The Nationals, Mallala June 24-25

* sorry, more photos as yet unavailable. Will be posted soon*

The Deep End

There's rocks on the bottom...

The Superkart Non-Gearbox National Championships were held at Mallala Motorsport park, 1 hour north of Adelaide. Normally a P-plater like me is not eligible to run the Nats but for beauracratic reasons I will not go into here, 2006 was an exception. So, only my second race meeting ever was the biggest meeting of the year.

It's called the non-gearbox nationals but a small number of 80cc Gearbox karts joined us because their speeds are similar. There were a total of 42 karts.

That's a lot.

Mallala used to be my "home track" if you count club sprints in an old Austin Sprite I had when I was 19, too many years ago. The facilities have changed somewhat but the circuit layout is the same. I was looking forward to seeing the old place again, from the right side of the fence.

Lazy people can now drive their kart to the out grid

Friday 23rd Jun - private practice

After some niggles at Winton earlier I was all nervous about reliability. That was the least of my problems. After some laps in the first of three sessions it seemed to all be honking along nicely.

Then I had a near-harmless spin on turn 7 in front of three others. Two got past, one didn't. He hit the front right corner hard enough for me to think the weekend was all over. Surprisingly, I drove away with some fairing damage and a bent rim which I didn't discover until the following day.

The other guy, #83 Martin Latta, was less fortunate with some bent axles and steering damage. He was none too pleased and raved on like an idiot but everyone agrees that there is no right way to make a simple mistake. Even #83's owner accepted it was a "racing incident". It was back in one piece by the third session. It's moments like this you remember not to take yourself too seriously. We're just racing karts. Not saving the world.

Having said that, I was none too keen to go having silly little loses in traffic so I played it as safe as possible. The final session's only worry was a return of the overheating problem. Other than that, the thing was running smoothly. More repairs and then the machine was put to bed for the night.

Saturday June 24th- Qualifying

Naturally it was just prior to scrutineering when I discovered that I had a bent front right rim from the prang. Local kart shop and road racing specialist Ian Williams popped my tyres onto his spare rims and lent them to me for the weekend. After a flurry of other modifications we hit the track for Practice 1, which I later discovered was changed to "Qualifying 1". So, what used to be Q1 was now Q2 and Q3 was later cancelled. Geddit?

Note borrowed front rims and no I'm not looking at my watch.

Since we were running as support to the CAMS National Racing Series, (as seen on SBS' Speedweek Program) we did not expect the program run to schedule all weekend. With the big title races like V8 Commodore Cup, Formula 3 and GT Production, if there were any delays it was a sure thing that the little superkarts would lose a session or two. It turned out that our second Qualifying would be the one to go. Naturally we didn't learn of this cancellation until after the first Qualifying.

Oh, and another bonus about running at such a hard-core car race meeting was that, being at ground level, us superkarters get to see all the debris and rubbish that the cars leave behind. I dodged nuts, bolts, brake ducts and fan belts.

Q1: I have to admit that the whole qualifying thing, the thrill of searching for that perfect lap to bank a good time, is a huge rush. Finding a clear lap amongst 42 karts was the big challenge.

I thought I'd found one on around my fifth lap, but heading into turn one, the major bump at the apex finally got me and I had the mother of all spins. I don't know how many times I gyrated but it put me right back in the traffic, with some big flat spots on the tyres vibrating like buggery. I posted a 1:23.3685 and was a little sheepish about taking T1 flat again.

You can find the whole stats of quali 1 here http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?25/06/2006.MALL.Q6 . I qualified 27th out of 42. My big surprise come race day was that, despite being a "P" Plater, I would be starting from my quali spot, NOT the rear of grid as I'd thought. It was a long way back anyway...

Before I make too many excuses I will post the following; there are many ways to take my performance but overall I was happy. I'd elected to run in the "lightweight" class (160kg) but knew I would be hopelessly overweight for that. The next weight break for heavies is 180kg. I was around 170 so it was either put on a ridiculous amount of ballast or just suck it in and run uncompetitive with the waify boys. I was never expecting any trophies this time around so it really didn't bother me.

It did bother some of the heavies though!

Chasing Lee Filliponi into the ultrafast and bumpy turn 1

I really did think I had a little more speed in hand but then found out that Q2 (Q3??) was cancelled. At least I got to go home early.

Sunday, June 25.

Race 1 was scheduled for 10.20am, and I have never been so nervous. I'm told being nervous is good. I don't know about that. I qualified 27th but had to start from 30th because the 80cc Gearbox karts are put at front of field for safety reasons (they take off much quicker), and obviously I had outqualified some of the 80's.

So I came into the meeting expecting to have a nice relaxing start right at the rear of grid, and here I was right in the thick of it, slightly rear of the midfield pack. The Mallala grid winds all the way back past the last corner. That's where I was.

Race 1

I think all of the 12 karts behind me passed me at the start when I put the right foot down and nothing happened. Some annoying little carburettion problem perhaps. It cleared itself by the start finish line and off I went, almost last. The rest is quite a blur but I was having a nice duel with pit buddy Ron Goldfinch (SA), and got the occasional love tap from Lee Filliponi (VIC). My Friday crash mate Martin Latta was in the mix but I eventually got past him, with a slight weight advantage.

