|
|
 |
« on: June 16, 2010, 09:53:58 AM UTC » |
|
Hi guys I know its been a while but been concentrating on the racing, this years Kimbolton gearbox (KZ2) kart championship.
So the weekend just gone was the (non-championship) East Anglian Trophy Meeting which we decided to enter at the last minute, budget restraints meant we wernt sure whether to go for it but did.
The meeting consisted of 2 days, saturday and sunday, saturday was 3 practice sessions, 10 minute timed qualifying and heat 1 (8 minutes + 1 lap)
Practice was ok, each session getting better with changes to the setup improving stability out the turns which weve struggled with this year. We put on the new tyres for the qualifying.
I did about 8 laps in qualifying which i thought went ok, looked at the timer and set my fastest time on my last lap a 37.3, i pulled in the pits... was weighed in ok and had tyres marked (as have to use one set per meeting only) I then went to check out the times, 6th fastest and I was very dissapointed, expected more, 2nd to 7th split by 0.2 secs!
Heat 1 i started 6th, got a good start and was up to 2nd, then I got barged in turn 1 by kart no.9 which put me back, on lap 3 into turn 1 there was a crash which put me back to 3rd also involving kart 9, about 7 laps passed chasing kart no. 90 hard and at the end of the flat out back straight into a right hander i got a clip at the rear from kart no.9 which put me slightly sideways in the braking area which meant I then hit no.90 which put us both off, I let him go first we then rejoined and then I overtook him, i finished 4th, him 5th.
6 of us had to see the clerk of the course and explain ourselves, 1 driver got points on licence and disqualified, another disqualified for being underweight! eventful race...
Onto sunday and practice went ok, heat 2 grids were decided from heat 1 finish and as 2 had been disqualified this put me 2nd on the grid! A great start and I took the lead, after about 6 laps I was passed and was holding a steady 2nd with a good gap, but I then half spun it which allowed 3rd to pass me, going onto the back straight his carb fell off allowing me to take 2nd, a good result!
2nd for the prefinal grid and I got a bad start which put me down to 5th, a crash in turn 1 put me 3rd and a further 15 grueling laps of hard chasing I got 3rd. I over-revved the engine 3 times by going wrong with the gears, usually changing gear at 13,800, the most it went to was 16,300! I didnt even think to change the piston...
3rd place start for the final and I was feeling very confident, we had made setup changes and engine changes and I was happy. A poor start but I made my way back through to 3rd and I had about a 8 kart lenght gap to 2nd, I reeled this in in 3 laps and was chasing hard, I was confident of passing into turn 1 and was planning my move when flat out in 6th gear in the draft on the back straight....
... my engine seized and spat me straight off the track, totally gutted after a hard weekend and coming away with nothing, no prizes... no podium...
I have taken the engine apart and it appears the ring and piston damaged one side, this has then seized on one side forcing it over to the other side, most probably caused by the over-revving in pre-final.
A great weekend until the end but very promising, competing well on a slightly older engine than most, very hopeful for the rest of the season, currently running 3rd in the championship and confident of improving the position and going well!
|
