The Alonso Philosophy: Round 3 Of The Club 100 Lightweight Sprint Championship

The 3rd Round of the Club 100 Lightweight Sprint Championship took place on the 28th April at Rye House in Hoddesdon. Here's my summary of my day's racing.

Located just a short drive from my home in North London, Rye House is my 'local'. Except this local doesn't serve lagers, but similarly it does have a habit of leaving you a little sore the next day. Rolling out of bed at a not so painful 7:30am, I was excited to return to a track I must have driven around 1000 times. Clear blue skies with promise of warmth meant conditions were thankfully also looking perfect.

Not long after we arrived at one of F1 stars Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton's old playing grounds, in true Club 100 style the racing got started as quickly as possible (the event organisers firmly believe in working to 'the sooner we get started, the sooner we go home'). Having to focus myself for qualifying, my attitude for the day's racing took influence from F1 World Champ Fernando Alonso's consistent performances last year. I figured since the Club 100 season is long and filled with variety, consistency is key. Inspired by his success I targeted podiums for both of the day's races, deciding that points were more important than 'binning it' when chasing that extra place, better to finish the race and grab what I can.

QUALIFYING

Despite it being early morning and the first time I'd sat in a kart for a couple of weeks, with this probably being something like my 1001st lap of Rye House, I was able to immediately settle into a rhythm and start chasing that perfect lap. The pace soon came and my laps were good, with just a few outliers here and there, mostly thanks to traffic. Using every inch of the backbreaking kerb at Pylon (shown in the title pic), I was taking some serious risks.

Upon my return to the pits, it became apparent just how necessary those risks were; pole position by 2/100ths. Doesn't come much closer than that.

Pole position over the start line

RACE 1

Sitting on pole position for Race 1, I was by no means confident. The tiny margin between myself and the pursuing karts meant there was little chance of me breaking free from them if everyone remained settled. But speeding over the line, my start was clean and fast as I swept into Stadium bend. Feeling confident enough not to defend, I pressed on with setting fastest laps in order to drag myself out of the danger zone.

This is when it became apparent that my kart had just a few issues. It didn't lack straight line speed, but an out of line steering wheel began to trouble turn in, with a suspected tracking issue as the problem. This coupled with a heavy vibration meant my working conditions were far from ideal. Nevertheless, I pushed as hard as I could only to be out dragged into turn 1, painfully conceding 1st.

Conceding the lead

Despite the loss, it was here that I really began to 'earn my money' (unfortunately in reality my money likes to travel in the opposite direction). To chase down the new leader I had to race my socks off, setting qualifying lap after qualifying lap with my less than perfect kart. I soon began to match the leader's pace, but the threat of attack from behind later into the race meant I chose to defend rather than attack, remembering consistency is key.

The final result saw me just crossing the line in 2nd, disappointed not to get the winners trophy, but very pleased with the 127 Championship points.

RACE 2

Due to only setting the 4th fastest lap in Race 1, I lined up 4th on the grid for Race 2. As I crept out of the pits to begin our warm up laps, I recognised the machinery; this was Race 1's kart. I immediately returned to the pits to swap to another kart, that wonky one wasn't costing me another race. Once I'd joined the formation lap it seemed as though the decision to swap was the right one. No vibrations and a straight steering wheel, I felt much more confident.

Accelerating over the start line, I managed to maximise my position and slot into 4th; nothing spectacular, but what I had to do. I was happy to realise that I was actually now quicker than the karts ahead, so sitting on the final podium positioned kart's bumper, I was able to notice several key areas where I was quicker. But accelerating back onto the straight in what I thought was a prime slipstreaming position, it became clear my afternoon's kart struggled on the straights. Despite my overall good pace, the lack of top speed made it near impossible to make a clean overtaking manoeuvre for 3rd. In a desperate attempt to move forward, I placed my kart's nose on the inside of turn 1, hoping to force the kart ahead into a mistake. Instead I found myself on the outside of the following corner, which allowed the chasing kart to slip through into hairpin 1. I'd gone backwards rather than forwards.

