So Close at Ellough Park. (25.11.07)

We made what could be our last visit to Beccles this weekend as we tried to win the Club Championship at the last throws of an up and down season. Trailing the championship leader by 39 points it was an uphill task but one we were sure we could accomplish.

After a good Saturday practice where James was quickest for most of the day, spirits were high travelling to the circuit on Sunday. Heat 1 however, changed the mood with James leading the race for the first 8 laps only to run wide in the hairpin on lap 9 to allow his rival through to take the win a lap later. After the race a devastated James explained his brake pedal moved 2 inches further than normal during the race and he struggled to press it far enough causing him to run wide. Checking the pedal in the pits we found the problem and rectified it.

Heat 2 was glory or bust, James had to win to keep his dream alive. Starting 4th he made his way to second by lap three but was 2 seconds behind the leader. He then drove a great race closing down on the lead by nearly half a second a lap to bring him into contention by the last lap. He passed the leader into the chicane with a great late breaking move and held on for the win. A great race.

Heat 3 didn't go the same and even though he was never further than 2 or 3 tenths off the lead he never found enough room to take the lead. Another second place wasn't enough and that was that. Three great heats with three fastest laps but it wasn't to be.

Second in the Final and Second overall in the Championship. 

James would like to congratulate Harry on his win and is sure they will have some great battles next year.

Finally, we visited our local Chinese Resturant on Sunday Evening to ease the pain of defeat and as we finished our meal I broke open my fortune cookie and it read..

DON'T LET TODAYS DISAPPOINTMENTS CAST A SHADOW ON TOMORROWS DREAMS

A lesson to us all..................  Make sure you watch us in 2008....

Further improvements at Kimbolton. (13.11.07)

Another visit to Kimbolton this month and James continued to impress at a busy meeting. Finishing 5th in heat 2 from a field of 26 was by far his best result to date and ended in a visit to the scales and scrutineering, another first. In the final after starting 9th he made a great start jumping up to 5th by the first corner but after running wide onto the grass in the Bus Stop he dropped back to 7th. An eventful first lap. A race long battle with 5th and 6th place was great to watch and thay swapped places a few times with James finishing 7th just 0.06 seconds from 6th place. When we saw the final results James recorded the fourth fastest lap of the final just 0.12 off current British Champion Brett Wykes. Another step forward. We now look forward to the final race at Kimbolton in December.

Kimboltons best time smashed along with the Kart!! (10.09.07)

With James improving from race to race we travelled to Kimbolton on Friday afternoon with great confidence for the weekend ahead. Sean Pitts of Pitts Racing joined us on Saturday morning and James started off in the first session just 0.1 off his previous best from over a year ago with a 50.90! He then beat this in session 2 bringing his personal best down to 50.60.

In his third lap of the third session we clocked him at 50.40. His driving was superb and he was dealing with slower karts with ease, something he has struggled with in the past. On lap four however his luck changed and he was involved in an horrific accident when a kart spun in front of him and with no time to react and no room to get out of the way he drove up over the front of the spinning kart and turned over onto the track under his kart.

James ended up on the grass edge of Kimboltons track with the Kart upside down beside him. He managed to stand up but then fell back down clutching his chest and laid on the grass. The marshals were very quick to react and were with him after a few seconds. The session ended and by the time I got to him he was sat up talking to the Paramedic and marshals.

After a visit to the medical centre he was given the all clear and returned to the racetruck.

His kart wasn't so lucky. When we finally got back to the truck Sean said that the news wasn't good. After an hour of straightening and lots of replacement parts we were ready to go. So with his spare crash helmet and some trepidation James went out for the fourth session. He managed a time of 50.90 and said the kart felt fine.

He then amazed us all by going out in the fifth session and recording a best time of 50.32 followed by 50.18 in the last session of the day.

Our datalogger showed James had just reached 41mph when he turned over and the kart measured +3g to -4g in the flip. When you consider James weighs 24kg and his Kart 73kg we feel he was very lucky to escape relatively unscathed.

He continued to impress on Sunday with some solid heats and finished the final in 7th place. His best ever finish at Kimbolton. In the third heat he was one of only 6 drivers to record a lap time of under 50 seconds. Three of the others were "O"plate Jake Dennis, "1" Plate and new British Champion Brett Wykes and "2" plate and new GP, Kartmasters winner Alex Walker. Not bad company. We are going to Shenington this weekend with high hopes of continuing our current run of form.

