Rowrah Lakeland Challenge 2008

Rowrah Lakeland Challenge & Bank Holiday Round, August 2008

Sunday

Heat 1 > I started 7th for the first heat. It was dry, and reasonably grippy so I slid into a groove reasonably quickly after the start. I had a reasonable start although I lost two places at the start although to compensate on the next lap I passed Elliot Cotton (no.31) and while Josh Webster and David Binks battled, I slipped past, into 6th place. After a few laps, the 'train' of karts that I was in passed Jay Taylor (no.99) and as Daniel Tate (no.17) lost a chain, I moved into 4th place for the flag.

Heat 2 > I started on 12th spot for the second heat. I had a good start and managed to get to 7th place by lap 4, but coming into the second hairpin, Joe Mckeand made a late move on the entry, and I tried to hold my position which was probably the wrong idea, as we came into contact and Joe went over my sidepod and ripped off my radiator. I realised that my engine would overheat with no cooling, so slowed down and went into the pits. My fastest lap was a 49.11.

Heat 3 > I started on pole for this heat, and immediately went for it, pulling out a small gap to Jay Taylor (no.99) of 4 tenths. The gap stayed reasonably consistent but I managed to win the final heat of the day, with a 48.99 as my fastest lap.

Final > I started in 6th place for the final. I had a good start although I was caught behind Jamie Gair (no.43) for a lap before I saw an opportunity to pass, which moved me back into 6th place as I had lost one to Josh Webster (no.62) at the start. I passed James Hogg (no.20) on the next lap and made an effort to catch up with the leading group. I caught up with Ross Hodgson (no.93) on lap 5, and made a move coming into one of the hairpins, but it didn't come off and I lost time. I caught him back up though, but as I passed him, James Hogg took advantage and passed both of us. I soon re-overtook James, although I had run out of laps and the flag came down. I finished in 4th place, with a fastest lap of 48.80.

Monday

Heat 1 > I started on pole for this heat, although I made a mistake coming into the first hairpin and slid off. As it was soaking wet today, I had to be careful re-joining as people were spinning everywhere and it was hard to see because of the spray. I got going again and overtook a few people to finish 14th, with the 3rd fastest lap of the race, with a 59.66.

Heat 2 > I started 12th for this heat. I had a reasonable start, gaining a place as someone had gone on the grass at the start, although I lost it again as Joe Mckeand passed me on the next lap. I did my best to gain time and soon passed Ross Hodgson and Rebecca Wheatley (no.32) which put me in 10th place which I held until the finish.

Heat 3 > I had a good start in this heat from 7th on the grid, although I was hit wide at the first corner, and a kart drove over the front of my kart, pulling out all of the electrics connected to the steering wheel, so I could not re-start my kart and I was out of the heat.

Final > I was 16th on the grid for the final, because of my two bad heats. I had a good start though, and moved up to 10th place straight away. I carried on my charge all the way to 7th place by lap 6, although at the end of lap 6 I was rudely hit off the track by Scott Atkinson (no.16), although I rejoined only one place down. I got going again, but a lap later, on the last corner this time, I was spun by James Hogg and that put me out of contention for a top 5 finish. My fastest lap was a 59.39 and I finished in 13th place.