BRKC 2020

So, BRKC 2020. Where do I begin? After what I considered to be a decent pre-event build up in terms of on track practice and off track fitness training, and finally feeling like a I had a handle on the ‘normal’ Formula Fast track lay out, I then let myself down by qualifying badly in almost every one of my four heats, as well as failing miserably to get to grips with the ‘alternate’ layout. Rubbish

My second race of the weekend was by far the worst (although even then I did manage an on-track pass, so that’s something) having qualified 9th out of 10, which would have been 10th if not for one driver opting to swaps karts and therefore start from the back. To make matters worse in this particular race the seat mechanism on my kart failed during my (early) pit stop, resulting in my having to complete the race in a less-than-comfortable searing positions, arms and legs out almost straight, which wasn’t ideal. 

In terms of results, my weekend went as follows:

Race 1: Qualified 7th, finished 7th. Nothing to write home about.

Race 2:  Qualified 9th, finished 9th. Disaster, see above.

Race 3: Qualified 7th, finished 8th. Damn you, alternate layout

Race 4: Qualified 7th, finished 6th. However..

Just as I felt my motivation for karting dropping faster than an Alex Vangeen Coke can off the viewing gallery, as was the case last year I ended up putting in an above-average performance in my final race (sadly not reflected in the overall result) whereby I crossed the finish line in sight of a podium, at the back of train of four karts. The fact that the fella ahead in 5th and I had closed down the 3rd and 4th place drivers whilst simultaneously pulling away from the racer behind us is what I found particularly pleasing about this one race. The driver that finished ahead of me even admitted afterwards that he believed he only managed to stay ahead because of a slight power advantage on the straight, so it wasn’t all doom and gloom and I left Milton Keynes with.. well, not a massively positive outlook, but I wasn’t on a downer either so that’s something.

Other positives? Well, the sense of community that’s always prevalent at BRKC was in full effect, and there was a good contingent of drivers from the South West who all admittedly performed better than I did. I was also pleased with how my in-race strategy calls went, which might not have gained me much but also didn’t cost me anything as far as I remember, so that’s something too..

Who knows - maybe I just suck at karting. Or maybe it was because I forgot to put the official BRKC visor strip on my helmet..

As usual a big thanks go to Brad Philpot, Formula Fast, all the drivers and everyone else who made such an event possible. You’re all an incredibly talented bunch, and it was a pleasure to rub shoulder with you once again!

P.S Sam Slater, I haven’t forgotten I owe you a tenner ;-)

The 2020 edition of BRKC was won by Michal Grzyb, ending Ruben Boutens' six year winning streak

'Sim'thing a little different..

Last weekend, following on from a brief session at ‘Simply Race’ in Milton Keynes, pre-BRKC (more on that soon!) I had my first proper go in a race car simulator, up at Vision Motorsport Engineering Products (or VMEP) in Worcestershire.

Having played racing video games since a young age I was really keen to find out how a simulator would compare given the explosion in popularity of sim-racing over the last few years, and I wasn’t disappointed!

Using a bespoke simulator (comprising of a carbon F3 chassis, projector screen, force feedback wheel and a hydraulic braking system) running R Factor software I was able to experience Donington Park national circuit from the relative warmth of VMEP’s impressive facility. 

This followed on from a couple of karting sessions at my local Teamsport circuit whereby my lap chart was analysed alongside my simulator session by VMEP founder Alex Champkin, in return for some constructive feedback.

VMEP run cars in the Clubman Sports Prototype series and therefore know a thing or two about how to pedal a car quickly around a lap, and despite my initial crap-ness (which I’ll put down to a games console mentality) I was soon lapping relatively consistently around a circuit I must admit to not being that familiar with, virtually or otherwise - Thanks to Alex’s input. Following an hour or so of practice in an F3 car I was pleased to be able to string together a run of 10 laps whilst being evaluated, whilst not succumbing to any kind of motion sickness or similar ailment which apparently does affect a percentage of ‘sim’ users..

I have another slot booked in at VMEP in a couple of weeks time, this time around driving a different car around a different circuit, with further evaluation to follow-

I can’t wait!! I’ll be sure to post an update once the session has been completed

See you down the road

Ben

It’s that time of year (again)!

