Seasons Greetings!

Well, it's that time of year again, and I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

As excited as I am about the festive period, I'm looking forward to January just as much. First up, I'll be lining up on the grid for the next round of Chase the Ace, at Teamsport Bristol, where I'll be looking to continue my momentum from the last couple of races I have done there. My sights are firmly set on another podium finish. I'll be sure to update here with full results.

Next up will be my annual pilgrimage to the Autosport International show at the NEC in Birmingham. I always enjoy wandering around the huge variety of racing cars on offer, and nothing gets me in the mood for the new season quite as much as visiting this awesome show!  

Finally, it's the one we've all been waiting for- BRKC 2014, at Formula Fast Indoor Karting! To say I'm looking forward to this event would be a massive understatement. My preparations for the race are in full swing, the hotel is booked, the diet unfortunately isn't going so well... Ha!

Hopefully I'll be able to post here on each day of the event, and again, I'll be sure to write a full post when the weekend is over!

So with that, I'll leave you all to it-have a great Christmas, and I look forward to catching up with you guys (and racing some of you!) in the New Year! 

Take it easy
Ben

British Rental Kart Championship

The British Rental Kart Championship will take on a completely different format than previous years in 2014, going from a multi-round championship around the country, to a single karting festival taking place over three days at the recently re-opened Formula Fast Indoor Karting in Milton Keynes. 

Now some purists may argue that this change is for the worse, but I for one am properly excited for the event, and I'm sure that Bradley Philpot and the guys at Formula Fast will put on a great event. For those drivers on a budget, and with seemingly more and more rental kart series starting up, the BRKC event promises to bring together some of Europe's top karters on an even footing over one weekend in January.

Entry is only £130, with a top prize of £1000 and free entry to the Karting World Championship event for the winners. Although I am under no illusions about how well I will do, to just be able to race against some of these guys at such a fantastic venue will be well worth the experience. Formula Fast is renowned for having great kart parity, with Brad Philpot himself often performing equalisation tests, and with all drivers weighted to minimum of 90kgs, we could yet see some surprise results. Whatever happens, there is sure to plenty of stories and experiences to share once the dust has settled at the end of the weekend. 

The BRKC 2014 event will take place on 17th-19th January, if you would like further information please visit the following websites;

http://www.brkc.net/
http://www.formulafast.co.uk/

I'll be sure to update on my preparations for the event between now & then, in the meantime have a great Christmas and I'll catch you in the New Year :)

Ben

Another Season Draws to a Close..

I thought an update here was long overdue, and seeing as how we're only just over one month away from the BRKC 2014 event, now is a good time to get some new posts done as one season comes to a close, and 2014 beckons

First up then, an update on the racing. I managed to finish my season on a relative high, after taking a commanding win at the Teamsport Bristol Grid Members Open GP, which followed on from a podium place at the last Chase the Ace event. The CTA winter series is currently in full swing, with three out of five rounds already complete.

Young charger Oliver Bayani currently heads the championship, ahead of recently-crowned Castle Combe kart champ Dan Healey in second. With two fourth place finishes and a third at the last round, I find myself third in the championship, within touching distance of the top two. With only three out of five rounds counting toward the overall points, I'll be looking to secure third at the next round in January. Both Oliver & Dan are proving very rapid at the Avonmouth track, but I'm sure that if I can improve my qualifying performance and with abit of luck, I can mix it with them. Oliver especially never seems to draw a bad kart, so his luck must be due to run out at some point. Surely?
Chase the Ace returns for Round Four on 9th January, I'll be sure to post the results afterwards.

As I mentioned above, at my last event of the year I finally tasted victory again in an Members-only GP at Teamsport Bristol. What was most satisfying was that I was able to score maximum points in each session (Points were awarded for Pole & Fastest lap as well as finishing positions) and I particularly enjoyed the second reverse-grid race where, starting 7th and last, I was up to 4th by the end of lap one and ending up winning by about ten seconds. To cross the line first and then take to the top step of the podium felt good, as it was to carry through the momentum from the last Chase the Ace event. I even set a laptime that was only 0.025 seconds slower that Bayani had managed through the month of November. All of which has given me a bit of a lift going into the Christmas break, and a bit of added confidence for when the series starts up again. 

