Friday
Today was the official practice day for BRKC 2015, with all 90 drivers having the chance to get some track time in before the racing begins on Saturday. I was in the midday group with the likes of Connor Marsh, Bradley Philpot & Slawek Piskorz amongst others. In my first session I was able to set a comfortable pace & ended up second amongst the group I was in, with a fastest lap of 34.185. For this session however, I ran at my usual weight with no additional lead- for my next session, I'd be at the full 90kg (the minimum weight limit for all drivers)
I was out with Bradley & Connor in my second session, & again was able to stay more or less on the pace of the others, practicing the pitstop procedure (drive in, stop in one 'box', drive to the next box, stop again & then away) & generally held my own on the way to the 4th fastest time of the session, at 34.153
That time put me inside the Top 15 for the 50 or so drivers that had been out up to that point. Already, there was a handful of drivers under the 34 sec mark, & I'm under no illusions that come the end of the day I'll still be so far up the leaderboard- but today is just practice after all!
It's evident even from today's brief practice, that Formula Fast is a circuit where smoothness & accuracy pays off. Those drivers that are able to race consistently will be the ones who take home the biggest share of the points tomorrow- however, the 'alternate' track layout is sure to throw up more than a few surprises.
Edit: My fastest lap from Fridays practice landed me 31st overall for the day, out of 90 drivers- more or less as expected but ahead of a few recognisable names also. Fellow Teamsport Bristol karters Daniel Healey, Oliver Bayani & Mike 'Dutch' Westhoff were 21st, 37th & 69th respectively.
Bring on the racing tomorrow!
Saturday
A dusting of snow & frost greeted all the drivers as we made our bleary-eyed way to the circuit on Saturday morning, ready for the 7.30am briefing. My alarm had decided to go off an hour earlier than it should have too- so I was particularly I need of a strong coffee!
I met up with Olly & Dutch, & joined the other drivers as Bradley Philpot, circuit co-owner Ollie Fox & commentator James Auld took us through the days format, before the first heat got underway. Dan Healey stuck his kart on pole position, before finishing a strong 3rd after a slow pitstop. I wouldn't be racing until midday, so I made my way back to the hotel for some much-needed breakfast. Olly Bayani & Dutch were in the same heat together- with the former scoring a 3rd place finish whilst the big man from the Netherlands improved on his times from yesterday's practice. It was the usual suspects taking the spoils during these early races, with overall favourites Lewis Manley & Ed White both taking wins. Brad Philpot also started well with a 2nd place finish.
Before long, I was back at the track with my girlfriend Fiona in tow, getting ready to take part in my first race of the day, alongside World Champion (!) Mathias Grooten & last years runner-up Annelien Boutens. A clean lap saw me qualify in 4th place, & after some early pressure I was able to open a small gap to the next driver & secure a 4th place finish- a solid if slightly unspectacular start to my championship. Grooten took the win ahead of Annelien, with Jack Bolton in hot pursuit. During this first heat, I managed to best my lap time from practice, at 34.102 seconds.
The afternoon heats would take on a slightly different twist, with the track being run as an 'alternate' layout (as it would also be for all the drivers final heats on Sunday) The changes made added a couple of hairpins to the first half of the lap, with the second half remaining unchanged.
I had the misfortune of being in the first heat out on this altered track, & I made a mess of qualifying as I slid wide several times, resulting in a grid position of 7th, with a lot of work to do.
The race start went ok, & I was soon on the back of another fast female- Kasia Brem. Time & again I managed to get right up on her back bumper, but was unable to find a way past. On lap 9 I pitted, attempting to undercut her, but she pitted a lap later & emerged just ahead. We must have jumped someone in the pits at some point, as by the time the chequered flag fell, I'd gained one position, finishing just behind Kasia & setting a best lap of 35.818-several 10ths faster than my qualifying time.
Dutch was next up, but unfortunately looked to struggle with the new layout after only beginning to get to grips with the 'permanent' track earlier in the day. He ended his second race of the day in 10th place, taking home a single point. Olly Bayani scored an awesome 2nd place in his race, putting him in a good position to reach the semi finals tomorrow afternoon.
Dan Healey grabbed another 3rd place in his 3rd Heat, as Oliver & Dutch prepared for their final races of the day. Bayani grabbed pole by two 10ths ahead of Harry Neale & Michael Weddel. He grabbed his best lap so far with a 33.700 & won the heat by 8.5 secs- fantastic!!