End race 1

In lights, Deane Crooke, who had qualified fifth, had a spin at Turn 7 trying to abort an overtake under yellow flags in a spirited dice with Stewart Campbell (SA) and Stratton Limberis (SA) among others. His recovery drive was stirring, eventually passing me and finishing 25th. The perennial Colin McIntyre topped the heavy class, finishing 10th outright from 22nd. There were incidents galore and many yellow flags. Overall my thing performed well. The brakes were a bit spongy and tyres stayed consistent.

I finished 27th, three spots ahead of where I started. Considering how many spots I lost at the green light, that wasn't bad. Race stats here at http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?25/06/2006.MALL.R3

Race 2

Starting order was as per finishing positions in race 1. The only change I made between races was to make the gearing a little taller. Since I was expecting to spend most of the race running in a pack, there would be plenty of slipstreaming. You really notice the engine spin up about 400rpm when you're behind someone. This time I started a little better, but the thing still coughed and spluttered off the line. I dropped to 29th at the start. Lap 3 I was 27th, lap 4 Michael Rogers and Ron Goldfinch (SA) nailed me, but lap 5 I follwed them through Andrew Beams and Jason Burton (SA) to grab 25th on the last lap.

Moving up again! Very happy. But I was particularly keen to catch Alastair Punshon (SA #54) as I knew he was running very similar weight and setup to me. This put him right ahead of me on the grid for race 3. results here http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?25/06/2006.MALL.R8

Race 3

Finally the misfire didn't bother me at the start and I flew (or actually, crawled, as the non-gearbox karts tend to do) past Alastair Punshon at the start. I even nailed Kristian Stebbing, one of Victoria's State Championship front-runners, briefly on lap 1. Commencing lap 2 and going into my favourite turn 1, I threw it down the road again, obviously having learned nothing from Q1 yesterday. The problem was, the chassis flexed so much that the chain flew off and I free-wheeled conveniently into the pit entrance with no prop. Theoretically, it is impossible to put a chain on, to the correct adjustment, by hand. But by some mysterious quirk I was able to do just that. I rejoined, with the leaders bearing down on me, about to put me a lap down.

Whilst grimacing, waiting for the damaged chain to go "bang" I drove the wheels off the thing trying to stay ahead of the leaders. In fact I equalled my qualifying time in the process. But they were too quick, not to mention 10 kilos lighter, and I obeyed the blue flags. It was interesting though, to run with the leaders for a lap, albeit last.

I swear I drove like this guy

My nemesis Alastair Punshon (a lovely bloke, that #54) finished 24th. So I could have been 23rd or higher. What if, what if, what if. What if I hadn't made a stupid mistake. Sigh...results here http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?25/06/2006.MALL.R11 but just ignore the last couple of lines.

Race 4

My combined results put me grid 30th for the 8 lap final. On lap one Deane Crooke in the Hypermax spun it again, this time on turn 3, as did Brad Stebbing and others. Even from my vantage point back there I could see clouds of dust and karts everywhere. This must have given me a leg up to be 27th by end lap 1. But that meant these front runners would be trailblazing from rear of field and catching us slower guys, it was just a matter of time.

In the meantime I spent most of the race having a great dice with Ron Goldfinch again. Whilst it was a little disheartening to be only on the pace of a heavier weight competitor, Ron is one of SA's frontrunners, so my speed was mostly encouraging. Every lap, side by side down the straight and braking duels into the northern hairpin. Great fun. Our pace put me as high as 25th on lap 3 and 4, but I still couldn't nail Ron, and was getting tired of looking at the #46 on his bumper.

Then on lap 7 the fast guys loomed, recovering from their first lap spins, just as I was having a crack at Ron. Rod Clark, Brad Stebbing and Deane Crooke menaced me going into the northern hairpin, and I planned to let them through after exiting the hairpin, hopefully having a crack at Mr. Goldfinch as they passed him.

The kerb on the outside of the northern hairpin is rather nasty and tall. I managed to miss it all weekend, until now. Trying to get a fast exit I threw it up onto the kerb, sparks and debris flying everywhere, not to mention getting a very sore bum in the process. Deane Crooke told me later it was a spectacular sight.

It kinda took the wind out of my sails and I lost touch with Goldfinch, eventually finishing 27th.

Right where I started! Results here http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?25/06/2006.MALL.R15.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. In what other sport can you push like a lunatic, drive madly around in circles and finish exactly where you started? Not many, I suspect.

We're not saving the world, we're just racing silly little karts.

Test Day- Winton 16th Jun 2006

Friday 16th June saw us on another trip up to Ned Kelly country to see how the new motor goes. This time I was accompanied by Lagler's MD Cam Luke, who would try his hand at this superkarting caper to see if he couldn't smash a lap record or two.

With the motor run in on dyno, a new lowdown seat and radiator position I was expecting some improvements in speed. There probably were but we didn't have the luxury of finding out, since the day was spent fiddling.

