TVKC - 03/04/16

The largest entry yet, 82 drivers all entered into the X30 junior race at PFI for the first round of the LGM and X30 Tour. With this number of drivers, qualifying had to take place on Saturday in order to fit all of the scheduled races in. It was a pretty uneventful session, where I finished 12th in my heat, putting me in 14th for the pre-final.

For the pre-final, I started in 14th. All was going well, making up two places on the first lap. However, as we'd made a last minute change to the rims that I was using, the beads in the front two hadn't sealed and I lost all of the air in both front tyres. This then caused the kart to bottom out on the front end and was making the handling very difficult. As a result, I lost the two places that I'd gained, but managed to hold on to 14th. Due to the numbers entered, I needed to finish in the top ten to automatically qualify for the A final, so this put me in the B final.

Rissington - 06/03/16

n preparation for the Super 1 British Championship, was my first visit to the Cotswolds for the first round of the Rissington Kart Club meeting. Saturday morning greeted us with 4 inches of snow and a bitter cold wind. Once the awning was up, the heater on and dad getting his cup of coffee down him, we were ready to hit the track. As I was learning the track and the set up, the times weren't brilliant, but we soon started to get closer to the local drivers. Unfortunately, Tom one of my friends was involved in a nasty accident so track time was limited. (Get well soon Tom).

Shennington - 15/11/15

Saturday was a wet day, with the rain constant for most of the day with monsoon like conditions at times. With only ever visiting this circuit once before, it took a couple of laps to get on the pace. Once I was familiar with the circuit, my pace was getting better and better. By the third session, I was one of the fastest on the track and making great gains, passing many other drivers, this increased my confidence with every pass.

Race day was dry, so the testing from the previous day was really to no advantage, but I was determined to convert the pace. 25 drivers were all lined up for the first race where I was starting in fifth position and quickly gained places and was running in 2nd for most of the race, but with great pace Owen Byatt managed to pass me, moving me down to third, where I took the chequered flag. Had the leader not got such a clean start, no doubt that myself and Byatt would have finished a 1,2.

For the second race, I was starting in 17th, I managed to take a place in each of the first two laps, then on lap three had jumped to 11th and chasing the next pack. From lap 6 onwards, I was taking a position one place a lap and by lap 10, was up into 7th place. So I was really happy with the position.

The final race gave me a great chance of a podium as I was starting in 5th position, by the 2nd corner I was up into 4th place and hunting down third, but on the approach to the Wilkins corner complex, I was smashed from behind and spun, where an oncoming kart hit my front wheel disabling the kart, so had to retire from the race.

So although I didn’t even complete a full lap in the final, I can’t be too disappointed, as I’d proved that I was the quickest in the wet, and also proved that I was in with a shout of finishing in the top three. I do feel like there is unfinished business at Shennington, so hoping to go there again soon and take a podium.

As always, great thanks to Jim and Alex, who provided some great advice and coaching. #s8racing

TVKC - Final Round 01/11/15

With the X30 Junior grid growing, there were 40 karts all eager to take the top step of the podium, with some great experienced drivers hoping to lead that pack.

Due to the shortened daylight hours, the day consisted of timed qualifying, a pre-final an A and a B final. For the qualifying, I was running in the top half, but slipped slightly and qualified just above halfway, (10th in my heat and 19th overall.)

For the pre-final I was starting in 8th position, but the race never really came together, I'd managed to get myself into 4th position by the end of lap 2, but found myself on the wrong side of the track and got pushed wide when someone made a pass, this allowed the train to pass through and I struggled to get back in the pack, dropping me down to 12th. However, I managed to take two places back and finished the race in 10th.

With this result, I qualified for the A final, so didn't have to go through the B final. I started the final 19th out of 36. My start was epic and by the end of lap 1, found myself in 9th position. There was a little jostling about and I dropped to 10th, then back up to 9th and closing down on 8th place. With a trophy position certainly in sight, my determination was gaining and I was definitely on for one. Unfortunately, three laps from the end, I received the technical flag as my radiator cap had come off and I'd lost water, taking the temperature up to 98 degrees, so had to retire from the race.

I left the track very disappointed, but I've got to take the positives away from this meeting, knowing that I can race up at the front of the pack and that I can mix it with the best.

