BIKC National Final

So, this was it. The big one. Some 18 months in the making. The very first British Indoor Karting Championship national final. No pressure then..

Full disclosure. I sucked at this event. It was hot, the circuit (at Teamsport’s Warrington venue) was insanely grippy and long, but above all else the level of competition was just incredible. After all, those invited from all over the country were the best of the best, as our event host reminded us in the pre-race briefing, and how right he was. That, combined with a small handful of drivers who one might consider ‘desperate’ (in that they’d just as soon put you in the wall fighting for 10th place then actually try and focus on catching the drivers ahead) made for a difficult but admittedly well-run event. I was knackered after the first practice session, so I knew things weren’t going to get any easier as the day went on..

Turns out I was right. Other than a 4th or 5th place finish (I can’t remember exactly) in my second heat there was nothing else to shout about in all honesty. I constantly seemed to find myself bottled up behind the same driver I’m every race, either directly behind him or in a train of karts which always seemed to allow the drivers at the front to break away, which was frustrating but it is what it is. I knew I was struggling before I had even driven a competitive lap and therefore maintaining position became my priority rather than moving forward, and even that didn’t always work out..

However, other than the questionable decision to again use rolling starts (as per the regional final) rather than standing starts, I couldn’t really complain- I was after all in the company of the very best indoor kart racers that the UK has to offer, and to represent the Bristol circuit in my weight category of definitely something to be proud of, even if the overall result was nothing to shout about. A huge congratulations goes to Sam Slater for winning the Lightweight category outright, and to Zac Venn for finishing on the podium in the Super Lightweight category - Both drove incredibly well all day and did a great job of representing indoor karting in the South West.

Anyway, enough from me! I’ll be sure to see you at a circuit in the near future

Ciao

Ben