January is shaping up to be an awesome month, with the next round of Chase the Ace, followed by the Autosport International show and then the BRKC the following weekend. To say I'm excited doesnt even cover it!

Until next time..

Ben

News in brief..

Unfortunately I've had to make the difficult decision not to enter the next BRKC round at Matchams due to other commitments. I've also decided to take a short break from karting in general, although I am hoping to do another experience day at Thruxton in the next couple of months!
I hope everybody has enjoyed reading what I have to say up until now, and as soon as I'm back doing anything motorsport related I'll be sure to let you know about it :)

Until next time..
Ben

(Almost) 200 Laps Later

120mins of racing was the daunting prospect facing me & seven other drivers as we lined up on the grid at the Teamsport Bristol circuit in Avonmouth on 29/03/13, and after a short briefing, we were ready to go!

A short practice/qualifying session had seen me set the 6th fastest time which didnt fill me with confidence as Id purposely held back to try and get a bit of space instead of fighting and losing time for the entire session. Perhaps the writing was on the wall and in hindsight, I should have used the opportunity to have swapped karts in the hope of something with a little more grunt. However, as is the always the way in rental karting, you play the hand you're dealt, and besides, we had a long race ahead of us.

I admit that my mind was elsewhere as we made our way onto the grid, and just before the lights went out I found myself rolling forward. I applied the brake, and just as I did the lights went green, resulting in me getting an awful start, and I was dead last by the end of the lap one. 

A few laps later I was back up to 7th position after passing with a late braking move, and I was soon on the tail of the next guy, who proved alot more difficult to pass. Lap after lap I followed him, mere inches from his rear bumper, as I tried to establish a weakness and create an opportunity to pass. It soon became apparent that I was able to get close coming off of the flyover and into the right hand hairpin at the bottom of the track, but in the acceleration zones he was able to pull a small gap on me, which made it really tough to pass. 

After what felt like an age, I finally got a run him coming over the starting grid, and as he moved to left of the track to take the racing line for the next corner, I stuck my kart up the inside-a move that requires late braking and and fair bit of peripheral vision from the other guy. Luckily, he saw me coming and the pass was clean. 6th place!

I was finally getting into a rhythm, and shortly after I was with the next kart up the road, who was battling for 4th and at the same time closing down the guy in 3rd. I started to think that I could make the top four at least, and before long a train of karts had formed with me at the rear. On lap 52, as the dogfight infront of me started to heat up, I got a tap on the rear as I turned into the fast right-hander at the end of the main straight, which spun me through 180 degrees, and dropped me back to last. I found myself with the nose of the kart sat in the tyres, and had to wait for a marshals assistance before getting on my way again, half a lap down on the field. To say I was furious at the time doesn't even cover it!

Things settled down after this first half hour or so, and I found myself with plenty of track to myself for what felt like forever, the only moment of interest coming when the top two drivers came through to lap me for the first time. 

As the hour mark approached, it became apparent the pace wasnt going to letup, and I hadnt noticed anybody making any pitstops (we were entitled to stop as many times as we like for a break or to throw in the towel) and it was about the same time that I started to seriously regret necking two bottles of sports drink before the practice session. 
Id honestly thought that hydrating properly was the right way to do things, but as the laps went on, I started to experience an overwhelming need to use the bathroom, and as any guy will testify, sooner or later, the call of nature needs to be answered. 

I lost somewhere between 3-4 laps during my short but much-need break, but I felt reinvigorated as I got back into my kart, emerging from the pitlane just as the race leader came over the starting grid infront of me. I was able to follow him for a few laps, before I had a tardy couple of corners and lost sight of him again. If Chase the Ace has taught me anything, its for the need to be consistent with your performance- a fact amplified in a race lasting three times as long! Its certainly an area I know I need to improve on if I'm to find myself moving up the grid in future.

