EUMSC Karting Championship: 3rd Round
Having braved the cold, and the traffic leaving Edinburgh, we eventually arrived only a half hour late for some Xtreme karting in Falkirk. After skating our way into the reception area, a quick look at the track led to some instant praise, the bridge and underpass looking particularly interesting.
The safety briefing video was one of a kind, and a good thing too…otherwise who’d have known how many people would have struggled to get into, or been black flagged for sticking their legs out of, the karts. Eventually,some practising was underway, and there was action from the off. Despite the no-competition situation, there were still a large number of contretemps negotiating the tricky braking on the descent from the bridge. However, that was nothing compared to happenings as the evening wore on.
The first race kicked off, Steven throwing down the early marker with a dominating drive from pole to the win. There was a good battle behind him though, with Bruce coming off worst, slipping from 2ndto 5th by the end. Race 2 proved to a slightly closer, only slightly. Having started on the outside front row, Tim passed Campbell Sr at the end of the first lap in a very clean overtake before driving into the distance as those behind squabbled, the big loser being Calum, who failed to move up from his starting position of 5th. Not a good start to his quest to finish on the podium.
Race 3 proved to be the closest yet, Scott making up two places on his way to win and Steven setting the fastest lap of the evening so far on his way to 3rd from 5th, with some demon passing under braking into the hairpin after the bridge. In race 4, Campbell Sr showed that fighting up from the back runs in the family, moving from 3rdto 5th himself as Robin Kyle sped to victory. So far so good, with not a single full course yellow and very little contact. The EUMSC are being very reserved thus far!
This all changed in race 5, with Richard picking up a warning flag for contact, the first of several for him through the evening, though his speed could not be faltered. With the tyres and track warming up, lap times continued to tumble, with Richard posting the new record at 22.50s on his way to second behind Tim, who dominated from pole to his second victory of the evening. Race 6 highlighted just how difficult it is to pass in indoor karting, with top 3 making no mistakes and finishing in their starting order.David took his first victory of the night, and it seemed his stars had forecast a good evening for him… Race 7 produced another karting equivalent of a race at the Hungaroring on a dry, sunny august day, Robin proving too fast, setting a new fastest lap of 22.13, for Scott to make any impression for the victory. Behind Tim fought hard with Jamie and Eren to move up from 5th to 4th,his run of victories coming to an end.
As ever in motorsport though, a slow race is followed by a cracker, and this is what race 8 proved to be. Racing, passing and controversy all served to make this one of the most exciting races of the evening. While Liam was able to drive unchallenged to the victory, behind him was the scrap of the night so far, Michael, David, Adam and Calum all fighting for the same bit of track in the battle for 2nd. On lap one, into the hairpins after the bridge Adam recived a tap from behind which sent him spinning around, although a well timed knock from Calum reduced his losses to only slipping to fourth as David made his way through the carnage to second. The first penalty was given to David for cutting up Michael, although I have to admit to being a bit surprised about it warranting a penalty. On the next lap though the battle was rejoined as the fun kicked off on the run down from the bridge, Calum leaving his breaking a little too late as he attempted to squeeze up the inside. This caused the hairpin to be slightly redesigned when he knocked the barrier out of the way. It worked for him though, as he made his way through the chaos to second and David and Michael were shuffled back down to 4th and 5th respectively. Calum received the second warning flag of the race for his troubles, but his quest to be in the final was back on track.
Race 9 proved to be very competitive, with Richard, Steven and Robin making their way up fairly cleanly from lowly grid positions to fight for the win. However, with them all setting consistently quick times in the low 22’s and no mistakes forthcoming, it continued status quo till the checkered. Race 10 also proved to be something of a walk in the park up at the front, with Scott pulling away from the pole to lead Andrew home with a comfortable gap. The gloves were off in the battle behind though, Farhan desperately fighting to hold his position of 3rd from the hard charging Campbell Sr and Liam, they eventually doubling back on him to take the inside line on the exit from the hairpins. As Liam retook the racing line though, Farhan was squeezed into the barriers. Was Farhan cut up as they passed onto the main straight? Possibly, and no worse that David was warned about. Maybe the stewards have had some training about consistency from the FIA…
So, as we reached the halfway stage in the evening the points leader was Liam on 29, closely followed by Scott, Robin, Tim, Steven and David. It was so close though, anyone still had a chance of making the final providing they had a bit of luck.
Race 11 proved another fairly sanguine affair, with the top 3 very evenly matched and not willing to throw points away on an iffy overtake, so Adam led Eren and Aaron home to his first victory of the evening. Behind them Chris managed to pass Euan for 4th, but after their battle he was too far back to influence the battle between the leading trio. Race 12 was won by the pole man Richard at a canter; he could have got out on the bridge and pushed his kart back and still won. Behind him, the others were involved in a fierce battle for 2nd which raged until the last lap, with Scott cheekily passing Jamie for 3rd on the exit of the final hairpin in a move that Nick Heidfeld would have been proud of. Race 13 produced a good battle for the victory, with Calum and Tim fighting their way up from 3rd and 4th on the grid to the leading positions a few laps in.