Onwards and upwards, I'll be racing at Shennington on the 15th November, so hopefully with no mechanical issues, I'll get the reward for all of the hard work that I've put in.

Overall, I finished the TVKC chamionship in 12th out of 104. Not bad for my first full season.

As always, great thanks to Alex, Jim and Simon. #s8racing

 

Super 1 / TVKC

It's been a few weeks without posting, due to racing commitments, but the last few weeks hav e been action packed and full of racing. Sinve posting we have raced in two Super one rounds and two TVKC club meetings.

For the club meetings, the races have gone well but not managed to convert any of the good driving into any position other than 16, but when there is sometimes over 50 in a race meeting for my class, I'm definetely in the top half.

The Super 1 meetings have been difficult but great fun, taking an 11th at Shenington and at PFI, had not getting into fights with the slower drivers, could certainly have finished in higher positions. However, I finished the championship in 8th position, so happy with it being my full year of racing. As always a great thank you to Alex and Jim of S8 Racing, and my mechanic Simon.

To see my last Super 1 race of the season, please follow the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNzul2lw3ho

 

Kartmasters British Grand Prix 30/07 - 02/18

Kartmasters always brings out the crème de la crème in the karting world with no exception this year. This was my first year taking part and in the X30 Junior class, there were 45 other drivers all fighting for that top step on the podium. Also for the first time, Dad was working away and had to miss the first two days, so Charlie Henshaw was on the spanners for me and proved his worth.

For the qualifying on Friday, things didn't come together and I couldn't get in a clean lap, so the starting order was right down in 27th.

The first heat on Friday was steady, making up 8 places and taking the chequered flag in 19th. The second heat on Friday, I made a fantastic start and was climbing up the field, when up into 14th got smashed and dropped back into 25th, so staying focused, I started to climb again and finished in 20th, this could easily have been a top 10 finish had I not been smashed.

Saturday, again not the best qualifying session, whenever I managed to get a tow, there was always someone that decided to slow up, or got in the way, but qualified up on day 1, in 22nd position.

For the first race of the day, I managed to climb up to 18th on the first lap, but got smashed and dropped to 26th, still with the bit between my teeth, I pushed and pushed, taking a few places. I overtook Alex Spinks with a nice clean manoeuvre on the second hairpin, but stupidly the red mist got the better of him, he decided to smash into me four times, flipping me over on the back straight, so my race came crashing to a halt with the kart on top of me. The move was dangerous and many people commented that he should have had his licence suspended, but I'm a great believer in what goes around comes around, so I think his time will come!!!

The second race of the day was quite uneventful, and only one place was gained.

For the day of the Grand Prix, with all of the bad luck from the previous two days, I had only managed to make the B final, so knew that I had to finish in the top 6, to make the GP. Although it was hard not to smash Spinks off the track, I decided to work with him to secure my place in the Pre-final and the GP, so settled for 5th, but managed to put in the fastest lap time.

For the pre-final, the race was going well and I'd made 9 places, when the exhaust flex disintegrated and I received the technical flag, so finished in 31st, which was to be my starting position for the Grand Prix.

This was what the weekend was about, all of the qualifying and heats were to determine the order of this race, so being in 31st, was going to be hard. By the end of the first lap, I'd jumped up to 27th and was chasing, by lap four, I was in 23rd running behind the British TKM champion Aaron Mills, he was leaking water, so passing him was quite difficult as the track was slippery in his wake. By lap 11, I was up to 20th and still chasing down, lap 12 I was running in 18th and it was looking that this was going to be my final position, but on the last lap, I managed to steal three more places and crossed the line in 15th, and only 5 seconds behind the race winner.

To summarise, a difficult weekend, without the crash and the DNF, I would have certainly finished in the top 10, whether I could have made the trophy positions, well now one knows, so we'll have to do it again next year.

The weekend would not have been possible without some great people. Special thanks go to Jim Thornsby and Alex Short from S8 racing, Charlie Henshaw on the tools, Simon Lawler, Lee Henshaw for getting the kart back together again, Mark Wilson, Richard Reeth, Richard Greetham for calming my dad down and all of the other S8 drivers for making the weekend great.

Pictures curtesy of #Kartpix

The crash

Trip to Monaco - Aug 2015

 

As part of our summer break, we holidayed in the South of France. this gave me the chance to walk the Formula 1 circuit and for dad to drive round. The X5 wasn't the best handling, but it gave me an idea of how my heros drive this circuit. One day, one day!!