Dutch lined up 8th for the final heat of the day but came in immediately with an apparent problem with his kart. Confusion reigned as the guys in the pits tried to swap him into a spare (but cold) kart- but he lost almost a lap in the process. He set a best lap of 34.331 but sadly finished 2 laps down. Oliver Bayani has now scored a 3rd, 2nd & 1st place finish, almost cementing him a place in the Top 30, whilst Daniel Healey struggled to 7th in another of his races.
That concluded the action from Saturday. With plenty of points still up for grabs on Sunday, a majority of the drivers won't know until the chequered flag falls at the end of the final heat as to whether they've made it into that Top 30 spot, securing their place in the semi-finals.
Sunday
Sunday started off for me as Saturday finished, with a 6th placed finish after starting- you guessed it- in 6th place. Piers Prior & Anwar Smith were battling infront of me the whole race, & swapped positions a couple of times. A slow pitstop cost me maybe half a second & dropped me back a little, before Piers tried a dive up the inside of Anwar & allowed me to close back in before the chequered flag fell. I was able to set a personal best lap of 33.755 but it was of little consolation- if I don't have a strong race in my last heat (on the 'alternate' layout) then I can kiss a place in the semi's goodbye.
My final heat couldn't have gone much worse- with the worst kart I'd driven all weekend on a layout I really struggled to get to grips with- I qualified 8th after a messy lap & that's where I stayed through the pitstops until the end. A place in the semi-finals now looked highly unlikely.
Oliver Bayani grabbed another pole in his final heat, but was shuffled down the order after a lot of contact, eventually finishing 6th, with the 3rd fastest lap. Dutch finished an impressive 7th in his final race, but then had to head home to Bristol for personal reasons.
As expected, I didn't make the semi-finals after my poor performance on Sunday, & Dan Healey narrowly missed out after finishing 34th overall. Olly took up his place in the first semi-final but could only qualify in 10th place behind some very quick drivers. An early pitstop saw him set a blistering pace with a clear track ahead, but he couldn't make an impact as Ed White lead from the front. A mistake from the driver in 9th promoted Bayani by one position, & although he crossed the line in 9th, his fastest lap was the 4th fastest of the race. My congratulations go to him for putting in such an incredible performance at his first BRKC event.
I really hope all of the Bristol-based drivers enjoyed the racing as much as I did- whether they got the results they wanted or not, I'd like to think we'll all be back next year! My final thanks goes to Ollie & his team at Formula Fast, Brad Philpot for organising the whole thing & James Auld for his immense enthusiasm. Congratulations also to Ruben Boutens, who for the second year in a row took the overall victory.
In a few days I'll try to sum up how I felt about the event as a whole, but I hope you've enjoyed this write up of events more or less as they happened!
Until next time,
Ben
Monday 19 January 2015
Monday 12 January 2015
BRKC Warm Up...
Different circuit, different karts- same mentality!
I warmed up for the big 2015 BRKC event by taking part in an Open Members 'Daytona' race at Teamsport Bristol this weekend, comprising a 10 minute qualifying session followed by a 20 minute GP race. Although not really representative of Formula Fast in terms of the track or kart specification, I thought it was important to try to 'get my eye in' before official practice for the event starts on Friday.
I would be joined by fellow BRKC'er Mike 'Dutch' Westhoff, along with a few other Teamsport regulars. My main aim with BRKC in mind was getting up to speed quickly in a short, sharp race format (Essentially a 20 minute sprint) although there would be no pitstops at this particular event.
I drew a fantastic kart in qualifying, & despite a number of yellow flag incidents as others struggled to get to grips with a slippery track surface, I was able to grab pole by over half a second, also setting another five laps that would have been good enough to line up at the front. In second place was Chase the Ace regular Jeremy Woodward, with Dutch further back in the middle of the eleven drivers taking part.
After a clean getaway from pole, with Jeremy slotting in behind, the race was interrupted on the very first lap by a red flag as one of the other drivers was pushed into the tyres on the flyover. After a short delay, we were back underway & I worked hard to build a gap to second place.
Unfortunately disaster struck again for Dutch, who had been cleaving his way toward a podium position. He was involved in an incident with another driver & got spun out- dropping him to the very back of the field. The race was punctuated by more yellow flags with drivers spinning coming off the flyover, & on more than one occasion I had to dodge a few wayward karts.
Although the kart I had for the race wasn't awful, it was far less confidence-inspiring than the one I had for qualifying, with loads of understeer then snap oversteer leading to a few hairy moments!!