We would all like to thank the staff, marshals and paramedics at Kimbolton for all their help on Saturday and all our fellow racers who came to see James and wish him well. Who said Cadet racing wasn't a friendly affair? Also a big thankyou to Sean Pitts for his Kart bending skills!!

More Improvements at PFI (05.09.07)

Three heats of 8th, 9th and 5th saw James line up in 7th place for the Final of the September Club meeting at PFI. With the three leaders getting away at the front, 4th,5th,6th and 7th place saw a race long battle with positions changing and some great racing throughout. This was the first time James had been involved in such a close race and he made 6th place until the last lap when he was beaten into the first hairpin. Lesson learnt.

He finished in 7th with the four drivers crossing the line within 0.4 seconds of each other. James also reduced his best lap time to a 55.13 just 0.2 off the fastest lap of the race. A good day.

Best Result at PFI. (04.07.07)

Following some great driving in the heats in wet, then dry, then wet conditions James lined up in the final the only competitor on wets. There were two sections of the circuit that had puddles on and with menacing skies we made the decision "what have we got to lose?"

The race stayed dry but James controlled his tyres well, making sure he hit both puddles on each lap, throwing water into the air and onto the track. We had talked about this tactic before the final and he carried it off well although the marshall holding the red and yellow flag at the corner in question didn't seem to like our tactics! Starting from 12th on the grid he made up 4 places to finish in 8th place his best result yet.

Motors TV at GYG Park, Rounds 5&6. (08.06.07)

Our third Motors TV meeting saw us visit Wales again, this time at Glan-y-Gors Park. We had a couple of extra days testing as we'd never visited the circuit before. Testing went well with James achieving some good times by the time Saturday arrived. Saturdays and Sundays races were pretty uneventful with James finishing 10th in both races. The numbers in the series are reducing due to some exclusions and other race series, which is a shame as the original reverse grid format would have worked well with more drivers on the grid.

We can't go to the next round at Lydd due to prior arrangements so look forward to the final round at Hooten Park in October.

Second Abandoned Final in 3 weeks. (27.05.07)

The second round of the Summer series at Ellough Park was held in changeable conditions with the meeting being abandoned before the finals were run. James managed 2, third places in the dry heats and a win in the third wet heat by over 15 seconds! This put him in second place for the final which was deemed a result. The overall result puts James in Second place in the Championship with all to play for.

Best Kimbolton Result Rained off! (13.05.07)

A dry start to a Kimbolton weekend saw racing on the old circuit for the first time in some years. James took to the new circuit well and finished second in the first heat. The first time ever he has needed to cross the scales in Parc Ferme. A great achievement. The heavens then opened and the rest of the race meeting was a lottery. James had 2 eighth places in the remaining heats qualifying him in fifth place for the Final. The race never got underway as the meeting was abandoned for safety reasons. A wet but enjoyable weekend!

Beccles Summer Series Round 1 (01.05.07)

It was the first round of the Summer Championship at Ellough Park this weekend. James had a good practice on Saturday and went into the races on Sunday with confidence following the previous three rounds where he had three wins.

James didn't have it all his own way on Sunday with a 3rd, a 2nd and a DNF in the heats after taking too much kerb and throwing a chain during heat 3, ending up qualifying in 3rd place for the final. He gained a place at the start and made a gap back to third but couldn't keep up the pace and by the halfway point had been caught and dropped back to third. He kept this position and finished some way ahead of fourth.

James was fairly pleased with his result and insists he was driving as normal but the chassis seems to struggle as the grip increases and the sun shines. We are continuing to learn how to set up the new chassis and have some things to try next time out.

Our next meeting is a welcome return to Red Lodge. It is the usual PFI Weekend but as it falls on the bank holiday we have other commitments so have decided not to enter the O'Plate or the club meeting. We are looking forward to returning to Red Lodge as it is the track where James had his first race. 

Motors TV at Rowrah, Rounds 3&4. (18.04.07)

We made our first trip to Rowrah this week for rounds 3 and 4 of Motors TV UK Karting Challenge. As it was our first time at the Cumbrian Circuit we decided to enter the Club Meeting the weekend before and take full advantage of the school holidays and stay for the week. After learning the track on Saturday, James had three good heats leaving him 5th on the grid in the Final out of 14 Karts. We were particularly pleased with this as the other Cadets were familiar with the circuit and had all raced there before.

After a first chicane pile-up involving most of the field with James getting knocked back in the pack he finally finished in 8th place. A little disapointing but still encouraging for the coming week. 

