British Championship - Rowrah 26/05/2019

A weekend that delivered mixed weather and mixed fortune.

Saturday qualifying was split into two groups and whilst the first group were on track, the rain started which was to slow down the drivers. For the second session (which I was in), the rain started to get heavier but not enough to require wet tyres. I was sat in P2 for the majority of the session, then on the last lap, I went faster in sector 1, but was held up for the 2nd and 3rd sector, so qualified 6th in group. However, due to the rain being heavier and the track slower (but within 110% of the first group), it was all to no avail as I ended up 22nd overall.

The racing was a mixed bag, for the first heat, the kart in front of me stalled on the start line for the role up lap, I hadn’t got back into position and the officials allowed the race to continue where it should have been a false start, so instead of starting 15th, I actually started in 20th. I raced it back to 13th but it should have been an easy top 10 finish. For the second heat, I had a spin and picked up a penalty, so finished in 20th. For the final, I managed to make up eight places, but due to a penalty finished 20th.

I’m currently sat in 18th in the championship with 8 rounds left, so this is still wide open with  small gap to close to get me into the top 10.

Pictures courtesy of kartpix.net

Whilton Mill - 22/04/2018

In preperation for the upcoming Superone round at Whilton, this was the last club meeting, so a full grid was on offer and it wasn't going to be an easy weekend. It's been a while since I was last at Whilton, but I was quickly on the pace.

With a weekend of beautiful weather, the whole weekend was a dry meeting, although there were one or two moments when we thought it might turn wet. Apart from one heat, I made places in all races and the final, allowing me to take 18th in the end, but had I not been driven over once, and smashed onto the grass in the final, it should have been an easy top 10.

A big thanks to Martyn and Callum for some great advice and great preparation and a great kart.

TVKC - 01/04/2018

Another great line up for the first round of the TVKC summer championship, with again in excess of 50 senior drivers in search of that first win.

Saturday testing was a very wet and cold day, but my times were looking fast. The kart felt absolutely fantastic with the set up just perfect. As the timetable was very extensive, we had timed qualifying on Saturday afternoon. This was going really well, with what looked like a secured 3rd place, but the track was coming together every lap so it was looking like whoever crossed the line last would get the best time. A small mistake didn't allow me to get in my final flying lap, so had to settle for 12th in group.

For Sunday, the rain had eventually stopped, and the track was dry, the first heat allowed me to gain 6 places finishing 12th, with some good lap times. For the second heat, someone stalled at the start and I was the victim of the nosecone penalty before we had even got going. I crossed the line in 13th, but the 10 second penalty had dropped me down to 21st.

For the final, I was starting in 20th and looking for a top ten finish, which was easily within reach, but a mechanical issue with the brakes saw my times tumble. I managed to finish in 23rd but considering for the first half of the race my brakes were on solid, and the second half I had no brakes at all as they had over heated, I came away feeling lucky that I'd managed to finish.

Taking the positives from the meeting, I know that my pace was good, my race craft is getting better, this puts me in a good place for this coming weekend and the first round of the British Championship. Many thanks to Ash, Martyn, Harrison and Sam from KR-Sport, you guys did a fantastic job.

Picture courtesy of Chris Walker of Kartpix.

Don't forget, its the first round of the British Championship this weekend with the finals being televised and shown on TV. If you're looking for a great advertising opportunity, please get in touch.

TVKC - 04/02/2018

A fantastic line up for the February meeting with over 50 drivers in the Senior X30 class, the meeting was always going to be an eventful and entertaining one. Saturday testing was wet for the whole day, so it was great to have the full day for testing the wet set up. I was constantly in the top 10 for pace and looked strong going into qualifying. When qualifying came, it was difficult to get the perfect lap, so had to settle for 13th in group.

Sunday arrived and although the rain had finally stopped, the first heat was wet. I had great pace and made 8 places up, which was looking promising. For the second heat, again fortune was on my side and I squeezed up the pack again, gaining four places. For the final, I got knocked out wide at the start and ebbed up in 30th position. However, when it came back to me, I showed some great tenacity and started t climb the pack, where I finished in 17th. Had I not got knocked out wide at the start, it would have been an easy top 10. It left me with a positive feeling, knowing that my lap times were very competitive and faster than drivers who I've struggled to stay with in the past.

Many thanks to Ash and Lewis from KR Sport for an amazing kart and great advice all weekend, and a big thanks too Sam for the previous weekends. Onwards and upwards for the rest of 2018.

