21/11/2016
So the 9 hour endurance race is done and dusted. MaxSpeed managed a creditable 3rd in the Flandria kart. This was always going to be a tough day at the office. Normnally we would go into this race with a team of 4 or 5 drivers. Not this year. Our one team mate was writing final university exams. Our Extra drivers had to pull out and as well and so with a week to go we needed to find an extra driver just to make up a team of 4. Luckily we manged to get James. James being rusty needed to come in the week for a bit of seat time and some driver training. Then 2 days before the event our 4th driver had a family emergency leaving us with just 3 drivers.
Nervous about our drivers having the stamina for 3 hours of driving each I unloaded the kart and set up early Sunday morning. Then problems with the timing system delayed the start and the race was cut down to 8 and a half hours. Phew that helps a bit. But also we loose the compulsory 10 minute stop. Now we have only the 30 minute compulsory stop to play with for any mechanical issues.
Qualifying turns into a bit of a circus. First the timing system is still not working so championship ranking is to be used and the quali becomes free practice. Then somewhere during the free practice the timing system starts working and the decision is reversed and lap times are used for the strat grid. Problem is we don't get told and had decided to preserve our tyres for the race and are not even on the track for the timed bit of "free practice". Back for the grid for us. frown emoticon:(
The race starts and Athenase has a mountain to climb. Within 20 laps he has gone from last to 7th and is now in a tussle with team Moz and team Google Drive. Lapping 0.2 secopnds faster he ran into a road block in the shape of team Moz. In the front of the race team T2 is leaving the field behind opening up a gap on Mad and H&H with LJ bringing up the rear of the lead group.
The tussle got pretty heated with team Moz taking a kamakazi dive up the inside from 3 karts back on turn 5 after being passed by MaxSpeed. 4 laps of bumping and barging later Google drive emerged free and clear and MaxSpeed were in the pits for a non scheduled 30 min stop to make good on a broken steat strut. The cracked strut was in no shape to race with and with some hammering and bending later we jury rigged 2 seat stays to support the seat and back into the fray we went 33 minutes later.
Lap times were still in the ball park but about 0.3 slower than before the emergency repairs. Now it was about getting the the finish with no further incidents. Team Moz paid the price for the barging and also fell off the pace quite a bit. Google drive was gone.
The middle of the race was about putting in consistent quick laps, keeping up the concentration. We did this very well and by the time the field had all done the compulsory 30 stops we were in 6th place. The predicted rain had not come and it was to be a dry race to the finish.
Then disaster struck team kala1. A casetrophic engine failure into turn 11 dumped oil on the racing line into the double left. We were a couple of karts behind the incident and didn't know there was oil on the track. Team LJ was right behind the kart when it let go and promptly shot off the track on the oil slick. Behind them was Mad and Maxspeed having a good dice. We saw the yellow flag and slowed slightly seeing the karts off the track. Mad hit the oil slick and shot off strait at LJ. 2 pairs of eyeballs getting wider as Mad slid towards LJ's stationary kart. Luckily impact was avoided. I was a kart behind Mad but also on a slightly tighter line and as a result only half my rear hit the oil and with a wiggle I managed to avoid going off. Behind me T2 came flying round the corner and hit the oil, bang! crash fo the day as T2 shot into the tyres.
Then followed 10 laps of 3 or 4 seconds off pace as we tiptoed around turn 11 avoiding marshalls flying yellow flags and putting down sand to absorb the oil. Finally back to full race pace we put our heads down now in 5th place as T2 retired. in front of us H&H and Google drive yet to do the compulsory 30 min stops were lapping a ssecond a lap slower then we were. methodically eating into their lead we kept pushing to the last lap.
Passed H&H after they did their 30 mins and it looked like we might just catch Google drive as well. One more driver change and back behind H&H we caught them and passed them opeing up a 30 second lead. Google come in for their 30 min stop and we watch as the lead closes. Its going to be close but we can see that we will be a lap behind with an hour left to race. no matter we are closing at a second a lap .. 3rd place is on! Arrgghh Google drive go back out and now they are lapping within 0.5 of our pace. Still closing but not fast enough. Still 1 hour to go and anything can happen. Push! last driver change .. I go back out and we have secured 4th place ahead of H&H. 20 laps later my teram mates waving furiously at me to pit. Say what??? we have done our driver changes. Anyway pit it is. Turns out one of our stops was not recorded and we were facing a 5 lap penalty. luckily I have continued to build on our lead over h&h and so despite the extra pit stop we come out ahead of H&H. Catching Google drive now a pipe dream. Ok so 4th it will be. No wait .. news... LJ has messed up and come in unxder weight and also messed up a driver change. Going to cost them 10 laps penatly. 3rd it is! spare a though for LJ. Not only lost last race of the season but with the 4th place lost the annual championship to Mad.
Tough day. Solid fun.