Since the beginning of December I’ve been putting in some laps at Formula Fast in Milton Keynes, in preparation for the BRKC 2020 event. Practice makes perfect, as they say, and after 11 months or so it’s always a good idea to get re-acquainted with the karts/circuit ahead of such a big competition. Although results haven’t exactly gone my way on previous occasions, I’m hoping that at least by putting in both time on the track and in the gym I’ll be able to come away from the 2020 edition satisfied with my own level of performance. Watch this space!

On another (belated) note-

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you in 2020 :D

Ben

KartChamps Local Final & CCKC Round 6

(I do apologise- The first part of this post was written a few weeks back, and I’ve only just got around to finishing it.. Anyway, enjoy!)

Well that was horrendous..

After qualifying for the local Teamsport KartChamps final I experienced a major ‘off’ night and failed to make the cut for the regional final, which is scheduled to take place in Coventry at the end of the month. A near-two hour delay from our scheduled start time (not the circuit’s fault, traffic incidents in and around the local area pushed everything back) meant that I was already itching to just get things over & done with by the time we finally got to sit in a kart, and though I was able to set a competitive time in my weight class during practice I wasn’t entirely happy with the kart I’d been allocated. 

A heavy crash in my first heat race (caused by a driver squeezing me into a wall and then subsequently being rear-ended) set the tone for the rest of the night. A 2nd and 3rd place in my next two races saw me line up third on the grid for my class’ final, with the top 3 due to go through to the next round. However, having not been entirely happy with my kart all evening I decided to roll the dice before the final and switch karts. My thinking behind this was that although potentially I could have maintained position in the race in the kart I had, there was a quick driver starting behind me in 4th who I knew would be difficult to keep behind. I may have ended up swapping into a monster of a kart and running off with a win.. as it transpires, I didn’t.

Three corners into the final, it became apparent that kart 19 had a) no grip whatsoever, resulting in some amusing drifts, and b) no power, meaning I ended up being passed on the up-ramp like I had my foot on the brake. I quickly dropped to 4th, then 5th, 6th so I decided to call it a day there and then rather than slowly sliding my way towards the chequered flag at the back of the field. Not the way I wanted to the night to go by any means, but that being said the top three would have still been very difficult to beat. The results of the races that I did finish lead me to believe that I could still have qualified had I either stuck with the same kart or ended up with a better one, but it is what it is – Best wishes to those drivers in all of the weight classes proceeding to the regional (and hopefully national) finals!  You all deserve it. A big thanks go to the staff at TS Bristol too for staying late and pushing through without a break so that we could all get home some time before midnight!

***

The final round of the 2019 Castle Combe Adult Karting Championship took place on Saturday 14th September, at the earlier time of 9am, allowing those in attendance to then take in the day’s car racing action on the main circuit, which was a nice perk! 

Unfortunately my run of bad form continued as I struggled to adapt to an ever-evolving track surface, never feeling comfortable in any of the karts I drove and only finishing as high as 3rd in any of my races. It was a disappointing end to a year where I’d hoped to be able to be competitive at Castle Combe, and looking back at my performances at the two charity races earlier in the year I’m still confident that if I were to commit to the championship again next year I could perform at a higher level. Time will tell, I guess..

As the season draws to a close, I’ve still got a couple of events to look forward to (including a Covkartsport round at Milton Keynes) whilst also having recently enjoyed my first experience of driving at ‘The Green Hell’ Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, and having a thrash around Thruxton in a Jaguar E-Type! Things are still all go at BJC Racing, and with BRKC 2020 looming on the horizon there’s absolutely no time to let up!! 

Until next time

Ben

TCT Karting Challenge

Castle Combe circuit, Saturday 6th July

Following on from my win at the earlier charity race held at Castle Combe, I again found myself travelling to Wiltshire to race in the TCT Karting Challenge, and event that would run to the same format as the previous Teenage Cancer Trust race only this time the field would be made up of a mix of general public entrants as well as full-on racing drivers who (due to the later start time) had earlier in the day been competing on the main circuit at ‘The Big Race Weekend’. It was an opportunity to measure myself against some very experienced race car drivers, and I hoped that my (thankfully more) immediate knowledge of the karts and kart circuit would at least mean I didn’t end up driving around in last place..

Around 34 drivers took to the track across a series of heat races that would then determine grids for 4 finals, with the lowest-scoring drivers being placed in the first final, and then the top two from that race moving to the back of the grid for the next final etc. Each driver would start one of their three heats from either the front, middle or back of the grid, and I found myself (having signed on fairly early) starting from pole in my first race.

