And just like that, it’s already November!
Thankfully my anti-rain dance worked at the weekend and I managed to avoid getting absolutely soaked at the final round of Castle Combe’s 2022 Karting Championship, although the track was still very greasy for most of the afternoon, and ironically I actually performed better when the circuit wasn’t almost dry ..
Around 60 drivers entered the final round, with drivers in the top 50% of the championship standings racing in the afternoon -
I’d just scraped in being ranked 27th overall before the final round, and consequently avoided the heavy showers that hit the area earlier in the day.
As usual, the event would be made up of a practice session, several heat races and a ‘final’ for all drivers. The staff had good fun scaring people into thinking they had arrived late due to the clocks going back the night before, and overall I think everyone really enjoyed the day!
Practice went ok, and after picking up some useful tips from the encyclopaedic Oliver Bayani, I lined up 2nd on the grid for my first race -
The wider, wet line around the outside of turn one was going to be in use for most of the afternoon, and I made a cracking start to the race, going around the outside of pole man Seb Miller into the first right-hander. Seb, on the inside and subsequently on the greasy tarmac, slid sideways into me on the exit of the corner, but I survived while he had further contact and half spun. In the end I won the heat by a few seconds, much to my surprise!
My second heat saw me start 4th and finish 3rd, as I made a move around the outside of Shane Lucas through turns 7 and 8 -
So far, so good (again, against expectations).
Things started to go downhill in my 3rd race when, starting 4th but having another fantastic launch (I think I was up to 2nd after turn one), I then spun after turn 2, dropping to 5th (i.e. last) place. My pace however was good and by the end of the heat I had caught and passed Mark O’Grady, who was in with a shout of finishing in the overall top 3 for the ‘Masters’ category this weekend.
For my 4th and final heat, I again lined up
2nd on the grid, made (another) good start but then got squeezed into the wall and dropped to 3rd. I was able to stick with the driver in 2nd but then rather than settling for third and taking the points available I made one of my worst errors in recent memory:
I made a much better exit out of turn 2 than the driver ahead, and pulled ahead of him as we approached the top hair bit, but on the outside. Rather than staying on the racing line however and taking the wider wet line (as I had in my previous races), I wrongly decided to ‘shut the door’ as soon as I was ahead, moving to the inside of the track. As soon as I hit the brakes I knew I’d been over ambitious.. The kart slid uncontrollably, feeling like it was accelerating rather than slowing down. I awkwardly bumped into Seb, who was leading, and in all honesty was lucky not to receive a black and white warning flag. I got again, now 5th, and crossed the line on rear bumper of the driver in 4th.
The results from my final two heats undid the good points scored in the first two, which meant I found myself lining up 7th on the grid for the ‘B’ final, where the top 2 would then progress on to the back of the ‘A’ final grid. By that point in the day I was beating myself up a bit for the silly errors I’d made, and in all honesty my heart wasn’t really in it. I lost two positions on the opening lap, getting squeezed towards the inside wall on the approach to turn one, and from then on I just generally lacked the confidence to ‘send it’ at any point, given what had happened in my 4th heat (despite the fact the track was now dry in most places). I eventually finished in 8th position, well clear of 9th and on the back of a train of three or four other karts, but I was glad when the chequered flag was shown. Sometimes, I guess that’s just how things go ..
Still, the drivers in the ‘A’ final put on a good race (I was particularly pleased for Jamie Higgins, who had driven well all day and was right in the thick of it) and it was fun witnessing the end-of-season trophy presentations once the final points had been added up. A big congratulations go to all of the winners, and a big thanks to all the Castle Combe staff, who ran yet another slick event and kept a tight ship -
I’ll look forward to seeing everyone again when the 2023 season gets under way!
Next up for me is the annual British Rental Kart Championship event in January, taking place at the excellent Formula Fast circuit in Milton Keynes. Hopefully the ‘23 version won’t be postponed like this year’s was, but what will be, will be!
Until then, take care -
And have fun :D
Ben
