The perfect end to our 2006 season

Prior to Heat 2, we made slight adjustments to gearing, tyre pressures and front / rear track widths, the effects were tremendous with Kasia moving from the back of the grid to first in a couple of laps, and taking the win and fastest lap by half a second.

By heat 3, the track was dry but still slippy, all but one of the drivers went out on slick tyres, however, Helen opted to stay on wets which turned out to be the correct decision as she romped away into the distance, finishing the 10 lap race some 15 seconds ahead of 2nd placed Kasia.

Given heat 3 performance wets were chosen by almost all divers for the final, with Kasia taking the win from Helen by 8 seconds and setting fastest lap.  James Manning suffered (as we did in November) with a carb problem which ended his hope for a 2nd place in the Championship.

Kasia, Helen and James celebrated their respective 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the Championship in traditional style !

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The Final Championship round

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Picture by Paul Mabbutt, Pixelero.co.uk

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Picture by Paul Mabbutt, Pixelero.co.uk

Kasia secures the Championship with one round to go

Starting second on the grid for the final, we were conscious of the importance of this race for the others around us, but could not imagine how short a race it was to be for Kasia, as her engine cut out just after the first corner.  However, this did allow us to watch some great racing, as others continued to battle for the 2nd and 3rd places in the championship, and to see Nathan rewarded for his long journey over to Red Lodge with a well deserved 4th place. 

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One to forget !

Kasia and Nathan are in a tie for 8th place in the Championship with just one round to go !

A dominant victory

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Our 1st race at the Paul Fletcher International Circuit

There was heavy rain and high winds overnight and with the 18 cadets out first the track was wet and the grid marshal warned them of very slippery conditions at the first corner, a sweeping 180o usually taken flat out.  Yet again for our first race at a new track Kasia drew pole position for the first heat, it certainly was an eye opener for her as she lost several places in corner one only to be taken out on corner 2 and having to finish the rest of the race with a damaged throttle giving her only about 80% of the power available.

By heat 2, the sun and wind along with the other 6 classes running had dried the track and and starting near the back Kasia managed to make up four places, though she was disappointed at being about a second off the pace of the leaders.

Ahead of heat 3 a bank of dark clouds were approaching the circuit and rain was obviously on its way, most of us set off to the grid with slicks accompanied by tyre bags containing intermediates and full wets too.  We were the first to put on intermediates, reckoning rain would fall at some point in the race, and rapidly others followed, however, minutes later it was definitely raining and we all switched to full wets.  As the cadets crossed the line for their start the heavens opened with rain and hail stones bouncing off the circuit.  Needless to say there were several spins, but Kasia managed to keep good pace and finished an excellent 7th, less than half a second off the leaders lap time.

So for the final and starting in 13th place Kasia knew she had it all to do, the track was still wet, with standing water in some places, but no rain falling.  After a superb start Kasia, missed early spinners and incidents and was up into 4th place by mid distance, as others recovered she started to drop back, but in a stunning dash from the last corner, 6th, 7th and 8th placed drivers crossed the line side by side, with Kasia taking 7th place.

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A significant Milestone our first win at Whilton Mill

Rain was forecast for Sunday morning and indeed shortly after 8:30 am on Sunday the heavens opened up leading to heats 1 and 2 being run with varying wet set-ups. 

In heat 1 we started P3.  After an initial false start the grid was sent round for second rolling start, which saw a few karts spin off on the first corner.  Having opted for a very high grip set-up, Kasia did not have any problems with staying on the track but we lost out throughout the race as the rain stopped and the track dried faster than we had expected, despite this Kasia drove a solid heat coming in 7th.

For heat 2 the track was well on the way to drying and indeed most of the grid of 29 cadets went out on slicks, starting P20 Kasia made good progress finishing the heat in 9th.

In heat 3 Kasia started in 15th and quickly made her way through the pack to finish in 4th place

The final was a fully dry race, and was to see our first win at Whilton Mill.  Kasia’s good performance in the heats meant she was to start in P5 for the final.  It was a clean start and all 29 cadets made in round the first 2 corners and went streaming up the hill.  With some very strong competition ahead of her we knew it would be a tough 14 laps, however, from lap 3 onwards she started to pick them off one by one until just after mid way she was in P2 but struggling to pass Kart 41, in a last ditch attempt she made a daring dive down the inside on the approach to “Oblivion” and made it stick.  With just a few laps to go Kasia set about extending her lead and finished the race 1.7 seconds ahead of the second placed kart 55.