Super 1 Round 6 Larkhall - 11th/12th July

I always knew that this was going to be difficult as again another circuit that I'd bever visited before. Friday was spent learning the track and improving on times, the weather was damp and the track was wet initially, then dried so gave me practise in both wet and dry conditions.

For the Saturday, qualifying wasn't too sucsessful, only managing to qualify in 12th position, so knew that I would have some work to do. For the first race, I managed to steadily climb up the positions getting myself into 6th by lap 10, but lost out to Harry Dyson, then made a mistake on the last corner on the last lap allowing Bayley Gregory and Matk Hannigan through, so crossed the line in 9th. The second heat, was pretty uneventfull, climbing just one place to finish in 11th.

On Sunday, the free practise went quite well and was looking forward to the racing, for the first final, I got myself into up into 9th, but made a late brake and ran wide pushing me back into 13th, however I managed to cross the line in 11th. By this time, it seemed that the kart was dogged with the usual handling problems that I've been experiencing, leading to a bit of frustration.

For the 2nd final, I made a great start from 11th, gaining two places, only to be smashed off the circuit by the number 16 Bayley Gregory, pushing me into last position. The kart suffered damage and the axle had moved meaning that the break was perminently on, so was losing over a second a lap to the other drivers. I stayed out for as long as possible on the off chance that any other DNF's would give me place advantage, but this didn't look likely, so with 4 laps to go, I retired from the race as the kart was not nice to drive and to save from creating any other damage. After the race, myself and Bayley Gregory were called into the Clerk of the Course's office to give our version of events over the crash, this lead to Bayley being excluded for 'Driving in a manner incompatible with general safety'. Meaning that I gained one place, but still no compensation for having my race wrecked.

Attention is now focused on the Kartmasters British GP, held at PFI on the 31st July, 1st & 2nd August, hopefully with this being a track that I know, I will stand a better chance of getting a good result, but with 44 drivers in the X30 Junior race, competition will be tough. My only hope is that there is some clean and fair racing, and that it doesn't live up to it's name of 'Crashmasters!'

 

Super 1 on the TV.

My first TV interview and my second televised race was shown on Motors TV on Monday 15th June 2015. please click on the image below to see the full interview..

The race is shown here.

SYKC - June Round 14/06/15

Visiting a track I'd never been to before was going to be a challenge, but this was being treated just as a practise race. Dad was working away, so I had the team look after me for the whole weekend. Saturday was all about learning the track and improving on my times, the weather was wet initially so there were a few spins and a few learning curves, but the weather dried up and I increased my times.

For race day, again the weather was wet and I was up against local knowledge. For the first heat, I finished in the bottom half but posted the 2nd quickest lap time of the race. For the 2nd heat, there were some confusion at the start and I decided at the last minute to change from wets to slicks, after doing this, half of the field also decided to do the same. I won this race by about half a lap which ruffled a few feathers. For the third heat, again I drove well and finished in 3rd.

For the final, I was starting in 2nd behind River Hughes and was hoping for a podium, unfortunately I crashed out and came away very dissapointed. On the plus side though, to post the 2nd quickest lap time and win a heat at a completely new circuit up against all of the local boys was a definate bonus to take away. many thanks to Jim and Alex of S8 racing for some great help and advice.

It was also nice to see some local support, thanks for coming CVD.

 

TVKC - Round Two 07/06/15

I was really looking forward to racing at PFI for the club championship, hoping to gain a good result but yet again things didn't go to plan. During Saturday testing, the handling and the braking just didn't feel right. The hard braking areas and the tight hairpin corners were a nightmare and the kart was pushing past, making me miss the apexes. A lot of work went into the kart, but all confidence in it was gone.

Sunday came and after having new brake pads and going through numerous set up combinations, I still wasn't happy but knew that I had to make the best of what I had. For qualifying, I was well off the pace and was fighting again to keep the kart on the track, so had to settle for 23rd. for the pre-final, we made some adjustments and got the kart to handle a little better, but it was all hard work. I finally crossed the finish line in 17th but was still 7/10th's off the leaders. For the final, again further adjustments had been made and it was a make or break situation, at the start the kart came alive and I jumped from 17th up to about 7th (position to be confirmed,) but this didn't last for long. I had the speed in the first and third sector but the second sector was really killing my lap times due to the handling and braking issues. This just meant that I was a sitting target for the fast drivers that I'd manage to pass in the first lap. i eventually crossed the line in 16th. So although the kart was difficult to manage, I suppose that I finished higher than I thought that I would have. Onwards and upwards for the next meeting.