Jake joins KR Sport

After three fantastic years of racing for S8 racing, I have joined KR Sport for the upcoming winter series and the 2018 Super 1 British Championship. KR come with a great track record of producing champions, at both national and world level. It's exciting to be part of a new team, and I am looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

With the excitment of joining a new team, also comes the sadness of leaving a team. Jim and Alex have been a fantastic part of my journey, and I will always be greatful for the amazing times we've had together, from podium finishes, wins and that all important fastest lap at the world finals, none of this would have been possible without of them, and I am proud to have been part of the S8 family. I wish the team well for the future.

TVKC - 05/03/2017

On the back of a win from the previous week, I was looking forward and feeling positive for the club round at PFI for the last round of the TVKC winter series. Saturday testing was a bit non-plus, but the times were steady and just about on the pace. For qualifying, the wind was quite strong, so a tow was needed to get that all important fast lap in. I ran the first half in clean air and then went for a tow, unfortunately, I got with a slower pack and found that by the end of the lap I was tripping over the other drivers, so qualified a very disappointing 17th in group and 35th overall, so had plenty to do come race day.

For the first two heats, starting in 24th position which is the crash zone, found that I'd lost my nosecone before the end of the first lap. This meant that I was stuck in the B final, again this was a difficult race, and whilst running in 2nd position, got smashed off and lost my nose cone again. However, I just kept pushing and pushing until I crossed the line in 3rd, but with the penalty meant that I had finished 4th but still gained a place in the A final.

For the main A final, I was starting in 36th and last position on the grid, this just meant that I had to get the bit between my teeth and go for it. I managed to pass 26 karts on track and finish a very solid 10th which meant that I'd made the podium and took another trophy for the second week on the bounce. Had I not qualified so badly and had so much damage in the races, then I'm certain this would have been a top 3 finish.

LKRC - 26/02/2017

It had been a long time since I'd driven around Fulbeck, but I turned up in a very positive frame of mind, as it was the last meeting prior to the NKF round, there were quite a few drivers from that series all looking to take some of the spoils away. Saturday was all about ensuring the kart was running ok as we had suffered electrical faults previously, so it wasn't until late in the day before we practiced on pace. For race day, it was all guns blazing and I was determined to set the pace for the day, for the first heat, I started closer to the back of the grid, but by the end of the first lap, was up into P3, on lap 5 I was away in the lead being chased by my two teammates Jajay Cook and Jack Smith, it was fantastic to take the chequered flag with an S8 finish of 1,2 & 3. For the second heat, I was starting closer to the front, but again made it to the front quite early on and ran away with the lead taking the win. This was also repeated in the third heat, so I'd managed a clean sweep taking the win in all three heats.

Staring the final in pole position, it required a slightly different set up to ensure I could maintain the lead from the start, I managed to get away and gain a good lead, but knew that I would be vulnerable later in the race, it all got very close on the final lap where I took the win by less than 1/10th of a second to Aaron Brown with teammate Jack Smith taking a very solid third.

Thanks to Carol McLean of(Tlp Karting) and Sandra Evison for some great photos.

TVKC - 04/12/16

What a good weekend racing at TVKC. Saturday was a good day for the team, all of the drivers were on the pace and looking strong, S8 Racing certainly rocked up with one aim, winning!! With four practice sessions and straight into qualifying, all of the drivers were fast, but seemed to get held up, I managed to qualify 6th in my group.

Race day came and unfortunately one of the team mechanics had taken ill in the night, so the rest of the team shown true team spirit to ensure that Jack could race. For my first race, I was starting in 7th out of 33, I made an awesome start, getting into 2nd after the first couple of corners, then taking the lead at the hairpin, this should have been a straight push to the chequered flag with myself and Teddy Pritchard-Williams pushing away, but unfortunately as we came around the loop, we both found out that there was still some ice on the track, dropping me to 11th after slipping past the corner, however I managed to fight back to 6th.

Second race was again starting in 7th, this was a straight forward fight to cross the line in 5th.
For the final, again starting in 7th, decided to make some minor changes to give me a little more top end speed, but had to pay the price when fighting on the way out of the heavy braking zones. It didn't quite pay off, but wasn't that much of a hindrance. With over 50 drivers in my class, I took the chequered flag in the same position as I started, 7th. With nine trophies for the class, managed to pick one up. Special thanks go to Jim & Alex of S8 Racing and to Craig Hargate who was a great help to everyone, especially me and Jack.