Race 14 was another classic, although not for everyone. David’s stars probably had a ‘but…’ in there somewhere, as his luck continued to go from bad to worse. As the karts approached the bridge on lap 1 his engine cut out, reducing him to a crawl and relegating him to the back of the pack. It also caused the first full course yellow of the evening, quite a feat considering the number of yellows and reds at Raceland. Richard used the fact that Steven was baulked behind Farhan to pass the two of them in the hairpins, but try as he might he couldn’t fluster Eren, who coolly claimed his first victory of the night, while Richard moved to the top of the points standings.
Race 15 produced another close battle for 2nd, with Campbell Sr snatching it away from Andrew and Robin, while Michael once again displayed the advantage of starting on pole, as he confidently raced to victory. Race 16 gave us an idea of what to expect from next year’s Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona with a lights to flag victory for Lyubomir from Jamie, while some way behind Liam and Eren made their way past Euan in the battle for the lower points placings. Race 17 was another Calum benefit, as he quicklypassed Farhen before scampering away into the distance. In the battle for 2nd,despite some stout defending, Farhan couldn’t stay ahead of Michael, who had an impressive, clean run from 5th to 2nd.
3 races to go and the temperatures continued to plummet. Keeping warm and in good racing condition was tough, but that didn’t stop race 18 being one of the closest of the night. While Aaron was unfortunately beaten up at the hairpins, thereby losing his advantage of starting in pole position, Scott slipped past Tim and the two of them set about trying to catch Steven. All three set lap times within 0.2s of each other, and there would prove to be no change of position. Tim looked particularly racy as he tried in vain to make it back past Scott, but with Scott driving cleanly and braking perfectly this proved a fruitless task. Race 19 brought more incidents involving David, just to show that it was quickly becoming a nightmare evening for him. While Jamie led from the pole to victory over the very consistent Campbell Sr, David and Adam were going at it hell for leather with each other. On lap 3 into the hairpin after the bridge Adam tried a fairly reckless manoeuvre which got him ahead, but also brought him to the attention of the stewards with a warning flag. He duly let David back through in order to have another crack at it, or perhaps ‘bash at it’ would be more appropriate, as having just watched the leaders pass the start/finish line there came an almighty crash from the vicinity of the hairpin before the bridge. Adam had tried his luck up the inside but it hadn’t quite worked out how he intended. He received the first and only black flag of the evening for his troubles. The final race heat proved to be the third Calum benefit of the evening, a simple win from pole position and joint second in the points standings capping what had turned into a successful evening after his initial hiccups. Richard battled his way up to 2ndfrom 4th to lead home Robin, Euan and Aaron in what was a fairly relaxed race.
This meant that the finial would consist of Richard (44points), Calum (42pts), Scott (42pts), Steven (40pts), Tim (39pts) and Robin (37pts). A number of drivers had made it into the 22’s, but the fastest lapthus far belonged to Richard with a 22.18s.
Having been speedy through the heats we were given a B-Final for the drivers placed 7 through 12 in the points standings. This was quite possibly the most exciting race of the evening, as it was very tight throughout, with Michael only just leading each lap, making the most of being able to dictate the line. Something was going to happen though, and David was in the thick of it again as he received a warning for his move on Liam for 3rdplace. At the start of the final lap it was still anyone’s race, but as they came over the bridge for the last time it looked over in favour or Michael. However, he appeared to brake a little early for the hairpin, giving thosefollowing a chance to attack. At the exit, Michael, Eren, David and Liam were running side by side, and continued right up to the line for an Indycar gandstand-style finish. In the closest thing to a dead heat you would expect to see, the timing showed that Michael had crossed the line marginally ahead of Eren and David.
Then thoughts turned to the A-Final. Would Richard run away with it? Would Calum pose a fight? Would there be any contact? Despite leading away from pole, Richard appeared to be worrying slightly about Calum behind him as he out-braked himself into the hairpin complex, giving Calum the gap he needed to take the lead. It was roles reversed on the next lap though as Richard ducked up the inside on the exit of the hairpin complex to take a lead that was never challenged again. Calum’s attention now turned to the looming presence of Scott behind him. Initially able to keep him at bay, he began to make more and more minor mistakes as the laps went past until Scott was close enough to poach 2nd place off him just before the line. A spectator behind these battles throughout, Steven followed them home in 4th, posting the fastest lap of the evening in the process of 21.82s. Robin and Tim then came home in 5th and 6th as an exciting evening of racing came to a close.
It was a super evening, on a track that drew much praise from everyone. It may have been difficult to pass, but the overpass proved difficult and chances could be created at the hairpins. The fast chicane under the bridge also had everyone raving and we look forward to being able to travel back there again for another evenings racing.
The Championship Standings are here
