NEWS – Bruce Brothers Racing had a number of first-time visitors a week ago Sunday for Mid-State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 2 at Circleville Raceway Park. Just that morning, I had explained to one of my college classmates that, while there are some inherent dangers in kart racing, it’s a relatively safe sport. This is the 10th season of kart racing for Bruce Brothers Racing, and in the previous nine seasons, about the worst injury any of us has ever received is a burn from a hot exhaust. I went on to explain that, about once a season, someone from our club gets upside down as the result of wheel-to-wheel contact on the track. These karts do not have seat belts or roll bars – that would make about as much sense as seat belts and roll bars on a motorcycle. The idea is to get thrown out and away during a flip. Well, Sunday was Conor’s turn to get upside down. It was a frightening moment, but he was only slightly banged up and was able to make it back to the starting line for the restart.
PRACTICE – For Race No. 2, Peter had a rebuilt carburetor and Conor had fresh gear oil, re-bled front brakes, and tires that had been flipped on the rims. We also made a gear change for Peter’s second practice, which seemed to help, so we decided to stick with it for the day. There were five karts entered in Peter’s class and a near-record 12 karts entered in Conor’s class. The weather for Race No. 2 – sunny and warm – was a welcome change to what we had for Race No. 1.
SPEC 100 PIPE – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting from pole position for his first heat race. He timed the rolling start perfectly and led easily through Turn 1. He pulled out to a two second lead over the first four laps and backed off just enough to hold on for a comfortable win. Starting from the rear in his second heat, he made one pass at the start and another entering Turn 5 on the first lap. He made another pass on Lap 2 to bring him up to second. He was right on the tail of the leader entering Turn 9 on Lap 4 when he inadvertently gave the leader a nudge in the right rear corner. This allowed Peter to get by in the next corner. He knew there would be repercussions for his indiscretion, so he wisely conceded the lead back to his pursuer on the following lap (see link to helmet-cam video below). He stayed right with the leader until the end and finished second. A first and a second earned Peter the second starting position for his feature race. We pay a lot of attention to tuning his clutch and that paid off at the start of Peter’s feature. When the green flag waived, he motored right around the outside into the lead in Turn 1. Much like his first heat, he pulled out a lead and then managed the gap for his second feature race win in a row.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor lined up for the standing start in his first heat race from the fourth position. He made a pass for third on the first lap, got bottled up and lost a place on Lap 2, but managed to gain it back on Lap 5 and finished third. With Conor starting from near the rear of such a big field in his second heat, I should have taken a closer look at who was starting in front of him. The very new guy elected to start from the rear all day, so he wasn’t an issue. The kart on the outside of the front row was a younger guy who had raced with us before, but it was only two races back in 2010. There were a couple of retirements in the first heat, so Conor lined up on the outside of the third row. When the green flag dropped, Conor got away very quickly, the kart in front of him got away well but a bit more slowly, and the kart on the front row bogged the engine down and got away very slowly. Conor went to the inside (left) of the kart in front of him, that kart went to the inside (left) of the kart in front of him, and for whatever reason, the kart on the front row went the same direction. I’m not sure if he was trying to get out of the way or was trying to block – I hope it wasn’t the latter. By the time Conor got alongside the kart in front of him, there was nowhere to go and these two touched wheels, which sent the right side of Conor’s kart up in the air. It came down sideways on the right side wheels which sent the left side not only up in the air, but up in the air and over. The stills from the video I was shooting (see pictures in an earlier post and links to the video below) show him crawling out while the kart is upside down and still in the air. He landed on his right forearm and face. When I got to him, he was sitting up in the grass catching his breath (see link to helmet-cam video below). All of Conor’s protective equipment – full-face helmet, neck restraint, gloves, and abrasion-resistant suit – did its job. Well nearly – his right sleeve did ride up on his arm, which left him with a pretty healthy dose of road rash on his forearm. The visor on his helmet took a beating, too. When it became apparent he was going to be okay, I asked him if he wanted to continue. His immediate response was ‘yes’. While the track medic turned her attention to Conor, I turned my attention to the kart. The head flagman had turned it back onto its wheels just after the incident. I could see that the steering wheel and radiator were both a bit askew, so I did what I could with my bare hands to straighten them up. I could also see that the seat was broken. After we replaced Conor’s visor and the medic had given him the okay, Conor hopped in and we proceeded to give him a push start. On the third try, after finding and reconnecting a loose lead from the coil, it fired right up and he was on his way. To add insult to injury, the race had been red-flagged because of the incident, and the rules state that the karts causing a red flag have to start from the rear. Both Conor and the kart he had contact with lined up for the restart on the back row. In retrospect, the kart on the outside of the front row should have been sent to the rear, also. Conor wasn’t quite so anxious to charge through the field at the restart. From the ninth starting position, he did make two passes on the first lap. He made another pass on the second lap, another on the fourth, and another on the seventh. He finished fourth and recorded the fastest race lap in the process – quite a recovery. A third and a fourth earned Conor the fourth starting position for his feature race. He again took it easy at the start and held his position. He made a nice pass on Lap 3 and set out for the second place kart. While trying to find a way to pass, the kart behind managed to sneak back by Conor. That kart couldn’t get by the second place kart either, and Conor was able to return the favor and reclaim third position just before the checkered flag on the last lap.
NEXT RACE – Motorsports can be dangerous, but so can lots of other sports. We are counting our blessings that Conor was not injured any worse than he was. He was a bit sore Sunday evening and when I checked on him Monday morning, but otherwise he is doing fine. He has since been to Brown University in Providence to visit his brother Henry, who is graduating later this month. Peter competed in the Midwest Scholastics Rowing Championships in Cincinnati last weekend where his pair (two-man boat) finished second. Peter has another regatta next weekend – Midwest Junior Rowing Championships – so he will miss MSOKC Race No. 3, which is a reverse direction event at CRP on Sunday, May 20, 2012. The necessary repairs to Conor’s kart have since been completed.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here. The helmet-cam video of Peter’s second heat can be found here. Normal speed video of Conor’s flip as seen from the observation tower can be found here and the slow-motion version can be found here. Video of Conor’s flip from his helmet cam can be found here.