TVKC - 06/11/16

PFI greeted us with freezing cold but dry temperatures on Sunday morning, we were first on track for qualifying at 8:15 without any practise. I decided to go on my own and qualified 10th out of the 32 in my group (63 drivers overall in X30 junior), it could have been better had I got a tow, as I was only a 1/10th off 5th. The rain came for my first heat where I was starting in 10th place, I managed to get a great start and was nicely up into 3rd place by lap 1, I managed to keep this place until the last lap, where I made a small mistake that allowed Hawkey through, so had to settle for 4th. My second heat was almost as good, I managed to get a great start and was up into 5th place, where I stayed until the chequered flag fell.

The final took place in the dark under floodlights, but with a wet track and bitterly cold temperatures, it was certainly no Singapore Grand Prix. I was starting in 6th position, so was hoping for a podium finish. The first half of the race, was going to plan I was still 6th position, when I got a whack from behind and my rear bumper became detached even though it had a tether for extra security. As a result, the handling of the kart became difficult, and I lost three places, crossing the line in 9th. This was still good enough for a podium and trophy, but the bumper was spotted by the scrutineers when entering parc ferme. As a result, I was excluded from the race. Very frustrating as I received no technical flags. However, I'm taking the positives from the weekend, I've now proved that I can make the grade at PFI which is the hardest grid in the country, plus I've no intention of letting this be a one off, I intend to become a dominant feature. Big congratulations to my teammate Oliver Greetham who dominated the whole weekend and took the win.

Many thanks to Chris Walket of #kartpix for the photos.

World Finals Le Mans, France 2016

The World Finals held in Le Mans were The Jewel in the Crown for the Iame class, and I was very privileged to be part of the week. Due to the amount of time that I needed to be in Le Mans, meant that my parents couldn't spend the whole time there, so firstly thanks go to Jim Thornsby and Alex Short from the team for taking care of everything relating to karting, and a great thanks to Mark and Debbie Wilson for taking me under their wing for the week and making sure I didn't get into any trouble.

The week got off to a good start, testing commenced on Monday afternoon, right through to Wednesday afternoon, on this impressive circuit. Qualifying took part under the flood lights, this gave it a different feel, but it was great to be on track as the atmosphere was electric. The qualifying wasn't so electric, it seemed that every flying lap was wrecked as other drivers were either slowing up in front of me, or pulling into the racing line in front of me, so I only managed to get three decent laps in before the tyre came fully into play. I qualified 9th in my group of 34 drivers, so was happy with the result but feel I could have put it in the top 5.

This meant that all my starts were roughly in about 14th or 15th place. The first heat was tough, with me not getting the best of races out of the way, where I crossed the line in 17th. For the second heat, the rain came down just beforehand and played into my hands as the track suited my style of wet driving, so made 11 places and took the chequered flag in 4th place. For the other heats, I was finishing in comfortable positions that were looking good for the A final. With two heats to go, I just needed to finish mid pack to assure me the place, on the penultimate heat, there was a pile up directly in front of me, meaning I had nowhere to go and just clipped my nose cone, giving me a 10 second penalty, so what would have been a very strong heat after passing about 11 drivers, I finished way down the order. For the final heat, I was making great progress, passing the most of those in front, when number 169 Langtoft of Denmark decided to fire me off, this dropped me down to last position with only a couple of laps to go, so I had to work hard and make as many places as I could before the flag fell. With these two disastrous rounds, this put me in the B final.

For the B final, the starting position was 23rd, so wasn't looking good as only the 1st place driver made it into the A final. I'd had a great start, and in the words of my dad, I was menacing on track. I'd made places on every single lap, so by lap 5 of 12, was running just behind Mario Mills and was bearing down on him at such a pace, that he was in my sights for the next corner, when disaster hit as my chain came off, so it was final over. Had this not happened, it would have definitely been a top 3 finish.

To sum up the whole week, fantastic track, I've improved so mush, made so many 'top' UK drivers look average and pleased that I'd put in some fastest laps. This time next year :)

Thanks to S8 Racing (Jim & Alex), my sister Emilie, Mum, Dad and Auntie Paula for coming and supporting me.

