It’s been a while, but it’s another blog post from the karting Jack Mitchell.
I introduced myself, or even, differentiated myself from the other Jack Mitchell, back in mid-March with my first post in which I went on about how I’m making a ‘full-time’ return to the karting scene in 2016 competing in the Club 100 intermediate endurance championship, leading up to a hopeful return to the Easykart UK championship next year. Yeah well, that was the plan at least! What I will cover in this latest update can only really be summed up with this popular internet meme.
I’ll start from where we left off, leaving Buckmore Park at the end of February with a trophy in hand following a promising start to JAM Racing’s Club 100 Intermediate Endurance campaign. Second place set a strong foundation for hopefully more to come in the year ahead, but unfortunately we couldn’t ride the momentum just as we would have liked to. A terribly scheduled Club 100/British GT/WEC Silverstone weekend clash followed in April with both British GT and WEC winning out due to media commitments I had arranged prior to the Club 100 plan – However, this was not the end of the world.
The championship allows for two dropped round scores so we had to use up one of these to cover our absence, of course only leaving us with just one more drop score for the rest of the season, so pressure was on to try make every race count.
The round two no-show left us with a couple month gap until round three which took place at Whilton Mill – a track I had become oh so familiar with at the start of the year (and oh so soggy at during their eight-hour endurance in February) so with this extra track time, I had high hopes. The two prior visits this year I had strong runs which did not result in the finishes I had hoped for so it was time to bring home a decent result, and bring it home when it counts!
Having arrived at the Daventry circuit in a flurry of snow (at the end of April!!) the track was damp for our practice qualifying session. Thankfully, the soggy Whilton eight-hours left me with valuable knowledge to where the wet grip was to be found so I was able to get straight on it, so instead of me wasting team practice time I left team-mate Liam Cochrane at the wheel for most part to allow him to literally get to grips with the track, with him handing back to myself as the session went in to the five minute qualifying section. This is where it got tough – The rain/snow had stopped, and the sun was almost shinning, meaning the track was rapidly drying.
The five minutes we had to qualify was to be only good for four laps at best at the lap speeds we were turning, and that’s without factoring in where you caught ‘rookie’ traffic and yellow flags so getting just one clears lap was key and then on this clear lap, it was down to just how much risk you put in to it and trusting that the line you choose for each corner was still the fastest way round. A handful of nerve-racking laps later I had somehow managed to stick us up in third on the thirty-odd kart grid with all of our championship rivals languishing through the mid-field order. Perfect!
Following a quick break (in which everyone frantically dumped their wet weather gear) it was time to go and with the conditions having rapidly improved the track was mostly dry besides from the few spots, but we had no time to find out just how dry. As we all charged in to turn one we all had our fingers crossed we would make it out the other side – and thankfully, we all did. With some fenders rubbed and paint traded, it was time to get after it and take the lead. It took just a few laps for me to slip slide my way past and pull to pin to stretch out a comfortable lead.
First stops clicked off cleanly and I resumed the advantage but I was soon to find a big pack of back-marking karts. Picking them off one by one I soon got through to the lead of this lapped-gaggle in which the reason for the log jam became clear. Long story short – Someone was racing the first half hour defending their life depended on it – I tried to be patient but it was hard not to pass with the guys pace being so off. I had pretty much made the move but he was having none of it, turning in on my rear and sending us both off track. My move effectively still stuck but a track-side official called ME on dirty driving and a stop-and-go penalty followed!
I proceeded by repeating many naughty words under my lid while waving my arms around but despite my best efforts, I still had to serve this penalty. As I sat there for the 10 second stop-go penalty, I waved goodbye to my race lead. Fortunately this had only dropped us a couple places and we were still almost in the hunt.
With everyone in their different pit cycles and with our penalty, I found myself racing around (a lap down) with Team Reunions, Kosta, who was a team mate of mine during the Whilton eight-hours! If the times from that event were anything to go by, we were a close match which became abundantly clear in this stint. We must have run a good fifteen/twenty minutes nose to tall, swapping places through traffic – This sequence of exchanges made it clear that Kosta was going to be the man to beat for me this year. It was game on.
The race went through the motions, pit stops cycled through for each teams and we were still in contention for a podium but kart troubles in a pitstop saw us sat stationary at the end of the pit lane waiting for assistance. Our chances were over. Once going again, it was just a matter of trying to salvage a half decent day. We both took our turns, running top lap times but we could only bring it home for an eighth place finish. It looked like that other dropped score will have to be used with this one! Whilton Mill – once again I love you, but the feeling isn’t mutual.
