The tentative schedule for the 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting (http://cpgrandprix.com/) is shown below.
Saturday August 14, 2010
Gates Open - 7:00AM
Open Practice Begins - 10:00AM
Merchandise Races - TBD
Sunday August 15, 2010
Gates Open - 7:00AM
Open Practice Begins - 9:30AM
Trophy Races - TBD
Pro-class Races - TBD
Unfortunately, it's not very detailed. The second practice session on Saturday also serves as a qualifying session. There is only one practice session on Sunday.
A more detailed schedule was issued for the 2009 event. It, along with the class lineup from 2009, is shown here:
http://brucebrothersracing.blogspot.com/2009/07/schedule-for-2009-commercial-point.html
Bill
Thursday, August 12, 2010
MSOKC Race No. 8 – August 1, 2010 – Self-Inflicted Wound
NEWS – Argh! I hate it when I screw up. If Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 7 was mediocre for Bruce Brothers Racing three Sundays ago, Race No. 8 two Sundays ago was a disaster – for Conor anyway. Peter struggled a bit early but managed to work his way onto the podium for his feature race. Conor’s qualifying time would have earned him the second starting position, but when he crossed the scales, he was underweight and was disqualified! This put him behind the eight ball for the rest of the day. The worst part is that it was my fault – argh!
PRACTICE – Race No. 8 was a qualifying format event. We had made significant changes to both karts looking for a bit more speed, including a top-end engine rebuild for Conor and a carburetor and clutch rebuild for Peter, so practice was our chance to try these out. These changes were okay, but for some reason, I was thinking that the minimum required weight for Conor’s class was 360 instead of 370 lbs, so when he came across the scales at 365 lbs during practice with an almost empty fuel tank, we decided to remove some of the lead weight and replace that weight with additional fuel. This seemed to make sense since Conor has been eating like a horse in an effort to gain some weight. Peter was still complaining about too much grip in the rear, so we experimented with short hubs on his rear axle during practice. This didn’t seem to have the desired effect, so we went back to the medium-length hubs and made a tire pressure adjustment for his qualifying session.
YAMAHA JUNIOR – Peter’s qualifying time was less than 0.5 seconds off of the fastest qualifier in this class, but the level of competition is such that this resulted in a sixth place starting position for his heat race. Race No. 8 was also an event that featured standing starts for all classes. Peter got away reasonably well at the start of his heat race, but was not able to move forward, indicating that there was still too much grip, and finished sixth. For his feature race, we made a radical tire pressure adjustment that seemed to help. Peter made an excellent pass in Turn 10 on Lap 1 and then benefited from a retirement on Lap 3 for a fourth place finish. One of the karts in front of him was a visitor on non-club-spec tires and was disqualified at the end of the day, which promoted Peter to the third place position on the podium.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor posted the second fastest qualifying time by nearly 0.4 seconds. Because he was underweight, not only was his time disallowed, but he was awarded zero points for his qualifying session. This meant that he would not only start from the rear in his heat race, but that the “zero” would also affect his feature race starting position. Conor made an impressive run through the field in his heat race moving from eighth to fifth on the first lap He gained another position on Lap 3 for a fourth place finish while quickly catching two of the karts in front of him. From the rear again in his feature race, he got bottled up behind a group of karts fighting for position. He made his way around two of these on Lap 2 and another on Lap 3. He fought hard with the fourth place kart for the remainder of the laps – pulling along side on several occasions – but could not find a way past and eventually finished fifth. Conor was the second fastest kart all day, but was not able to capitalize on this.
NEXT RACE – The next event for Bruce Brothers Racing is this coming weekend (August 14-15, 2010) – the Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting, which is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio. Conor will contest the 80cc Shifter class and Peter and Henry will double up in our Yamaha SuperCan kart – Peter in the Junior division and Henry in the adult Heavy division. All three boys 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. Extra chairs will be on hand in our pit area. There will be food vendors, beer wagons, etc., and all proceeds benefit the Scioto Township Firemen’s Association. Commercial Point is located approximately 14 miles south of Columbus, just south of Grove City. This will be our only non-MSOKC event of the season. Because it is a non-club event, the rules allow any tire to be used, so we have some sticky ones mounted on both karts for the low-grip surface of a street circuit.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=565396.
