MSOKC Race No. 2 – April 25, 2010 – Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

NEWS – April showers have brought May flowers to Central Ohio, and showers are exactly what we had two weeks ago for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 2 at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP), which featured standing starts for all classes (like the 80cc Shifter class). We did manage to squeeze in two heat races, which is all it takes to make an official race day. As with Race No. 1, Peter again won a heat race and both boys ended up on the podium.

PRACTICE – When we unloaded after Race No. 1, I noticed that a significant chunk of Peter’s clutch was missing. This has since been repaired, but because the track was damp when we arrived for Race No. 2, we weren’t able to test the repairs prior to the scheduled practice sessions. Once these did start, we were able to successfully do the fine tuning on the fly. Conor’s practice sessions were less busy, as we are trying to minimize the number of laps on his race tires. The skies looked ominous again by this time, and because of the impending rain, a decision was made to shorten the heat races from eight laps to six.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting from pole position in his first heat race. He timed the standing start perfectly and was comfortably in the lead going into Turn 1. He maintained a gap over the rest for the first lap or so, but once the second and third place positions were established, these two began to catch Peter. The second place kart made a dive to the inside on the last corner of the last lap but came up short, which gave Peter a heat race win in each of the two events this season. Peter started from the back (sixth of six) in his second heat. The third place kart jumped the start but the flagman must have been looking the other way, as no penalty was given. Peter advanced one position at the start and another on Lap 3. With only six laps to work with, that’s all the further he was able to advance. A first and a fourth earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. When the rain finally did come, points for the feature were awarded based on earned starting positions, which resulted in another podium finish for Peter.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor also drew starting positions for his heat races at each end of the field, although he started his first heat from the rear (eighth of eight). He got away well and made two passes on the first lap. Another pass on Lap 2 brought him to fifth, which is where he finished. Conor also made an excellent start from pole position in his second heat race. He led for the first half lap or so before he was passed by the eventual winner (and winner of every heat/feature so far this season). Conor was able to keep the leader in his sights for a comfortable second place finish. A fifth and a second were good enough for the second starting position for the feature. This class was actually lined up on the grid when the rain finally came to stay. Conor also recorded another podium finish as the result of points for the feature being awarded based on earned starting positions.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 3, which is the first of several reverse-direction (clockwise) events at CRP, is Sunday, May 16, 2010. We expect that we might see Pilgrims there, because everyone knows that Mayflowers bring Pilgrims…

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=525786