MSOKC Race No. 7 – July 31, 2011 – Conor’s Perfect Day… …on Peter’s Birthday!

NEWS – Peter celebrated his 16th birthday this past Sunday during Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 7, which was our first reverse direction event of the season at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP). We had just returned from Rhode Island where we visited Henry in his new apartment and had a relaxing vacation that included plenty of water. The house we rented was on a small lake and included the use of a variety of small watercraft. We also took a day trip on the ferry to Block Island where we toured around on rented scooters. The final day of our trip was spent cruising around Narragansett Bay and Newport on a large motorboat.

PRACTICE – While we had nice weather in Rhode Island, it was still hot and humid in Ohio when we returned. It had rained the night before, so we had fog Sunday morning as well. During practice, we confirmed that we had corrected the brake rotor problem on Peter’s kart and we experimented with a replacement exhaust pipe on Conor’s kart. No track records were broken during practice as both the ambient and track conditions were less than favorable.

SPEC 100 PIPE – Both Peter and Conor drew the pole position for their first heat race. Peter made a great start in his and motored off into the distance for another heat race win, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Starting from the rear in his second heat race, Peter let things settle down in front of him before beginning to apply pressure. While Peter was fast on Sunday, all of the other competitors in this class seemed to be running strong as well. Peter managed to make one pass entering Turn 4 on Lap 3, but that was as far as he could get. He did set the fastest lap of the race again, however. A first and a fourth earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. He maintained his position at the start and inherited a position on Lap 4 when the leader pulled off with a mechanical problem. While running second, Peter was pushing hard to catch the new leader when he dropped two wheels into the grass between Turns 6 and 5. This cost him two positions. He finished fourth, but it was good to see him once again have the speed to run up front.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor also made a great start in his first heat race and motored off into the distance for another heat race win, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process. Starting from the rear in his second heat race, everyone got away well which left Conor in sixth position at the end of Lap 1. On Lap 2, the two karts in front of Conor has a brief coming together, which let Conor slip past. Conor then executed a series of late-braking passes entering Turn 4. Each time, the kart being overtaken tried to late brake with him only to overshoot on the exit of the corner. The first came on Lap 3 and the next came on Lap 5. Having worked his way up to second, it took Conor several laps to catch the leader, during which he set the fastest lap of the race again. When he caught the leader, he had just enough time to make one last pass in Turn 4. Starting from pole position in the feature, Conor again made a great start and motored off into the distance for his third feature race win of the season in this class. This was the first perfect day of the season for anyone in this class (maximum championship points) and Conor’s first perfect day since he clinched the Yamaha SuperCan Junior championship in the season finale in October 2008.

NEXT RACE – Next up is the Commercial Point Grand Prix on Saturday and Sunday, August 6 and 7, 2011. The CPGP (http://www.cpgrandprix.com/) is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio, and has been the highlight of the season for Bruce Brothers Racing in recent years. Peter and Conor will race on both Saturday and Sunday and Conor will race twice on Sunday. Admission is free, but passes must be purchased to access the pits. We will be under two beige-colored EZ-Up tents in the pit area near the starting grid. Extra chairs will be on hand. There will be food vendors, beer wagons, etc., and all proceeds benefit the Scioto Township Firefighter’s Association. Commercial Point is located approximately 14 miles south of Columbus, just south of Grove City.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=694124