My Run with K.R.A.

This past weekend, meek motorsport decided to run with the KRA club at Newcastle Motorsports Park to get some experience for the upcoming OVKA race there.

Upon arriving at the track, we found out that we would be running an all-new configuration, running the regular track backwards, connecting up with a new section along the way. Contrary to popular belief, the track proved to be very technical and demanding, and tremendously fun & challenging.

I spent the practice sessions learning the track, but it was hard because of the ever changing climate. It had rained the night before the race, so the track started out green and got faster as the day went on.

Sportsman 1 qualifying started out well, but on about the third lap, I got stuck behind two slower karts, meaning I never got an ultimately fast time. I qualified in 7th place in sportsman 1 and 6th in sportsman 2, about mid pack.

The sportsman 1 race turned out to be a very unlucky one for me, as I started ahead of a girl that was just a bit too eager. All through the pace lap she would hit my rear bumper, and as we excelerated around the final corner heading for the green, she plowed into my buck end and spun me sideways. I regained control and filed in at the end of the field as they made their way around the first corner & headed into a long strait. Using the draft down the sraightaway I was able to set up a late braking maneuver for the upcoming hairpin. At the last moment, I pulled inside and slid my kart sideways under braking, passing two karts on the outside. Unfortunately, someone else must have had the same idea as me, because as I started to accelerate out of the turn, I was clipped from behind, and spun. For the second time in the race, I found myself at the tail, only this time I was a long ways back. I set down PB after PB, trying to catch up to the pack, and with about four laps left in the race, I did. I passed 4 or 5 people in the closing laps, and salvaged a 7th place finish.

The second race started out great, as I moved up from my 6th place starting postition to 5th in the first corner. But the battle for 5th didn't end there. I was passed again on the very same lap, and I had to muster all of my skills just to keep up. Pushing the limits lap after lap isn't necessarily a recipe for success, and as some people might have guessed, I tried too hard, put a wheel off track, and spun. Are you seeing a trend? Anyways, this spin didn't put me too far back, and in a lap or 2, I had caught the back of the pack. Unfortunately for me, the drivers at the back of the pack often loose it under braking, and when ssomeone got squirrely in front of me, I made the biggest mistake in racing. I followed him into it. I got sideways and lost 10 seconds or so, and by nowI was getting annoyed at myself. I thrashed my best time by 2 seconds as I caught up to and flew by half the field, and I was catching 5th place as the checkered flag flew.

So a 7th and a 6th weren't exactly what I was looking for, but I had fun...sort of.