Shennington
18th March 2007
Saturday Testing summary – I had mixed fortunes in Saturday testing. The day started off reasonably well I had some speed but was concerned with the lack of rear end grip in the chassis. We started to work on the chassis but failed to gain anytime although I did feel I could push the kart harder in the corners. For the third session of the day we changed from the Maxter motor to the TM motor and I found it much easier to drive as the power delivery was much smoother and the gearbox was also slicker. Despite this I still didn’t make any real steps forward until the last session of the day when I few alterations gave me the opportunity to post a respectable lap time of 46.38.
Sunday qualifying heats – To make a long story brief I had a disaster in the qualifying heats. In the first heat I was involved in an accident at the Bruno Chicane. In the second heat I made a poor start from grid 3 and fell back to 10th despite making a strong come back in the latter part of the race to collect 6th and the fastest lap. In the final heat I started 11th on the grid but failed to make it past turn 3 before being collected by another kart.
Sunday Race – After some poor heats I lined up way back on grid 11. But I knew if I could get away cleanly I would have enough pace to be fighting with the leaders. I made a good start and dived down the outside at turn 3 making up another couple of places. I was up to 7th and chasing down British champion Sam Moore. 2 laps later I slipped down the inside of number 7 James Holman to pull myself up in to the top 6. I was now embroiled in six-way scrap for the lead. Nick Goodfellow was next on my list and when Sam Moore pulled out of the slipstream to pass Goodfellow I managed to slip through as well. Then down the long back straight towards Stratford corner I managed to use the slipstream to dive down the inside of Moore and take 3rd. Daniel Bourton was the man occupying second and was a few lengths in front. I put in 4 really quick times all underneath the 46 mark to catch Bourton but Moore and Goodfellow were still hot on my heals and Moore squeezed back down the inside of me going in to the Bruno Chicane. 2 laps later and Moore made a move on Bourton and I managed to slip up the inside of both of them to take 2nd. With all the battling the leader Scott Allen had managed to pull out abit of a gap and with 2 laps left was assured of victory. On the final lap I had to soak up the pressure from Moore, Goodfellow and Bourton who were all fighting hard to get to the front of the group. I defended into Stratford but I went into the Bruno chicane a little too hot and this gave Moore an opportunity to pass me. We were level coming out the corner but there wasn’t enough room for two karts and with neither of us willing to give way we had some contact which resulted in Moore’s retirement from the race but mean that I had an easy cruise to the finish line as Goodfellow and Bourton had also has some contact. It was a great result from 11th on the grid and I certainly showed that I had some good pace. The race it self was very exciting with wheel to wheel racing all the time 5 or 6 drivers were posting very competitive times and if that race is anything to go by we could be in for a very exciting season.
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