 

Whilton Mill - 26/04/15

We arrived at Whilton Mill on Saturday morning without visiting this circuit before, so we knew that we had a lot to learn. The day started with a track walk, with Alex giving some great advice. For the first run, I was driving a new kart so decided to go out at the back of the pack to ensure that the kart was handling and working how I wanted to, plus I needed to get used to the feel of the kart as the braking system is different to the old one. I was off the pace of the local drivers, but improving all day.
Come race day, for the first heat I was starting on the second row, so knew that it would be a challenge to maintain that position for the entire race. I managed to keep 7th place for quite some time, but a small mistake meant that I left the door open and with a track that is difficult to defend if you make that mistake, I eventually took 16th position.

For the second heat, I had a mid-pack start. After one false start, there was carnage but the marshals allowed the race to continue when it should have been red flagged. I ended up facing the wrong way and was running in 29th position. It was a difficult battle, but I steadily gained some places and crossed the line in 24th. I was disappointed as I believe that I could have finished the race mid pack.
For the final heat, I was starting in 28th position, so with not many behind me, had nothing to lose. I had a good race and finished in 19th after taking quite a few places.
After the carnage in the 2nd heat, I still managed to make the A-final, but was way down the order starting in 27th. I managed to make a great start and was determined to do as much damage as possible in the first lap. taking the perfect line up the hill to the first real overtaking place, I managed to make the jump into 20th. I kept this position until lap 9, where I the gained another place. I held 19th until the chequered flag.
Overall, I was pleased with the result to finish in the top half of all the drivers, 19th from 43 was probably a little more than initially expected, but had I not been involved in the carnage in the 2nd heat, I'm certain that the final position could have been top 12.

A huge congratulations go to my team mate Euan Wilson, who took 3rd place in the final of the senior race. A great achievement from one of the youngest seniors in just his third senior race.
None of this would have been possible without some great advice from Alex and Jim of S8 racing. Roll on TVKC meeting at PFI this weekend.

Ready for the 2015 Season

The 1st of March is my first race of 2015. Although this is the last race of the winter season, it is all part of the preperation for the upcoming difficult summer season ahead. This week's grid is huge with over 50 X30 Junior drivers all competing for that top step of the podium. I will have the full backing of S8 racing and hopeflly we can get a good result.

In other news, I've just had my winter treat, a week in the mountains of the Skiwelt in Austria, my skiing has improved greatly as my dad who is a seasoned skiier can't keep up with me. (Keep trying dad.) We were blessed with blue skies and mild tempreatures every day, which lead to some great times. I just need to transfer that speed and positivness into my racing now.

 

ATIM Consulting sponsorship for 2015

It is with great news that ATIM Consulting have decided to sponsor me for the upcoming 2015 season. More to follow............For further information on services that ATIM can provide, please call 0115 938 4367

TVKC Winter Series Rd 1 - 7th Dec

With the change to the series using timed qualifying, a pre-final and a final, Jake knew that he really had his work cut out to be in with a shout of getting a good starting position for the final. We knew this was going to be difficult, as the engine didn't seem to be pulling too well on the Saturday practise. So on a wet track and lower gearing Jake gave it his best but only managed to qualify 27th out of 31 so was frustrated with the starting position.

With a bit of tinkering, we managed to get the kart to perform better, so was looking to gain on the qualifying position. On the out lap, the air box flew off and Jake had to hold on to it until he came into the pits. Now missing the start and frantically getting the airbox back on, Jake went out and joined the race two laps down on the leaders. With a wet track, Jake showed some great skill and really got the hammer down, although in such a low position, he went about passing a lot of the drivers on the track trying to un-lap himself, but as he had two laps to gain, this was an impossible task, but the plus side shown that he was in the top ten and only a fraction from the race winners in terms of lap times. Luckily, there were a few retirements, so Jake finished in 27th, so he didn't gain or lose any places. Had he not had the failure then he would have been looking at a top ten start.

