I thought that I was done writing race reports for this season, but Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club added a post-championship event to the end of the season this year – the Race of Champions. This event was a 20 lap race reserved for season champions in 11 of the 12 classes – adults and all but the youngest of the kids. Ten of the 11 eligible class champions participated. Each 
participant competed in 'identically prepared' rental karts that are owned by the proprietor of Circleville Raceway Park. This event was held a week ago Sunday, October 19, just prior to another post-championship event, the IronMan 225 endurance race for Yamaha SuperCan karts. Laura and I were out of the country at the time, enjoying some time in the Czech Republic (Prague) prior to some business I had there, so fellow champion-dad and MSOKC President Paul Lyda offered to transport the boys to the race and look after them for the day (along with my dad and mom).
I say 'identically prepared' because in theory, they are, but in reality, some are in better condition than others. Kart assignments and starting positions were determined by random draw. Conor drew the No. 3 kart and Peter drew No. 10. Conor's kart turned out to be one of the better ones, but Peter's turned out to be a 'dud'. Conor tells me that, from the third starting position, he motored around the front-row starters in the first two corners but overcooked it in Turn 3 and went into the grass, dropping to last in the process. From the lap chart posted on MyLaps.com, I can see that he made up three positions in the first lap and three more on Lap 2.
In the mean time, Peter's kart never did get up to speed. He puttered around for two laps before the kart stopped working all together, ending his day – bummer. Conor made up another position on Lap 4 and ran in third until Lap 10 when he moved into second. On Lap 17, he made a pass for the lead. I understand that the pass didn't stick at first, but then did on the second try. Conor went on to win by a margin of 4.866 seconds while recording the fastest lap time (56.211 seconds on Lap 18) in the process.
By Conor's own admission, 'luck of the draw' played a big part in determining the results. When we spent a day at the track in the rental karts earlier this season (see pictures above), Peter edged Conor for the fastest lap time honors (56.123 to 56.194). Driver weight was definitely a factor, too, with lighter drivers (kids) having an advantage over heavier drivers (adults). None-the-less, Conor's result was one more feather for him to put in his increasingly-full cap this season.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=998724
participant competed in 'identically prepared' rental karts that are owned by the proprietor of Circleville Raceway Park. This event was held a week ago Sunday, October 19, just prior to another post-championship event, the IronMan 225 endurance race for Yamaha SuperCan karts. Laura and I were out of the country at the time, enjoying some time in the Czech Republic (Prague) prior to some business I had there, so fellow champion-dad and MSOKC President Paul Lyda offered to transport the boys to the race and look after them for the day (along with my dad and mom).I say 'identically prepared' because in theory, they are, but in reality, some are in better condition than others. Kart assignments and starting positions were determined by random draw. Conor drew the No. 3 kart and Peter drew No. 10. Conor's kart turned out to be one of the better ones, but Peter's turned out to be a 'dud'. Conor tells me that, from the third starting position, he motored around the front-row starters in the first two corners but overcooked it in Turn 3 and went into the grass, dropping to last in the process. From the lap chart posted on MyLaps.com, I can see that he made up three positions in the first lap and three more on Lap 2.
In the mean time, Peter's kart never did get up to speed. He puttered around for two laps before the kart stopped working all together, ending his day – bummer. Conor made up another position on Lap 4 and ran in third until Lap 10 when he moved into second. On Lap 17, he made a pass for the lead. I understand that the pass didn't stick at first, but then did on the second try. Conor went on to win by a margin of 4.866 seconds while recording the fastest lap time (56.211 seconds on Lap 18) in the process.By Conor's own admission, 'luck of the draw' played a big part in determining the results. When we spent a day at the track in the rental karts earlier this season (see pictures above), Peter edged Conor for the fastest lap time honors (56.123 to 56.194). Driver weight was definitely a factor, too, with lighter drivers (kids) having an advantage over heavier drivers (adults). None-the-less, Conor's result was one more feather for him to put in his increasingly-full cap this season.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=998724
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