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A good result for our first time at Shenington

Sunday, race day was a gloriously hot day, the three heats and a final to be contested by 17 cadet drivers.  We soon learnt that the starts are critical, as the track is fast and flowing giving little opportunity for a driver new to the track to find a place to pass.  Our lap times came down each session with Kasia taking 7th, 7th and 9th in the three heats and 9th in the Final.

We are considering doing the Shenington Club championship next year, and of course it will host one of the Super 1 rounds in 2007.

The closest of finishes !

Kasia had a poor qualifying session, struggling to find a fast line around the damp circuit, so she started heat 1 in 5th position, but with an improved setup she soon set about carving her way through the field, crossing the line in first place and posting the fastest lap of that session..  Heats two and three saw some very close and mature racing as Kasia battled against Alice and Ashley (last years championship winner), with Kasia finishing both heats in 2nd position and again taking fastest lap in Heat 2.

So for the final Kasia was in pole position, but ran wide on lap 2 coming out of the 180^o hairpin which allowed Ash to slip through. For the remaining 10 laps Kasia harried him, though back markers hindered her attempts to pass.

As a testament to both drivers they came home in 1st and 2nd position, both setting an identical fastest lap in the final of 50.234 seconds.

Overall the day was a great success with Kasia extending her lead in the Championship.

Up another place in the Championship

Sunday's race saw 24 cadets line up for heat one.  After having made a good start from P2 Kasia was soon defending her position from the club leaders who were charging through the field, and a mistake on the last corner saw Kasia drop to 6th place by the chequered flag.

For heat 2, Kasia was in P17 and fought hard to make her way through the mid field crossing the line in 11 place.  

Starting P11 in heat 3 Kasia needed a top 5 finish to get a good grid position for the final, unfortunately a second corner incident saw no. 45 hit from the rear pushing him into the side of Kasias kart sending her kart airborne into a 180^o spin which resulted in a bent sprocket/sprocket carrier and side pod and hence a very early exit from heat 3 !

So for the final starting in P18 it was a case of damage limitation and trying to claw as many points as possible for the championship.  This was undoubtedly Kasia's best race of the day, a determined drive saw her cross the line in 10th place, and also move up to 10th in the club championship with 3 races left this year.

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Kasia breaks the lap record again !

This excellent days racing has increased Kasia's championship lead, there are just 4 more races left to decide the 2006 championship.

Kasia sets the new Comer Cadet lap record

The day was split into rolling 15 minute test sessions in 4 groups Cadets, Juniors, Seniors and Pro Karts.  We all made the best use of this time to determine what set up we would need for next weeks race.  Most drivers commented on how bumpy the new extension was, this is a little disappointing given that it is brand new, but in fairness this did not seem to unduly affect handling.

Kasia improved her pace in each session, being consistently the fastest, by the end of the day she was pleased to have achieved her goal of setting the Cadet Comer Lap record (50.00 secs) on the new 1200 m circuit !

Dad made a mistake and we had a DNF in heat 2 !

Race day started with the usual 3 lap test session to ensure transponders were working and all race entrants knew the circuit, though dry the circuit was still greasy and Kasia took a detour onto the grass, but caught a raised curb on the way back onto the track which destroyed the right hand side pod and bar so a hasty replacement with a spare silver side pod was needed.

Starting in P2 for the first heat on race day Kasia got off to a good start slipping in behind Rossi (no. 97) who took the lead from P3 on the grid, by mid race Kasia's pace up the hill put her in contention for a challenge on Rossi who blocked the move and retained P1, Kasia's next attempt at the same move, saw her loose out to 2 close following karts, from which she eventually recovered to take 3rd position at the Chequered flag.

Starting in P15 for heat 2 Kasia was hopeful of a top 5 finish, however, the loss of drive chain on lap 2 resulted in a none finish and an almost certain poor grid position for the final.  Thankfully a finish in 8th position for heat 3 put Kasia in P15 for the final to be contended by 24 hopeful cadets.

