Sum’ 21

(That’s Summer, 2021!)

Race Reports

What: Summer Championship Round 1

Where: Teamsport Bristol

When: 15th July 2021

Format: ‘GP1’ (Practice, F1-style qualifying, Two 20 minute races). Several weight classes competing on track at the same time

Summary: After getting knocked out in the equivalent of Q1 (not good!) I made an ok start to Race 1 but was then the victim of a dive-bomb at the hairpin at the bottom of the up ramp, which put me dead last. From there I was able to fight my way back past all of the other ‘heavyweight’ drivers and therefore finish 1st in class, but only something like 14th ‘on the road’..

The grid for the second race was determined by best lap times from race one, and therefore I found myself starting ahead of the drivers I’d had to battle with previously, but did put me in a kind of no man’s land between the lighter, faster drivers and those I’d started ahead of. I was able to mix it up with some of the drivers who started in front, but other than a brief yellow flag period the race was fairly uneventful from my point of view. Regardless, I was happy to take maximum points in my weight class and will be looking forward to round two of the Summer Championship!

What: Castle Combe Karting Championship

Where: Castle Combe

When: 25th July 2021

Format: Practice, Heat Races, Finals for all drivers (determined by points scored during the heats). No separate weight categories 

Summary: Awesome day! Scored my best-ever result at Castle Combe with 7th overall (out of 41 drivers). Won two of my heats after an inconspicuous start (4th, from 4th on the grid in heat 1) which, together with a 3rd place from my third heat, automatically put me in the ‘A’ final where I gained a further position from where I started, so overall a really satisfying performance. As usual the event ran smoothly and was only interrupted by a couple of red flag incidents which were brought on by some.. ambitious moves, none of which were in any of my races thankfully! 

After the disappointing performance I put in at the BIKC final I definitely feel that a more ‘back to basics’ approach might be working for me, and I hope to continue with some momentum into my next couple of events ..

What: Summer Championship Round 2

Where: Teamsport Bristol

When: 29th July 2021

Format: ‘Hot Pursuit’ (5 minute practice, 60 minute race with slowest drivers ‘eliminated’ as the clock runs down). Several weight classes competing on track at the same time

Summary: In what was certainly a unique event as far as the format was concerned, I managed to recover from another awful qualifying position and claw my way back to head of the heavyweight field to take maximum points in this second Summer Series round.

Driving a kart that didn’t particularly enjoy turning right (always useful on a clockwise circuit!) I avoided the inevitable first lap hairpin dive bomb by the Red Bull-suited driver and was able to gradually move forward through each ‘stage’ of the race (I’d try and explain the format in more detail but if I’m being honest I didn’t really understand completely what was going on..), finally becoming the lead heavyweight driver with only a handful of laps remaining.

Anyway, that’s two (class) wins from two in Teamsport Bristol’s ‘Summer Series’, and I’m already looking forward to the next round which is due to take place in a couple of weeks time

What: Summer Championship Round 3

Where: Teamsport Bristol

When: 12th August 2021

Format: ‘Chase the Ace’ (Single lap qualifying, 45 minute race with mandatory pit stops). Several weight classes competing on track at the same time

Summary: Another night at Teamsport Bristol, another (heavyweight class) win, this time racing using the tried and tested ‘Chase the Ace’ format -  a straightforward 45 minute race with mandatory pit stops. Drivers can choose to either pit once, twice or three times during the race (the less stops you do, the longer the time spent ‘held’ in the pit lane) which adds a nice strategic element to the event.

As per previous form my qualifying result was average at best, leaving me to start in the middle of the pack, but I was able to get away fairly cleanly and attack a couple of the drivers ahead of me in the opening part of the race. We weren’t able to pit in the opening or closing five minutes of the race, but it wasn’t long before drivers started heading in. I’d decided quote early on (knowing I probably didn’t have the outright pace to ‘undercut’ many of the drivers ahead) that I would stop once, as later in the race as possible. This strategy actually saw me leading race outright for a significant period of time, and I believe I was one of the last drivers to pit around ten minutes from the chequered flag. As the clock ticked down I was able to set a new personal best lap time of 37.2 secs, and secured myself a heavyweight class win, crossing the line right on the back of a group of lighter/generally faster drivers. 

What was most satisfying about the race for me was that I don’t think I was actually passed on track at any stage, and the overtakes I made (of which there were a good handful) were clean and decisive, so all in all a good night was had!