For the next 20mins or so, I tried to just get my head down, and by the '30 Minutes Remaining' board was shown, I felt like I was driving to my full ability and what felt like the kart's limit.
Lap after lap I nailed each apex perfectly, carrying maximum momentum through each turn and trying not to lose time by sliding too much-yet I found I was still losing time..

Anytime was even close to another kart, it became clear that I simply didnt have the acceleration needed to get the laptimes I felt my driving was deserving of. I was passed again & again along the two straights, even on one occasion on the short uphill section of the flyover, almost as if I was standing still.

As the two hour mark passed, I crossed the line a desolate 7th of 8 drivers, having lost another position late on as a group of karts came through to lap me, along with the opportunistic Luke McKay. I was left wondering what might have been if not for the accident earlier on and my unscheduled pitstop, as Id felt a top four place would have been achievable given my early pace. 

The winner of the race, 'Ironman' Matt Horgan, completed an astonishing 200 laps, followed home by Drue Thompson (199) and Luke Atherton (198) I finished on 190 laps, ahead of last placed man Jamie McGregor, who had unfortunately been sick at some point during the race!

Although I was disappointed, I still had a good night racing. Andy Collins and the guys at Teamsport put on a great event, and overall the standard of driving was high. At the end of the day, its only abit of fun, isnt it? ;)

Nearly time...

For my first Ironman Individual Endurance Race at Teamsport Bristol!

I'll be racing for 2 hours non-stop against other drivers at the fantastic indoor circuit on 29/3/13

Im raising money for PDSA which is an animal charity that my family have always supported, and Im looking to see whether I'll be able to go the distance..

Race report to follow!

BRKC Hereford

Bitter winds and light snow greeted over 60 drivers who had entered the third round of the 2013 British Rental Kart Championship. The stage was set at Hereford Raceway for another day of fantastic racing, with the same questions on everybody's minds: Could Lee Hackett become the first driver to win three BRKC events? Could Sean Brierley put a stop to him? And could Rhianna Purcocks make the most of a home field advantage and get amongst the front runners?

Practice went fairly well as I got to grip with finely balanced twin-engine kart, readjusting my senses slightly as I got used to driving outdoors again after a six month break (its always surprising how much more grip there is compared to indoor) and generally trying to keep it on the black stuff, before lining up for my first Heat.

I started dead last in the that first heat, had a cracking start and managed to get up to 6th place by the time the flag fell a few laps later.

Typically, I had one of the top drivers starting behind me in my next heat, and after making a fairly good start I found myself defending from Sean Brierley for a couple of laps before he slipped past as we went under the bridge. Again, I finished 6th of 10, so at least I was being consistent!

Rhianna Purcocks was amongst the other drivers in my final heat, and after a couple of laps she was past me and chasing down the next driver. What fooled was a slightly bizarre incident as she went around the outside of someone at the switchback hairpins, before being run out wide and straight into the tyre barrier, right infront of my eyes. I managed to avoid the carnage, gained a couple of places and finished up 4th, which put me in the 'D' Final, starting 4th.

After a short break and a wander around the picturesque circuit, I watched the 'E' final before pulling on my helmet and gloves for my final race of the day. Starting right infront of me was Seans younger brother Liam, and behind me the quite frankly tiny Annalien Boutens. All in all the race was fairly uneventful for myself, unfortunately the same couldnt be said for Liam as he was involved in an altercation early on and dropped out of the running. I was soon past by Boutens and followed the top 3 over the line with only a few seconds covering all of us.

Overall I finished 41st of 57 drivers, about where Id expected to be if I was being honest, though it would have been nice to have broken into the next group of drivers. Unfortunately due to a mix up with my weight class I was unable to score points toward a heavyweight position so was competing 'overall' but thats of little matter as Im only planning on doing two rounds this year anyway

As usual, Herefordshire Raceway put on a fantastic event, with barely any disruptions, and once again we were provided with fantastic and equal machinery. Credit goes to the staff and marshalls for keeping us safe and well fed, and even putting up with a few temper tantrums along the way.

Lee Hackett was again untouchable, and still leads the standings from Sean and Connor Marsh. Full results and news can be found at brkc.co.uk

Chase the Ace, The Finale..

