WMKC18 ROUND 3
The 3rd round of the WMKC championship had another huge grid, with 34 top quality drivers entered and almost 300 across all classes making it a record high for the club.
PRACTICE
Most of Saturday was wet and greasy on the circuit, meaning times were varying from 57s to 54s throughout the day. However, I seemed to be on the pace all day, being close if not matching the quickest drivers in every condition. This gave us a lot of confidence as the kart and me were working well together, and this set us up for a decent race day.
Most of Saturday was wet and greasy on the circuit, meaning times were varying from 57s to 54s throughout the day. However, I seemed to be on the pace all day, being close if not matching the quickest drivers in every condition. This gave us a lot of confidence as the kart and me were working well together, and this set us up for a decent race day.
HEAT 1
For the first heat, we started 23rd, and had quite a poor race all in all. This was the first dry race all weekend, meaning the setup was a slight gamble, and the rear seemed quite unstable. We also got in a tangle with another driver, causing me to spin, causing my bumper to drop down (giving me a 10 second penalty). We had a small fightback; although it didn't matter too much as the bumper penalty dropped me to 26th.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 1 RESULTS
FINISHED: 26TH / 34 (-3) LAPTIME: 45.52 (17TH, +0.45) PERSONAL SCORE: 5/10
For the first heat, we started 23rd, and had quite a poor race all in all. This was the first dry race all weekend, meaning the setup was a slight gamble, and the rear seemed quite unstable. We also got in a tangle with another driver, causing me to spin, causing my bumper to drop down (giving me a 10 second penalty). We had a small fightback; although it didn't matter too much as the bumper penalty dropped me to 26th.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 1 RESULTS
FINISHED: 26TH / 34 (-3) LAPTIME: 45.52 (17TH, +0.45) PERSONAL SCORE: 5/10
HEAT 2
We started 6th for the second heat, and we had an ok start, the tyres not coming on straight away causing me to drop to 8th or 9th. However, at about the midpoint of the race, I fought back through to 5th, setting my personal best time of a 45.10 whilst I was at it, and a theoretical best time (three best sectors added together) of a 44.95, which would have been my first sub-45 second time ever. This lead to me having a great last lap battle for 4th, which I just conceded, however it was great fun and a much needed good result - my first since the heat win in January.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 5TH /34 (+1) LAPTIME: 45.10 (9TH, +0.23) PERSONAL SCORE: 9/10
We started 6th for the second heat, and we had an ok start, the tyres not coming on straight away causing me to drop to 8th or 9th. However, at about the midpoint of the race, I fought back through to 5th, setting my personal best time of a 45.10 whilst I was at it, and a theoretical best time (three best sectors added together) of a 44.95, which would have been my first sub-45 second time ever. This lead to me having a great last lap battle for 4th, which I just conceded, however it was great fun and a much needed good result - my first since the heat win in January.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 5TH /34 (+1) LAPTIME: 45.10 (9TH, +0.23) PERSONAL SCORE: 9/10
HEAT 3
Heat 3 was a decent race. I started 24th, and was in the mid pack fight for a while, still managing a couple of half decent lap times and pulling off some good overtaking manoeuvres. I managed to get up to 17th on the road, but bumper penalties pushed me up to 13th, so gaining eleven places overall; not too bad.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 3 RESULTS
FINISHED: 13TH /34 (+11) LAPTIME: 45.28 (9TH, +0.28) PERSONAL SCORE: 8/10
Heat 3 was a decent race. I started 24th, and was in the mid pack fight for a while, still managing a couple of half decent lap times and pulling off some good overtaking manoeuvres. I managed to get up to 17th on the road, but bumper penalties pushed me up to 13th, so gaining eleven places overall; not too bad.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 3 RESULTS
FINISHED: 13TH /34 (+11) LAPTIME: 45.28 (9TH, +0.28) PERSONAL SCORE: 8/10
FINAL
The tally of points from the heats left me starting 11th for the final, which was annoying because if I hadn't of had a bumper penalty in the first heat, I could've started in the top 5. We proceeded on, and I made my way up to 9th from the start, and into a huge train for 3rd place, where I made a mistake, going wide and submerging into the mid pack where I got into several tangles which severely ruined my race. This was highly frustrating as it could've been a great final, but I ended up in a shocking 26th place.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 26TH /34 (-15) LAPTIME: 45.25 (16TH, +0.35) PERSONAL SCORE: 2/10
The tally of points from the heats left me starting 11th for the final, which was annoying because if I hadn't of had a bumper penalty in the first heat, I could've started in the top 5. We proceeded on, and I made my way up to 9th from the start, and into a huge train for 3rd place, where I made a mistake, going wide and submerging into the mid pack where I got into several tangles which severely ruined my race. This was highly frustrating as it could've been a great final, but I ended up in a shocking 26th place.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 26TH /34 (-15) LAPTIME: 45.25 (16TH, +0.35) PERSONAL SCORE: 2/10
This left me 6th in the championship and just 54 points off the lead, which considering the awful final that we had, this wasn't too bad. The dream of getting top 3 in the championship is still alive, but I have work to do so that I can regain the lost points. I know I have it in me though, as January's win and this month's 5th place have shown. We must now move on to the next one. Thanks to Alex and Graham at AIR Motorsport, my Dad for being a great mechanic; special mention to Sam Dickins for being a great help as an up and coming mechanic, and thanks to my whole family for supporting me.
CLICK HERE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
ROUND 4: 22 APRIL
CLICK HERE FOR CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
ROUND 4: 22 APRIL