For the final, again starting in 27th, we'd checked, double-checked and triple checked that the kart was fully worthy of completing the race. With the race declared a wet race, Jake knew that he would have to work hard to gain on those places. His wet tyres weren't in the best of condition as some of the other drivers had swapped again for new rubber, but this didn't deter him in his efforts. He made a great start and jumped up to 21st at the start, on the first lap he'd taken Mark Hannigan and Max Jeanne, where he managed to keep this place until lap 5 where he managed a great overtake on Adam Batty. Now running in 18th and pulling away from the pack that he'd overtaken, along with Max Jeanne who'd also made the move on Batty. The rain started to pour down again, making the track slippery, enough to warrant the slippery surface flag to be shown, allowed Jake a bit of breathing space from Jeanne as he couldn't keep up. Whilst closing down on Callum Barnet, a driver spun under the bridge, so Jake had to take evasive action to avoid a collision and lost time, however he was working hard in the last couple of laps and gained over half a second, but unfortunately ran out of time. So Jake came away quite positive after gaining ten positions and pulling some quick lap times, faster than many drivers who he's been chasing all season. Had we not had the issue in the pre-final, Jake is confident that he could have had a top ten finish.

As that was the last race of 2014, Jake would like to wish all of his followers, his sponsors and all at S8 racing a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

 

2014 Club Novice Champion

Jake took the 2014 Novice championship managing to do so with a race in hand. The closest competitor competed in one extra race at PFI, but Jake fought hard all season to ensure that he took the championship. Along with the novice championship, Jake also finished 9th overall in the club championship and had he competed in the first two races at the beginning of the season, he could have quite easily finished in the top 3 overall. So to summarise, a remarkable first year, where he will only improve from here and maybe take the overall crown next year.

Big congratulations to Oliver Greetham for taking the X30 Jnr championship crown and Jack France for finishing 3rd in the X30 Snr. A great year for S8 Racing.

TVKC Club Champs Rd 5 – 2nd Nov 2014

A difficult and challenging weekend of racing, didn't allow me to have it all my own way this weekend, but some good eventually came out of a very trying weekend.

Saturday was wet first thing, so we decided to go out with a full wet setup but on slick tyres to make me work harder. Although I was on the pace, by lap 3, I had to come in as the engine started dying on the straight but surging under breaking. After inspection, we noticed that a brand new spark plug that was fitted had been in the wrong box, we'd used a 10 instead of a 9, which explained the engine not performing. The next time out, we had cured one issue, but still had the engine surge under breaking that meant that I had to slow down a lot earlier to get round the corners. This time we noticed that the carburettor spring wasn't returning the throttle correctly. For the third session, we changed the carb, but this only allowed me to pull 14,000 revs instead of the usual 16,000, so rather than stay out, I came in so we could work on the other carb. This was stripped and cleaned and finally allowed me to get some good practise in for the last two test sessions.

Sunday was very wet first thing and with two other novices in the race, made it more interesting for me. As we're now on winter time, there were only two heats and a grid of 34 racers. On the first lap, I'd made up three places, but in the process allowed Steven Dixon one of the other novices to pass me, but by the second lap I passed him with ease and pulled a lead on him. Eventually taking the chequered flag in 27th.

The second heat was still on wets on a drying but very greasy track. My starting position was 34th, so I was toying with the idea of going out on slicks, but not one other driver was on slicks, so decided to stay on wets. I got the perfect start taking a couple of places under the bridge and another on the loop, as I came off the top of the bridge, everyone went gingerly taking the wet line, but I decided to go for it and took the dry line off the bridge, this gave me the biggest of lunges down the hill. By the first hairpin, I was in 15th position. However, after the second hairpin, the engine started dying again and I was losing places. By the time I'd got to the main straight, the engine died and everyone was passing me, so my efforts earlier were all in vein. The engine kicked back into life and I was limping back to the pits, but it completely died, so had to pull up on the grass. Had this not happened, I was hoping for a top 10 finish.

