Until next time!
Ben
Saturday 21 June 2014
GT Academy
As abit of extra-curricular activity, I've been having some fun between races recently trying to qualify for Gran Turismo's GT Academy. Although it looks unlikely I will reach the final stage at Silverstone ( due to a lack of practice time & gaming wheel setup) it's been good fun taking part & progressing through the previous stages- just pushing to find that maximum lap time & 'driving' some of the best Nissan has to offer on circuits like Brands Hatch, Spa & Mt Panorama. If you have a Playstation 3, I highly recommend GT6 if you don't have it already.
Until next time!
Ben
Until next time!
Ben
Top Gun Grand Finale
The revenge of Andy Collins
And it's Go, Go, GO! Down the inside into the fast right hander at the bottom of the circuit, defending my position from the drivers behind, I'm immediately behind Michael Mandeville (another staff member competing in the event for fun) who is struggling to find a rhythm at this early stage. Coming across the starting grid, I dive down the inside, late on the brakes & I'm through. Next up Dutch, with Lee Cooper just ahead. The leaders were already breaking away..
A few laps behind the big guy see Andy & Oliver swap positions behind me, with the staff champ attacking me at every opportunity as we catch the Dutchman. I get past, eventually- but Andy and then Oliver follow me through, in pursuit now of young gun Krystian, who is a couple of seconds down the road.
This is was the opening 5 minutes of TeamSport Bristols TopGun Race of Champions, which took place this past Tuesday. A packed grid made up of old & new faces would make the start, with a handful of us in the running for the overall title having competed in each round. For this race, positions at the start would be decided on reverse championship order, with any newcomers starting the front behind the pole sitter (Teamsports 'Intermediate' level staff member) in the middle of the grid would be the 'Advanced' staffer from Round two, with Andy Collins as the 'Expert' driver at the back. I was to start 9th, with Olly just behind in 10th but luckily on the outside line, which would at least make my getaway during the rolling start a little easier. As we lined up in grid formation, I visualized my charge into the first turn, being sure to hold the inside so as to stop me losing any positions early on. We were given the go-ahead, and snaked around to the main straight to take the start. Coming out of the final corner, the pole man was already accelerating hard away. As soon as my wheel were straight I was hard on it, making up a position as we crossed the line to start the first lap proper.
After an action-packed first phase of the race, and with Dutch now safely behind us, we caught Krystian within a couple of laps, only for me to be relegated a position first by Andy, who came past me as we came off the flyover, then by Oliver as I was wrong-footed trying to pass Krystian through the switchback hairpins. To then watch the two of the them dispatch The youngster and disappear down the road was frustrating to say the least. I must have followed Krystian for at least another 8 laps before finally making a move leading into the main straight. With Andy & Oliver racing towards Martin at the front, all I could do now concentrate on keeping Krystian behind and catching Lee Cooper & the Intermediate-level staff member ahead.
I managed to build up a gap of around 1 sec back to Krystian, as although he was getting off the slow corners quicker, I seemed to have the advantage in the faster sections. We quickly caught & passed Lee Cooper, who was clearly struggling with a poor kart & a bad back, before zoning in on the staffer that had started on pole but was now struggling to get past Dutch to lap him. After hanging back for a couple of laps to see how things transpired, whilst still keeping the gap back to Krystian, I followed the two drivers along the back straight, under the bridge then through the series of left-handlers leading up & along the flyover, before plunging downhill to the sharp hairpin left. At the last second, the staff driver dove to the inside, hoping to catch Dutch off-guard-but he was too far back, and the big man had already commited to the corner. The coming together was inevitable, with the staff driver stuck in the tyres on the inside of the corner, & Dutch forced out wide before the next right-hand hairpin. I sliced through the gap, passing Dutch as he struggled off-line, with Krystian right behind.
It was now obvious it was going to be a fight for 4th place between Krystian & myself. Andy & Oliver had made a charge to the front, getting ahead of Martin as he made an un scheduled pitstop due to visor issues. For the final 15 minutes, it almost felt like we were having our own race, as we seemed to be on the opposite side to the track as all the other drivers, apart from Dutch & Lee, who both recorded DNFs.
With the '5 minutes remaining' board being shown, I have to admit that I was absolutely finished. Racing so soon after my adventures at Clay Pigeon had taken it's toll, as my shoulders began to ache and my knees were sore from banging against the chassis. As is the way with a sport like karting, a lot of the time these little aches & pains don't present themselves unless you're competing, such is the unique environment of being in a kart. I started to make mistakes with only a few laps to go, and could sense Krystian getting ever closer. Eventually he squeezed past with a nice move going onto the flyover, & I knew with only a handful of laps to go I'd only realistically get one more chance to get back past him.
