2021 is Go, Go, Go !!

Hello! Been a while, hasn’t it?! As the UK’s current lockdown restrictions gradually loosen and with summer fast approaching, I thought it was about time I dusted off the ol’ race suit and helmet and got back out on track! 

After almost six months without karting, the first round of Castle Combe’s Adult Championship seemed like the best place to kick off my racing year, in the hope that the still-to-be rescheduled 2020 BIKC ‘regional’ final would soon be announced also. A full capacity of 48 drivers descended on the small Wiltshire circuit on April 25th, for what was sure to be an afternoon of action-packed motorsport.

After a short practice session, drivers were put into a series of heat races to determine which final they would qualify for. For my first heat I lined up 6th on the grid and gained two positions in the race to finish 4th, but felt a top three finish was on the cards but for some robust defending. However, given how difficult it is to pass cleanly on this particular track I wasn’t too disheartened at this stage.

For my second heat I started from 1st position, got a clean start and lead from the opening lap through to the chequered flag under quite a bit of pressure from the driver behind. It’s always important to convert poles into wins when you are handed the opportunity to start at the front, and I was more than pleased with this result.

In my third race I was 5th on the grid, and this one pretty much summed up my afternoon: I lost out on the opening lap to fall to 6th (and last) position, only to then hang on to the train of karts battling for 3rd, 4th and 5th. With a lap and a half to go I made a move around the outside of the top hairpin to claw back the place I’d lost on lap one, and hung on in there until the chequered flag was shown. One to forget about.

My final heat saw me start from 2nd position and this was far and away my strongest race of the day. I got a great start to draw alongside the pole man as we approached turn one, then went all the way around the outside of him to take the lead. I ended up winning comfortably as those behind me fought one another. If only they were all this easy ..

The results from the heat races were then fed into Castle Combe’s state of the art computer system* which produced grids for the ‘finals’, with the highest scoring drivers qualifying for the ‘A’ final, the next group the ‘B’ final, etc. The top two from each final before the ‘A’ race would progress on to the back of the grid for the next final, so all is not completely lost if a driver hasn’t scored particularly well in his or her heat races. I would start from 4th place in the ‘B’ final..

Unfortunately this last race was a bit of a non-event for me, as I gained and then lost a position on the opening lap to cross the finish line a distant fourth, but well ahead of four other drivers in a kind of karting no man’s land .. It was a slightly disappointing way to finish the day and I was a bit gutted to miss out on a place in the ‘A’ final, but will happily admit that the earlier heat race results were of my own making, and that I had struggled a bit in my final with a slightly ‘slidey’ kart and therefore didn’t really have the pace to be in the top eight. Still, to be 12th out of 48 drivers..

Positives? Well, in terms of finishing position vs starting position I didn’t actually lose out at all, moving forward in two of my five races. I also found that in visualising how I wanted my race starts to go (once I knew my starting positions)  helped a great deal in terms of calming any pre-race nerves, positioning my kart in turn one etc, so that’s something I’ll definitely be looking to do more of in the future. Overall the event was just a great way to blow out the cobwebs after not karting for so long, and as usual I’d like to thank the organisers for keeping things running smoothly all day.

Next up, it was back to Herefordshire Raceway in, er, Herefordshire for round one of Rapikart’s 2021 championship, which took place on May 8th. Similar in format to Castle Combe’s championship (with drivers competing in several heat races before progressing to a final), the main difference with RapiKart is that the field is also split up into weight categories, which makes things a little fairer for those on the slightly heavier side in that they don’t have to compete directly with drivers weighing less than 75-80kg..

I can hand on heart say that this event turned out to be one of the most miserable experiences I’ve had in a kart for a long time. Awful weather, below-par kart parity, some questionable driving standards and couldn’t-give-a-damn marshalling added up to a morning where I’d have rather been anywhere else, I’m sad to say..

Average heat results led to an average finishing position in the average ‘B’ final, in which I was overtaken under yellows without any penalty applied to the driver that did so, which pretty much summed up my day, so the less said, the better. Still, thanks go to RapiKart for organising the event, and if you’re planning on attending round two at Mansell Raceway I’m sure I’ll see you there. I just hope the weather is a little better ..

Anyway, that’s all the news I have for the time being. As stated above, hopefully there will soon be some confirmation as to when / where the rescheduled BIKC regional final will take place, but until then..

Thanks for reading!

Ben

* Computer system may not in fact be state of the art.. :P

Merry Christmas

And just like that, my racing year has come to an end. What a strange one 2020 has been, huh? 

Still, this year wasn’t all doom and gloom -

BRKC in January got the the year off on the right foot, before that weird period of March to June which feels like it didn’t really happen..