Super 1 British Championship PFI 2016 23rd - 25th September 2016

Hi expectations were on the plate for this weekend, especially for testing as I was running fastest along with Gordon Mutch. We were happy with the setup but only had the two test sessions vefore qualifying. Quali did not go to plan, qith inly six minutes and certain drivers only interested in wrecking my lap rather than concentrating on their own, put me in 15th, when should gave easily been in the top 3.

Race 1 went to plan, with 4 places gained, this was lining up to be a good weekend working on steady progress. For race two, bad luck hit, with one of the lesser experienced drivers smashing me and pulling my rear bumper off, so I got a DNF, meaning that the starting position for the first final was 19th.

For the first final, I was on the pace and managed to make 8 places putting back into 11th, where this was my starting position for the 2nd final. For final 2, the kart didn't seem to have any power, but I was still on a charge gaining places, when on the penultimate lap, was pushed wide and lost a few. I finished 10th, so with an engine where the piston ring was stuck on, and tyres that had gone off, was quite happy with the result.

The Super 1 season has been frustrating overall, with two DNF's poor tyres and some bad luck, cost us from what should have been a top 3 finish to finishing 8th overall.

On a more happy note, I've been selected to race in Le Mans at the world finals from the 10th - 18th October. Hopefully with luck and a good engine behind me, a top 10 finish is acheivable.

Many thanks to #kartpix #chriswalker for the great photos.

TVKC 4/09/16

Saturday testing was a mixed day, starting dry but ending with torrential rain. The pace was good all day with no real threats to worry about. Still had engine issues so opted to use a Force powered engine come race day.

Qualifying was split into two groups as there were over 50 entrants, so had to set out a good pace. managed to qualify in 7th, but as the time between the two groups was outside of the 107% due to a drying track, dropped me to 13th overall.

For heat one, I was staring in 9th with some fantastic drivers around me. I was soon into battle with Louis Westover (who has receiently won a European round), so rather than using each other to work through the pack, we hindered each other as the pace was similar. I finally took the chequered flag in 7th.

For the second heat, again into battle with Westover, who wanted to fight rather than use each others pace to get through. I lost one place in this heat finishing 10th, but managed to put in the fastest lap by 2/10th of a second. Had Westover used me instead of battling, we would have easily finished in the top 5.

For the final, I had a starting position of 13th with some good talent around me, it was a race with one or two issues, getting knocked down the pecking order at the start, but I still fought back and managed to finish in the top 10.

Really happy with the result after a few issues recently, so just need to use that positivity for the upcoming Super 1 this coming weekend.

TVKC 3/07/16

Saturday was an average day, didn’t set any blistering laps, just couldn’t seem to get the engine in a sweet spot, so come race day, opted for the 2nd engine.

Qualifying was mid pack, still a little off the pace, so started the first and second heat in 16th. For the first heat, I made places, but on the last lap, made an overtake, but just left the door slightly ajar for the next corner, allowing me to get passed and getting knocked off track slightly. I finished the heat where I started.

For the second heat, I managed to make a few places, and was only 5/100ths off the fastest lap, so on my slower engine managed to put in some good times.

For the final, started in 20th, but on the first lap, got spun out on the bridge at the start, this left me facing in the wrong direction and down in last (36th) position. With a bent stub axle, the kart wouldn’t turn left and was heavily pulling to the right, so wasn’t expecting much. However, considering the damage, I still managed to set quite a good pace and get some overtaking done,
finishing in 22nd. Overall, disappointed with the result, but happy with the positives, still managing to bang in a faster lap than the 5th place man, and right on the pace all day.

Many thabnks to Chris Walker #kartpix for the great photos.

 

 

LKRC 26/06/16

Only the second time racing at Fulbeck, so was treating the race as a practise in preparation for the Super 1 round. We didn’t bother with Saturday practise and just turned up on the Sunday morning for the race day.

It wasn’t the biggest of grids, but there it was still full of the Fulbeck faithful including Teddy Williams who always does well there.

The first heat wasn’t very successful, on the first heat, a kart spun in front, and with a tap from behind, I collected Teddy and we both ended up in the gravel. We had to pull our karts out and join the race at the back, so this just ended up with a fight between myself and Teddy, but it was good fun.

The second heat, was more successful, I managed to get into 2nd position, take the lead, then fall back to 2nd, where I finished the heat but very close to my team mate Ollie Greetham.
For the third heat, it was a three-way battle between myself, Ollie and Teddy, I managed to take the lead, then swap it a couple of times, but took the move for the lead with a couple of laps to go to take the win.