PRACTICE – Race No. 8 was a qualifying format event. We had made significant changes to both karts looking for a bit more speed, including a top-end engine rebuild for Conor and a carburetor and clutch rebuild for Peter, so practice was our chance to try these out. These changes were okay, but for some reason, I was thinking that the minimum required weight for Conor’s class was 360 instead of 370 lbs, so when he came across the scales at 365 lbs during practice with an almost empty fuel tank, we decided to remove some of the lead weight and replace that weight with additional fuel. This seemed to make sense since Conor has been eating like a horse in an effort to gain some weight. Peter was still complaining about too much grip in the rear, so we experimented with short hubs on his rear axle during practice. This didn’t seem to have the desired effect, so we went back to the medium-length hubs and made a tire pressure adjustment for his qualifying session.
YAMAHA JUNIOR – Peter’s qualifying time was less than 0.5 seconds off of the fastest qualifier in this class, but the level of competition is such that this resulted in a sixth place starting position for his heat race. Race No. 8 was also an event that featured standing starts for all classes. Peter got away reasonably well at the start of his heat race, but was not able to move forward, indicating that there was still too much grip, and finished sixth. For his feature race, we made a radical tire pressure adjustment that seemed to help. Peter made an excellent pass in Turn 10 on Lap 1 and then benefited from a retirement on Lap 3 for a fourth place finish. One of the karts in front of him was a visitor on non-club-spec tires and was disqualified at the end of the day, which promoted Peter to the third place position on the podium.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor posted the second fastest qualifying time by nearly 0.4 seconds. Because he was underweight, not only was his time disallowed, but he was awarded zero points for his qualifying session. This meant that he would not only start from the rear in his heat race, but that the “zero” would also affect his feature race starting position. Conor made an impressive run through the field in his heat race moving from eighth to fifth on the first lap He gained another position on Lap 3 for a fourth place finish while quickly catching two of the karts in front of him. From the rear again in his feature race, he got bottled up behind a group of karts fighting for position. He made his way around two of these on Lap 2 and another on Lap 3. He fought hard with the fourth place kart for the remainder of the laps – pulling along side on several occasions – but could not find a way past and eventually finished fifth. Conor was the second fastest kart all day, but was not able to capitalize on this.
NEXT RACE – The next event for Bruce Brothers Racing is this coming weekend (August 14-15, 2010) – the Commercial Point Grand Prix of Karting, which is a street race through the village of Commercial Point, Ohio. Conor will contest the 80cc Shifter class and Peter and Henry will double up in our Yamaha SuperCan kart – Peter in the Junior division and Henry in the adult Heavy division. All three boys 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. Extra chairs will be on hand in our pit area. There will be food vendors, beer wagons, etc., and all proceeds benefit the Scioto Township Firemen’s Association. Commercial Point is located approximately 14 miles south of Columbus, just south of Grove City. This will be our only non-MSOKC event of the season. Because it is a non-club event, the rules allow any tire to be used, so we have some sticky ones mounted on both karts for the low-grip surface of a street circuit.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=565396.
Friday, July 30, 2010
MSOKC Race No. 7 – July 25, 2010 – The Return of Pietro
NEWS – Peter is home from his four week trip to Italy, where he spent most of his time lounging on a beach on the northwest coast of the island of Sardinia. When I was 14 years old, I got to spend part of the summer on the southwest shore of Buckeye Lake! In any event, it’s good to have him home. We had what can best be described as a mediocre day at the race track for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 7 on Sunday, July 25, 2010. Both Peter and Conor had some great dices during the day, but we came away knowing we had left some valuable championship points on the table. None-the-less, we had our usual enjoyable day. The day dawned much cooler than the day before, but the skies opened up not long after we had unloaded. This postponed the order of events by about two hours. So that everyone could get home at a reasonable hour, the number of laps was shortened from eight and ten to six and eight for the heat races and feature race, respectively. This would work both for and against us as the day progressed – Conor needing more laps in his feature race and Peter needing less.