I stuck with him for a lap, driving cleanly & not wanting to waste my opportunity, and as we came over & off the flyover I felt I was close enough to have a go. I got myself into position to repeat the move I made on him earlier through the switchback hairpins- but at the very last second he closed the door! A hard but fair move, I then had to gain momentum again in the hope that he would make a mistake in the dying moments. Just as we were coming around to complete another lap, the yellow lights flashed above us to signal there had been an incident elsewhere on the track, and thus any hope I had of passing Krystian went out the window as the chequered flag went out seconds later for race-winner Andy Collins, who had got his revenge over Oliver Bayani for his defeat last time out. They were followed home by a resurgent Martin, with Krystian & myself around half a lap back.
As the drivers gathered around the podium for the race results & announcement of the final Championship positions, it was evident that one or two drivers were feeling a little disgruntled, either with their allocated kart or a race incident or two- but that's rental karting at the end of the day. Dutch in particular was upset with the incident he had with the staff member, but having been in close proximity behind them when it happened, I can honestly say that it looked like a racing incident- and Dutch was able to continue immediately having only been pushed wide, with the staff member ending up stuck in the tyres in the inside of the corner.
Andy had beaten Oliver to regain the respect of his work colleagues, and Martin rounded out the Top 3 after a good drive from the middle of the pack. The overall championship positions were then announced, with Oliver taking the top step having won two out of the four rounds, me taking second after my win in round one & Lee Cooper taking third after some strong races early on. I'd enjoyed a good championship, and collected a few more trophies along the way- and overall I'd say I'd been pleased with my driving on the whole. Oliver had again proven unbeatable most of the time, and Dutch & Lee had both shown plenty of humility and respect on the track. Krystian had emerged as a real threat to the quicker drivers, and with more experience under his belt in sure it to only be a matter of time before he's pushing Oliver.
Rental karting should be a fun sport in my opinion and sometimes there's a danger of some drivers taking things a little too seriously- I encountered it a little at the EKL round last month & again after this race, and yes- I can understand people have paid their money and should get a fair crack at the whip- but at the end of the day there will be times when things don't go your way, you draw a poor kart or get involved in someone else's accident, but you just have to get on with it. As long as you're getting enough satisfaction from driving & having fun- then at the end of the day what more can you ask for?
After all, that's just racing!
Ben
And it's Go, Go, GO! Down the inside into the fast right hander at the bottom of the circuit, defending my position from the drivers behind, I'm immediately behind Michael Mandeville (another staff member competing in the event for fun) who is struggling to find a rhythm at this early stage. Coming across the starting grid, I dive down the inside, late on the brakes & I'm through. Next up Dutch, with Lee Cooper just ahead. The leaders were already breaking away..
A few laps behind the big guy see Andy & Oliver swap positions behind me, with the staff champ attacking me at every opportunity as we catch the Dutchman. I get past, eventually- but Andy and then Oliver follow me through, in pursuit now of young gun Krystian, who is a couple of seconds down the road.
This is was the opening 5 minutes of TeamSport Bristols TopGun Race of Champions, which took place this past Tuesday. A packed grid made up of old & new faces would make the start, with a handful of us in the running for the overall title having competed in each round. For this race, positions at the start would be decided on reverse championship order, with any newcomers starting the front behind the pole sitter (Teamsports 'Intermediate' level staff member) in the middle of the grid would be the 'Advanced' staffer from Round two, with Andy Collins as the 'Expert' driver at the back. I was to start 9th, with Olly just behind in 10th but luckily on the outside line, which would at least make my getaway during the rolling start a little easier. As we lined up in grid formation, I visualized my charge into the first turn, being sure to hold the inside so as to stop me losing any positions early on. We were given the go-ahead, and snaked around to the main straight to take the start. Coming out of the final corner, the pole man was already accelerating hard away. As soon as my wheel were straight I was hard on it, making up a position as we crossed the line to start the first lap proper.
