Month: May 2006

Long post. Get a coffee.

Here’s a link to a short video (no sound). It’s 8MB, so don’t download if you’re on dial-up. You need QuickTime to play the clip. Click here to get QuickTime.

It had been overcast all day, but as the last group went out for race one, it started to rain. These karts run on slick tyres. In the dry the tyres give a lot of grip, but in the wet they’re hopeless.

Group B (mine) was waiting between the pit lane and the track while Group A went out for their second race. Cars were sliding all over the place. I wanted to make up some places in this race, but I don’t consider myself good in the wet – or at least I didn’t before the second race.

It was slippery. Brake too hard and you spin, accelerate too hard and you spin. Turn the wheels into the corner, and nothing happens, you just understeer (push) straight on.

Heading into a corner in a road car under braking, if your front wheels start to skid (assuming you don’t have ABS), you cadence brake. In a kart this has no effect; since the brakes are on the rear wheels only, cadence braking doesn’t increase grip at the front.

To overcome loss of grip on the front (steering) wheels you put the car in oversteer; accelerate so the rear wheels step out to try to overtake the front, spinning the car slightly. Catch the spin at the right point and the car is pointing into the corner.

It’s an odd feeling going into a corner, turning the wheel to no effect, heading towards the barrier, and then giving it some gas to get the back end to slide.

This is where I made some progress. Cars were spinning or just plain skidding off. Car control is paramount in the wet. Using your brakes or accelerator as on-off switches won’t work; you need smooth application of both.

I took advantage of out-of-control cars. I was also just out-driving some of the drivers who were in control. It was quite rewarding.

That’s not to say I didn’t lose control myself. I had a 3/4 spin on turn 3. I had to let at least four cars through before I could recover. Despite that, I knew I had done well over the (approximately) nine-lap race.

As the chequered flag fell, we filed into the pits in order. All I had to do was count the cars ahead of me to see my position. Again, some of those cars could have been lapped by the leaders but not me so would have been behind me, but there was no way to tell for sure. Counting the cars I was 13th or higher. Starting from 20th, I had gained at least seven places.

Regardless of the position, I had had a very enjoyable race. I had passed at least 11 cars (seven places plus four that had passed me when I spun).

There would be a long wait before knowing which drivers would go through to Round Four, but I knew I would go home satisfied with my performance in that second, wet race.

Spectators and drivers had use of the hospitality suite and its balcony overlooking the track. It was busy up there, and some of us were standing on pub-style bench-tables to see over others. This photo shows part of the view.

As a car went round the turn at the beginning of the pit straight, we noticed a fire in one of its engines. The fuel tanks sit on top of the engines, and the flames were licking around the front of the tank.

The marshals were waving flags and pointing, and the driver kept glancing at the flames as he went past. The marshals put out the flags (meaning everyone must stop where they are), but the hapless driver just kept going with the flames getting bigger.

He went half way round the track before stopping, and then took his time getting out of the car, I’d have been out much earlier than that.

I’ve never seen a kart on fire. The marshals were excellent, and were soon there with a fire extinguisher.

Next up, the rain comes down for my second race.

I forgot to tell you where I finished in race one. I’ve added the following paragraph to the post, but to save you finding it…

There was no way of telling where I finished, except by counting the cars in front of me when we went back to the pits. Although unlikely, it is possible that some of the cars in front of me could have been lapped by the leaders, but not me (maybe after a spin and recovery by the marshalls). Ignoring that possibility, I finished 9th, losing 5 places.

I had been allocated car 4 and grid position 4 for the first race. For the second race, the allocation would be reversed so that the person in car 1 would be in car 24 and last on the grid for the second race. I would therefore start 20th in the second race.

I’ve only raced in corporate events before; the sort of thing where your company arranges karting for a moral boost or a thank-you. My starts have been quite good in these events and I was hoping to make up a place or two.

Sitting in the grid in P4 on the left of the grid, waiting for the starting flag, I looked around to see what others intended. The driver in P5 had has wheels turned left aiming for the gap between me and P3. “I’m not having any of that” I thought, and made the decision to cover. The flag went down and off we went. I had covered my position but P3 went for the same bit of track, so I couldn’t get past.

Exactly what happened, I can’t remember. Imagine 24 cars all trying to get round a very fast corner. The picture above shows the exit of turn 1 and entrance of turn 2.

As the race progressed, I made a few passes, but was passed by more cars than I passed. It could be that the kart was slower, or maybe I was not as good, but I know my practice lap times were better than my race times. There were a couple of corners where I was nudged from behind which put me off line, resulting in three cars passing me. But that’s racing, I suppose.

There was no way of telling where I finished, except by counting the cars in front of me when we went back to the pits. Although unlikely, it is possible that some of the cars in front of me could have been lapped by the leaders, but not me (maybe after a spin and recovery by the marshalls). Ignoring that possibility, I finished 9th, losing 5 places.

This was the low point of the day for me. Knowing that with a clear track ahead of me I could put in some good times, but not being able to get ahead in the first corner was a disappointment. Luckily, I had lots of time between races to get my head together. There would be seven races going on and a 30 minute break for the TV crew and judges before I would go out again.

I’m going away tomorrow, so I’ll post more next week including: The rain comes down, a car on fire, race two, and the long wait for the judge’s verdict.

While waiting for my first race, the TV presenter asked if he could interview me and a chap I was chatting to. He sat between us and interviewed me first. I hope it doesn’t get aired!

I think it went ok except for a comment I made that “I’m going to win today”. It’s the sort of thing that someone who had never been interviewed would say. I hadn’t been interviewed before, but that’s not the point! The rest of the interview went well. He asked why I thought I had a good chance and I explained that my previous practice times were good compared to the practice times I’d seen that day.

We had been told in an earlier letter that we could be asked for an interview. I had been a bit worried about it thinking I would be nervous, but when it happened I wasn’t nervous at all. If they could edit out my comment about winning, I’ll be very pleased with it. I hope I’ll feel the same if I see it in the programme.

After passing a few cars early on who were finding their lines, I drove up to the back of four drivers fighting for position, often two or three cars abreast. After about a lap I saw a passing opportunity as one driver was slow in turn 7. I got half way alongside him approaching turn 8 but he turned in on me, I braked and spun.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a bad thing because by the time I recovered I had some clear track ahead of me. My times were better over the next lap or two until I caught them again. The timing screen over the pit straight shows the 6 drivers in the lead and their previous lap time. My best lap time was second fastest overall, I think.

I’m pleased to report that I am now through to Round 4. It was a long day with highs, a low, and a long nervous wait. Oh, there was some racing too. We had: Dry racing, Wet racing, Spins, Crashes, Interviews with the TV crew, and a car on fire.

I arrived first at the circuit, just before 7am. At about 8:30 the promoter Tim Matthews explained the format for the day.

We would be split into groups of about 24 drivers, groups A to H. Group A would go out for timed practice, then group B, and so on. After practice, each group would have two races. The judges would watch all sessions and make notes. 60 of the nearly 200 drivers would go through based on the their position at the end of the races, and a further 15 drivers would go through based on other criteria; perhaps they hadn’t done so well in the race, but showed potential in some other way.

You can see a track guide at the Rye House website.

More to follow soon…