PRACTICE – The washing that the track got before practice began meant that no lap records were going to be broken on Sunday. Less than ideal atmospheric conditions, which changed as the day wore on, and re-rubbering of the track necessitated many chassis and engine changes throughout the day to stay on top. We experimented with different setups during practice. Peter had badly damaged his right front spindle in his most recent feature race (Race No. 4), so he had a chance to try out the repaired one during practice and to break in his new tires.
YAMAHA JUNIOR – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting in the third position for his first heat race (of seven karts in his class). He was lined up behind a relative newcomer but with good equipment. I advised Peter to stay behind the pole sitter in an effort to pass the second place starter in the first corner and then the pole sitter in Turn 4. That turned out to be bad advice. The pole sitter checked up in the first turn which resulted in Peter dropping all the way back to sixth by Turn 4. On Lap 3, Peter got a good run through Turns 9 and 10 and managed to pull out a double pass going into Turn 1 on Lap 4. This resulted in a fourth place finish. There was a pileup in Turn 3 on the first lap of Peter’s second heat race, in which he started fifth. The action occurred ahead of Peter. He managed to miss it and advanced to third in the process. He got around Turn 9 well again on Lap 2 and dove to the inside in Turn 10 to take over the second position. These two ran nose to tail for the remainder of the distance with Peter hanging on for a second place finish. A fourth and a second earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. Peter had complained that his kart was too tight during his second heat, so we made a slight adjustment to loosen it up. Unfortunately, this was not enough. Peter held his position at the start, but the two in front began to draw away fairly quickly. One of the karts involved in the second heat pileup caught Peter on Lap 2 and got around him on Lap 3. He completed the laps in a comfortable fourth place.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor started from pole position in his first heat race. He led into Turn 1 and began to pull away a bit over the next few laps. The series leader, who had started from the rear, caught and passed Conor on Lap 4. Conor had to defend his position for the remainder of the laps to bring home a second place finish. In the second heat, it was Conor’s turn to start from the rear (seventh). He gained a position at the start, and two more on Lap 2. He was faster than the next kart in line but ran out of laps and finished fourth. A second and a fourth earned Conor the third starting position for the feature. He made a great start, but the second place starter dove to the inside to keep Conor behind in Turn 1. On Lap 3, it was Conor’s turn to get around Turn 9 well and dive to the inside in Turn 10 take over the second position. He pulled away slightly, but it was apparent that he was pushing hard to do so. After loosing a position by locking the rears during Race No. 6, Conor had been nudging his brake bias forward all day. He must have gone a bit too far because he locked the fronts in Turn 3 on Lap 5 and took a detour through the grass. This was enough to let the kart behind through. Conor caught back up in the next lap, and made one last ditch effort to regain the position in Turn 10 on the last lap, but came up about a kart length short for a third place finish.
NEXT RACE – In the week leading up to MSOKC Race No. 8, which is Sunday, August 1, 2010, both Henry and Peter had birthdays – 21 and 15 years, respectfully (how can that be?). For Race No. 8, which is a qualifying format event with standing starts for everyone, Peter got a carburetor and clutch rebuild and Conor got a top-end engine rebuild. After that, there is a much-needed two week break prior to the Commercial Point Grand Prix, which is August 14-15, 2010.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=569762.
PRACTICE – The washing that the track got before practice began meant that no lap records were going to be broken on Sunday. Less than ideal atmospheric conditions, which changed as the day wore on, and re-rubbering of the track necessitated many chassis and engine changes throughout the day to stay on top. We experimented with different setups during practice. Peter had badly damaged his right front spindle in his most recent feature race (Race No. 4), so he had a chance to try out the repaired one during practice and to break in his new tires.