After an action-packed first phase of the race, and with Dutch now safely behind us, we caught Krystian within a couple of laps, only for me to be relegated a position first by Andy, who came past me as we came off the flyover, then by Oliver as I was wrong-footed trying to pass Krystian through the switchback hairpins. To then watch the two of the them dispatch The youngster and disappear down the road was frustrating to say the least. I must have followed Krystian for at least another 8 laps before finally making a move leading into the main straight. With Andy & Oliver racing towards Martin at the front, all I could do now concentrate on keeping Krystian behind and catching Lee Cooper & the Intermediate-level staff member ahead.
I managed to build up a gap of around 1 sec back to Krystian, as although he was getting off the slow corners quicker, I seemed to have the advantage in the faster sections. We quickly caught & passed Lee Cooper, who was clearly struggling with a poor kart & a bad back, before zoning in on the staffer that had started on pole but was now struggling to get past Dutch to lap him. After hanging back for a couple of laps to see how things transpired, whilst still keeping the gap back to Krystian, I followed the two drivers along the back straight, under the bridge then through the series of left-handlers leading up & along the flyover, before plunging downhill to the sharp hairpin left. At the last second, the staff driver dove to the inside, hoping to catch Dutch off-guard-but he was too far back, and the big man had already commited to the corner. The coming together was inevitable, with the staff driver stuck in the tyres on the inside of the corner, & Dutch forced out wide before the next right-hand hairpin. I sliced through the gap, passing Dutch as he struggled off-line, with Krystian right behind.
It was now obvious it was going to be a fight for 4th place between Krystian & myself. Andy & Oliver had made a charge to the front, getting ahead of Martin as he made an un scheduled pitstop due to visor issues. For the final 15 minutes, it almost felt like we were having our own race, as we seemed to be on the opposite side to the track as all the other drivers, apart from Dutch & Lee, who both recorded DNFs.
With the '5 minutes remaining' board being shown, I have to admit that I was absolutely finished. Racing so soon after my adventures at Clay Pigeon had taken it's toll, as my shoulders began to ache and my knees were sore from banging against the chassis. As is the way with a sport like karting, a lot of the time these little aches & pains don't present themselves unless you're competing, such is the unique environment of being in a kart. I started to make mistakes with only a few laps to go, and could sense Krystian getting ever closer. Eventually he squeezed past with a nice move going onto the flyover, & I knew with only a handful of laps to go I'd only realistically get one more chance to get back past him.
I stuck with him for a lap, driving cleanly & not wanting to waste my opportunity, and as we came over & off the flyover I felt I was close enough to have a go. I got myself into position to repeat the move I made on him earlier through the switchback hairpins- but at the very last second he closed the door! A hard but fair move, I then had to gain momentum again in the hope that he would make a mistake in the dying moments. Just as we were coming around to complete another lap, the yellow lights flashed above us to signal there had been an incident elsewhere on the track, and thus any hope I had of passing Krystian went out the window as the chequered flag went out seconds later for race-winner Andy Collins, who had got his revenge over Oliver Bayani for his defeat last time out. They were followed home by a resurgent Martin, with Krystian & myself around half a lap back.
As the drivers gathered around the podium for the race results & announcement of the final Championship positions, it was evident that one or two drivers were feeling a little disgruntled, either with their allocated kart or a race incident or two- but that's rental karting at the end of the day. Dutch in particular was upset with the incident he had with the staff member, but having been in close proximity behind them when it happened, I can honestly say that it looked like a racing incident- and Dutch was able to continue immediately having only been pushed wide, with the staff member ending up stuck in the tyres in the inside of the corner.
Andy had beaten Oliver to regain the respect of his work colleagues, and Martin rounded out the Top 3 after a good drive from the middle of the pack. The overall championship positions were then announced, with Oliver taking the top step having won two out of the four rounds, me taking second after my win in round one & Lee Cooper taking third after some strong races early on. I'd enjoyed a good championship, and collected a few more trophies along the way- and overall I'd say I'd been pleased with my driving on the whole. Oliver had again proven unbeatable most of the time, and Dutch & Lee had both shown plenty of humility and respect on the track. Krystian had emerged as a real threat to the quicker drivers, and with more experience under his belt in sure it to only be a matter of time before he's pushing Oliver.
Rental karting should be a fun sport in my opinion and sometimes there's a danger of some drivers taking things a little too seriously- I encountered it a little at the EKL round last month & again after this race, and yes- I can understand people have paid their money and should get a fair crack at the whip- but at the end of the day there will be times when things don't go your way, you draw a poor kart or get involved in someone else's accident, but you just have to get on with it. As long as you're getting enough satisfaction from driving & having fun- then at the end of the day what more can you ask for?
After all, that's just racing!
Ben
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