Club100 Karting
Discussion
JTsp33d said:
lickatysplit said:
I'm amazed you got out the kart, as well as everyone else.
are they rolling starts then?
Yes rolling starts for all Club 100 races as we use the direct drive karts with no clutch. are they rolling starts then?
You have have to get out unfortunately to get the kart facing the correct way and then be push started.
joema said:
I take it you don't run MSA spec front bumpers that push in and get you a penalty if you hit the person in front?
Get yourself a rib protector? Do they let you pad up your seat?
The push starter kart at the rear is funny.
I'm not sure what spec bumpers are I'm afraid, they don't sound like MSA ones though.Get yourself a rib protector? Do they let you pad up your seat?
The push starter kart at the rear is funny.
Edited by joema on Monday 3rd July 12:38
A rib protector is on the cards now, so hopefully no more bruised ribs.
You can pad a seat insert if you run one but I'm just using the one provided so far.
joema said:
I take it you don't run MSA spec front bumpers that push in and get you a penalty if you hit the person in front?
Get yourself a rib protector? Do they let you pad up your seat?
The push starter kart at the rear is funny.
they're a birel arrive and drive kart, the same chassis used by dmax but club100 don't cover the wheels or have a silly extra rubber bit along the bottom. Get yourself a rib protector? Do they let you pad up your seat?
The push starter kart at the rear is funny.
Edited by joema on Monday 3rd July 12:38
The DD means there's a real penalty for spinning, plus if you pass by contact you have to give the place back or they penalise you during or after the race. The MSA droopy bumpers are embarrassing.
- UPDATE**
Round 6, Clay Pigeon.
We headed down to rural Dorset for round 6 of the club100 quadrant series. As usual we went down a day early for the test session so we could familiarise ourselves with another new circuit, to us at least. We were greeted with a dry track and after some steady laps we started to bring up the pace and ended the session around 6 tenths off the fastest time of the day.
After a good nights sleep we awoke to a grey wet day. We made our way to the circuit and sure enough it was a fully wet surface, although not raining to hard. I had pulled the short straw on this occasion to jump in first and headed out tip toeing my way around for the first heat's practice session. We had driven in the wet before back at the start of the season at Buckmore so the levels of grip were not total alien to us. That being said Buckmore was on a drying track and this was to be fully wet for the day, as it turned out. Practice over I lined up on the rolling grid for the start. The flag dropped and the spray began! After a few nervous tentative laps I started to try and get in a bit of a rhythm. If you've never driven on slicks in the wet turning in to corners is very odd. You go full lock a few metres before the apex, then understeer...........and finally it bites and turns in. Then you just have to gingerly bring on the power to stop the rear stepping around. Easier said than done. The race went on without much drama, I lost a few places off the start but held out for a 5th place come the chequered flag.
Heat 2, and my team mates turn to wrestle with the kart. We started with a lonely back row start in this heat and with my team mate not the keenest on the wet weather conditions we were just hoping to keep it on the track. The rain had eased by this point and after a few laps a couple of corners were starting to show patches of dry tarmac, making the driving arguably even trickier. The laps started to go by and my team mate seem to have a good handle on the conditions picking up several places. Mid way through the race we were up to 6-7th and although conditions were improving outside the focus now switched to conditions inside my team mates helmet with the visor fogging up constantly making visibility less than ideal. The last remaining laps ticked by and as we crossed the line my team mate had come a brilliant 4th overall in class, which needless to say was great given the amount of trepidation he went in to the heat with.
Heat 3 and the rain starts to really pour down. As I head out its clear to see that a boat might be more at home now, puddles and sheets of water cover the circuit. Again I have I good grid spot on the second row and look to try and maximise it. We cross the start line in a wall of spray and I try and keep things tidy and avoid the bumping that's going on ahead. A few early spins and offs sees me gain some places and I even take a couple more through passes. At this point I think I'm up to 2nd in class with one of our class leaders ahead. I stay with him for the next lap or two and then loose out to another front runner in our class. Another lap goes by and I'm back with the driver who had just passed me. We make our way on the back straight and this is where things go badly. We enter the braking zone for the hairpin coming up and whilst braking in the same area as previous laps my rears lock up, stalling the engine and the back goes around. As I go around I hit the driver in front which causes him to speer off in to the tires, S##T! Once I'm back in the kart and have got going again I must be dead last and didn't think I'd have much chance of catching the rest of the field, but as they say in a wet race, you never know what might happen. So I got my head down and after a handful of laps I began to catch the tail end of the field. A few passes and some luck later, due to people ahead spinning out, I found myself back in the mid field of our class. The time annoyingly ticked by to quickly after that and I couldn't improve on another 5th in class, still not a bad recovery.