On a night when champions were crowned, a new-comer stormed to pole position and the temperatures still hadnt risen much since last time out, I found myself back at Teamsport Bristol for the final round of Chase the Ace!

As usual, qualifying quite go to plan and I ended up starting 6th on the grid, lucky not to be 8th after a couple of drivers spun on their single quali laps, and after only managing 6th best time in the five minute practice beforehand, it was always going to be a case of damage limitation, with me trying to hold onto my 4th place in the campionship standings.

The biggest surprise of the session came with newcomer Mike Vowles storming to pole position

As the lights went out, I made a fairly cautious start to the race, not gaining positions as the track bottlenecks under the flyover, but not losing any either, and as things settled down into a rhythm I was able to hang on with the 3rd, 4th and 5th placed drivers. I was behind Darren Peirce who was already getting frustrated chasing the guy in front, so he dived into the pits early on, promoting me up a position.

Its a tactic thats worked well a few times for Darren, giving himself clear track and leapfrogging ahead as other makes their stops later in the race. Ive also benefited from this a few times but you really have to go with a decision to pit early, otherwise you can really lose alot of time in traffic, plus you need to have the pace to make the most of the clear track-something Darren unfortunately has in spades!

Id decided to stop abit further into the race, around lap 25, following abit of a fight with Lee Morris where again I was able to stay close to his rear bumper for a number of laps. Unfortunately after my stop i tumbled back down the order, emerging in 7th place, managing to fight my way back up to 5th before dropping two positions again late on, as an accident and drop in concentration led to two oppurtunistic moves by Oliver Bayani and Ieuan Laraman.

By the time the chequered flag fell on lap 74, 2 laps down on the leader, I was kicking myself for not making the most of the oppurtunites Id had, and also not having the pace to run consistantly with the likes of Lee and Darren. The only positive I could really draw was that I had eventually finished ahead of poleman Mike. My fastest time of the night had been a 36.423, over 1.2's off of race winner and Champion Daniel Morris best time, and with an average lap over a second slower-which left me with some soul searching to do once I got home that evening.

After the engines had long since been switched off on this cold finale in February, the scores were added up and the fantastic Dan Morris was again crowned champion, ahead of hotshot Oliver Bayani, just pipping Lee Morris on account of podium finsihes. I slipped to 5th overall behind Connor Taylor, and just ahead of Darren Pierce who hadnt competed at every round.

Overall 14 drivers had battled it out over six races, and my congratulations goes to Dan and all the other drivers for making each race thouroughly enjoyable. You are all pirates the lot of you!

Next up for me was my first outdoor race of the year, the BRKC round at Hereford, and it couldnt come soon enough..

January '13

And so, after a a few months in the karting wildnerness, I found myself back at my old hunting grounds at Teamsport Bristol for yet another round of Chase the Ace.

With temperatures barely above freezing and my long-suffering girlfriend in tow, it was nice getting re-aquainted with my fellow karters, including the dominant Dan Morris and his brother Lee, Darren Pearce and ex-Teamsport staffer Tom Davies, along with several other familiar faces.

Thirteen drivers had entered for the first round of the year, and my confidence wasnt high given I was feeling more than a little rusty, but the five miniute practice soon blew the cobwebs away and I was  confident in the kart I had been allocated.

Unfortunately qualifying didnt go to plan and although there were no major 'moments', I felt I didnt adjust very well to the qualy-kart and ended up 8th of 13, just ahead of Darren but not so confident of breaking into the top 5 given the calibre of some of the drivers ahead.

As expected, the 45 minute race turned out to be a tough affair, not helped by me losing two positions off the start after getting away poorly. I made my madatory stop about fifteen minutes in and although I was able to run close to Lee Morris and Tom at some point, I figured I wasnt anywhere near the top five once the pitstops had shaken out, and apart from some very questionable driving by some of the backmarkers, I had a relatively uneventful race. 

I eventually crossed the line in eighth place, a lap down on the leading cars and two places down on Darren. Althouth I was a little disappointed, I felt given the break Id had and the quality of the field, that perhaps 6th place would have been my maximum, and going forward I felt confident of being more competitive in future rounds.

