The title above applies to not only my days racing, I'll explain why shortly, but also the publish date of this post. Not my most prompt piece of writing, but here it is; an update of my day's racing the weekend before last, better late than never eh.
Bayford Meadows, the circuit that gifted me my first win, as well as my first Championship way back in 2003. A place with some great memories, most of them very vivid and seemingly far more recent than a decade ago. I wish I could have said the same for the racing lines however, as I quickly realised my on track memory was far from anything useful. But never fear, the sun was out and the afternoon's racing was about to commence, so I was feeling excited to jump into a kart and back onto what was very a special track to me.
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| Back on track at the place of my first win |
My feeling for the circuit in qualifying was actually better than expected. My previous evening's YouTube research had meant I had a good understanding of the basic layout, which enabled me to pick up the racing lines fairly quickly. I completed several clear and smooth laps so was hopeful to have secured myself a grid position at the sharp end of the field. Unfortunately, much to my disappointment this was not the case, as I lined up in 11th for Race 1. Apparently, despite my initial thoughts, there was a lot of work to do.
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| Fighting up from 11th on lap 1 |
RACE 1
Sitting towards the front of the midfield and rolling up to the start line, I was thankful to be on the inside as the karts muscled together. Immediately I was able to gain 2 places before I'd even approached the first corner, followed by another 2 as we approached the infield. I was now in hot pursuit of the leading 6 drivers with every intention of winning the race; funny how things can change so quickly.
A couple of laps in, the leading pack had begun to space out but the pair immediately ahead began tussling quite heavily. I was able to take advantage of their fight and nudged my way past them both into 5th, placing me a second or so off the back of the 4th placed driver. The following few laps saw me trying my utmost to latch onto the leading karts, where I was also still learning the racing lines and details for that perfect lap every step of the way.
Thankfully I began to 'click' with the circuit, and before I knew it I was driving up to the back of the 4th placed kart. Stealing a tow along the start/finish straight, I nosed ahead of him into turn 1. The leading trio had a slight edge over me, something I knew I could decrease if I had the race time, but unfortunately the chequered flag was shown too soon for that to work. Still, I crossed the line in a surprisingly strong 4th; if you'd have offered that to me before the race, I'd have certainly grabbed it with both hands.
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| Racing through the last corner |
RACE 2
After my strong showing of pace in the closing stages of Race 1, I went into Race 2 expecting to at least be a contender for the win. Accelerating over the start line on the outside I unsurprisingly fell back to 5th into turn 1, however I quickly snatched the place back in the next corner. The following laps saw me chop and change position, fighting with the group immediately behind the leader. Our tussling caused the leading kart to begin to break away slightly however, and to my annoyance instead of focusing on trawling him back in, the surrounding karts seemed more focused on fighting for the 2nd best place. During this hard fought tussle I did manage to work my way up to 2nd, but quickly fell back to 5th after an opponent had what can only be described as an optimistic lunge and 'hung me out to dry'.
Instead of doing the natural thing and acting out on my anger through over driving, I had to calm my emotions and focus on dragging myself back into contention. Thankfully, everything began to fall into place and as my pace remained strong the karts ahead continued to battle. This helped me to claw my way back towards them, quickly dive past and then break free from their ongoing conflict.
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| Crossing the line in 1st |
After the 2nd placed kart came off whilst fighting for the lead, I was faced with just 1 kart in front, albeit a couple of seconds down the road. Driving some of the most immensely focused laps of my life, I was surprised to find myself on the bumper of the leader far quicker than I had expected. As we crossed the line for the last lap, I glanced back and saw that there was a small cushion between my bumper and the still bickering karts behind. The leader defended into turn 1, as well as into turn 2. However he left the door ever so slightly open into turn 3, and acting on impulse I lunged alongside him. Squeezing him on the exit he clung on and proceeded to lunge back into the following 2 corners. I gave him room but carried momentum, meaning he not only wasn't able to pass, but was also pushed back to 4th by the pursuing karts who'd now arrived on the scene. Defending and parking my kart on all the apexes for the remainder of the lap, I happily crossed the line for the win despite leading for less than two thirds of just 1 lap. I think it is safe to say that this one was very much better late than never!
So thanks to the day's successful racing I went home with not only a winners trophy, but also a bundle of points that propelled me up to 2nd in the Championship. And with at least another 6 rounds to go, it's all still very much to play for.
Check out my onboard footage for Race 2:
Round 3 of the Club100 Sprint Championship will be held at Rye House in Hoddesdon on the 28th April.
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