The final was held under gathering dark clouds and although most karts turned up at the grid with both slick and wet tyres, all opted to go out on slicks.  At the start there was the usual shuffling after the first complex of 2 corners as those on the wrong side of the grid were crowded out by those carrying more speed on the inside line.  Keeping out of trouble Kasia set about cutting through the field, her confidence showing through as light rain began to fall.  By lap 9 she had caught up with 5 karts challenging for third place, within a couple of laps Kasia had split the group, and on the final lap her quick reactions allowed her to capitalize on a collision in front of her and take 4th place.  This was her highest placed final at Whilton Mill and a trophy she has worked hard to get.

Kasia moved up to 11th position, from 23 cadets in the club championship with 4 more races to run this year.

Be mindful of the scales !

In Heat 2 Kasia started 5th, briefly taking 3rd place in lap 9 only to run wide on the next lap and had to be content with finishing 4th.  

Further kart set-up changes had the desired effect and in Heat 3 Kasia had blistering pace taking fastest lap by 4/10ths of a second and 2nd place just 6/100ths of a second behind kart 11, who, in post race  scruitineering was disqualified for being underweight, moving Kasia up to 1st place.

For the final Kasia was in pole position, at the start kart 39 took the lead from 2nd place (later to be issued with a 10 second penalty for a jump start), by lap 6 with tyres up to full race temperature Kasia challenged along the straight on the entry into turn 1 and made the move stick.  From that point on she pulled out an ever increasing lead from the rest of the pack, whilst negotiating the back markers ending the race in 1st place, nearly 9 seconds ahead of the second placed kart 46.

Kasia was pleased to have strengthened her lead on the championship.

Other News
At last ! The new track extension at Red Lodge is complete taking the circuit up to nearly 1200 m.  The official opening and first use of the new extended circuit will take place at the "Club 2000" Owner Driver meeting  on 5th August.  
In May Kasia missed out on beating the lap record (for  a Cadet kart) by 1/10th of a second and is keen to capture and hold this for the new circuit.

Growing in confidence

Kasia and Nathan Green starting in 2nd and poll position respectively allowing the WTP's to build up nearly half a lap lead before taking the Comers over the start line, this made for two very good first heat races with the Comers catching the WTP back markers in the final laps of the race.  Having held 2nd position to just past half distance Kasia was eventually overtaken to finish 5th.

In the second and third heats Kasia started 11th and 9th, finishing 9th and 7th  respectively putting her in 6th position for the Comer cadet final (our highest grid position to date at Whilton Mill).

The 13 lap final was held in cooling weather conditions with dark clouds hanging over the circuit. Though no rain fell track grip reduced throughout the final.  In the initial stages Kasia advanced well and was keeping with the front pack until several of the front runners came together on Inkermans 1 forcing Kasia up onto the curb to avoid a collision, in the confusion that followed Kasia lost a couple of places as the karts corrected themselves and headed off again. By lap 10 and on the approach to Oblivion and Crook, Kasia was tucked right up under the rear bumper of another kart, a sudden change of direction by the front kart flicked the front end of Kasia's kart into a spin from which she eventually recovered to take 10th place in the Comer cadet Final

Kasia is currently in 12th position, from 23 cadets in the club championship with 5 more races to run this year.

Other News

The KNRacing  motorhome made its' first outing this weekend.  It was great to have the extra awning space for kart preparation and the ability to stay on site overnight was a great bonus, our original 3m x 3m awning is really on its' last legs so the timing was just perfect.

 Farewell to the old circuit

The first dawn to dusk sunny race day all year, with no rain for a change !  During timed Practice and Qualifying, Kasia missed pole position by 1/1000th of a second, but we were still thrilled as it showed tremendous progress against the 2005 club champion kart no. 11 who took pole.

In Heat 1 Kasia finished second having spent much of the race defending that position from the third placed kart no 46.  Heat 2 was a reverse of the Heat 1 grid, with the slowest qualifiers at the front, by the last lap Kasia was up into 2nd place, only to loose one position when back marker no. 5 spun in front of her, despite this Kasia took fastest lap earning two championship points for doing so.  Heat 3 saw Kasia and kart no. 46 locked in a corner by corner battle, for second place, Kasia had to settle for 3rd place but again took fastest lap in that Heat. 

