Well, I have news from both- first regarding KartChamps; although I failed at the first attempt to qualify for the free final at Teamsport Reading (losing out at the track-attack event to Ben Winter, by only ) I've decided not to pursue a place in the finals because I only found out recently that I wouldn't actually be in the UK when the event is scheduled to take place! Having missed the event last year for the exact same reason, I was confident that this year I could have qualified for the final, at the 2nd or even 3rd attempt, but a holiday in Lanzarote will more than make up for it! My best wishes go to all the Bristol drivers who will be going to Reading to compete against karters from all around the country. Good luck!
On to the F1 series now, & although things haven't quite gone to plan for KB Racing, mostly due to Zac winning all the races & me generally under performing, Krystian & myself were still hoping for a good result at the final round on Tuesday 11th August. To secure 2nd place in the Team's Championship (Zac's 8 person 2-man team had already secured top spot ;-P) we would have to beat the team of Ben Winter & Daniel Good- no easy feat! A full grid of 12 drivers would make up this final round of the series.
Unfortunately for myself, the series ended with more of whimper than a bang, as (again) in qualifying I got stuck with not one but two duff karts (#2 just didn't want to go & #13 is generally poor all around) & I found myself starting at the back of the grid. The team of Ben Winter & Daniel Good were looking to finish up ahead of us so it was fortunate that Ben also seemed to have poor karts, especially in the race.
Once the pitstops had been completed after a fairly incident-free first 10 minutes or so (aside from me out braking Andy George coming off the bridge), I emerged just behind Ben & was able to close up immediately. I knew at this point Krystian was ahead of Dan Good, so I figured if I managed to get ahead of Ben (at this point I was unaware of our actual race positions) then I knew that we would secure 2nd overall in the teams championship.
Ben did a great job in defending despite his inferior kart, & even as Krystian came through he also had trouble getting past. We both had a bit of fun, taking turns to attack him, but couldn't find a way through until a brief yellow flag period allowed me to get a better restart & I passed him under the flyover. Krystian was also passed him quickly but then because we were inside the final 10 minutes we were being shown blue flags. I had to let Krystian through to avoid a penalty, & Ben took the opportunity to also squeeze through coming off the down ramp- back to square one!
As the laps counted down, I tried to stay as close to Ben as possible but he knew exactly where to place his kart. Coming off of the flyover several times, he'd glance behind, gauge my position & then either move left or right to cover me. Unfortunately for both of us, I was a little too close at one point as he changed lines & hit the brakes, I couldn't get stopped in time & tapped him into a spin. I'd been caught out by his late change of direction, but I immediately held up my hand- my mistake! A lap later I was black-flagged into the pits for a justified penalty, which dropped me to the back of the field, but just ahead of a recovering Ben. I had it in mind to let him back through for position, but Zac (leading the race) had got in between us, which meant as we crossed the line, I was able to co time for a full lap as the chequered glad was shown behind me, which cemented Ben in last position.
Now, I don't make a habit if getting black flags & penalties, & the incident I had certainly wasn't a 'red mist' moment- it was simply a racing accident which I admit was my fault & was penalised for. I like to think I'm respectful of the other drivers on the track & I hope they feel the same about me. The set of circumstances was unfortunate given the teams championship positions but Krystian's 2nd place was enough to secure us the points we needed anyway.
It became immediately apparent after the race that Ben must have twinged his neck during the accident. From my point of view it certainly hadn't seemed like a big impact but these things can happen depending on the angle you're hit from. Again, I can only apologise for my part in the incident & hope he feels better already!
Here's how the final points add up for the drivers championship after the 4th & final round:
1. Zac Venn 93 Points
2. Krystian Matuszkiewicz 69
3. Daniel Good 52
4. Andy Collins 33
5. Ben Winter 26
6. Dan Healey 25
7. Rebecca Steadman 20
8. Ben Churchill 18
9. Jacob Cushion 12
10. Ryszard Bukowski 10
11. Chris Trigg 9
12. Jeremy Woodward 8
And the teams championship:
1. BlueBull Racing 145
2. KB Racing 87
3. GW Racing 78
4. Jecky GP 35
5.Underpaid & Overworked 22
6. Gotham Team Racing 16
Congratulations as always go to Zac, Krystian & everyone who took part in this series- and thanks to Martin & the guys & girls at Teamsport for allowing us to indulge in out hobby!
Earlier in the month, I also had chance to visit another local indoor track, the Supakart venue in Newport, Wales. I was slightly saddened to find the place in a bit of a sorry state since my last visit some 6 or so years ago. For a circuit that once held a qualifying round of the nationwide RedBull kart fight competition, I'd say it had seen better days. The circuit now runs in the opposite direction to what I remember, with a proper Mickey-mouse chicane installed at the top of the off ramp, & really, REALLY poor lighting! I know that Mike 'Dutch' Westhoff enjoyed setting fastest time in each of our sessions, but to be honest I was glad to get out of there- maybe it's just that I've grown used to the fairly comfortable surroundings at Teamsport Bristol & FormulaFast in Milton Keynes, but this place was a bit of a health & safety nightmare & a lot more in-keeping with the stag-do on a Friday night vibe. It's fine for some people, but once you've seen the quality of some other indoor venues, you'd probably also think twice about going. Anyways..
Looking ahead now, I'm really excited to announce that I'll be part of a 5 person team taking part in the inaugural '12 Hours of Bristol' event!
This race will be the first of it's kind to be held at a TeamSport venue, with a proper endurance format for teams of 2-6 drivers. The race is scheduled to run from midnight on Saturday 12th through to midday Sunday. Although it's still a little while away, plans are being put in place for an all-out assault on victory. Hopefully there will be a number of other teams involved from around the country, & I'm certainly looking forward to taking part in my first ever endurance event! For more info, take a look at the Bristol Indoor Karting Events page on Facebook
Until next time,
Safe racing y'all!
Ben
