finish 16th.

Sam had enough points to put him 4th on the grid in the B Final. A fourth placed finish would see him in the A Final for the first time since the March meeting. Sam wasn’t content though with a fourth place, he went on the attack. On lap 2 he took two karts moving up to 2nd, good enough I thought as i watched through my fingers! He chased down the leader and on lap 7 Sam saw his chance to take the lead and he did. Defending then for 2 more laps Sam took his first win in a final. He was beaming! The in-kart video is here.

The A Final was a bonus and saw Sam again racing kart 85, who Sam had beaten in the B Final, unfortunately this time Sam could not get past him. 19th from 21st was a commendable effort though.

Next Race: Club 2000 July Meeting.

Race Results

East Anglian Trophy @ Kimbolton

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The East Anglian Trophy is Hunts Kart Racing Club’s signature event. A tall order then for Sam to come back from crashing out from his first event at Kimbolton in April. The weekends racing started on the Saturday after more limited practice sessions than usual. Conditions were good, dry and warm enough, nowhere near as hot as it had been in April. The grid was up to 20 karts for this meeting and Sam qualified to start 16th for heat 1. He made a good start and rose to 13th after 3 laps eventually finishing 12th, this was a good start to the weekend. We returned on Sunday morning for another 3 lap practice and then heat 2. Unfortunately a lap 1 incident with kart 33 (not for the first time) and Sam dropped from 12th to 18th. At race end Sam moved up to 17th after a retirement further up the field.

For the final Sam was now down in 17th on the grid. He got round Freya on the start and avoided a tangle of karts in the first corner to emerge in 15th at the end of the first lap. Sam set about chasing Macie again for the next few laps. Jaz and Charlie came through after their earlier problems but then again on lap 11 and incident gave Sam the chance to move up again to 13th. Oli also got through and passed Sam, so now Freya was chasing Sam into the final laps. Kart 34 passed Freya in the final two laps and pipped Sam right on the line by just 0.18 of a second! That’s just one bad corner exit but Sam still finished a solid 14th Overall and 3rd of 7 novices. Quite a race to watch…time for a lie down!

Novice trophy collected (Sam’s at the far end)