Jeremy had kept me honest for the first two thirds of the race, but I was able to pull away a little as we came through some traffic, before I came up behind Dutch, who had pulled himself back up to 5th overall as the final laps approached. In fairness to Dutch, he was pushing hard as he also lapped a couple of drivers, & I couldn't get near him until the chequered flag fell a few laps later.
Being first across the line is always a nice feeling, & as usual I had great fun racing against some of the other members. Jeremy did a solid job to come home in 2nd after what he described as an uneventful race for him, & it was hard not to feel sorry for Dutch, who could have easily been on the podium. He was pretty fired up after the race, seeking out the driver that had spun him- so Jeremy & I made a hasty retreat back to the viewing area!! You wouldnt like him when he's angry..
In the end, I finished 19.127 seconds up on Jeremy, with a best lap of 33.980 (my pole lap had been a 33.950) with Dutch coming home 5th with a 34.592. Arthur Binns rounded off the podium. I also noticed on the way out that I'd moved up to 5th overall fastest lap at the circuit, after the Weighted Team Challenge- spot on!
I feel about as ready as can be for the BRKC event next weekend, & now that the Heats have been drawn, I can really start to focus on how the weekend will (hopefully) go!
Look for more updates to come as the racing unfolds
See you at the track!
Ben
I warmed up for the big 2015 BRKC event by taking part in an Open Members 'Daytona' race at Teamsport Bristol this weekend, comprising a 10 minute qualifying session followed by a 20 minute GP race. Although not really representative of Formula Fast in terms of the track or kart specification, I thought it was important to try to 'get my eye in' before official practice for the event starts on Friday.
I would be joined by fellow BRKC'er Mike 'Dutch' Westhoff, along with a few other Teamsport regulars. My main aim with BRKC in mind was getting up to speed quickly in a short, sharp race format (Essentially a 20 minute sprint) although there would be no pitstops at this particular event.
I drew a fantastic kart in qualifying, & despite a number of yellow flag incidents as others struggled to get to grips with a slippery track surface, I was able to grab pole by over half a second, also setting another five laps that would have been good enough to line up at the front. In second place was Chase the Ace regular Jeremy Woodward, with Dutch further back in the middle of the eleven drivers taking part.
After a clean getaway from pole, with Jeremy slotting in behind, the race was interrupted on the very first lap by a red flag as one of the other drivers was pushed into the tyres on the flyover. After a short delay, we were back underway & I worked hard to build a gap to second place.
Unfortunately disaster struck again for Dutch, who had been cleaving his way toward a podium position. He was involved in an incident with another driver & got spun out- dropping him to the very back of the field. The race was punctuated by more yellow flags with drivers spinning coming off the flyover, & on more than one occasion I had to dodge a few wayward karts.
Although the kart I had for the race wasn't awful, it was far less confidence-inspiring than the one I had for qualifying, with loads of understeer then snap oversteer leading to a few hairy moments!!
Jeremy had kept me honest for the first two thirds of the race, but I was able to pull away a little as we came through some traffic, before I came up behind Dutch, who had pulled himself back up to 5th overall as the final laps approached. In fairness to Dutch, he was pushing hard as he also lapped a couple of drivers, & I couldn't get near him until the chequered flag fell a few laps later.
Being first across the line is always a nice feeling, & as usual I had great fun racing against some of the other members. Jeremy did a solid job to come home in 2nd after what he described as an uneventful race for him, & it was hard not to feel sorry for Dutch, who could have easily been on the podium. He was pretty fired up after the race, seeking out the driver that had spun him- so Jeremy & I made a hasty retreat back to the viewing area!! You wouldnt like him when he's angry..
In the end, I finished 19.127 seconds up on Jeremy, with a best lap of 33.980 (my pole lap had been a 33.950) with Dutch coming home 5th with a 34.592. Arthur Binns rounded off the podium. I also noticed on the way out that I'd moved up to 5th overall fastest lap at the circuit, after the Weighted Team Challenge- spot on!
I feel about as ready as can be for the BRKC event next weekend, & now that the Heats have been drawn, I can really start to focus on how the weekend will (hopefully) go!
Look for more updates to come as the racing unfolds
See you at the track!
Ben
Saturday 10 January 2015
Racers & Rivals
Friday night was the live BRKC Heats draw, with drivers being randomly selected from a pot & grouped for their respective races, of which there are 4 per driver, with up to 10 drivers in each heat. Points are scored based on finishing position, with 10 going to the winner, 9 to the driver that finished 2nd, 8 for 3rd etc down to 1 point for last place.
