Round 4 – Darley Moor – 25^th August

The weather report said it was going to be cloudy for most of the day with no rain …. A bank holiday with no rain !!

With the possibility, yet again for the 3^rd year in a row, that we could win the championship, our plan was to come home with a bag full of points & protect the 2^nd place in the standings.

Qualifying

With the repaired GP engine on, Bob went out & completed 8 laps & qualified 4^th.  When we got back to the pit’s, Bob told me that the engine was quick enough, but there was a problem with the gearbox, so it was decided that we would change just the gearbox & not the complete engine.

Race 1

Bob had a good start & was soon racing Charles Morris for 3^rd place, while at the front Don Thompson & Tom Whyte were having a serious scrap for 1^st which saw them both off track at one point, but Don took the flag from Tom, then Bob in 3^rd, Charles followed by Tony Bury, Simon Bateman & Mike Coombs.

During the break Bob explained that the gearbox problem had gone, but the engine didn’t seem quite right, so when he looked inside it & found the piston ring peg wasn’t there & the ring was stuck, it was a relief to find it now & not half way through the 2^nd race because……............................. It was now just down to Don & Bob to win the championship !!

Race 2

Bob started on the front row & had a flyer of a start with Tony, but as they entered the chicane some 125 karts had spun & it was chaos, Bob took to the grass to avoid them, but Tony, Don & Tom all got caught up but managed to keep going.  The red flag then came out & all the drivers came back to the dummy grid, some missing bit’s of bodywork, but all ok !!

Race 2 – restart

Bob got an awful start & suddenly found himself at the back of the grid & only 9 laps to make up the missed places, but the man on the move was Charles who took the lead from Tom then Don, Simon.  Bob soon passed Dan Bury & Peter Masson & was gaining on Simon, but with the race coming to the end, points mean prizes & Bob backed off, but on the last lap Tom pulled off with engine failure.  Charles took the win & subsequently the “O” plate, from Don in 2^nd, Simon then Bob, Dan & Peter.

So with a 3^rd & 4^th place finishes we got enough points to finish ………………..........................……. 2^nd in the 2008 210 Long Circuit Championship !!

We finished only 24 points behind Don, but Charles & Simon drew on points, so abiding with regulations, Charles finished more races & took 3^rd place from Simon, but you know what ……………………………………. We’ll get them next year !!

Sarah.

Round 3 & British Superkart Grand Prix – Cadwell Park – 19^th & 20^th July

We arrived on Thursday to set things up & survey the weather conditions first thing Friday morning to see if we were going to have a practice, but the reports were that of rain.  So instead, we put the kettle on, had a brew & watched some racing !!

Saturday 19^th July

It was very cloudy & windy with the forecast of heavy showers, so everytime we went down to the grid, we took the wet tyres !!

Qualifying

It had been raining over night, so the track was dry in places, but still wet under the trees.  So Bob didn’t want to push things, so he did enough to qualify 3^rd.

Race 1

The track was 99% dry now, Bob had a good start & as he came passed me on the start finish straight he was in 5^th place & I got the thumbs up.  On lap 4 Charles Morris’s unfortunate reliability problems at Cadwell Park showed up again & he pulled in to the pits, a lap later so did Simon Bateman.  The flag fell to Louise Colin, Don Thompson in 2^nd, followed by Bob, then Tony Bury in 4^th & Dan Bury in 5^th.

Just as we were heading down to the dummy grid for the 2^nd race, the rain came …. In a serious amount !!  On went the wets, but by the time the drivers got onto the track to do the rolling lap, it stopped, but the track was too wet to put slick tyres back on.

Race 2

I couldn’t tell if Bob had a good start or not cause of all the surface spray !!  Bob came around to start lap 2 in 5^th place, but unfortunately on lap 3 he didn’t come around.  As the flag fell, Louise had a 37 second lead over Simon in 2^nd, Peter Masson & Tom followed in 3^rd & 4^th places only separated by 0.02 second, Don in 5^th, Tim Woodward, Tony Bury, Darren Hennell & Dan Bury.

With that being the last race of the day, it gave Bob time to find out that the engines big end broke.  So it was a complete engine change & all sorts, but Bob made it in time for the buffet & trophy presentations in the clubhouse.  Which was very good, because he won a trophy !!

Fastest Oldest Driver of the 2008 British Superkart Grand Prix !!

Sunday 20^th July

The weather reports stated that it would only rain in the afternoon, but just to make sure, we took the wets down to the dummy grid with us !!

Warm Up

So with the refurbished engine put on, Bob went out & was 2^nd fastest on the track behind Charles Morris.