The race was won once again by the Ace Dan Morris, followed home by Tom Davies, a well deserved result and apart from some questionable defending, a fun night was had by all.

Coming up through Feb/March, I had the final round of Chase the Ace, the BRKC round at the fantastic Hereford raceway followed by a 2-hour Iron Man event at Teamsport  to look forward to, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on results and anything else motorsport related I get up to!

Until next time..

Sorry for the delay!

More updates on the way soon.. :D

Chasin' the Ace..

 

Tuesday 21^st of February

Chase the Ace Round 2 is only a week away, and I’ve just booked in for my first BRKC round down in Bournemouth on the 10^th March. My rival from CTA RD1 Darren Pearce has also entered, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on each others performances in what will be for both of us our first outdoor night race.

I had a pleasant surprise earlier in the month for my birthday when I got a brand new Alpinestars race suit, to replace my well-used red item. My previous suit has seen better days after five years of use, and I'm looking forward to giving the new one plenty of the same over the coming months. It’s actually a slightly higher spec than my last one too, and with its subtle black and grey colour scheme, it should mean I'm a little more under-the-radar than my old ‘Santa’ suit allowed me to be!

Helmets and race wear are things that have always interested me, and I like being able to pick out the differences between each brand (A little geekish I admit, something that goes back to my childhood days of comparing football boots and goalkeeper gloves) and it was interesting to see how a mid-range kart suit has changed over the last five years. Of particular note was the material used in the stretch lumbar panel on the lower back, the degree of movement allowed by the ‘floating’ arms, and the mesh material used on the inner arms and legs, replacing what had been basically cotton in my last suit, something that did a great job of absorbing moisture, exactly what you don't need during a 45 minute race! I was also treated to some new gloves, balaclava and socks, so I’ll be sure to let you know how they perform. Like they say, if you look the part, you feel the part, and I’ve always found there’s a certain psychological aspect to having a decent looking suit and helmet, even if you do get mocked a little by the Arrive and Drive ‘Billy’s’ who cant even work out which way round a race suit goes!

Chase the Ace Round 2 – February 27^th 2012

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. One of the downsides of any rental/hire kart series is that at some point, you will end up with a kart that isn’t the class of the field. Corporate karts get a hard life in general, being used from everything from kid’s birthdays to Stag-do’s, and it’s unreasonable to expect equal performance across a field of ten karts or so. There’s a fair amount of luck involved, but it’s the same for everybody so I can’t really complain. The best way for me to sum it would be to say that if in Round 1 I was driving the equivalent of a Mercedes or Force India, today I was in a Williams.

Ten drivers were entered for Round 2, all familiar faces with the notable absence of young hotshot Chris Woolen. Practice began at 7.45pm after a short drivers briefing and the kart numbers allocation. I’d drawn number 7, which I was happy with as it meant the kart we’d use for the qualifying lap would at least be warmed up, and during the initial practice in my race kart I felt that the handling was pretty good. Looking back over the times, all ten drivers were covered by only a second, with my best time being a reasonable 35.816, despite being stuck behind Andy Frankham for the entire session.

At this point, I really should have seen the writing on the wall. I think I was led into a false sense of security having felt the kart was driving pretty well, and putting down the fact I was behind Andy at the end down to him being a pretty handy defensive driver. That, and Luke ‘The Ace’ John had started behind me in the practice and also hadn’t got past. With the times being so close, I was confident of another good race, but looking back its pretty obvious Luke was probably just taking it easy, and even with Andy’s defensive driving, I should have blown past him at the first opportunity. During the session I noticed Andy Taylor pull into the pits for what turned out to be a kart change, as he wasn’t happy with his allocation. In hindsight, I wish I’d done the same…

Qualifying actually went well for a change, the kart used being ultra-twitchy but again, it was the same for everyone, and I posted a 36.328 lap that put me 5^th on the grid, directly behind Luke who’d qualified third. Again I had reason to be pretty happy because all the ‘odd’ numbers start on the inside of the track, so you’re usually at an advantage going into the first corner.

