 |
BRDC Stars of Tomorrow Round 5
Llandow - 15th July 2007
|
Testing – Saturday testing went very well. The weather was hot and the track dry I was consistently fast all day and the set-up on the kart was very good. I managed to post a 38.60 on old tyres and when we tried some new tyres at the end of the day I managed a 38.34 which left me in a confident mood and looking forward to a hopefully dry day of racing.
Heat 1 – The dry day I had hoped for was not on the cards and it was raining heavily on Sunday morning which meant that any useful testing on the Saturday was going to be useless as a totally different set-up was required to be quick in the wet. I started the first heat of the day from grid 3 and got a good start grabbing 2nd position off the line and challenging Nigel Moore for the lead into the first corner. The conditions were treacherous and it was near impossible to see. I made a mistake and Tom Hibbert managed to get passed me. There was so much standing water and I just kept aqua planing. I managed to settle into a rhythm and after a few laps was on the back of Hibbert unfortunately it was red flagged just as I had started to make some inroads in to the two leaders. I had to settle with a solid 3rd.
Heat 2 – I made a great start from 6th on the grid in the second heat and went round the outside as I sneaked into 2nd place. It wasn’t to last though as I made a school boy error and lost the rear of the kart underbraking in the slippery conditions. I slid wide and fell back to 8th. I quickly started to make progress but the chassis felt appalling and I knew there was something wrong. I was struggling underbraking, round the corners and with traction out of the corners not the perfect combination. I managed to get up to 6th before I lost it again and hit the curbs on the outside of the 5th corner. I managed to get back to 7th eventually behind title rival Hibbert who had also had a moment on the first lap.
Heat 3 – We made some major changes to the set-up for the final heat of the day and it made a big difference as I quickly picked off drivers as I worked my way through the pack. I managed to get through to 2nd position but couldn’t challenge for the lead as the leader Daniel Rodde had already pulled out a big gap on the rest of the field.
Final – The track had started to dry out for the final but all competitors were still running wet tyres. After some solid heats I was on grid 3 for the final and had Dan Rodde and Tom Hibbert in front of me. I made a good start but so did the front two and I was unable to make any places up off the line. I knew if I was to win the race I had to get passed the pair of them on the opening laps as Llandow is one of the trickier places to pass at. Hibbert passed Rodde into the chicane on the first lap and I managed to follow him through and take 2nd. The next corner after that Hibbert ran a bit wide and I was able to squeeze into the lead. The kart felt great and I had plenty of grip and power. For the first few laps Hibbert kept the pressure on me but after 4 laps I managed to open up a gap and eventually pull out a 6-second lead over the field. It was great feeling to get the win and to know that I was now leading the championship. The kart was great and thanks to my team who did a great job. I now look forward to British Superkart Grand Prix this weekend, before heading abroad for the 6th and 7th round of the Stars championship. It is all set to be an exciting race with Me, Frank Wrathall and Tom Hibbert all very close on points and with drivers like James Mudd, Daniel Borton and Nigel Moore not very far behind either It’s set to be great fight for the title. Hopefully I can get the result I am hoping for.
| 