YAMAHA JUNIOR – The random draw for starting positions had Peter starting in the third position for his first heat race (of seven karts in his class). He was lined up behind a relative newcomer but with good equipment. I advised Peter to stay behind the pole sitter in an effort to pass the second place starter in the first corner and then the pole sitter in Turn 4. That turned out to be bad advice. The pole sitter checked up in the first turn which resulted in Peter dropping all the way back to sixth by Turn 4. On Lap 3, Peter got a good run through Turns 9 and 10 and managed to pull out a double pass going into Turn 1 on Lap 4. This resulted in a fourth place finish. There was a pileup in Turn 3 on the first lap of Peter’s second heat race, in which he started fifth. The action occurred ahead of Peter. He managed to miss it and advanced to third in the process. He got around Turn 9 well again on Lap 2 and dove to the inside in Turn 10 to take over the second position. These two ran nose to tail for the remainder of the distance with Peter hanging on for a second place finish. A fourth and a second earned Peter the third starting position for the feature. Peter had complained that his kart was too tight during his second heat, so we made a slight adjustment to loosen it up. Unfortunately, this was not enough. Peter held his position at the start, but the two in front began to draw away fairly quickly. One of the karts involved in the second heat pileup caught Peter on Lap 2 and got around him on Lap 3. He completed the laps in a comfortable fourth place.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor started from pole position in his first heat race. He led into Turn 1 and began to pull away a bit over the next few laps. The series leader, who had started from the rear, caught and passed Conor on Lap 4. Conor had to defend his position for the remainder of the laps to bring home a second place finish. In the second heat, it was Conor’s turn to start from the rear (seventh). He gained a position at the start, and two more on Lap 2. He was faster than the next kart in line but ran out of laps and finished fourth. A second and a fourth earned Conor the third starting position for the feature. He made a great start, but the second place starter dove to the inside to keep Conor behind in Turn 1. On Lap 3, it was Conor’s turn to get around Turn 9 well and dive to the inside in Turn 10 take over the second position. He pulled away slightly, but it was apparent that he was pushing hard to do so. After loosing a position by locking the rears during Race No. 6, Conor had been nudging his brake bias forward all day. He must have gone a bit too far because he locked the fronts in Turn 3 on Lap 5 and took a detour through the grass. This was enough to let the kart behind through. Conor caught back up in the next lap, and made one last ditch effort to regain the position in Turn 10 on the last lap, but came up about a kart length short for a third place finish.
NEXT RACE – In the week leading up to MSOKC Race No. 8, which is Sunday, August 1, 2010, both Henry and Peter had birthdays – 21 and 15 years, respectfully (how can that be?). For Race No. 8, which is a qualifying format event with standing starts for everyone, Peter got a carburetor and clutch rebuild and Conor got a top-end engine rebuild. After that, there is a much-needed two week break prior to the Commercial Point Grand Prix, which is August 14-15, 2010.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=569762.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
MSOKC Race No. 6 – July 17, 2010 – Three Deuces
NEWS – There can be no delay in these next few race reports as Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 6 on Saturday, July 17, 2010, was the first of three races on consecutive weekends for Bruce Brothers Racing and the first of five races in a six week span. Peter was still in Italy, so once again had only one kart to look after during Race No. 6, which was a night race that followed the qualifying event format.
PRACTICE – We had made a few changes to Conor’s kart for Race No. 6, so he tried these out during practice but saved his new set of tires for the qualifying session. New tires seem to have a “golden lap” in them on about the third lap. The first two laps scrub off the mold release and scuff them in, and then after the golden lap, the performance begins to fall off a bit.
80cc SHIFTER – There were 10 karts in Conor’s class for Race No. 6, so the class was split into two groups for the three-lap qualifying session. Conor went out first in his group and took his time coming up to speed on new tires. The kart that went out behind Conor didn’t maintain a proper gap during the warm-up lap. Conor got one clean lap in before the kart behind passed him in Turn 5 on the second lap. This spoiled Conor’s second lap, and because of a misunderstanding in the tower, the checkered flag was given after the end of the second lap. So much for our planning around the golden lap! Needless to say, I was not happy, but the circumstances were the same for everyone. It didn’t make much difference either, because Conor was 0.4 seconds (i.e., a significant amount) behind the eventual pole sitter (the kart that passed Conor, which was also on new tires) and nearly 2 seconds (i.e., an eternity) faster than the next fastest kart. After qualifying second, Conor made an excellent start in his first heat race, nearly jumping the pole sitter but settling into second in the first turn. He ran within sight of the eventual winner for a comfortable second place finish. Starting from second in his feature, he did jump the pole sitter at the start. His lead was short lived, however. Much to his own dismay, he had neglected to mind his brake bias, which was not far enough forward, and locked the rears going into Turn 5 on the first lap. After the pass, he again settled into second and ran within sight of the eventual winner for another comfortable second place finish.