Following on from that saw me pick up ‘Rookie of the Day’ at Rapikart’s Hereford round, qualify for the (still postponed) BIKC regional final, and last but not least finish on the podium during an event held in heavy rain up at Castle Combe

That last race took the form of an ‘open’ Grand Prix event at the little Wiltshire circuit, which ran in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust (with a portion of each driver’s entry fee going to the charity). Three wins and a third from my heat races saw me line up third on the grid for the ‘A’ final, which is where I finished behind a dominant Billy Cockle, and Ryan Taylor. Overall, it was a satisfying way to end my racing year, and it's always a good experience to get out a drive in wet / changeable conditions, even if it does mean your kit needs a good clean afterwards!

Anyway, that’s enough from me -

I’ll let you get back to your mince pies and mulled wine now! Have a very merry Christmas and a happy new year, and I hope to see you all at a circuit somewhere in 2021

Take care

Ben

BIKC Regional Final - Delayed! *UPDATED*

This is obviously not the news I was hoping to have been posting today, but with England under lockdown again inevitably the BIKC Regional Final which was scheduled to take place at Teamsport Farnborough yesterday has been postponed for the time being. Once a new date has been confirmed (hopefully in early December) I will endeavor to post an update

Until then, stay safe everyone!

Ben

*Update*

Those who qualified have now been informed that the regional final has now been rescheduled for Monday 7th December - Keeping my fingers crossed the event will go ahead as planned. Wish me luck !!

*Update 2*

While the regional final in Farnborough is still going ahead next Monday, none of the drivers from Bristol who qualified will be permitted to attend due to (currently) being in a ‘Tier 3’ area..

Teamsport have advised an alternate venue/date will arranged ASAP, but in the meantime it’s just a case of waiting for better news sadly..

British Indoor Karting Championship

As promised, here is a pre-regional final update regarding this year’s British Indoor Karting Championship competition, in association with Motorsport UK

Following on from my qualification to the ‘local’ final, which took place on 13th October, I lined up alongside the top rental kart drivers from Bristol and the surrounding area in a bid to make the ‘regional’ final, scheduled to take place at Teamsport’s Farnborough venue on November 9th (not the 2nd, as I’d previously thought!) ..

For the local final, drivers would only be on track against racers from their own weight class, which made things pretty simple: Finish in the top three, and you’re through to the regional final. After a short practice/qualifying session I found myself lining up 3rd on the grid (out of 8 other ‘heavyweight’ drivers) behind Luke Chard-Maple in second and an on-form Andy Taylor, who stormed to pole position by a surprising margin. 

After a clean start to the race it soon became evident that the top 3 would not be challenged, as Andy, Luke & I pulled out a comfortable margin over the rest of the field. Andy, taking full advantage of a particularly sweet kart, and Luke swapped positions on a couple of occasions ahead of me, but through a combination of their relentless pace and a couple of mistakes of my own I fell back from them in the final third of the race, eventually crossing the line around 3 seconds behind, with Luke taking the win. As nice as it would have been to have taken victory on the night, after years of either bad luck, under-performance or scheduling issues, it’s nice to be able to finally say that, in finishing third at the local final, I’m through to the next stage of the competition formerly know as Kartchamps - Get in!

The plan now is to get myself over to Farnborough for a bit of pre-event practice (possibly with Andy in tow!) in an attempt to familiarise myself with the track and it’s (electric) karts, which from previous experience I know to be mega-torquey and eerily quiet..

Watch this space!

A quick update..

Following on from a 7th-place finish (3rd in class) at Teamsport‘s ‘Last Kart Standing’ event on Thursday, I’m pleased to say I’ve now qualified for the local BIKC final, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday 13th October (format TBC)

Last Kart Standing was a fun event where, towards the end of the race, drivers at the back of the field were ‘eliminated’ on a lap-by-lap basis as the clock counted down.

As usual the Teamsport crew did a great job making sure everything ran smoothly, with further social distancing measures in place meaning everyone had a great time but were also safe in doing so. Thanks guys

The attending drivers were given a nice surprise a few hours in advance of the event, with the circuit announcing the debut of a new fleet of karts- Always a good thing! 

If you’re local and you’ve not been along to the circuit for a while, get over there and check them out!!

The weekend prior to the Teamsport event, I also raced in what was my first Castle Combe Karting Championship (CCKC) event of the year. After a slow start I was eventually able to pick up a win in one of my heat races, which helped me to qualify 3rd for the ‘B’ final, with the top two from that race going through to the ‘A’ final. After a clean start I was able to get past the driver in second place about half-way through the 8 lap sprint, and therefore secured myself a spot alongside the highest-scoring drivers from the heat races. Unfortunately although I was able to climb two positions in that race initially, I was then re-passed by my fellow ‘B’ final graduate, who in doing so pushed me so far wide the driver that had dropped to last place also came back past me. Bugger.

