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.
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!
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.
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.
Very pleased to say last Wednesday Sam took his Association of Kart Racing Schools (ARKS) Test and passed. Having tried last year, this return trip to Rye House was a bit of catharsis. With no previous experience at Rye, it probably wasn’t my best idea to just go and expect Sam to be up to speed on that circuit. The requirement for the driving part of the test is to be within 10% of a mid grid time. On Sam’s first attempt we couldn’t get times down under 48s. Sam didn’t even get chance to sit the paper part of the test.
This time around Sam was more prepared, having done a practice session a week or so ago and lap time down to 44s, things were looking up. Sam sat the paper test first, only getting one question wrong and 100% on his knowledge of the flags. The driving part turned out to be a breeze just 10 laps observed and the examiner was happy. In fact he remarked it was one of the most convincing test he’d seen!
Within the hour the MSA Licence application was in the post!
Every other Sunday, we head up to Red Lodge Karting for run by Mick French and co. It’s been a great way for Sam to build his experience and get seat time.
Team 4: Sam and Liam, 3rd place Cadet team
The typical format is three or four groups of drivers doing two sessions in Honda engined corporate karts (160cc for cadets and 240cc for the juniors) using the 700m circuit. The drivers are grouped by experience starting at grade 5 (newbies) with the target being grade 1 (race ready). Add to that sessions for owner drivers using the 1200m circuit, you then a have a great way to spend a Sunday (well we think so anyway…Mum and little sister not so keen!). It get’s better because in the afternoon there is endurance racing with teams of 2-3 drivers racing over 60-90mins with trophies for 1st, 2nd & 3rd placed teams in each class. The teams are chosen at random, mixing experienced and less experienced racers, so everyone has a chance of getting a trophy. More of that later.
This Sunday we headed for RLK with our engine-less kart, the plan being to bolt on a borrowed engine (thanks Rob). Our engine is heading to RPM for repairs hopefully (see previous post!). We did take delivery of another second-hand engine this week but as it came without a clutch or exhaust it wasn’t just a straightforward bolt on and go. The engine is a Select Parts (SP) average power 6.2hp (compared to our other engine at 6.004) with a new piston and rings, so should be a good one hopefully. Rob has it now to check and test before the next Club 2000 race on the 3rd Sept. Once we were signed on, we set about getting the engine on and kart ready. Our paddock buddies for the day were Freya and “Diesel” Dave Woodall (so called after an unfortunate mis-fuelling debacle at their first Club2000 race in July). After overnight showers, the track was damp, so intermediates were the tyre of choice, for session 1 at least. Owners drivers were first up today, helping us get 3 full sessions of 15 or so laps in before the endurance racing in the afternoon.
Session 1 then was a solid start. Off the dummy grid, Sam followed Freya for the whole session finding their way past slower karts. Sam did try and pass but just couldn’t make the one or two opportunities stick. Lap times were down on the damp track compared to warm dry conditions, in the 52’s average compared to the front runners doing 50’s. Sam was clearly trying hard to take on lessons about racing line and flow through the corners, with a wider entry to the 180 hairpin and later apex enabling better speed out plus overtaking opportunities. He was also trying hard not to lean into the corners motorbike style, instead staying upright or even leaning away from the turn. At least he’s listening!
After session 1 Dave and I thought we’d be clever, looking like pros by leaving the wheels off the karts because although the track was drying, it looked like rain was possible. Unfortunately what we hadn’t planned on was owner drivers being back on as group 3 after two of the corporate YoungStarz groups. That meant a flurry of activity to get slick tyres on to match the drying conditions.
After a few laps of the second session I could see Sam as not happy, the head shaking and banging of fist on steering wheel were the indicators. After the session he was insisting the intermediates go back on but that wasn’t needed, conditions were improving. The complaint was the kart wasn’t turning in as it should. It occurred to me tyre pressures may have been the issue because in the rush I hadn’t had chance to check the pressures on the slicks. In fact the rears were at 19psi and the fronts at 15psi, so the fronts probably were too low. So, we went for 20psi all round, ready for the third session.
Session 3 was indeed an improvement with Sam happier with the turn in and stability, times came down into the 50’s, would prefer 49’s and then 48’s but happy to have improved things. Next practice will be an Owner Driver day at Red Lodge next week, so assuming conditions allow, that will be the target, improving on times achieved in the Cadet B Final earlier this month.
Anyway, on to the endurance race! Having packed up our kart and kit, all the drivers headed for the briefing and to choose teams. With fewer drivers than usual the race would be just one hour and only two drivers or team, so nowhere to hide! Some very experienced front runners were getting partnered together, so Sam’s ambition for a Cadet podium was not looking good at all. Luckily Sam was buddied with Liam in Team 4, who it turns out already had a collection of trophies from previous races and who is now also an owner driver aiming for Club2000. Sam bravely opted for the first stint which included a few qualifying laps to establish the start grid position. He got held up quite a bit and so ended up just two place off the back of the grid. Freya on the other hand had a storming qualifying session to take 2nd on the grid! Amazing stuff! Sam made a confident start in the race not loosing out in the first lap, then he pulled out some brilliant laps gaining 4 places and banking consistent 39’s laps (700m circuit remember!) before the first driver change 10 minutes or so later. Liam was cool and improved the position further and at one point we were 4th overall and 2nd or 3rd Cadet. Sam’s next session was not so productive, although he managed to maintain his pace. He was upset to find he’d slipped to 8th overall. Liam battled through the final session and the took the chequered flag and by my calculation looking at the timing screens the boys had finished a creditable 4th in the Cadets. Well done Team 4!! We settled in the briefing room and Mick began reveal the results in reverse order from ‘most considerate team’ (last) upward. Mick got to “in 4th place with a total of 83 laps and a fastest lap of 38.xx…..Team 3… What!!! That means ….YES! Result! Team 4 came 3rd!! And importantly for Sam he gets his first trophy! Happy to admit I had a tear in my eye as Sam wrestled the trophy from Fiona’s hand. So pleased for him….”you see Sam you can do it!” A great confidence boost for the next Club2000 race.
Next report after the Owner Drivers day on the 30th August…
Welcome to our blog, hopefully the blog will capture the highs and lows of our exploits in motorsport.
I’m Andrew and my son is Sam….both qualified petrol heads I used to rally and Sam is 2 years into his karting career. I decided to start blogging about our adventures mainly to record what we’ve done but it also struck me, that I might be able to teach myself about how to build a website and blog….let see where this goes…
Sam Cooper Cadet Kart Driver and Dad…Blog for Karting adentures and other things motorsports…