PRACTICE – For Race No. 2, Peter had a rebuilt carburetor and Conor had fresh gear oil, re-bled front brakes, and tires that had been flipped on the rims. We also made a gear change for Peter’s second practice, which seemed to help, so we decided to stick with it for the day. There were five karts entered in Peter’s class and a near-record 12 karts entered in Conor’s class. The weather for Race No. 2 – sunny and warm – was a welcome change to what we had for Race No. 1.
SPEC 100 PIPE – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting from pole position for his first heat race. He timed the rolling start perfectly and led easily through Turn 1. He pulled out to a two second lead over the first four laps and backed off just enough to hold on for a comfortable win. Starting from the rear in his second heat, he made one pass at the start and another entering Turn 5 on the first lap. He made another pass on Lap 2 to bring him up to second. He was right on the tail of the leader entering Turn 9 on Lap 4 when he inadvertently gave the leader a nudge in the right rear corner. This allowed Peter to get by in the next corner. He knew there would be repercussions for his indiscretion, so he wisely conceded the lead back to his pursuer on the following lap (see link to helmet-cam video below). He stayed right with the leader until the end and finished second. A first and a second earned Peter the second starting position for his feature race. We pay a lot of attention to tuning his clutch and that paid off at the start of Peter’s feature. When the green flag waived, he motored right around the outside into the lead in Turn 1. Much like his first heat, he pulled out a lead and then managed the gap for his second feature race win in a row.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor lined up for the standing start in his first heat race from the fourth position. He made a pass for third on the first lap, got bottled up and lost a place on Lap 2, but managed to gain it back on Lap 5 and finished third. With Conor starting from near the rear of such a big field in his second heat, I should have taken a closer look at who was starting in front of him. The very new guy elected to start from the rear all day, so he wasn’t an issue. The kart on the outside of the front row was a younger guy who had raced with us before, but it was only two races back in 2010. There were a couple of retirements in the first heat, so Conor lined up on the outside of the third row. When the green flag dropped, Conor got away very quickly, the kart in front of him got away well but a bit more slowly, and the kart on the front row bogged the engine down and got away very slowly. Conor went to the inside (left) of the kart in front of him, that kart went to the inside (left) of the kart in front of him, and for whatever reason, the kart on the front row went the same direction. I’m not sure if he was trying to get out of the way or was trying to block – I hope it wasn’t the latter. By the time Conor got alongside the kart in front of him, there was nowhere to go and these two touched wheels, which sent the right side of Conor’s kart up in the air. It came down sideways on the right side wheels which sent the left side not only up in the air, but up in the air and over. The stills from the video I was shooting (see pictures in an earlier post and links to the video below) show him crawling out while the kart is upside down and still in the air. He landed on his right forearm and face. When I got to him, he was sitting up in the grass catching his breath (see link to helmet-cam video below). All of Conor’s protective equipment – full-face helmet, neck restraint, gloves, and abrasion-resistant suit – did its job. Well nearly – his right sleeve did ride up on his arm, which left him with a pretty healthy dose of road rash on his forearm. The visor on his helmet took a beating, too. When it became apparent he was going to be okay, I asked him if he wanted to continue. His immediate response was ‘yes’. While the track medic turned her attention to Conor, I turned my attention to the kart. The head flagman had turned it back onto its wheels just after the incident. I could see that the steering wheel and radiator were both a bit askew, so I did what I could with my bare hands to straighten them up. I could also see that the seat was broken. After we replaced Conor’s visor and the medic had given him the okay, Conor hopped in and we proceeded to give him a push start. On the third try, after finding and reconnecting a loose lead from the coil, it fired right up and he was on his way. To add insult to injury, the race had been red-flagged because of the incident, and the rules state that the karts causing a red flag have to start from the rear. Both Conor and the kart he had contact with lined up for the restart on the back row. In retrospect, the kart on the outside of the front row should have been sent to the rear, also. Conor wasn’t quite so anxious to charge through the field at the restart. From the ninth starting position, he did make two passes on the first lap. He made another pass on the second lap, another on the fourth, and another on the seventh. He finished fourth and recorded the fastest race lap in the process – quite a recovery. A third and a fourth earned Conor the fourth starting position for his feature race. He again took it easy at the start and held his position. He made a nice pass on Lap 3 and set out for the second place kart. While trying to find a way to pass, the kart behind managed to sneak back by Conor. That kart couldn’t get by the second place kart either, and Conor was able to return the favor and reclaim third position just before the checkered flag on the last lap.
NEXT RACE – Motorsports can be dangerous, but so can lots of other sports. We are counting our blessings that Conor was not injured any worse than he was. He was a bit sore Sunday evening and when I checked on him Monday morning, but otherwise he is doing fine. He has since been to Brown University in Providence to visit his brother Henry, who is graduating later this month. Peter competed in the Midwest Scholastics Rowing Championships in Cincinnati last weekend where his pair (two-man boat) finished second. Peter has another regatta next weekend – Midwest Junior Rowing Championships – so he will miss MSOKC Race No. 3, which is a reverse direction event at CRP on Sunday, May 20, 2012. The necessary repairs to Conor’s kart have since been completed.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here. The helmet-cam video of Peter’s second heat can be found here. Normal speed video of Conor’s flip as seen from the observation tower can be found here and the slow-motion version can be found here. Video of Conor’s flip from his helmet cam can be found here.
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