The final heat race and again we started from the rear of the field in our class. It was now my team mates turn to try and improve our final result for the day, and going on his previous heat I had high hopes. The flag dropped and my team mate got stuck in straight away going around a bunch of drivers who were bumping and spinning out. Annoyingly so many had spun and lost places that an aborted start was issued so it was back to the formation laps. 2nd time around it was mostly a clean start and my team mate managed to make a few places in the early laps with some passes. Midway in to the race I check the timing screens and see he is up to 2nd in class! Bloody brilliant! I look over at the time left and the screen says 7 minutes. Next time over the line I can see that the top 3-4 drivers are all bunched together, this was going to be a nail biter to the end if we were to hold station against the quick guys in our class. A couple more laps later and annoyingly one of the drivers chasing us had got by so now we were down to 3rd with a few laps remaining. I literally watch the last few minutes count by and then there it is, 3rd place! Our best heat finish to date, fantastic!
After came the prize giving and place standings for the day. We walked over and heard as they counted down form 13th - 1st. We were hoping for a 6th overall on the day but as the teams names were read out ours was yet to be announced. The announcer then gets to 4th and pauses......then our name is read, bummer, missed out on a podium just. Still we were very happy with a 4th on the day.
The next round is Lydd on the south cost, fingers crossed for sunshine!!
Footage below as normal, thanks for reading!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psn_6H6OfTU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzYhbN35GMc
- UPDATE**
Round 7, Lydd.
Sorry for the delay for this write up. I've been off with the latest illness from my son to bring home from nursery, plus some pain from the incident that I was caught up in during my final heat.
So back to it, heat 1. I was to tackle this 7th new circuit for us first this time and with the weather closing in we were hoping it would hold off until the afternoon. Luck wasn't on our side this time and seconds before we were due to take our karts the heavens opened and soaked the circuit. So eventually we headed out for our 5 minute warm up and as you would expect grip levels were next to none as I tip toed my way around. Once warm up was over the rain eased off and we began our formation laps. We were grided mid pack and were hoping before it rained that I could make a few places up and challenge the top 3 in our class, however with the track now wet I was just hoping to say out of trouble and hold station. The flag dropped and off in to a wall of spray we headed. The first few laps was business as usual with a few succumbing to the conditions and going off and others being plucky and picking up places. I had more or less held position and settled in to trying to keep my laps consistent and out of the barriers. Soon a dry line started to appear on certain areas of the circuit. The rest of the heat went by and by the end nearly the full circuit was dry. I was to come in 4th by the end, yes 4th again...
Heat 2 and my team mate headed out on a now dry circuit. We had be positioned towards the back row for this one so it would be all to do for my team mate. The flag dropped and almost instantly there was a big shut ahead which caused a restart. Second time around and everyone was to get through the first lap more or less without issue. My team mate started to get stuck in and make his way up the places. With the laps going by we found ourselves in a battle for 4th,5th and 6th. It was nip and tuck but by the end of the heat my team mate had climbed to...yep our favourite number 4th place, which actually was great given our starting point.
Heat 3 and now I had a dry track and a good grid position, I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately as per the previous heat we had a pile up on the first corner causing the aborted start, which I was also almost collected in bar some opposite lock action. We restarted and this time all were behaved. I had a good start and made up a place instantly. Ahead of me were our class leaders and I soon caught them in traffic and began to try and make the most of the opportunity. I managed to take one of them which left me In what I thought to be 3rd. The laps went by and we caught the tail end of the Class 2 battle. The 2 ahead of me got through some of the class 2's and I set about trying to follow. I was then on the tail of 2 class 2 drivers battling away and as we came around a corner the driver ahead went to pass around the outside and clipped his rear wheel on a curb which start a bazar and unfortunate series of events which would see him crash in to the driver he was trying to pass and in the process collect me with no where left to go except in to the scene of the accident. This brought out the red flag and I sadly was put to the tail of the field as per conditions of the red flag restart. Bummer, from possibly 3rd to last. We restarted with a few minutes to go and I did my best to make up places where I could. 6th was to be our final position.
The final heat and our last chance to get a decent bundle of points. My team mate headed out and took up his mid grid slot. This time all were well behaved as the flag dropped and my team mate made up some early positions. A few laps went by and my team mate found himself in a train or drivers from 4th-1st in our class. Over the next 3/4 of the race he started to make up time and places and towards the end had placed himself 1st in class! Some of our main opponents in our class however were starting to fight back after getting poor grid positions and the timing board was showing that one driver in particular had made his way up to 2nd and by the last few laps was within a second of us. After some crossed fingers and cracking driving the flag came out and my team mate had done it, our first 1st place. During the prize giving after we had our fingers crossed that we might make 3rd on the day but alas again 4th was to be our final position.
Our next round in back at Clay Pigeon this weekend.
A video of Lydd will be up soon once I finished editing.
Thanks for reading.
Footage of Heat 3 at Lydd.
I had Gopro issues which prevented the first heat being filmed. Also YouTube seems to have downgraded the quality for some reason??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDY7DaEUX-k&fe...
I had Gopro issues which prevented the first heat being filmed. Also YouTube seems to have downgraded the quality for some reason??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDY7DaEUX-k&fe...
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