We took that kart back, stripped the carb again, changed the plug again and swapped the reeds as they looked like they were just starting to crack, so although we didn't know the exact cause for my earlier issues, we covered as many bases as possible. The rain kept starting and stopping, the set up was changed 4 times prior to going out for the final, with all tools being taken to the grid just in case we needed to change the set up once more. With no time left, we had to take position so went on an intermediate set up. With my DNF in heat 2, meant that I was starting in 33rd position, so I knew that I had my work cut out. By lap one, I'd fought my way up into 27th and was only half a second from the next place guy. By lap 5, I was up into 25th and pressing Harvey Taylor, who I was a lot faster than. I then made a mistake, Taylor hit the brakes far too hard and rather than run into the back of him, I tried to break without hitting him, this put me in a spin and I got the kart beached on the kerb, allowing the rest of the pack to pass me. I had to get out of the kart and drag it back onto the track and I was over 11 seconds behind the next placed driver. I fought really hard from then on trying to close the gap. By lap 9, I'd taken one place back and by the end of the race I'd managed to pull out a 10 second gap over the kart behind and was only 3 seconds off River Hughes, but unfortunately didn't manage to catch Steven Dixon, so had to settle for finishing 24th meaning that I didn't win the 1st novice trophy.

With my battles over, I was now looking at the other races to see if I was still in with a shout of taking the novice championship, fortunately the guy who was tied on points with me, only managed to finish 30th in his final, so although I didn't get it all my way I still came away with the championship.

So to summarise, a disappointing weekend but made better by taking the novice championship and finishing 9th in the overall championship. Another plus is that I'm now off my novice plates and can start my challenges from further up the grid. I will be collecting my trophy at the awards evening, so look out for the photos to follow.

Super 1 Shown on TV

Jake competed in his first Super 1 race which was shown on Motors TV for the first time on Monday 6th October 2014. It can be viewed again at the following link.

 

TVKC Round 6 (LGM X30 Tour)

Another great weekend of racing, Saturday's test day was very wet and gave all of the drivers some challenging conditions. The first couple of sessions were torrential and times were slow, but this gave me the greatly needed experience of getting on the pace in wet conditions. We luckily managed to get one session on slicks, but there was no rubber on the track and plenty of puddles that needed to be avoided.

Sunday race day, was a different day altogether. The sun was smiling on us and the track had dried out, so everyone was hopeful of some great racing. For the three lap practise, the track was still green and very cold, so a different set up was required. I got fired off the track by an overzealous driver leading into the complex area, so ended up being thrown into the barrier. Thankfully no damage to me or the kart, although dad was cursing as it was covered in grass and mud and he had to get it all prepared for the first heat.

As this was the final race for the LGM X30 tour, the grid was full with 33 drivers all eager to get the day's racing under way. As I'm still on my novice plates, as always I had to start dead last, making my challenges more difficult than the rest of the pack. I managed to finish in 26th.

In heat two, again starting 33rd, there was a huge pile up in the first corner taking out my team mate Oliver Greetham along with a few others. I somehow managed to miss this but locked up and spun to avoid piling into Ollie, this let the rest of the pack get away, meaning that I needed to get the hammer down and chase, still managing gain a couple more places to take the chequered flag in 24th.

For heat three, again starting in 33rd, I got a good start I managed to get into 24th, but somehow my race never came together and lost a couple of places, dropping me back down into 26th, I was on the tail of Alex Spinks and determined to make the pass. I went for the undercut on the first hairpin but Alex defended this quite well, but this allowed me to get a better exit meaning I could make the switch and undercut him on the next hairpin, it was wheel to wheel racing but I kept my line and took the position from him, finishing 25th managing to pull 0.6 of a second from him over the line.

With the accumulation of points, for the final I started in 28th position, so this was the first time I was in the pack. At the start, I managed to take two places at the start moving me into 26th. By the end of the first lap, I'd fought my way into 23rd position. Lewis Wadley was pushing Alex Spinks ahead of me, so when he went for the overtake, I also saw the gap and pounced as I was determined to take no prisoners, so I was now running in 22nd where I kept this position until lap 9. A mistake by Philip Hanson allowed me to take the place from him at the first hairpin, and a retirement from Dan MCauley promoted me to 20th. With another retirement, I gained another place and was sitting in 19th for the remainder of the race. I came under a late challenge from Philip Hanson but was determined to defend, allowing me to cross the line in 19th, taking the first novice trophy.

In the presentation, the compeer again said that I drove a great race and said that once I'm off my novice plates and allowed to challenge from further up the field, I should be in good stead to mix it with the best drivers in this very tough class. Bring it on!!

