NKF ICC Warden Law
16th September 2007
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Testing – With the cream of the UK’s top ICC drivers racing it was going to be a tough weekend and as always with the ICC class going to be very close. Testing went well and we found a good balance in the chassis and the engines also felt very strong. I was on the pace and was looking forward to race day.
Heat 1 – I started the first heat of the day from 13th on the grid and made a decent start and was up into 8th after the first lap. It was short lived though as I tried to make a move on the 0 plate Tom Moore. I got alongside him into the corner we rubbed pods and he deliberately turned into the side of me. This span me round and effectively ended my race. I then cruised round and saved my tires.
Heat 2 – After a poor first heat I was starting from grid 6 in the second heat and was looking for a good result to get me back on track. I had a good first lap and was up into second position behind number 50 Daffyd Iles. I managed to pass him at the end of lap two and from there I managed to build a gap over the chasing pack to take the win.
Heat 3 – I was on grid 2 for the final heat of the day alongside John Church and just ahead of Tom Moore and Tom Duggan. I got a good start and managed to take the lead into the first corner. The kart felt really good and the balance was now perfect. I pulled away lap by lap to take my second win of the day.
Final – Two wins and a DNF meant I would start the final from 5th on the grid alongside number 1 Sam Moore who had suffered an engine failure earlier in the day. Iles was on pole with Duggan alongside and Will Hibbert on P3. After several false starts we were finally given the green light and I managed to get a good start and was up into 4th after the first corner. By the end of the first lap I was past Duggan and into 3rd. The nature of the Warden Law circuit with its very tight twisty infield section makes overtaking in the ICC extremely difficult. I spent the next eight laps behind 2nd place man Iles with Sam Moore closely following me. On lap 9 Iles made a slight mistake coming on to the main straight which allowed me to get close enough to the back of him to slipstream him up the straight. I pulled alongside and left my braking as late as possible to take 2nd position. I was now in free air as Will Hibbert had pulled out a second lead on the chasing pack. This meant I could now use my pace but with only 2 laps left I was going to have to get the hammer down. I was catching Hibbert very quickly on the last 2 laps slicing down his lead to 0.29 of a second by the end of the race setting the fastest lap of the race at 50.13 over 0.25 quicker than anyone else. The Gillard chassis handled superb and the Andy Fairless TM engine was very strong.
I think we made some significant steps forward this weekend despite not taking the win. The kart felt very good and hopefully I can take the pace I had at Warden Law to the last round of the British Championship in a months time at Fulbeck.
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