RD 8 BMKR
Weekend of struggles but success in the end !
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Qualifying
With some unfamiliar talent new to the grid for this round it was anyoneโs guess to who would take top spot. A strong showing of pace all over the grid, we managed a P3 to line up on the inside of the second row for the first heat.
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Heat 1
First lap saw multiple changes for the lead, a 5 way fight lasted nearly two laps until a mistake from the driver in-front ended up seeing me the wrong way round trying to avoid the contact at the last corner of the second lap. Got the kart going again but was dead last and the grid had made a missive gap by the time I sorted everything out. We managed to claw back up to 4th at the end of the 8 minutes plus 1 lap race, but a drop bumper would demote me to 7th for the start of heat 2.
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Heat 2
Getting ready for the race ahead, we pulled out of the dummy grid and kart started violently vibrating. By the time I stopped the kart at the end of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th corner complex, the axle had completely snapped in half and we was unable to start the race. This DNS would put us dead last in the final. A massive thank you to my Dad, Jason Watts and all the mechanics at KRM (Ricky Micallef, Ken Reeves and Darren Haines) for helping me change the rear axle in just 20 minutes so I was able to participate in the final race of the day.
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FINAL
Starting dead last on the grid, we really had our work cut out to try and salvage what was a pretty terrible day. With 2 warm up laps to get the tyres warmed due to the bitter weather, we was able to put as much heat through the tyres as possible. A messy start from a kart further up the grid would see us gain 3 positions on the opening lap. I was able to cut my way through the field and was into P3 by the end of lap 5. With a big gap the the front two karts of Michael Gibbons and Micheal Ashby already formed, a good few laps of decent times and no mistakes was needed from my behalf. The front two started to battle early on, which enabled me to close the gap even faster. A move on Ashby at the 2nd hairpin saw me move into 2nd place, and then the chase was on for my championship rival Gibbons in 1st place. Closing the gap in just over two laps put me hot on the tail of kart 44 coming into the final corner with 4 minutes plus 1 lap left to go. Approaching the first corner I saw the lead kart look behind, I went left, they moved to cover the gap, I then cut right and lunged up the inside to take the lead. A hard defence drive was then made to keep the karts behind at bay. We came across the line in P1 to win the final from the back with fastest lap along the way !!
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Summary
Now with 1 round left to go, even though a win was taken in the final I am now 5 points behind coming into the last round next month. A good,consistent, high points finishes is needed now to win this next month.
I cannot thank everyone enough who helps me out to do all of the things I do in and out of the kart. A big big thank you to Dave at DG power for supplying the best engines on the grid and giving me all the power I need to take the top spot finishes. All the team at KRM for the support in the awning all throughout the weekend. Itโs a pleasure to work with all of you. My Dad for always taking the time for race weekends and being my right hand man in all of this. And a big thank you to my girlfriend Brooke for putting up with all the hours spent at tracks, support on race days and fuel for this weekend. Also a massive thank you to Paul Babington for the excellent photos from the race weekend.
Onwards to the last round next month, ready for the head to head battle and bringing the championship home