March 28, 2004

Pro kart Endurance Champs March 2004

Milton Keynes Round 1

What a day. Actually what a weekend :( I caught my normal flight back from Vienna on friday night all set to drive down to Ted Poole and pick up our new Wright R2 Pro Kart on the Saturday morning. So the plane is delayed (as usual)!! Whatever you do in life Don’t get into international commuting as it sux big style! I Finally land 1.30 mins late and what’s this no missus to greet me :( she is stuck in traffic on the M25 car park! (again) I finally get picked up to then get stuck in the same traffic on the way back home (again).

I know lets go down the M4 and up through Maidenhead and then across country on all the little back roads. Oh yes 5 hours and 124 miles later arrive at home! Up at 6am (tired) to drive down to see Ted in Southampton and get the Kart. All was going smooth until I got in the seat and did'nt fit :( I’m big boned see! No Probs Ted fits a new seat for me and we finally get away and head for MK to test Saturday night.

lets fire it up and put in some 66sec laps then! We are going to be so good at this I can feel it! I jump in and promptly go strait off at the first corner (Can you remember your first drive?) Anyway we soon settle down and start doing 1.14s (74 sec laps) only to be told that the best teams can do 66sec Pooo. Where are we going to find 8 seconds. Oh well perhaps we ain't that good then! Pack up and drive home and then realize we have just lost an hour as the clocks went forward (why do they do that)? So I finally get into bed at 1.45 and then get out again at 5.30 to drive back to MK for a hard long days racing. I am reminding myself all the time that this is
A. Fun
B. Fun
C. The cheapest form of motor sport (so I'm told)

So we get to the track, get setup and qualify last (oh this is so humbling)

Race away and I start at the back of the grid on a decidedly damp track. We plod round and start to pick up a few places and then a few more. I think I spent the whole of my stint waving merrily as teams passed me (didn’t want to upset anyone see) The track dries up and we go onto slicks and change drivers. Then it rains and we decide to stay on slicks as it looks brighter over wilfs mothers way! Bad choice as it rains harder and we drop and drop and then finally change to back to wets. John spins at the hairpin and tangles with another kart. A kart then rams John and that’s the stub axle gone :( another pit stop to change the broken stub and we are back out.

Finally finishing in 31st place. We did Pick up some plastics for 31st place ta very much. I drive home and plonk into bed at 9pm only to get up at 3am for my 0630 Monday morning flight from Heathrow :) pheww what a hectic weekend!!

What did we learn?
A. We are realy shit
B. A mans natural Tendency to think he is Ayrton Senna is a delusion
C. My 550 Maranello is easier to drive than my R2
D. We will try harder

What did we achieve?
A. We had a great time and met some very nice people (even if they do gesticulate at you on the track sometimes):)
B. We kept going for 6 hours
C. We will get better

Lets hope Round 2 is dry ehh Cant be doing with to much slippy sliders in the wetty grippers again !!

Roll on round 2

Mark...

Posted by Mark at March 28, 2004 8:37 AM

Comments

Post a comment