Regaining 4th before snatching 3rd from the off line kart ahead

Remaining focused and hopeful of a way back through, I pressed on and thankfully squeezed back into 4th as the karts ahead squabbled into hairpin 2. I was even able to steal 3rd from of the out of position kart in front, as he ran wide after a failed attempt at taking 2nd. I suddenly found myself on the tail of 2nd place; this was my chance to snatch the place and break free of the pack, in the same way the current leader had managed to do early on.

Sat on the bumper of 2nd, despite every attempt at carrying momentum and getting that good exit onto the straight, I couldn't quite match the straight line performance of his kart. Almost losing sight of 'Alonso's consistency philosophy', I had a couple of fairly ambitious lunges over the course of the following laps.

Tight squeeze: lunging for 2nd

Thankfully I saw sense when a late braking manoeuvre almost saw both of us out of the race. As we crossed the line for the last lap, I decided to defend my position rather than jeopardising points in trying to steal 2nd. Still, 3rd was far from safe as I had to defend from a late onslaught from behind. To my relief I managed to hold on and grab that final podium position, but more importantly I'd secured a healthy sum of 124 points.

No wins, but 2 podium finishes, Rye House was good to me that day. To top it off I was the highest points scorer of the day, so even though the silverware didn't display it, I felt good as I had come home as the number 1 driver for the day.

I now find myself leading the Championship as we head into Round 4 at Ellough Park. I won't be racing then however, due to getting an exciting chance to drive the Spa Francorchamps F1 circuit in Belgium that weekend (a very valid reason to miss a round I'm sure most will agree). Thankfully though, the Club 100 Championship allows you to drop rounds, so through default that missed round will be one of my dropped days. My Championship hopes are therefore very much alive.

Check out my onboard footage from Race 2 at Rye House:

Unfortunately due to a lack of funds, I had to withdraw from the 2013 Championship despite being the leader at the time. I hope to race in a Club100 kart soon.

Better Late Than Never: Round 2 Of The 2013 Club100 Sprint Championship

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.

Back on track at the place of my first win

QUALIFYING

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.

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.

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.

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.

Far From Perfect: Round 1 Of The 2013 Club100 Sprint Championship

Round 1 of the Club100 Lightweight Sprint Championship was held on the 24th February at Buckmore Park in Kent. Here's my account of my day's racing.

Standing trackside at 9am with what felt like icicles forming on my face, I did begin to wonder why I'd exchanged hard earned cash to be here. Sprinklings of sleet and a stabbing wind made the near freezing conditions feel almost arctic. Many would have turned around, gone home and climbed back into bed. But not us racers, because as soon as we heard the bark of a 115cc engine and inhaled the smell of 2 stroke racing oil, all we wanted to do was go racing.

QUALIFYING

A succession of races from the various classes then led into the Lightweight Qualifying. The morning's bitter wind hadn't gone but at least the sleet seemed to have halted. Being the first time I'd sat in a racing kart for over 6 months, I felt a little apprehensive. To add to my concern, as I rolled out of the pitlane it became clear just how little grip was available to play with. But taking advice from the late Colin McRae, "If in doubt, flat out," so I was soon throwing the kart into turn one with a handful of opposite lock.

After a solid couple of warm up laps the kart felt good and grip increased, so I pushed on to see what I could do. Almost immediately I caught another kart and nosed alongside him. It turned out he hadn't noticed me and as a result fired me straight into the wall, my first "oh cock" moment of 2013! It was a fairly substantial impact that sent me piling into my own steering wheel, which I'm sure would have almost certainly bruised a rib or two had I not been wearing my rib protector. After confirming all limbs were still attached and that the kart was straight, I moved it into position to restart. As soon as I was rolling I had to forget about my impact and get hunting down that fast lap.

2 laps on I found some clear air and sliced through the corners, nailing my braking points and completing a smooth lap without any mistakes. Each one of my following attempts was hindered by traffic or yellow flags, so rolling past the chequered flag I knew that that lap had to be the one. To my suprise it placed me on Pole for the first race, with just under 2 tenths of a second advantage over 2nd place. Not a bad start to the day!

