MSOKC Race No. 11 - September 23, 2007

Originally sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:36 AM

NEWS – Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 10, which had been scheduled for September 9, 2007, was rained out, so Race No. 11 on Sunday, September 23, was our first event in almost a month. The club only scheduled one 'rain date' for the 2007 season, so we were glad to be greeted by sunny skies on Sunday. All of the preparation work had been done prior to the race that was rained out, so the 'getting ready' part for Race No. 11 was fairly simple for once. The regular head of timing and scoring had a commitment at a Great Lakes Sprint Series race in Newcastle, Indiana, so Conor was asked to assume those duties for Race No. 11.

PRACTICE – Practice was fairly uneventful. We made a minor gear change for Peter, which seemed to help. In his second practice session, he improved his personal best lap time from a 51.48 set on June 9 to a 51.30. Unless my stopwatch finger is letting me down, Henry actually set a faster lap time on year-old practice tires in his first session (44.30) than he did on one-race-old tires in his second (44.91). He had found a video clip on YouTube the night before of Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux battling it out at the French Grand Prix in 1979. Maybe whatever he got from that was only good for one session…

JUNIOR SPORTSMAN 2 – Peter's class had six karts, including one newcomer and the former club member who had joined us for Race No. 8. Peter lined up in third for the start of both of his heat races. He maintained his position at the start of the first and ran in third to the finish. The former club member ran away from the field, as he had done in Race No. 8, and one of the regulars in Peter's class ran better than he has all season to a well-deserved second place finish. Peter even lowered his personal best lap time to a 51.23 on Lap 4 but could do nothing more than keep up. The inverted order in Heat 2 resulted in much more action than in Heat 1. On the first lap, Peter made his way past one kart and then was passed by the eventual winner. He was then being held up by a slower kart in front of him for several laps. While trying to find a way around, he left the door open and was passed on Lap 4. The two in front of him battled hard for the next two laps. On the last turn of the last lap, an aggressive move resulted in these two tangling just long enough for Peter to slip by both on the inside to take second place. An action-packed heat indeed! A third and a second earned Peter the second starting position for the feature. Peter made a good start and followed the pole sitter through Turn 1. He was able to keep the leader in his sights for the first half of the race while pulling away from the rest. His lap time crept up a bit after that as he consigned himself to a second place finish.

80cc SHIFTER – Henry's class had 10 karts for Race No. 11 – eight regulars and two newcomers. Henry drew the eighth and third starting positions for his heat races. His standing starts have been getting better and better throughout the season, and he made a great one in Heat 1, passing two karts in the process. He made another pass in Turn 9 on Lap 2 and ran in fifth, while nipping at the heels of the kart in front of him, to the finish. He made another great start in Heat 2 and ran in third, with lap times consistently in the low 44 second range, to the finish. A fifth and a third place finish earned him the fourth starting position for the feature. Oops! I spoke too soon about his great starts, because when the green flag flew, he sat there for what seemed like an eternity (which I'm sure was milliseconds). He lost three places but made one up on the first lap and settled in to seventh for several laps. At the beginning of Lap 4, there was a scary accident involving two karts in front of Henry. The fourth place kart spun in the very fast Turn 1 and found himself pointing the wrong way on the track, rolling backwards slightly, at the exit point. Indecision on the part of the fifth place kart resulted in him going to the inside, and then the outside, of the backwards kart. The backwards kart was still moving towards the outside, however, and was clipped in the left rear wheel by the left front wheel of the fifth place kart. A kart with a deranged front wheel does not stop quickly on the grass, and he made his way all the way to the fence before coming to a stop. The impact with the fence was not hard, but the driver sat there for what seemed like a long time before getting out – shaken up but not hurt. Henry and the kart in front of him made it through the mess okay. Henry was able to make a pass later in that lap and ran in fourth to the finish.

NEXT RACE – The next two races are on back-to-back weekends and will conclude the season. Race No. 12 is Sunday, October 7, 2007, and the make-up for Race No. 10 is the following Sunday (October 14). Baring some unforeseen circumstance, Peter now has enough points to claim the championship in his class, equaling the feat that Conor accomplished in 2005. Henry's consistency has earned him a fairly solid third place standing in the championship in his class, but he will need to maintain that consistency to stay there.

We were joined at Race No. 11 by the newest member of the Bruce Brothers Racing team – Weston – who is a four-month-old chocolate Lab/Pointer mix.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=253679

p.p.s., Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3tXJm9tYGM