We then tested on Monday, Thursday and Friday with Sean from Pitts Racing spending the day with us on Thursday helping with set-up. James' lap times tumbled on Thursday giving a best time of 56.81. Over a second quicker than Sundays race meeting. James' best lap was only 3 tenths off the pace on the day, his closest yet. This pace wasn't to continue as the sun continued to shine, rubber continued to go down on the track and the temperature continued to rise. We struggled to find a set up to suit the conditions and fell right off the pace.

The result of this was a 12th place in the feature race on Saturday and an identical result on Sunday.

The upside of the weekend was that the drivers below James in the Championship didn't make up enough points so we carry our No10 Plate into the next round in May when we visit GYG in Wales.

Thanks to Sean for all his help on Thursday and we would also like to thank all the staff at Rowrah. We had a great week, the facilities were excellent, the track superb and the location at Rowrah is spectacular. I would advise anyone to visit Rowrah and enjoy a great weekends racing. 

Beccles Winter Champion. (26.03.07)

James won the final round of the Beccles and District Kart Club Winter Championship on Sunday giving him the Title of Winter Champion. He has won all three rounds this year and even though we had a few problems along the way managed to stay ahead in the overall points standings. With the Summer Championship starting in April James is aiming to repeat his early success and hopes to follow in the footsteps of his good friend Oliver Hodgson and be crowned Beccles Cadet Champion.

Ellough Park, now owned by Richard Lock, opened its new track extension this weekend for Saturdays practice and Sundays Race with Saturday being wet all day and Sunday being the opposite with the sun shining all day. The new part of the track has been finished in just 18 days and really improves the overall circuit. 

If you are thinking about racing at Beccles visit www.bdkc.co.uk for more details.  

Biggest ever grid at Kimbolton. (12.03.07)

Kimbolton this weekend saw a grid on raceday of 34 Cadets with over 40 taking part in Saturday practice. The large number visiting the track is partly due to the Stars of Tommorrow Race meeting in April, with drivers not familiar with Kimbolton making the most of limited practice time.

James finished the Final on Sunday in 20th place. We were all pleased with James' performance over the weekend. Racing in a grid of that size against some very experienced  Cadets can only help improve James' racecraft. We look forward to returning to Kimbolton in May when the sun is shining!!

Very Wet PFI and first DSQ. (05.03.07)

A good weekend at PFI resulted in James' first Disqualification in Heat 1. Starting from 8th on the grid he made his best ever start making it to 5th after the first lap. In the following couple of laps he made contact with the Kart in front and the Clerk of the Course deemed it intentional and issued a black flag. James came in on that lap and protested his innocence.

After a meeting with the Clerk and the Chief Marshall all was explained and James had the chance to put his side of the story across. He accepted the decision but wasn't happy and insists he was pushed into the Kart in front. That aside, the Clerk and Chief Marshal both thanked James for the way he handled the situation and said he had made a good impression with them both.

With Heat 1 as a DSQ and Heat 2 raining with everyone on slicks, James started the final dead last in 28th place. The final was wet and as usual James drove well in difficult conditions making up 10 places in the race finishing 18th. A great result in the end.

It was a hard weekend and our 9th meeting of the year. We can go to Kimbolton next weekend with the thought of a weekend off after that. Well deserved I think.

Highs and Lows of Beccles. (26.02.07)

We went to a very wet Beccles this weekend for the Second Round of Ellough Park's Winter Championship. After Carb problems in practice James led from pole position in heat 1 only to visit the very muddy grass after a couple of laps. After he dragged his kart back onto the track without the help of onlooking marshalls he re-joined in last place covered from head to toe in mud. He made one place back and got fastest lap by nearly half a second.

Heat 2 saw James start from 5th and pull out a lead during the first lap. He went on to win by nearly 10 seconds putting in fastest lap again.

Heat 3 was still wet and James made up some places at the start only to pull off the track on lap 2. He jumped from the kart and tried to start it himself with no joy. A marshall tried to restart it as James jumped back in but after 4 or 5 tries gave up and James spent the race in the Marshall post. Not a great day so far. With the engine off in the pits, a broken Spark plug connector was blamed for electrical failure. Another first.  

The final was drier than the heats but still damp and cold so the decision was made to stay on wets. Half the field made the same choice with a few opting for slicks. After the first lap with a 5 second lead as he crossed the line we knew we had made the right decision.

James drove one of his best ever finals in tricky conditions lapping every other driver on the track, finishing 1 lap and 4 seconds ahead of second place. He posted another fastest lap which was over 2.5 seconds faster than anyone. A great end to a tough days racing.

We have one more round of the Winter Championship left in March with James in a commanding position at the top of the table.