Now I mentioned the couple month break in the action for me between the Club 100 rounds at Buckmore and Whilton, but while track action was paused, I was busy spending money I didn’t have and making plans ahead of planned. The original plan – save up lots of money, buy an Easykart, return to the championship I ran in way back when. But, Easykart Senior #250 came up for sale and well, I like my numbers. When I first started Easykart some seven/eight years ago, I ran in kart #25 so a return to the series in kart #250 just felt right!
Plus, the household it was coming from was that of some good friends from years back who knew a thing or two about running a kart so I could trust it was going to be a well run, well maintained piece of kit. I tallied up all the money I shouldn’t spend, and spent it. #250 was now mine! Now I had an Easykart most of a year ahead of schedule and the 2016 Easykart championship was still in full swing – It was time to make plans for a return much earlier than expected and as per what I said at the start, this plan had sure escalated quickly to the despair of my bank balance!
Round four of the Easykart championship brought the circus to Ellough Park in Beccles, the track I ran my last Easykart race at in early 2010, which in my eyes, was a sign – I had to do it! Again, I spent money I didn’t have on race entries and kit and before I knew it, the weekend of June 11/12th was upon us. It was time to return! Having not had the time or money to go testing in this new kart prior, the test day on the 11th was to prove crucial as I had to use every moment on track to get used to the new environment – But unfortunately, session one of my day ended after a lap after the throttle stop bolt came out (Pinned open throttle = Not ideal while learning a kart). It wasn’t a great start, but I hadn’t binned it yet so that was a positive!
The following sessions went without fault and I managed to get plenty of track time in, in which I stabbed in the dark to find a comfortable set up ahead of race day. Lots of random guesses and asking around, I thankfully came across a nice race-able set up by end of play Saturday – It was time to prep for Sunday!
Using this weekend as a refresher to remind myself of the motions on these Easykart weekends, I didn’t want to/couldn’t afford to burn up a fresh set of tyres on raceday so I kept the previously used tyres from Saturday testing on the kart for Sunday. This was only to find I was the only Senior Lightweight driver to do so. A day of fighting from behind was ahead, but the one advantage to this was everyone would be nursing their new fresh rubber through the five minute morning warm up ahead of qualifying, where as I wouldn’t have to since my tyres best days were long gone. It was time to go out and win warm up! A fraught five minute run around followed, tearing between dawdling new-tyre’ers but I could only manage third – Third while the rest wore in new tyres. I now really did have my work cut out.
With the podium in warm up behind me, every session from now on was key – Qualifying began in which I sat the first half at the end of the pit lane, playing it cool waiting for my time to pounce (Honestly? I was tight on fuel and I couldn’t afford to burn it up in qually). Expecting to get mullered in qualifying while the rest unleashed their new tyre advantage, I took to the track to give it my best shot. Pulling back in to the pit lane following the session, I got the signal that I had some how ended up eleventh!
Maybe this new tyre advantage wasn’t as much as I first thought – Ellough Park’s new surface could be a factor but this was way above what I was expecting. This set me up nicely, slap bang in the middle of the twenty kart field, but most importantly, on the inside line for turn one for the heat race but this was an advantage I would fail to make the most of. The heat race began and as we stormed in to turn one I thought, “I can’t afford for this to go wrong, I best lay off the guys bumper in front by maybe, half a kart”, but the moment I lifted, karts to the right of me, karts to the left. I was well and truly bullied back down the order with karts passing all around.
By trying to keep out of trouble, I had created it. Lesson learnt. Given a few laps, it settled down and we started counting down the laps – it was time to get on it and get back what I had lost. Having yet to pass another Easykart up to this point, every move was a learning experience and I quickly made it back to thirteenth by the end of the short heat, and once again, this set me up on the inside for the start of the proceeding pre-final.
Having learnt from my mistake I stayed glued to the guy in front as we took the start of the pre-final. Holding position in the opening laps of the race, my kart started to come alive – the guess work that was my set up was working wonders, and I found myself on the attack. Picking my way though the back-end of the top ten (passing Easykart round three winner, Kieran McCullough in the process!) I found myself at the back of the four kart battle for third.
With the four in front dicing between themselves, I kept having to tell myself not to get stuck in and take the decent result and not risk blowing it. Thankfully, the race was over before I knew it and I had brought it back in seventh while keeping my stickers perfectly clean – result! With this result in the pre-final, I found myself for the third and final time of the weekend, on that precious inside line for the start of the main final – a position which would prove to be crucial!