Racing towards the start line

RACE 1

Sitting on pole for the first race, I was a little confused as to why I was on the left side of the front row despite this circuit being clockwise. Failing to gain an answer it was then suddenly time to start and begin the rolling up laps. So cruising along on the outside of the front row (which I later found out WAS the wrong side, the grid in the pitlane did not reflect the actual grid!) we approached the start line and revs slowly began to rise. Screaming past the waved Union Jack we hurtled into turn 1, and as expected those on the inside were able to nose through. I exited turn 1 in 3rd but managed to squeeze back into 2nd through the infield. The following laps had me chasing down the leader, with there being several notable areas of the circuit where my pace was better than his.

Buckmore Park isn't the easiest circuit to pass on, with it's narrow width and flowing corners. But if you are going to pass, generally the easiest places are into turn 1 after stealing a tow up the hill, or in the tight infield with it's low speed hairpins. Unfortunately for me my Jack Daniels ribs addiction meant I was 7kg heavier than the minimum weight limit, so stealing a tow wasn't possible as my kart had to lug my pork filled butt up the hill. As a result, passing the leader in the first sector was much more difficult. But my confidence remained intact, as I felt I could bide my time, pull away from the chasing karts and then pick a clean spot to overtake for the lead.

As good as that plan seemed, it didn't account for one tiny problem; backmarkers. Our leading group of karts were soon to face the challenge of clearing lapped traffic; traffic that in some cases more closely resembled moving road blocks. Unfortunately for me, I caught several of these karts in sections where time was most easily lost. As a result my grip on the leader was loosened and he began to maintain a significant gap. To add to this, an early braking backmarker caught me by surprise into turn one, and despite my best efforts I was unable to avoid punting him off.

Caught by suprise: Punting off an early braking backmarker

This unfortunately was the final blow to my race, as the resulting penalty meant despite crossing the line in 2nd, I was relegated to 6th. Not what I'd hoped for, but there was always race 2 to redeem myself...

RACE 2

After my strong pace in the morning, I knew my target for race 2 should be to come out on top. So sitting P3 on the grid, a small amount of confidence had begun to brew behind my tinted visor. Rolling out of the pits I took extra care in making sure tyre temperatures were at optimum, to help avoid a repeat of the mornings poor start.

Despite my tyre warming efforts, accelerating up to the start line it immediately became clear that my kart wasn't going to co-operate as I'd hoped. Opening up the throttle I watched the surrounding karts creep forward  as my engine struggled to pull itself into the power band. As a result I fell back from the leader into turn 1, and was edged wide by fast accelerating karts behind. Falling back into 5th I was frustrated that my confidence had turned to desperation as I watched the leading pair edge away.

I was lucky to sneak back into 3rd after the pair ahead ran wide in turn 8. From here I began to regain hope that I could draw in the leaders and chase that win I so wanted. But this hope was short lived as I battled sluggish straight line speed, and almost immediately fell back to 4th after being out dragged into turn 1. To add to my misery, whilst chasing 3rd place I got greedy on the kerb of Cafe Curve, throwing me out wide and costing me time.

Pushing hard: Despite my best efforts I couldn't catch the leaders

From here it was a race of damage limitation, with the leaders out of reach and unimpressive straight line speed meaning I was chasing points rather than trophies. Pushing as hard as I could I still lost another place, eventually crossing the line in 5th. (Somehow this turned into a 4th after the race - most likely due to a kart ahead receiving a penalty).

Despite the potential shown after qualifying pole, I ended up leaving Buckmore Park empty handed. The only thing I had to show for my weekend was a very sore back thanks to my morning impact (tyre walls aren't as soft as they look!) Nevertheless, it felt great to get back out racing. Lets just say I'm looking forward to proving myself at Round 2.

For those of you who'd prefer a video, here's my onboard footage of Race 1:

Round 2 of the CLUB100 Lightweight Sprint Championship will be at Bayford Meadows in Sittingbourne on the 14th April.