I made my customary clean start and slotted in behind Luke, but after a couple of laps was passed by a flying Zoltan, who then proceeded to blitz past Luke. I tried in vain to hang onto them, but after about 12 laps they were already a handful of seconds down the road.

A lot of drivers including Andy and Darren made their stops very early on in the race, whereas I chose to stay out longer in a hope of being able to make up some time. However, my kart was already feeling ‘laggy’, especially down the main straight, and by the time Id stopped I went from 5^th to 8^th, where I remained for the rest of what was a fairly uneventful race. As happens sometimes in this type of event, I found myself seemingly at the opposite end of the circuit to almost everyone else, circulating on my own, with a kart that was gradually feeling less and less powerful (it was now really bad on the climb up to the flyover too) with the only moment coming when the top two drivers came through to lap me. This was an indication of my poor performance as I’ve never been lapped during a Chase the Ace round, and as I tried to overcompensate from the karts lack of power, I started to let mistakes creep in, which just lost me more time.

It’s a common mistake to make when you’re underperforming, as you try to outdrive the ability of the kart and yourself, and all you usually do is end up going slower.

A few laps after the 30 minute board had gone out, showing there was only a quarter of an hours racing left, I slowly began to creep up on the fight for 5^th, 6^th and 7^th, but I knew I was only really gaining because they were fighting pretty intensely, and I estimate that I was probably about three seconds down on Darren when the chequered flag fell.

Luke had a late race collision with then-third placed man Lee Morris, which dropped him onto the final step of the podium, and gave winner Dan Morris a massive lead at the end. My misery was further compounded when I saw that I’d only managed the 9^th fastest lap of the race, almost a tenth down on Andy Frankham’s time, and with little by way of positive note, I headed home that evening to dissect my race and pour over the final results printout. To say I was hugely disappointed was an understatement. I was now tied on 20 points with Dan in the championship standings, and knew Id have to raise my game next time if I had any chance of finishing in the top 5 come the final standings.

Here’s a short write-up of Round 2 by series organiser Ben Hershbein…

The hotly anticipated second round of Chase the Ace certainly didn’t disappoint

with the single lap qualifying session setting up a fantastic grid for the 45 minute race.

After a good clean start current Ace Luke John uses his 30 second compulsory pit-stop early on to attempt an overlap by lapping as fast as he could in clear air, however, Dan Morris matched his times and was quick through the back markers. He was followed in by Brother Lee Morris when he made his stop and they both pipped Luke John to re-join in the lead. Luke Managed to pass Lee and they were both catching race leader Dan when they tangled and gave Dan a lead that proved unobtainable.

Round two proved to be the closest in Chase the Ace history, with a great battle between Gergely and Zoltan. A thrilling mid-field scrap between Andy Taylor, Darren Pearce and Ben Churchill with Andy Frankham and Adii Soos close over the line. The race reached a climax with all drivers finishing within six seconds of another driver!! We all look forward to round three.

And so it begins..

Wednesday 25^th January 2012

Received an Email from Ben Hershbein at Teamsport today, stating that all 14 positions for Round One of Chase the Ace are filled, which should make for an interesting race, and hopefully the usual high standard of driving will remain. Favourite for the win still has to be last year’s ‘Ace’ Luke John.

Tuesday 31^st January 2012

Between New Year and now, Id been trying a lot to bring down my overall weight a little, as although for the BRKC I’m required to weigh 90kg kitted up to classify as a Heavyweight (Therefore being able to score points separate from the overall championship where heavier drivers are at a disadvantage) I wanted to give myself as much chance as possible of beating the miniscule Luke John, as I felt that although our pace is usually similar, I was giving abit too much away to him in the early stages of previous races as the karts are fully fuelled, allowing him to build about a half a lap lead before things settled down. By the time the first race came around, I wanted to be sure I was as fit and race ready as possible, and then it would just be a case of managing my weight to fit around both series. Combining core exercises, upper body strengthening and aerobic fitness training as of race day I currently weigh 90.6kg (kitted up), which I'm pretty satisfied with even though I feel I could still get it down abit. Giving up the bacon rolls is proving hard to do!