Thankfully I was able to convert the pole to a win having seen off an attack from a from the driver that started in 2nd, which meant I got some good points on the board early on. My next heat saw me start from 3rd on the grid which is where I finished having gained and subsequently lost a place other drivers.

I would then line up in 5th for my final heat but was confident of a higher-placed finish based on the previous results of those starting ahead of me. I did my best to communicate to the driver starting behind me in 6th (and last) that if we worked together we could potentially get to the head of the field, but as usual once racing got underway things quickly got chaotic and just as we began what I think was the third lap I got tapped from behind and half-spun at the bottom hairpin, which dropped me to last. The drivers in first and second had by now pulled ahead and were enjoying their own personal battle, however the chap in third was acting as a kind of cork in a bottle- ‘You Shall Not Pass!’ kind of behaviour so within another lap and a half I’d managed to catch the others, and with a combination of luck and skill I managed to get back up to third place by the time the chequered flag dropped-phew!

This left me starting 8th on the grid in the ‘A’ final which I was more comfortable with than I would have been starting at the head of the ‘B’ final (and with it the chance to potentially NOT make the ‘A’ race) and I was confident of perhaps making up a few places amongst the higher-scoring drivers. Much like my second heat however I gained and lost places in equal measure and crossed the line in 8th place on track, although there were a few post-race penalties applied to drivers who (I assume) finished ahead of me due to contact. All-in-all I was more than happy to have made the ‘final’ final again and it was interesting to see how I managed to get on in a field of experienced and not so experienced  drivers, all in the name of a good cause to boot! 

Again, if you would like any more information about the Teenage Cancer Trust, or karting at Castle Combe please check out the below websites:

https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/
https://castlecombekarting.co.uk/

A few days prior to the TCT event, I also registered my first lap times for TeamSport’s annual KartChamps competition. In order to qualify for the next stage, drivers are required to set a minimum of three lap times across at least three separate events, with this stage of the competition spanning across July and August. Having previously missed out on the last few year’s final stages due to either bad luck, being out of the country or simply not being fast enough I plan to give myself every opportunity to progress further in this year’s competition, where I’ll be competing in the Heavyweight (86-100kg) category- Wish me luck, and I’ll keep you updated!

Ciao for now

Summer Season

After squeezing in a fairly last-minute trip to Mallorca in June, my karting activity was limited to not one but two outings at Castle Combe - Firstly on the 15th, a race organised in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, followed by round three of Castle Combe’s Adult Championship a couple of weeks later

The charity race would have a slightly different format to it than the usual championship rounds, in that all drivers would compete in a ‘final’ of sorts rather than winners from several semi-finals qualifying for a final. The idea being that if one of the lower scoring finalists won his or her ‘final’, they would then move on and start at the back of the grid for the next final (which is made up of higher-scoring drivers) etc until we got to an ‘A’ Final for the highest scoring drivers. 

A pre-event downpour made things.. interesting by the time the field of mixed-experienced drivers took to the track for practice, but by the time the first heat races got underway the circuit was almost home dry. In my first race I started from 3rd on the grid and finished second, but was frustrated with myself for taking perhaps a lap too long to gain a place by which time the leader was out of touch. My next two heats were more straightforward, and I scored two wins from 5th and 1st on the grid respectively. Wiltshire’s micro climate then treated us to another deluge, which made for some amusing racing (which I thankfully got to watch from the dry of indoor hospitality area) before I lined up for my 4th and final heat race, where I would be starting from 2nd on the grid on a still-wet track.

What followed was one of the most bizarre heats I’ve ever raced in at Combe, with every driver spinning at least once on the greasy surface (with or without ‘assistance’) Thankfully my pirouette took place at the very first corner, and after initially dropping down to 4th or 5th I was able to pick my way through the field to cross the line in first place, giving me three wins from four races (one driver *did* manage to win all four of his heats, who I was quick to congratulate) which left me to line up 2nd on the grid in the ‘A’ final. 

As the D, C and B finals progressed, the A finalists watched as the track went from moist to bone dry in all but it’s extremities, which left me feeling confident as I’d earlier claimed the fastest lap of the event in dry conditions, and because the young lad who was starting 3rd had been very quick in the wet. I knew there’d be an opportunity to go around the outside at the first corner if I got a good start, and as the lights went green it was drag race down to turn one.

