Kartmasters - Super Libre PF International - 19th August 2007

Heat 1 – I started 25th for the first heat of the day and was raring to go. I played it safe at the start and waited for the accidents to happen in front. I was quickly inside the top 20 and quickly making my way through the field. By the time I was into the top 15 I had joined the back of a big train of karts. I was struggling underbraking and lacked the confidence under braking that the regular 100cc drivers were accustomed too with the sticky tyres. I pulled out to make a move on Daniel Cammish and unfortunately we made some contact and I was forced to retire from the race.

Heat 2 – After a disappointing first heat I started 6th on the grid for the second heat. I made a decent start and was right behind Michael Simpson for the first few laps until I was passed by one driver and was then passed by another 3 drivers as the karts were running in close formation. I was now really struggling and had a few problems with the front brakes. This made me a sitting target into the hairpins. I fell back to an eventual 11th place. Not the start I had hoped for.

Heat 3 – The heavens opened before the start of the third heat and the track was soaked as we went on to the circuit I was starting from 9th in this the final heat of the day. I noticed that something was wrong on the warm up lap though as my steering wheel was very loose and it was very hard to control the kart as I had to make big movements with the wheel to make corrections rather than just little ones. I got punted off on the first corner and fell to the back but managed t make my way back through into the mid pack. But the steering was becoming an ever increasing problem and I lost control going into the first hairpin and had to do a full 360 to get the kart back on the track. This resulted in me dropping to the back of the field which meant after some torrid heats I was destined to start in the B Final the following day.

B Final – After some awful heats I started the B final from 6th on the grid. The track was dry and I knew that if all went well then getting through to the A final by finishing in the top 4 would be a formality. I made a good start and was away well. I made my way up into 5th on the first lap. I then passed Justin Edgar into the second hairpin to take 4th position before moving into 3rd at the end of the first lap I then passed Tillet who was in second on lap 5 before backing off my pace a bit as I started to catch the leader Lee Bell. With the top 4 going through to the A final I knew there was no need to push hard for the win but kept up a decent pace and latched on to the back of Lee Bell for the last two laps. I had a look at overtaking into the first corner at the start of the first lap but thought better of it and played it safe to secure my place in the final. We had changed a few things on the kart for this race and from the off it felt very good and I was looking forward to a hopefully dry first final.

1st final – After qualifying through the final after a solid performance in the B final my plan in this race was to make my way into the top 12 as I was starting from 26th on the grid. Unfortunately the rain had come down heavily before our final and everyone was on wets for this race. I made a good start and quickly started to pick my way through the field putting in a strong performance. I was struggling with some understeer problems which were slowing us down a bit but I managed to stay out of trouble and claim 9th. This meant I would start the final from 9th and with a few chassis alterations for the Final I was confident that I would be in with a real chance of challenging for the podium places in the Grand final.

Grand Final – It was wet again for the final and I was looking forward to what should have been an entertaining race. The chassis felt very good on the warm up lap and I was in a very good frame of mind. I wasn’t quick out of the blocks though as I got caught up with another driver coming onto the straight for the first lap. I fell back from 9th to 12th. Unfortunately at the second hairpin my race ended though as the two drivers in front took each other out and tagged me as they span round. It was a real shame as I felt that we could have definitely been on the podium in this race as the chassis and engine felt very good. Despite this it was a successful weekend as before this week I had never sat in a Super Libre before. 26th to 9th in the first final was a good result and it was a shame I couldn’t have collected some silverware in the Grand Final but these things happen.

I would like to thank Simon Wright and the rest of Team Wright Karts for giving me the opportunity to fight at the sharp end in my first Super Libre race and I look forward to working with them again in the future. My next race will be in two weeks time at Kimbolton as I return to I.C.C duties in the British ICC Championship. I will then compete in the Super I.C.C British Open championship before hopefully returning to direct drive action in the KF1 Winter series.