For the final, Ollie was on pole, I was second, with Teddy fourth, the start was tough with someone trying to squeeze me out, but the elbows came out and I kept my position, until the chequered flag, with Ollie 2nd and Teddy 3rd. All in all, a very positive weekend.

 

Super 1 British Championship Llandow 4/5 June 2016

Lady luck didn't bother coming with us on the long journey to South Wales, which made for a very long and difficult weekend. Friday started off fine, but as the other teams were progressing, we were just off the pace, so drastic changes needed to take place. The team worked late into the evening and got the set-up of the kart spot on.

As Saturday morning arrived, first practise was great and I showed some good pace, just off the leaders but within easy reach of snatching a win. Timed qualifying came and we suffered mechanical issues, which prevented me from getting in a flying lap, I was way off pace and qualified in last place. We swapped engines, carburettors, wiring looms and still we couldn't get the pace back, with two poor heats and a loss of a lot of points.

For Sunday, more major work had been carried out overnight and early Sunday morning, to allow me to get closer to the pace. For the first practise, I was on the pace but as soon as the parc ferme tyres were back on the kart, 1/2 a second a lap was lost. In the final, I managed to show grit and determination and make places, but the kart was nowhere near where it should have been and I was racing slower drivers.

The driver of the weekend had to be my team mate Oliver Greetham, who stuck it on second for the final, only to get smashed off deliberately.

Onwards and upwards, Fulbeck next.

 

Super 1 British Championship Rissington - 23/24 April 2016

The first round for the X30 in the British Championship, held at Little Rissington took place over the weekend. There was a strong grid with drivers like Tom Douglas, Angus Fender, Ethan Pitt and my team mate Oliver Greetham. We had a promising start to Friday testing with me setting the pace for the rest to chase, as the day went on my times were getting better and better and was the fastest on the day, which was a great feeling. The kart felt fantastic to drive and was such a huge improvement from the old chassis.

For first practice on Saturday, we tried a couple of small changes to see if we could improve, but this wasn't in my favour, so we soon reverted back to the setup of the Friday. Once qualifying started, the laps were getting better and better and right near the end, put in my fastest lap which then put me 2nd on the grid for the first race.

For the first heat, I was passed at the start by the local lad Ethan Pitt, which dropped me the 3rd but stayed within 1/10th of a second to Pitt, where I managed to pass him on lap no 6. This put me within a 10th of a second to the Scottish driver Gordon Mutch, where I stayed until lap 11, where I then took the lead. Pitt and Fender also followed me through, but myself and Pitt managed to pull away from Fender by over a second, until the race end where I took the win and set the fastest lap, with Pitt a very close second and Fender third

The second heat was very similar, it was pretty much a three way battle between myself, Pitt and Mutch. Mutch led for most of the race ,but on lap 11 Pitt managed the jump on myself and Mutch, but I also followed him through, so kept 2nd place, which put me in pole position for the first final. Again setting the fastest lap in the process.

For the first final, I made a terrible start and Pitt jumped me on the first corner, again with another three way battle throughout the race, with nothing between us on times, a small mistake allowed Mutch to pass me, so I took the chequered in 3rd only 1/10th behind Pitt.

The second final was more dramatic, the heavens opened up whilst in the holding area and it was a mad dash to get the wet setup on. As we didn't have local knowledge of the track, this put us at a disadvantage however, I made a great start and jumped Pitt into second, but the local driver Fender knew the track so well in the wet, he managed to jump myself and Pitt, then Pitt followed through 2 laps later. This sat me in 4th position until the final lap, where a careless driver fired me into the tyres and spun me, so lost a lot of time. However I still managed to keep the inside line and limit the damage by retaining the position that I'd found myself in. Due to the driver who put me in the wall and Tom Douglas both taking penalties, I managed to achieve fifth position. Had the final been dry, I would have certainly taken a podium position, but it wasn't to be.

We have taken away the positives of the weekend, knowing that we can win races at this level, knowing that we can set faster times than the local boys who have won club championships at this circuit.

I'm now sitting in joint 3rd in the British championship, only 5 points behind the leader, but with a gap of 21 points to the next place below.

Great thanks to Jim and Alex of S8 Racing and a special thanks to Craig Hargate.

Next race, this weekend at PFI for the Trent Valley club championship.

‪#‎S8racing‬ ‪#‎superone‬ ‪#‎kartpix‬

 

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