I was slightly behind as we approached the first corner, a right-hand hairpin bend, with the pole sitter maintaining his advantage. As he’d started on the right, he kept a tight line defending the inside whilst I went outside and turned in late. However, I could only get alongside him (still on the outside) rather than ahead as we approached the right/left chicane and he was able to extend his lead as I brushed the wall on the inside. This dropped me to 4th as more contact followed. The young rain-master was now up to 2nd place, while I found myself behind one of the motorcross helmet-wearing drivers a few of us had earlier identified as being a bit on the aggressive side..

At one point I got more than alongside coming out of the chicane but was rudely squeezed into the wall, dropping me back a few kart lengths. Things weren’t looking good for me at this stage, with the race being so short (only 6 laps or so), my only saving grace being that it was still ultra-slippery at the top hairpin and drivers were still getting all out of shape up there, and that the lead pair were battling hard and therefore not pulling much of a gap. Still, it was to my absolute disbelief when on the final lap of the race, having eventually passed Motorcross guy for 3rd, I saw that the leading pair had tangled at the top hairpin leaving them both pointing the wrong way! I approached the turn cautiously, staying to the far left on the approach whilst trying not to get caught out by all the slime that had dropped from the overhead tress after the last downpour. One or possibly two drivers shot up the inside of me, almost completely out of control and subsequently ran wide, leaving me to pick my way past a few karts like I was flying the Millenium Falcon and dodging asteroids! I couldn’t believe the chaos that had unfolded on the final lap and I navigated the last few corners without drama, finishing a few seconds ahead of the next driver whilst the pair that had led the race (Perfect Score and Young Rainmaster) found themselves crossing the line in 4th and 5th. 

I celebrated with more of a shrug than a clenched fist, but I have to admit that standing on top of the podium for the first time at Castle Combe felt good, particularly as I’d also achieved the fastest lap of the event against some quick drivers- Ok, it wasn’t the same level of competition I’d be facing in the Adult Championship here, but a win’s a win, right? Besides, it was all for a good cause and it also means I get to enter the next charity race (being held in July) for free! 

If you’d like to find out more about the work being done at the Teenage Cancer Trust, you can visit their website here;

https://www.teenagecancertrust.org/

Round 3 of the Adult Championship took place on Saturday 29th June and despite feeling like I’d put on a few kilos thanks to my all-inclusive summer break, I was more confident than usual having only raced at the track a couple of weeks previously.

As usual though the event played out pretty much as each round has for me since I started racing at Castle Combe- A few decent results in my heat races (two seconds and a third) marred by one last-place finish due to contact with a driver who received black and white warning flags for two desperate incidents in the same race (!), which left me starting from 3rd on the grid in my semi-final and unable to challenge a run-away leader because it took me too long to get past the driver who started second. This meant I missed out on a spot on the final AGAIN and left me wishing the CCKC would adopt the A, B, C, D Final format (ala the charity race) rather than that which it has rigorously stuck with for years, which puts the highest scoring (fastest) drivers on pole for each semi-final, almost guaranteeing them a spot in the final..

Anyway, I’ll be hoping to make amends at their next Charity race in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which takes place on Saturday 6 July.

In terms of what I have coming up over the next few weeks and months I’ll be looking to compete in Teamsport’s annual KartChamps competition, as well as scheduling a belated birthday present for my old man which will see him lapping Thruxton in an F-type Jag- Lovely stuff.

We may even fit in some karting at their outdoor circuit!

See you at the track ;-)

Ben

Spring ‘19

April was a busy month here at BJC Racing and the on-track action has been hotting up to match the arrival of Spring! 

First up for me this month was the 2nd round (I’d missed the first) of the SERKC multi-venue Championship, a series put together by Sam Slater & Martin ‘Diego’ Savage, with this round taking place at Teamsport Bristol. Sadly despite being a well-attended & fun event with some great on-track racing, the event ran late which meant I had to cut out early & miss my ‘final’ which was a shame as although I didn’t manage to win any of my heat races I was in a position where I likely would have qualified at the very front of the ‘B’ final, or at the very back of the ‘A’ final- I guess I’ll never know! Despite Martin’s best efforts to get the event going on-time & keep a tight schedule interference by Teamsport’s head office meant those competing in SERKC had to share track time with an Arrive n’ Drive public group, which set us back a bit & as mentioned meant I sadly had to get going before the event finished. A quick thanks to Sam & Martin for putting the series together and I wish them all the best for the rounds to come- More info on SERKC can be found here;