The final was held in glorious conditions, the track was very sticky (a rarity for this circuit) with lots of rubber having been laid down, in fact a new track lap record was set by one of the 100cc karts.  Starting 2nd on the grid, Kasia initially fought off a challenge by no. 46, then set about closing the gap that had developed to the pole sitter, by the end of the race Kasia was in 2nd place having again taken fastest lap and finishing 1.8 seconds behind the winner.

The track extension at Red Lodge is nearing completion so it is hoped that next months race will be held on the new ca 1200m track.  The addition of a long straight and banked sweeping radius curve followed by an esses section will significantly change the kart set up requirements and the extra 500 m of track will allow for more overtaking opportunities.  July's race could be a learning experience for us all.

Other News

  KNRacing has bought a race motorhome which is currently undergoing some modifications for use in karting.  Kasia has joined another of the UK's top clubs, Trent Valley Kart Club which races at the PF International circuit near Newark on Trent, this is certainly one of the top 3 clubs in the UK and we are keen to start getting plenty of practise days in ahead of our first race there later in the year.

Unpredictable handling !

Starting on the front row for the first heat Kasia, took the chequered flag in second place behind the 2005 Club Champion. With heat 1 grid positions reversed for heat 2, Kasia drove an excellent race to take both fastest lap and the win, despite running wet tyres on an almost dry track.  In heat 3, Kasia took second place, putting her second on the grid for the 15 lap final which was to be run is very wet conditions.  A gentle nudge from behind on the third corner saw Kasia drop a place.  The wet conditions provided some spectacular spins for most of the field, by half distance, the handling on Kasia's kart was deteriorating and after finishing 4th, a closer inspection revealed that the rear axle mounting had shifted on one side giving unpredictable handling in the wet conditions.

The Brazilian Cup, a meeting in aid of the charity "Children in Hunger" is an annual event at Whilton Mill Kart Club.  This year saw over a hundred competitors from up an down the country enter the race meeting with its' novel format of two 18 minute races.

  Saturday's practice saw 24 cadets out in bright sunshine, many getting their fastest laps of the season.  So with karts set up, engines and sprockets selected we retired for the evening only to awake to a wet track in the morning.

 Kasia did well coming 7th in timed practice, with this determining her grid position for the first race.  So following a wet start it was back to a dry set up for the first race.

  Having fallen back to 12th in the early stages Kasia pushed hard to make up lost ground by lap 5 she was running close behind two other karts as all three of them lost traction and bundled into each other and the tyre barrier, thankfully they all got underway again, but had lost several places.  After a good fight back Kasia ended this first race in 7th position after a total of 25 laps (just over 21 kms of racing).

 A closer inspection of the kart revealed damaged tracking and a bent front off side wheel which had to be replaced. The final was totally dry, and held in sunny conditions, after one failed start all 23 karts thundered towards the first complex, Kasia being on the outside of the second corner had to lift as she was squeezed towards the grass as those on the inside line had the advantage, by turn 3 Kasia was back to 13th,  but then set about making up the ground, finishing 6th out of a field of 23, our highest result to date in a final at this track.
Next Saturday is the 5th round of the 2006 Red Lodge Championship, where Kasia currently heads the leader board.

A window into the future perhaps ?

With a Super 1 round coming up and the Brazilian Cup next week there were 34 Cadets for Saturdays test day, many from the two elite British Championships "Stars of Tomorrow" and "Super 1".

We were pleased with our pace on Saturday, showing improvement since last month.  Race day on the Sunday was a grey a gloomy start with a wet track and rain threatening all day.

With 30 Cadets running on Sunday many from the top ranks including last years British Champion we knew it would be tough, the weather adding an extra dimension.

The first two heats were hard found at the front, Kasia having her own battles in mid field ending 15th in both heats.  The third heat saw dark clouds looming, starting near the back we took a calculated risk to put on wets as many opted for the slick option.  The choice was a good one and with some light rain Kasia fought her way to the front to finish 2nd (ahead of the British Champion and last years club champion !).

Starting 10th on the grid for a wet final we were hopeful for our highest ever finish in a final at Whilton Mill, but fate conspired against us as the engine failed to fire up and we were left to watch the grid pull away without us !

Still we look forward to next weeks Brazilian Cup and Red Lodge the week after next.