Wednesday 1^st February

Surprise, surprise, another victory for the untouchable Luke John last night, although series newcomer Dan Morris ran him extremely close for the whole race, only losing out a little whilst passing backmarkers. I managed to finish in fourth place, around 25secs from the winner but only around 3 secs behind third place man Gergely Szalontai, who I had been catching hand over first over the last fifteen minutes of the race.

Round One saw 11 driver entries, with a blend of familiar faces and some new blood, and from the get go you could tell that the racing was going to be close. Qualifying was the usual mixed bag of results, with only one lap to get it right in an unfamiliar kart, there’s always usually a few surprises. This time it was young Chris Wollen setting the pace on his debut, storming to pole ahead of Dan Morris, with Luke John in 3^rd. I qualified a lowly 7^th, having not gotten the best out of the kart in the quali shootout, but was confident of having a good race as the kart I would be using had felt good in the warm up. What I didn’t know was that things were going to get a lot worse before they got better...

From seventh on the grid, I made a good clean start and immediately got passed Andy Taylor (who I usually end up sharing the track with at some point in these races) then gained another place going under the flyover into the second right-hander. Because I had started on the ‘inside’ line and had gone through the first right hand corner, I emerged on the outside for the next left. As we headed toward this corner, I braked slightly to avoid the guy in front, but when I did the engine momentarily cut out, long enough for me to raise my hand to signal that there was problem. As this happened the entire field went up the inside of me, leaving me dead last. Before the nearest marshal had realised what had happened, I tried the accelerator again and the engine spluttered to life. I was away again but a long way from the back of the pack.

After maybe five laps, the yellow flags were out as a driver had spun on the flyover, which grouped the field slightly and allowed me to make up a place, and from then it was a case of getting my head down. Shortly after the red lights were on, signalling for all drivers to stop. The timing sensor had stopped working on my kart, which resulted in a couple of my laps not registering. A quick fix was required, and I was fortunate in that I had to drive about ten metres down the track over the finish line in order for the guys in race control to check everything was ok. They didn’t seem to mind me gaining so much space, but I was happy to be a little closer to the guy in front, my nemesis Andy Taylor.

After a few laps I was starting to think about where I could attempt an overtake, when right in front of me Andy half spun coming off the flyover. I was so close I was unable to completely avoid him, and gave the back of his kart a light tap as I went past. If Id been any closer I would have had one of those ‘sucked in to the accident’ moments which would have completely screwed my race, but as it was I didn’t lose any time, and Andy even admitted after that the tap had actually stopped him going into the tyres completely!

A new rule introduced for this season was a mandatory 30 second pit stop for each driver, which brought about an element of tactical play and also allowed you an opportunity to get a bit of free space, should you be stuck behind a slower car, for example. Each driver simply had to drive into the pits, from where a stopwatch would be started for thirty seconds, come to a complete stop then go as soon as the marshal signalled the time was up. The only rule that would be applied would be if a driver left their stop until the last 15mins when a board is shown from the flag box, a driver would have to pit on that lap.

A lot of the front runners made their stops between laps 20 and 30, which meant with the passes I had already made, I was actually up into first place, where I remained for around 12 laps before my own stop. The last driver I had overtaken on track, newcomer Darren Pearce, was keeping me close company behind when he pitted around lap 35. I new he must have pitted because you can usually hear the kart behind locking its wheels or thumping a tyre barrier and as I went around the tight hairpin at the bottom of the track, a quick glance over to the pits confirmed he was in for his mandatory stop.

Due to the length of the lap and the nature of the circuit at Avonmouth, it’s quite easy to follow the progress of other drivers around the track, and as I emerged from the flyover I could see that Darren was at the end of the main straight, entering the fast right hander at the bottom of the circuit. All I had to do to decide when to pit was to judge whether the gap was getting bigger or smaller. As it was after around five laps I could see that Id taken a bit of time out of him, so decided to head in to the pits safe in the knowledge I had a big enough gap back to him. Nevertheless, he must have put in a hot lap whilst I pitted because he was right on me again when I emerged from the pit exit.