Having miraculously avoided the weather all weekend, our luck run out and the heavens opened in the junior final just half hour before we were due out, but as quickly as it started, it stopped and the track began to slowly dry. The race directly before mine, the Senior Masters was definitely a wet tyre race but the cross over point to slicks was oh so close, so with nothing to lose I started to psychologically prepare myself for a slick-shot run to the front in an amazing Jenson-Button-Canada-2011-esque race. Leaving the completely dry set up on the kart we approached the holding area, but just moments before they started the count down (to get lined up on the pre-grid), the rain made an unwelcome return.
There went my idea of a slippery slick-shot race. A frantic change to wets followed, just making the change in time to get on the pre-grid. Having only just had enough time to change the tyres I had completely missed the chance to change the chassis setup to a stiffer, wet set up so it may have been better than slicks but it was not going to be easy out there. Also it was only on the rolling laps prior to the start I realised I had also forgotten to check the pressures of these wet tyres at any point of the weekend (rookie mistake!), so I had to put faith in these scrappy six year old wets I had pulled from the darkest corner of my garage, strapped to my kart as I take the start of the main final.
Turn one went surprisingly well considering the conditions only losing position to Kieran McCullough who drove clean around the outside of me but as we charged in to turn two, Kieran, eager to make up places early charged a little too hard and spun in to the pack ahead. With his best bowling ball impression, he cleared a nice path for me to slide up the inside which saw me exit the corner up in fourth! I couldn’t believe it! Fourth!
But, before I could start to believe it, I was being hounded by a number of drivers behind. I kept position for most of the first lap but the mismatched set up soon started to effect my race and I slowly started dropping positions. Holding on best I could for the fourteen minute finale, I crossed the line back in seventh but most importantly, I had finished – I had completed my return to Easykart and with not a scratch on the kart! I was over the moon!
A great weekend full of memories, with introductions to lots of new faces. I look forward to continuing on the Easykart path with plans to make my next round, the championships seventh at my local track, Buckmore Park in September but this time with a new set of tyres and eyes on the front of the grid!
With ‘The Return’ in the history books, it was time to shift my focus back to Club 100. Round four of the championship saw us road trip up to North Wales to Glan-y-Gors kart track, a new track for both Liam and I. With no previous experience at the track and very limited practice time, we managed to stick it in sixth on the grid for the two-hour enduro. Sticking with the strategy we deployed at Buckmore, I took the start gaining a couple positions up to fourth before we pitted after a couple laps to take us out of sequence with the rest.
This left plenty of open space around me to focus on turning fast, consistent laps in the hope of jumping up the order some more. But it was just a few laps in to this stint when none other than championship rival, Kosta exited the pit lane up the road from me – I then continued the Kosta chase I had started at Whilton, and once again a good twenty/thirty minutes went by and the distance between us had barely changed – we were EVEN closer than I thought with the gap between us only shifting depending on who caught the traffic where on the lap. We soon cycled out to be running first and second following the second pit stop sequence. It was game on – again!
A couple scruffy driver change pit stops book-ended a solid stint from Liam through the middle portion of the race but with half hour left to run, I resumed control and re-joined the race for the closing stint. Having not had time to check any timing screens I hadn’t seen how these costly stops had effected our race so I was in the dark as to who we were racing for position. I just got my head down and picked off karts as and when I caught them as we counted down to the finish.
Mid-way through my final lap, I noticed the chequered flag had already flown – I wasn’t leading then, but just how far behind were we? Crossing the finish line I tried to work out where we ended up but I couldn’t identify any rival lids, it was only when I came to a stop in the paddock that Liam signalled it was another second place finish. We had finished just over ten seconds down the road to Kosta’s team, ‘Reunion’. It was a great finish but we had still lost points to Kosta! But it was another trophy and a welcome recovery from the dismal showing at Whilton and with the dropped scores now in play, JAM Racing currently sits second in the championship behind Reunion.
The next round of Club 100 will see us travel to Clay Pigeon in Dorset at the end of July with both looking to take the overall victory to bring a stop to Reunions little win streak before they get too far ahead in this championship!
And yes – I will be updating you readers on just how JAM Racing bought an end to Reunions recent dominance and how we turned those tables! (I hope!) With many words now written and with my recent stories told, I thank you again if you have read this far. As I continue to pull the media strings I have available to me, I hope I have provided you with some entertainment with this latest blog post. Once again, if you are interesting with how my little, low budget effort in the world of karting, please find me on all social media sites or come say hi when Club 100 visit your local track!
One final note, since the last blog post back in March I have picked up some great little sponsors who have been supporting my racing whom I should give a mention;
- DR Car Detailing – Small, Kent-based car valeting business putting their heart and soul in to their work. Trusted by none other than the Aston Martin owners club! Find them on Facebook for the proof!