The picturesque Winton circuit dwarfing small racing machine

Yep, I should know this whole thing is never easy. The radiator's new position all the way over there opposite the engine, with it's long hoses meant some air pockets in the cooling system, so the temperature was all over the place like a mad woman's Special K. The small coolant leak atop the engine didn't help either. It was sucking in more air and making it hotter. And we had a brand spanking, expensive new rebuilt engine to consider.

Plus the coolant leak was spraying all over the right rear tyre, which made it particularly interesting into the ultrafast turn one left hander. It was also spraying all over our nice new embroidered race suit. Fortunately I was using green coolant so the colour matched Lagler's logo.

Cam, looking the part, also looking a little worried.

Nonetheless, sponsor Cam got a run for a few laps. It took a while for him to get used to the concept of getting a non-gearbox kart up to speed; there is no subtlety involved. The idea is you mash the loud pedal until the clutch has stopped dragging and the engine is happily screaming like a banshee. Only then can you consider lifting off the throttle occasionally. One unscheduled stop up the hill out of the pits, then he was eventually off. After a few laps Cameron McConville, er, Luke, began to look like he wanted to attack a couple of turns quite nicely. He even managed an innocuous spin going into the section called "the cleavage" (no jokes please). Then, during a sensational lap that would have put him on pole (for a Formula HQ race), the machine stopped dead and had to be towed back to the pits.

Race machines of all types, from karts to F1 cars have a curious habit of dying on-track then embarrassingly firing up in the pits afterwards with no obvious problems. Nigel Mansell had such a problem on the last lap of the Canadian GP in 1991 whilst heading towards certain victory. To this day theories still rage about why it conked out. Some say he was driving so slowly, being so far ahead and savouring his victorious last lap, that the engine's computer assumed something was wrong and shut everything down, or it got a weird signal from a microwave oven in downtown Toronto. Some say he hit the kill switch whilst waving to the crowd. Others say the Renault engine couldn't take any more of Nige's monotonous Birmingham accent.

Ol' Blighty at it again!!

Either way it was all very sad and embarrassing for Nige while an undeserving Nelson Piquet swept through to take the win and rubbed more salt in by saying he didn't feel the least bit sorry for anyone. The Williams Renault team got the car back to the pits and the engine roared into life without a fuss.

After reminiscing over all this and snapping back to Winton 2006 I noticed that a battery terminal had come off. Cam's braking foot (which was obviously being used way too much) had knocked it off. I could have pretended not to notice, hook the terminal back up, fire it up and say "Hey look! Whaddaya know, it obviously doesn't like you" but after all, Cam signs the paycheques.

Those darn Hypermaxes, always slightly out of reach. This was one part of the day when the thing ran, more or less, properly

However in this case the kart didn't exactly behave for me either. All day it was developing a nasty misfire (only around left handers) until eventually, moments before the Boss was due for another run, it popped and banged to a halt with an over-rich fuel problem. Despite new engine and clutch, the carby clearly still had some issues. These things require the occasional change of carby jets to suit certain climactic conditions. Despite the perfect clear sunny day, it was a typically cold Winton, under ten degrees, so we suspect the thing was too rich and wet with fuel. This, combined with a few other minor but annoying problems put an end to the day one or two sessions early.

Machines. I'm not a mechanic's bootlace.

Overall it was an annoying "two steps forward, three back" kind of day, chasing repairs instead of improvements. But, having said that, I was able to ride shotgun with other karts for a few corners to compare, and it wasn't all bad news. With or without the right rear tyre getting a coolant bath this kart has never been strong into left handers, it oversteers violently, which I've never been able to sort. But into the right handers it sticks. I literally tried to throw it off the road but it just kept sticking.

smokin'

Furthermore, I totally underestimated the physical demands of this discipline. Now with the seat lying back, the wrists, forearms and neck take an even greater pounding. Five quick laps felt like five rounds with Fenech. Here I have two choices; a sexy new ergonomic F1-style steering wheel angled towards the driver, or going to the gym every night. The choice was obvious.

My new steering wheel should be ready in time for the Phillip Island round July 15th.

So I travel to SA this Thursday 21st Jun not knowing if the thing will stay cool, let alone respond properly. With the help of Pro-Karting at Thomastown the carby woes should be sorted, and in the worst case of continual overheating I can always put the radiator back where it was. And Mallala is a clockwise circuit, meaning mostly right handers. Whilst I have to start from the rear like a good little probationary licence holder, hopefully I won't stay back there! More later.

Thanks!

As much as I'd love to get the rebuilt engine back before the weekend, I thought better to get the thing run in on the dyno. That saves me having to run it in. Which would mean going all the way to Winton just to drive around very slowly, staying under 5,000 rpm getting in everyone's way and generally being miserable and grumpy like a child in a toystore not allowed to touch anything.

But that's not why I've done this posting. This is a big thank you to the team at POLYCURE Innovative Floor Coatings for becoming a sponsor. I won't downplay it- every bit counts especially when we're on a shoestring budget and can barely afford the neccessities. So, naturally, Polycure's contribution will go towards some grid girls, or possibly a team masseur.

Until I have something more interesting to post here is a picture of me exiting MG at Phillip Island...

Photo courtesy of TOR Designs