Heat 1 will take place on Saturday morning- for this heat I have been grouped with Lee Henderson, Annelien Boutens, Jack Woodfield, Nathan Bull, Arnaud Tinet, Joshua Morris, Thomas Clark & Matthias Grooten. This will be my first chance to measure myself against the competition, & by the end of this round of heats I'm already expecting some of the big guns to have come away with huge points.
Heat 2 is on Saturday afternoon, & will run on an 'alternate' track layout. This will be the first time anybody other than staff at the track have driven this configuration, so it's a bit of leveller for those who haven't had much practice- though I'm still expecting the top drivers to come away with a big points haul. The cream will always rise to the top, as they say! In this heat, I'll be racing against Piers Prior, David Longman, Callum Conway, Jake Cambell-Mills, Michael O'Brien, Chris Jennings, Harry Neale, Chris Negus & Kasia Brem.
Heat 3 will be early on Sunday morning, returning to the tracks original configuration- in my group this time will be Russell Endean, Tyler Mays, David Longman, Ed White, Kasia Brem, Piers Prior, Michael Woods, Anwar Beroual-Smith & Remigiusz Drzazga.
My last heat (& final chance to take as many points as possible) will be early on Sunday afternoon, again running on the 'alternate' layout. The other drivers in this heat are Chris Brookshaw, Matthias Grooten, Michael O'Brien, Oliver Boote, David Longman, James Martin, Arnis Kivitis, Arnaud Tinet & Mateusz Barsch.
Of course, all being well (& unlike last year) I hope to make it into the Top 30 drivers, therefore getting the chance to race in a semi-final later on Sunday afternoon.
The organisers for this years event have created a special trophy in memory of Kam Ho, who sadly passed away last year. Kam was active in karting & the BRKC since it's inception, & he finished in 28th position last year. The driver that finishes in that position this year will be awarded the trophy- it's certainly something I would be honoured to receive should I make it that far.
I feel that I learnt a lot of lessons during the event last year, which didn't really bare fruit until the final morning, so this year I'll be looking to get up to speed a lot quicker. I'm under no illusion however that the other guys (& girls) wont have also improved, so it's going to be tough but also a lot if fun. It will be great having Oliver, Dutch & Rob Allison there for the event, representing Teamsport Bristol in a way- & I hope they enjoy the experience as much as I do!
Until then,
Ben
Heat 1 will take place on Saturday morning- for this heat I have been grouped with Lee Henderson, Annelien Boutens, Jack Woodfield, Nathan Bull, Arnaud Tinet, Joshua Morris, Thomas Clark & Matthias Grooten. This will be my first chance to measure myself against the competition, & by the end of this round of heats I'm already expecting some of the big guns to have come away with huge points.
Heat 2 is on Saturday afternoon, & will run on an 'alternate' track layout. This will be the first time anybody other than staff at the track have driven this configuration, so it's a bit of leveller for those who haven't had much practice- though I'm still expecting the top drivers to come away with a big points haul. The cream will always rise to the top, as they say! In this heat, I'll be racing against Piers Prior, David Longman, Callum Conway, Jake Cambell-Mills, Michael O'Brien, Chris Jennings, Harry Neale, Chris Negus & Kasia Brem.
Heat 3 will be early on Sunday morning, returning to the tracks original configuration- in my group this time will be Russell Endean, Tyler Mays, David Longman, Ed White, Kasia Brem, Piers Prior, Michael Woods, Anwar Beroual-Smith & Remigiusz Drzazga.
My last heat (& final chance to take as many points as possible) will be early on Sunday afternoon, again running on the 'alternate' layout. The other drivers in this heat are Chris Brookshaw, Matthias Grooten, Michael O'Brien, Oliver Boote, David Longman, James Martin, Arnis Kivitis, Arnaud Tinet & Mateusz Barsch.
Of course, all being well (& unlike last year) I hope to make it into the Top 30 drivers, therefore getting the chance to race in a semi-final later on Sunday afternoon.
The organisers for this years event have created a special trophy in memory of Kam Ho, who sadly passed away last year. Kam was active in karting & the BRKC since it's inception, & he finished in 28th position last year. The driver that finishes in that position this year will be awarded the trophy- it's certainly something I would be honoured to receive should I make it that far.
I feel that I learnt a lot of lessons during the event last year, which didn't really bare fruit until the final morning, so this year I'll be looking to get up to speed a lot quicker. I'm under no illusion however that the other guys (& girls) wont have also improved, so it's going to be tough but also a lot if fun. It will be great having Oliver, Dutch & Rob Allison there for the event, representing Teamsport Bristol in a way- & I hope they enjoy the experience as much as I do!
Until then,
Ben
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