Although I was slightly disappointed to have not been able to hang on to the places I’d initially gained, it still felt pretty good to make the ‘final’ final in what is a very competitive championship which does benefit lighter drivers. With only a couple of rounds left in 2020 I’m not sure at this stage if I’ll race in the CCKC again this year, but who knows?

I’ll be sure to post another BIKC-related update in due course. But until then..

Ben

It’s been a while..

Hello! As the title says really, it’s been a while! How have you all been during these difficult last few months? Covid-free I hope!!

Now that motorsport activities are more or less back up and running again, I thought I’d post a short update re. what I’ve been up to since ‘lockdown’ was eased, which saw me back in a kart for the first time since January - a near seven month break, the longest I’ve had from karting in literally years! 

First up came a rather underwhelming performance at Teamsport Bristol’s August Chase the Ace event, where I finished a lowly 9th overall (but 3rd in class) as I endeavoured to get back up to speed. 

This event came about as I ‘upgraded’ to Teamsport’s ‘Elite’ membership level, which not only means I’m now the proud owner of a new-for-2020 Motorsport UK Indoor Karting (K-I) license, and also means I’m eligible to enter this year’s BIKC (British Indoor Karting Championship) competition, which had also been postponed by a few months due to COVID-19. 

The format of the competition itself is as follows:

Several weight classes, in which I’m entered in the ‘heavyweight’ (80-95kg) category, needing to set a minimum of three lap times from three separate events over a two month period, in order to qualify for a ‘local’ final scheduled to take place in mid-October, with the winners then proceeding to ‘Regional’ and then a ‘National’ final.

I intend to have qualified for the local final before the end of September, and if that goes well the regional final will take place in early November before the National final later that month. Please do check back here for updates!

Next up for me after Chase the Ace was a trip up to Herefordshire Raceway, for a round of the Welsh-based RapiKart Championship. The event would follow a similar format to the Castle Combe championship, with practice, heats & finals for all drivers. I made the ‘A’ final, but got caught up in an incident two thirds of the way through which left me at the back of the pack, where I finished. Some consolation came in the form of a reward for being ‘top rookie’ on the day (the series runs a separate class for drivers competing in RapiKart for the first time) so at least I care  away with a medal for my efforts- I said at the time, it’s been a while since I’ve been considered a rookie!

Finally, as August drew to a close, I raced in Teamsport’s new format ‘GP1’ event, which consisted of an F1-style knockout qualifying session followed by two 20 minute races, with the second race featuring a reverse grid for the top eight drivers from race once. In the ‘heavyweight’ class I found myself competing directly against six other drivers, from a total field of sixteen. I surprised myself by qualifying in the top eight, then in the first race I had an eventful run to 6th position which could/should have been 5th..

Two thirds of the way through I was sitting comfortably in 5th place when I came up to lap the driver in last place. Rather impatiently, I made a move at the first opportunity (instead of waiting until we got to a wider part of the track) and we made contact. Both he and I continued on, until a lap and a half later I was shown the ‘Give Position Back’ board by one of the track-side marshals. Slightly bemused by this, I backed off in order to allow the driver I had just *lapped* to come back past me, only to find that in the time between the ‘incident’ and me being cautioned, the driver in 6th place had also got ahead of the back-marker, and therefore he came flying past me. Not wanting to risk a further penalty, I begrudgingly waited for the last-placed driver to get back ahead, before I re-passed him again and set off after the (now) 5th place holder. Unfortunately I ran out of time to catch him, and therefore finished a slightly disappointing 6th. 

After the race I sought clarification as to why I got the penalty and if it really should have been applied given the positions of those drivers involved, but in the end shrugged it off as just ‘one of those things’. 6th place would see me start 3rd for the final race, so there was still decent points to race for.

In race two, which was punctuated by two red flag periods (thankfully due to mechanical issues and not accidents) I was able to finish inside the top 3, ahead of many of the quicker ‘lightweight’ drivers. This time I was the one who benefited from a driver ahead being given a 10 second penalty, post race. His misdemeanour? Having an almost like-for-like incident with the same back-marker I collided with in race one. Coincidence, or just another ‘one of those things’?..

Regardless, it felt good to finish the event on a high, and once the points had been added up I actually ended up first in class and 5th overall- Result! 

On a side note, I was also pleased to be able finally give my freshly-painted Bell Racing helmet a run out. A big thank you goes to Steve at SFX Designs for that- Cheers Steve !!

I’ll be sure to post again soon with a BIKC update-

Do please feel free to follow me on Instagram if you’re not doing so already, @bjc.racing

Until next time..

Ben

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