Also a huge congratulations to Harrison Skinner of HC Racing for again taking the first novice trophy in the IAME class in his last novice race, I'm sure he'll continue to do a great job now he's off his novice plates.

 

Super 1 British Championship Sept 2014

Super 1 Weekend was a weekend of mixed fortune. I was already at a disadvantage from the rest of the grid as those guys had had the benefit of Friday testing.

Saturday's practise sessions started slowly and I only managed to post the 14th fastest lap in practise one, but practise two I'd got myself into 12th position. I was hoping to take this into the qualifying session but my tyres didn't come on quick enough as the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees and I dropped back down to 14th, meaning this would be my starting position for every heat.

In the first heat, I was being held up by Mark Hannigan No 24 but managed to get past him in lap 7 and steadily pulled away from him, and built a gap of 12.6 seconds, with only 0.9 seconds off the next place driver, so with one more lap could have easily finished him off, but settled for 13th.

In heat 2, I was on my least favoured side and had a disastrous start which put me in last place, but managed to finish in 12th position with a gap of 0.1 seconds between myself and number 24, who drove a very defensive race.

With the points accumulated, my first final starting position was again 14th on the grid. Again another bad start and I lost a place to Mark Hannigan, but managed to overtake him on lap 10, only for him then to run into the back of me and knock me into a spin. Determined to catch him, I was then 7.8 seconds behind but closed that gap to 1.8 seconds by the time the chequered flag was waved. We appealed the coming together with the clerk of the course, but the video evidence was inconclusive so the no penalty could be handed out.

The final was a 17 lap race, so I was determined to gain on the previous results, starting at the back, with number 24 in front of me again, I was determined to make the pass early and gain on the rest of the pack as I was definitely a lot faster than him. He decided to drive a defensive race instead of trying to gain positions himself, which delayed the overtaking. On lap 8 I was 0.1 seconds behind and was hassling him to force him into a mistake, on the last chicane, he had a terrible exit and now was my chance to pounce down the start / finish straight, with his slip stream pulling me along, I pulled out to the right and started to make the pass, when disaster struck and I had a mechanical failure, the exhaust manifold broke clean on half and I lost lots of power and the noise was deafening, so unfortunately had to retire from the race. Had this not happened, I know that I was aiming for a top 10 finish.

All of this action will be shown on Motors TV (date to be confirmed) but should be shown at least five times in the week. As soon as the schedule is published, I will post the dates and times here.

I would like to thank Paul Short of S8 Racing for giving me some great advice and guidance, REPL and SP Cars for having the faith in me and sponsoring me, and TVKC for putting on a super weekend.

 

 

 

TVKC Club Champs Rd 5 – 7th Sept 2014

What a weekend!! I posted my personal best on Saturday testing, then beat that by another 4/100ths of a second on the following session.
Race day was my best yet. In the first heat, as always I had to start at the back of the grid in 22nd position. I didn't get the finish that I was hoping for and managed a 20th out of 22. Heat 2, was better, we changed the set up of the kart and it came more alive, steady progress was made and I finished 17th. Heat 3 came and I was feeling more comfortable and was gaining places, I went for the an overtake on the last lap, only to be pushed off losing two places with not enough time to regain them, so finished 19th.
For the final, I was determined to a better finish, so with some great advice from Jim and Alex of S8 Racing, I took that on board and set out to do my best. Already gaining places in the first two laps, I got sucked into battle for 13th. I managed to split the two but was behind a heavily defending experienced driver, with only a couple of laps left, I got the perfect exit off the bridge and managed to pull alongside the kart in front and made the perfect overtake on the hairpin. I then managed to pull away from the two drivers who had been holding me up and I could see the gap narrowing in front on the next drivers. If I'd have had a few more laps, I would have definitely got a better finish. However, taking 13th from 22 and winning the first novice trophy again really made my weekend.
In the presentation, the commentator said "Jake drove a very commendable race and deserved the result". So to summarise, the best weekend racing yet!!

A Busy week for sponsorship

It's been a very busy week for sponsorship, with a great company coming on board and allowing me to continue racing. I would personally like to thank Steve Pilkington of SP cars. With a great team and great sponsorship behind me, I will be SP Cars at the Super 1 round held at PF International which will be televised and shown on Motors TV. My goal is to be able to present them with a trophy. Please take the time to visit their websites.

 

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