https://www.facebook.com/southenglandrentalkartchampionship/

On Saturday 13th (Unlucky for some)  I found myself unable to resist the urge to attempt to better my round 1 result at the Castle Combe Adult Championship, so found myself making my way up to the Wiltshire circuit for Round 2. Sadly on the day it just wasn’t to be- Having peaked early on the event with a win & a 2nd from my opening races things quickly went downhill; 4th in my 3rd heat (following two botched pass attempts) when I should have really finished 2nd, then a lonely 3rd in my final heat left me starting from 3rd place in my semi-final. An average-at-best kart (No.13, as I said- Unlucky!) left me sliding about all over the place where before I had grip meant I dropped a position and crossed the line a distant 4th. Highly disappointing. 

Again it felt very much like a case of ‘what ifs’ and ‘could have beens’ but at the end of the day I just wasn’t able to race at a consistently high enough standard to make the final. The racing at Castle Combe is *so* competitive and any poor results or slightly iffy machinery really does make it difficult to achieve a great result. The fact I pulled off a slick-as overtake around the outside of turn one in one of my heats was of minor consolation. Whether I’ll be back for round 3 in May I’ve still not decided..

Once Easter was out of the way I had the pleasure of joining a number of drivers local to me for an afternoon of racing- In Milton Keynes! More specifically, the event was being run at the Daytona outdoor circuit using their fleet of DMax karts, and was kindly organised by Kirsty Schnitzer-Street as part of the fledgling ‘Kirsty’s Karting Events’ series (Again, see Facebook for details!)

After an uneventful journey up to MK I met up with the other drivers & was greeted by cloudy skies but cool temperatures & dry track conditions- More or less ideal conditions for my first visit to Daytona since I entered a Covkartsport round here a couple of years ago. For this event we would be using Daytona’s range of DMAX karts, which I believe are more ‘general public’ - friendly versions of Rotax karts (though I might be wrong!) -These are race-tuned two stroke karts that feature a high revving 22bhp, 125cc engine, and they’re a world apart from the ‘Sodi’ karts (12bhp) that I drove the last time I was here!

Seventeen drivers of varying experience took to the circuit following the mandatory safety briefing, for a 10 minute practice/qualifying session followed by a 30 minute race. Whilst I’d never driven these karts on this particular circuit, I felt I was more or less up to speed within a handful of laps, and qualified in 5th place. As the race got underway (using a rolling start format) I managed to avoid the obligatory carnage at the 2nd corner & gained a position to run in 4th place for a few laps. One thing that was really noticeable about these karts compared to my regular machines is that the tyre & brake warm-up is much more noticeable, in that if you aren’t moving for period & then suddenly get up to speed you experience more than a fair bit of understeer, as well as grabby brakes. Once warmed up however the DMAX karts were a pleasure to drive, really allowing you to settle into a rhythm (and at the same time actually feeling more comfortable personally than the slower Sodi karts)

Over the next 8 laps or so I was inevitable caught & passed by a few quicker drivers who had found their feet, dropping to 7th before becoming embroiled in a battle with two other karts that would eventually see me up to 5th place, before a kart issue for Matt Starke promotes me to 4th as the chequered flag fell. 

Once all of the drivers had crossed the line we reconvened to the hospitality area to exchange stories of the race, and for a nice trophy presentation. Whilst I wasn’t too disappointed to have missed out on a podium place (genuinely having thought I’d finished around 6th place) I was pleased to have achieved the 3rd fastest lap of the event (1.08.265), behind only Club 100 & 24hr race starlet Ed Barrs, and Ben Thomas- who coincidentally also finished 1st & 2nd. Milton-Keynes native Ben Winter was 3rd with a best time of 1.08.328, so all in all I was fairly satisfied with how the event went! A big thanks goes to Kirsty for getting everything and everyone organised, and to Paul Starke (father of Matt) for taking some excellent photos!

As I said, a fairly busy month!! On a final note, if you’ve not done so already please feel free to give my Facebook page a ‘Like’, just search for ‘BJC Racing’, and if you are on Instagram my profile name there is ‘bejc1’ :D

Catch y’all soon!

Ben