After everyone had made their stops, the race settled down with less overtaking as we approached the final fifteen minutes. I had a bit of moment whilst lapping backmarker Andy Frankham, and I must have passed hot shot newcomer Chris Wollen too at some point (he ended the race in sixth place) but other than that it was pretty quiet until I noticed that I was starting to creep up on the famous yellow helmet of Gergely Szalontai, who was having a quiet race in third some fifteen seconds off the leaders. As the fifteen minute countdown board went out, I knew I had the pace to catch Gergely, so I set off in pursuit.

Lap after lap I could see the gap getting smaller, and I hoped he would perhaps get stuck behind a backmarker and allow me a shot at overtaking him in the closing stages. As it was, we seemed to have the track to ourselves as the race got into the closing laps. On lap 72 I dropped into the 33’s as the fuel in the kart ran down, and on lap 76 I set my fastest lap, a 33.370, and was really eating into Gergely’s lead when, two laps later, the chequered flag came out, signalling the end of the race and another victory for Luke ‘The Ace’ John.

I felt pretty confident that given another five laps or so I would have been able to pass Gergely and claim the final podium spot, but as it was the setback right at the beginning probably cost me the chance in the end, with the race winner eventually finishing around 25secs ahead of us. Overall I was pretty satisfied with my performance; having not made any mistakes, and was already looking forward to Round 2, where my battles with Andy, Darren and Gergely would resume. I was getting ready for my first ever outdoor night race for Round 3 of BRKC 2012, so March was shaping up to be a good month of karting!

Dec '11

Once again I found myself at the Teamsport Bristol track in Avonmouth in preparation for Round One of ‘Chase the Ace’ scheduled for 31 January 2012. In my opinion not only is it one of the best indoor tracks in the Southwest, but infact probably the whole of the UK, with its ‘flyover’ section, long straights and switchback corners allowing for plenty overtaking opportunities.

A flying lap starts on the long main straight, which takes you into a long right hander which can be taken flat out if the kart is working perfectly. You hug the inside line, into the next corner, a tight hairpin right. You need to brake late and almost pivot on the spot to get around and to the right of the track for the next left hander which immediately follows. It’s important to get a good exit here and keep the kart nice and tidy as you come onto the next straight, where you carry a lot of speed through a right hand kink and keep your eyes to the left for cars emerging from the pits.

You’re then over the starting grid and into the trickiest corner of the lap, a wide right hander with a double apex where you can take a variety of lines and try not to scrape off as much speed as possible. Get it right, and as the kart slides you can set yourself up for left hander which immediately follows. Do it wrong however, and you can either spin to the inside or outside of the track, a common occurrence given how slippery it tends to be under the flyover, and also a place that usually frightens the life out of the track marshals as drivers come flying through the blind corner and usually straight to the scene of an accident. Through the next left hander you want to carry as much speed as possible as you come to up-ramp of the flyover, and then follows a flat out left and right, before speeding back down a ramp into a tight hairpin left, being careful as the surface changes coming off the flyover. The final two corners are hairpins where you need to carry as much momentum as possible before the long straight that completes the lap. The first left hand turn comes after heavy braking once you leave the flyover, then it’s a case of getting back over to the left hand side of the track ready for the final hairpin right. If you get it right, you should be able to slide the kart in one movement so as not to scrub off too much speed, and then it’s a case of getting it straight and on the power early to get good speed as you cross the line.

The final two turns are probably the best place on the circuit to overtake, as you can take a wider line and undercut the kart in front, however it does leave you vulnerable if you have someone close behind who could nip by as you go wide. A decent time should see you averaging about 35 seconds, providing you have a clean run with no yellow flags.

My best ever lap of the circuit stands at 32.801 which I set at the very first round of Chase the Ace, and it’s a time Ive never looked like beating.

During the sessions, I was able to record a lap of 34.661 in the first session, and 34.824 in the second, with average laps of 38.977 and 36.574 respectively. By no means a personal best, but with eight other drivers on track and numerous yellow flag incidents, I was satisfied with my level of performance and felt confident I was ready for the first round of ‘Chase the Ace’, having spent both sessions trying to get into a groove as quickly as possible, and also trying some different lines in order to work out what kind of grip was available.