Kimbolton - March
We returned to Kimbolton in March for only my 3rd time at the circuit, with a huge 40 drivers entered, it looked to be an interesting weekend as we looked to get a bit of practice for the East Anglian trophy weekend in May.
*Note: photos are from Whilton Mill as there was no photographer at Kimbolton this weekend*
*Note: photos are from Whilton Mill as there was no photographer at Kimbolton this weekend*
PRACTICE
Practice day was annoying in terms of the weather, as the rain was on and off, leaving the track greasy for the majority of the day. In the wet sessions we were a little off the pace as our tyres were quite old, and there was no point getting new tyres for just a couple of sessions. There was one dry session where a couple of corners were still damp, but I managed to get down to a 44.05 (with a full dry time being 41-42), with the majority of the field being around that time, meaning that pace was promising for tomorrow, which would be more important than usual as there was going to be a timed qualifying to decide our grids for the heats rather than it being randomly allocated positions.
Practice day was annoying in terms of the weather, as the rain was on and off, leaving the track greasy for the majority of the day. In the wet sessions we were a little off the pace as our tyres were quite old, and there was no point getting new tyres for just a couple of sessions. There was one dry session where a couple of corners were still damp, but I managed to get down to a 44.05 (with a full dry time being 41-42), with the majority of the field being around that time, meaning that pace was promising for tomorrow, which would be more important than usual as there was going to be a timed qualifying to decide our grids for the heats rather than it being randomly allocated positions.
QUALIFYING
We went out for Qualifying, attempting to do the fastest lap we could to decide our positions for the heats. It was an absolute disaster for us though, as the track was still greasy at the start. We attempted to compensate for this by increasing in the tyre pressures. However, the track dried a lot quicker than expected, meaning my high pressures were not suited for the circuit, leaving me with lots of oversteer. I could only manage a 42.70, around 1.2 seconds of the pace. We had a lot of work to do, as when the sessions were merged I was 32nd of 40.
CLICK HERE FOR QUALIFYING RESULTS
QUALIFIED: 32ND /40 LAPTIME: 42.70 (+1.19) PERSONAL SCORE: 2/10
We went out for Qualifying, attempting to do the fastest lap we could to decide our positions for the heats. It was an absolute disaster for us though, as the track was still greasy at the start. We attempted to compensate for this by increasing in the tyre pressures. However, the track dried a lot quicker than expected, meaning my high pressures were not suited for the circuit, leaving me with lots of oversteer. I could only manage a 42.70, around 1.2 seconds of the pace. We had a lot of work to do, as when the sessions were merged I was 32nd of 40.
CLICK HERE FOR QUALIFYING RESULTS
QUALIFIED: 32ND /40 LAPTIME: 42.70 (+1.19) PERSONAL SCORE: 2/10
HEAT 1
In the first heat, I started 22nd of 26 (as the grids had been split due to the excessive amount of entries). There was a lot of fighting for positions during the race, but I managed to gain a few places, and with a few bumper penalties I managed to finish 14th on much better pace with lower pressures. We still weren't as quick as we would've liked, but we were getting there. This was a huge relief for us as we were really worried about being in the B Final after the woeful qualifying but we were now on the right track.
*HEAT 1 RESULTS UNAVAILABLE*
FINISHED: 14TH /26 (+8) LAPTIME: 42.21 (18TH, +0.63) PERSONAL SCORE: 6/10
In the first heat, I started 22nd of 26 (as the grids had been split due to the excessive amount of entries). There was a lot of fighting for positions during the race, but I managed to gain a few places, and with a few bumper penalties I managed to finish 14th on much better pace with lower pressures. We still weren't as quick as we would've liked, but we were getting there. This was a huge relief for us as we were really worried about being in the B Final after the woeful qualifying but we were now on the right track.
*HEAT 1 RESULTS UNAVAILABLE*
FINISHED: 14TH /26 (+8) LAPTIME: 42.21 (18TH, +0.63) PERSONAL SCORE: 6/10
HEAT 2
We started 21st for the second heat, and this was one of my better races, as I made multiple overtakes, and after being in a pack of karts where it was difficult to get a good lap in, my theoretical best time (all my best sectors added together) was a 41.9, which would've been my best lap around Kimbolton. We finished 14th again, securing our place in the A Final.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 14TH /26 (+7) LAPTIME: 42.19 (15TH, +0.61) PERSONAL SCORE: 8/10
We started 21st for the second heat, and this was one of my better races, as I made multiple overtakes, and after being in a pack of karts where it was difficult to get a good lap in, my theoretical best time (all my best sectors added together) was a 41.9, which would've been my best lap around Kimbolton. We finished 14th again, securing our place in the A Final.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 14TH /26 (+7) LAPTIME: 42.19 (15TH, +0.61) PERSONAL SCORE: 8/10
FINAL
We started 19th for the A Final (after we managed to avoid the B Final), and had high hopes to come through and get a good result. However, it turned out to be one of the dirtiest races I've ever been involved in, with crashes left right and centre, lots of avoidable contact, and myself getting involved in a few incidents; including being smashed into the driver in front on the rolling start, causing my front bumper to drop down, thus giving me a penalty, which was extremely unfair. I also got squeezed up a huge kerb causing there to be a crack in the underneath of my chassis. It was a race full of carnage, and my bumper penalty left me in a miserable 28th position.
CLICK HERE FOR A FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 28TH /40 (-9) LAPTIME: 42.25 (18TH, +0.57) SCORE: 4/10
We started 19th for the A Final (after we managed to avoid the B Final), and had high hopes to come through and get a good result. However, it turned out to be one of the dirtiest races I've ever been involved in, with crashes left right and centre, lots of avoidable contact, and myself getting involved in a few incidents; including being smashed into the driver in front on the rolling start, causing my front bumper to drop down, thus giving me a penalty, which was extremely unfair. I also got squeezed up a huge kerb causing there to be a crack in the underneath of my chassis. It was a race full of carnage, and my bumper penalty left me in a miserable 28th position.
CLICK HERE FOR A FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 28TH /40 (-9) LAPTIME: 42.25 (18TH, +0.57) SCORE: 4/10
Overall, it was a fun weekend. After all, it was just a bit of practice for the East Anglian, which in turn is only a bit of fun, allowing me to keep up to speed for the Whilton Mill club championship. We come back in a few weeks for Round 3 of the WMKC championship, with the East Anglian in May at Kimbolton, so be sure to tune in for those.
WMKC ROUND 3: 25TH MARCH
WMKC ROUND 3: 25TH MARCH
