WMKC18 Round 4
The fourth round of the Whilton Mill Kart club championship saw one of the strongest grids i have ever seen at a club round, and plenty of the drivers within a chance of a seeded number at the British Championships this season; it was going to be tough.
PRACTICE
On practice day, for the first half of the day it was incredibly grippy - in fact, almost too grippy, as times struggled to reach the low 45s due to the bad release off corners because the tyres were sticking to the floor so much. However, throughout the day we seemed close to the front runners' pace, being around 2 tenths off the fastest all day despite being on relatively old tyres. For the final session there was a short rain shower, which actually benefitted the circuit because the rain was gone within minutes and it had washed away a bit of the rubber on circuit without it being damp for too long. This meant by the time we went out, the track had gone back down to normal levels of grip. We managed to do a 45.16 laptime, with the fastest being around a 44.9, so considering the age of our tyres, we were in a decent position for race day.
On practice day, for the first half of the day it was incredibly grippy - in fact, almost too grippy, as times struggled to reach the low 45s due to the bad release off corners because the tyres were sticking to the floor so much. However, throughout the day we seemed close to the front runners' pace, being around 2 tenths off the fastest all day despite being on relatively old tyres. For the final session there was a short rain shower, which actually benefitted the circuit because the rain was gone within minutes and it had washed away a bit of the rubber on circuit without it being damp for too long. This meant by the time we went out, the track had gone back down to normal levels of grip. We managed to do a 45.16 laptime, with the fastest being around a 44.9, so considering the age of our tyres, we were in a decent position for race day.
HEAT 1
For heat 1, we started 8th, and we got up to 5th in the first few laps, and was running well with a gap to the drivers behind, however I made a small mistake and submerged into a battle that I shouldn't have been involved in, only managing 10th in the end. Other than the one mistake, the pace was fantastic, setting my personal best time and finally dipping into the 44s. We were 2 tenths off the quickest but there were only a couple on this pace, the rest were similar to me.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 1 RESULTS
FINISHED: 10TH /32 (-2) LAPTIME: 44.95 (8TH, +0.23) PERSONAL SCORE: 7/10
For heat 1, we started 8th, and we got up to 5th in the first few laps, and was running well with a gap to the drivers behind, however I made a small mistake and submerged into a battle that I shouldn't have been involved in, only managing 10th in the end. Other than the one mistake, the pace was fantastic, setting my personal best time and finally dipping into the 44s. We were 2 tenths off the quickest but there were only a couple on this pace, the rest were similar to me.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 1 RESULTS
FINISHED: 10TH /32 (-2) LAPTIME: 44.95 (8TH, +0.23) PERSONAL SCORE: 7/10
HEAT 2
In the second heat, we started 24th, and we had a really bad race, after getting up to around 17th, we got involved in multiple fights (causing us to not get a clean lap), and came off worse in most of them, finishing in a terrible 24th position.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 24TH /32 (=) LAPTIME: 45.63 (24TH, +0.61) PERSONAL SCORE: 4/10
In the second heat, we started 24th, and we had a really bad race, after getting up to around 17th, we got involved in multiple fights (causing us to not get a clean lap), and came off worse in most of them, finishing in a terrible 24th position.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 2 RESULTS
FINISHED: 24TH /32 (=) LAPTIME: 45.63 (24TH, +0.61) PERSONAL SCORE: 4/10
HEAT 3
We started 17th for the third heat, and after a decent start we got punted wide, losing 10 or more positions. We continued to get in needless fights for the rest of the race, only to finish 22nd.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 3 RESULTS
FINISHED: 22ND /32 (-5) LAPTIME: 45.46 (17TH, +0.40) SCORE: 4/10
We started 17th for the third heat, and after a decent start we got punted wide, losing 10 or more positions. We continued to get in needless fights for the rest of the race, only to finish 22nd.
CLICK HERE FOR HEAT 3 RESULTS
FINISHED: 22ND /32 (-5) LAPTIME: 45.46 (17TH, +0.40) SCORE: 4/10
FINAL
After a few miserable heats, we needed to bounce back in the final. I started 19th, and was in a midfield battle the whole race, although it wasn't where I wanted to be, I still came out on top of the group I was in, finishing 15th. We were also a little off the pace due to the kart sliding on entry to the corners and a lack of speed at the end of the straight, so all in all we didn't do too badly considering the circumstances.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 15TH /32 (+4) LAPTIME: 45.51 (22ND, +0.48) PERSONAL SCORE: 6/10
After a few miserable heats, we needed to bounce back in the final. I started 19th, and was in a midfield battle the whole race, although it wasn't where I wanted to be, I still came out on top of the group I was in, finishing 15th. We were also a little off the pace due to the kart sliding on entry to the corners and a lack of speed at the end of the straight, so all in all we didn't do too badly considering the circumstances.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FINAL RESULTS
FINISHED: 15TH /32 (+4) LAPTIME: 45.51 (22ND, +0.48) PERSONAL SCORE: 6/10
We are still 6th in the championship, and around 92 points off the lead after dropping points in the bad heats. From now on the grids should be a little less crazy, so next up lies the opportunity to gain some solid points and results. Thanks to AIR Motorsport and all the family for the help and support.
NEXT TIME: EAST ANGLIAN TROPHY
12-13 MAY AT KIMBOLTON (HKRC)
WHILTON MILL ROUND 5: 27 MAY
NEXT TIME: EAST ANGLIAN TROPHY
12-13 MAY AT KIMBOLTON (HKRC)
WHILTON MILL ROUND 5: 27 MAY