Motors TV Broadcast Schedule. (22.02.07)

The first showing of Round 1 of Motors TV UK Karting Challenge from Llandow is due to be shown on Monday March 12th at 7.30pm with repeats being shown at various times for a further 10 days. For further broadcast information visit. www.motorstv.com

Motors TV at Llandow. Rounds 1&2 (19.02.07)

After an 8 hour drive on what seemed an endless M4 we arrived on Wednesday evening at Llandow in Wales for the first two rounds of Motors TV UK Karting Challenge. With 2 days open practice we hoped to make good use of the time and learn the track as James has never driven here before. Things didn't get off to a good start with carb and engine problems eating into Thursday's track time and a very heavy impact into the tyre wall early on not helping.

We woke up on Friday to pouring rain which didn't let up all day. As usual James excelled in the wet getting much closer to the front runners and by the end of the day we had a pretty good set up and were hoping for a wet weekend. As you would expect we had a dry weekend and only saw further rain during Saturdays feature race when we were out on Slicks!

James qualified 9th on Saturday which we were happy with but made a mistake at the start of the feature race seeing him pushed down to last by the end of the first lap. He made up a few places and seemed to be progressing through the pack when the rain started to fall and halfway through the race he paid another visit to the tyre wall leaving him dead last again. He got back onto the track and made his way back to finish 15th. This result combined with his qualifying earlier in the day gave him 12th place overall.

Sunday was again dry and in early practice James continued to better his times on a dry track. By the time we were preparing for qualifying we had managed to reduce his time by 9 tenths from Saturday. We went into Qualifying with high hopes only to make the mistake of sending James out in the pack and seeing him get stuck behind 4 other karts on Llandows tight and twisty circuit for the complete 8 minutes of Qualifying. His final qualifying time was a second slower than he had achieved only an hour earlier. This time saw him qualify 11th and the feature race ended with James in 8th place, a great result after a hard four days.

With all the points added up James lies in 9th place overall, not a bad start and one we are all pleased with. James' team were very pleased with his driving and the way he improved dramatically over the four days. 

The next round is in Rowrah in Cumbria in April and we hope to continue with some more great drives.

We would like to thank Sean Pitts for his great advice over the phone during the weekend, as he has visited Llandow before he pushed us in the right direction even though he was racing at Shenington. Thanks Sean.

We will keep you informed of the broadcast dates on Motors TV (SKY Channel 413) when we are given them.

Hard Racing at Trent Valley Kart Club. (04.02.07)

Our second visit of the year to Trent Valley resulted in some very tough lessons in race craft with a couple of visits to the tyre wall as well as a visit to the on-track paramedic. During the heats on Sunday James tried hard to keep with the pack and managed to improve on last years lap times dropping his personal lap record by nearly half a second. This is the second time this year James has improved on lap times set last year on the old Zip Blade. After being spun out at the start of heat 2 to dead last James still pushed hard and managed to recover to 21st place. With a 15th in heat 1 and a 23rd in the Final it proves just how tough the racing is at Trent Valley and why we feel we need to race there.

First Clean Sweep at MSA Level. (29.01.07)

We went to Ellough Park this weekend and raced in the first round of the Beccles Winter Championship. James drove well in practice on his new Zip Storm and on Sunday won all 4 races gaining fastest lap in all heats and the final. He also managed to beat his previous best time set last summer by 2 tenths. This is encouraging news for the new Zip Storm and we are looking forward to next month where we hope James will beat the time once more and increase his lead in the Winter Championship.

James meets BTCC driver Luke Hines (15.01.07)

At Kimbolton this weekend James spent some time with the Zip Team talking about set up and driving and while we were there he had the chance to meet ex Touring Car driver Luke Hines. Luke was impressed with James' driving style and chatted about his time in karting and beyond. James enjoyed his time with the team and hopes to continue this relationship in the future.

"If we could race in a team I would rather it be with the best and Zip are the best. Martin Hines and Luke know a lot about racing and building karts so I could learn a lot from them."

New Zip "STORM" arrives. (08.01.07)

After much deliberation last year we decided to stay with Zip Kart for another year and we are going to try a new Zip Storm Chassis. James has tested the new kart a couple of times this year and is looking forward to it's first real test at Kimbolton this weekend.

It is an improvement on the old "BLADE" chassis with many changes to the bodywork and rear end. See James' Karts Section for more details.

New Upgraded 'A' Licence arrives (01.01.07)

We received James' new 'A' Licence in the new year and he is now officially no longer a Novice driver. We gained the six signatures last year and can now enter National events.