Pre-Final

The grid placing were taken from points awarded over the previous races, so Bob started on the 3^rd row & had a good start & as he came around to start lap 2 he was racing for 5^th place with Tom.  Charles had made his way through from the back of the grid to take the lead from Louise. On lap 4 Simon pulled off with engine failure, followed shortly by Peter & Tony.  Charles took the win, from Louise, Don in 3^rd, Bob in 4^th, Tom & Darren.

Grand Prix

On the rolling lap I could just make out the drivers coming toward me from their helmets, Charles, Louise, Don, Tom, Pete, Simon & Dan, but no Bob.  As the lights went out all drivers had good starts, few laps later Charles didn’t come around, the pack separated enough & the position stayed the same until the end of the race.  We later found out that a tooth off a gear had come off & trapped the gear changing devise.

So Louise took the flag to keep the GP plate for another year, with the 3^rd & 4^th places that bob finished, we’re still in joint 2^nd place, only 13 points behind the leader Don Thompson.  It’s now a month off until the final round & the “O” Plate at Darley Moor on August bank holiday Monday & for the 3^rd year in a row, the title is going to the final race, will it be BPV ……. we’ll have to wait & see !!

Sarah.

Round 2 – Mallory Park – 13^th April

My insider information about it being sunny because it was a SUNday, was right …. It was sunny, when we needed it to be !!

The meeting was run as mainly karts, so we had a free practice, Bob went out & everything seemed ok.  During the break after checking the engine over, just by chance I spotted one of the barrel stud nuts loose, when I picked it up, the whole barrel stud came with it !!  It was then a mad panic to strip the barrel & replace the studs, we did it with minutes to spare before we were called out for qualifying.

Qualifying

The kart looked ok & I got the thumbs up from Bob as he passed me on the pit wall & he qualified 4^th.

When Bob got back to the paddock, he wanted to change a couple of things during the lunch break, we were told our race would be the 1^st straight after lunch & we were due out at 2pm.  With 20 mins to go the engine was in bits & they called our race 10 mins early !!  We had seconds to get to the grid & when we did, all the other karts had left the grid & were on their warm up lap !!  Luckily enough, another warm up lap was given so that Bob could join the pack & take his place on the grid.

Race 1

Bob had a good start & as he came around to start the 2^nd lap he was contending the lead with Charles Morris, Simon Bateman, Don Thompson & Tom Whyte.  Over the following laps Bob dropped back, Charles made a good lead which left Simon, Don & Tom fighting for 2nd place.  With 4 laps to go, Charles didn’t come around & Simon took the lead.  The flag fell to Simon, Don in 2^nd followed by Tom, then Bob in 4^th,

During the break, Bob checked everything & we had time to watch some other kart racing.

Race 2

Bob started on the 2^nd row & again, had a good start, but a couple of laps into the race, the red flag came out.  As the drivers pulled up on the grid, it turns out that a 125 kart had stalled & couldn’t be moved off the track.  When we got told to start the engines again for the race to begin again, all started bar Charles’s, he just managed to get the kart to go before the pack came around to restart the race.

Race 2 – restart

Bob had a good start & was fighting with Dan Bury for 4^th place for a couple of laps, but Bob had a problem & dropped back.  Simon, Don & Charles had a good scrap for the top 3 places & Charles took the win from Simon, Don, Dan & Bob.

So, with 4^th & 5^th place finishes, we left with an overall 3^rd place, but drew on points with Dan, but because Dan finished ahead of Bob, so Dan took the 3^rd place trophy home ……... but .............….…..........  we won the tyre draw !!

We now have a break until the Grand Prix at Cadwell in July.

See you there ??

Sarah.

Round 1 - Oulton Park – 29^th March

The weather report was saying mostly rain for race day, on the way to the circuit, it was lovely blue sky’s, so I thought the weatherman had got it wrong….. nope, from lunchtime, it chucked it down !!

Qualifying

The track was slippy, so Bob went out & did enough to qualify 5^th for the 1^st race.

Race 1

Bob had a good start & when he came around to start the 2^nd lap, he was in the lead from Charles Morris & Simon Bateman, shortly followed by Don Thompson.  As the lap continued Bob dropped back because the track was that greasy, he didn’t want to risk going off.  This meant Charles & Simon took the lead, however, both of them went off, but managed to keep the engines running.  Bob then had a good scrap with Don, who unfortunately pulled off with mechanical failure.  The flag fell to Charles, Simon in 2^nd, Bob 3^rd, Pete Masson 4^th & Mike Coombs in 5^th.

During the lunch interval the engine was checked, everything looked good & we spent 2 hours hiding from the rain.

We were due out about 4pm, but as the rain got heavier it was decided that the track was too water logged to race & race 1 was called the final placings.

Mallory Park next week, hopefully the weather will be better.  I got told that it shouldn’t rain because it’s on a SUNday ….. let’s wait & see !!