NEXT RACE – Qualifying format events do tend to be processional affairs, which was certainly the case for MSOKC Race No. 6. I’m not sure what else we can do to get Conor a feature race win it 2010. We seem to have squeezed every bit of speed out of the equipment that we have. We are content to be ahead of the rest of the field, however. Peter will be back in action for MSOKC Race No. 7 on Sunday, July 24, 2010, which is a regular direction event at Circleville Raceway Park. It’s good to have him home.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=567152.
PRACTICE – We had made a few changes to Conor’s kart for Race No. 6, so he tried these out during practice but saved his new set of tires for the qualifying session. New tires seem to have a “golden lap” in them on about the third lap. The first two laps scrub off the mold release and scuff them in, and then after the golden lap, the performance begins to fall off a bit.
80cc SHIFTER – There were 10 karts in Conor’s class for Race No. 6, so the class was split into two groups for the three-lap qualifying session. Conor went out first in his group and took his time coming up to speed on new tires. The kart that went out behind Conor didn’t maintain a proper gap during the warm-up lap. Conor got one clean lap in before the kart behind passed him in Turn 5 on the second lap. This spoiled Conor’s second lap, and because of a misunderstanding in the tower, the checkered flag was given after the end of the second lap. So much for our planning around the golden lap! Needless to say, I was not happy, but the circumstances were the same for everyone. It didn’t make much difference either, because Conor was 0.4 seconds (i.e., a significant amount) behind the eventual pole sitter (the kart that passed Conor, which was also on new tires) and nearly 2 seconds (i.e., an eternity) faster than the next fastest kart. After qualifying second, Conor made an excellent start in his first heat race, nearly jumping the pole sitter but settling into second in the first turn. He ran within sight of the eventual winner for a comfortable second place finish. Starting from second in his feature, he did jump the pole sitter at the start. His lead was short lived, however. Much to his own dismay, he had neglected to mind his brake bias, which was not far enough forward, and locked the rears going into Turn 5 on the first lap. After the pass, he again settled into second and ran within sight of the eventual winner for another comfortable second place finish.
NEXT RACE – Qualifying format events do tend to be processional affairs, which was certainly the case for MSOKC Race No. 6. I’m not sure what else we can do to get Conor a feature race win it 2010. We seem to have squeezed every bit of speed out of the equipment that we have. We are content to be ahead of the rest of the field, however. Peter will be back in action for MSOKC Race No. 7 on Sunday, July 24, 2010, which is a regular direction event at Circleville Raceway Park. It’s good to have him home.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=567152.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
MSOKC Race No. 5 – June 26, 2010 – Good News, Too
NEWS – The best news of all first – Conor and I have just returned from University of Iowa Children’s Hospital in Iowa City where Conor had his annual check-up from the spinal surgery he had there three years ago. Dr. Menezes was thoroughly impressed with Conor’s condition and gave him a clean bill of health. While there are still some things that he will never be able to do (play football, wrestle, jump on trampolines), Conor was told that he doesn’t ever have to return unless he begins to have problems again. So ends a very trying chapter in the life of the Bruce family… Now back to racing – Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 5 on Saturday, June 26, 2010, was our first night race of the season at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP). These events are intended to make use of the cooler evening hours, but while the morning was relatively cool, temperatures rose significantly throughout the day and then it ended up raining on us in the evening.
PRACTICE – It’s been quite a while since we had only one kart to look after during a race day, but that’s just what we had for Race No. 5. Peter is spending the better part of a month this summer in Italy. We had planned to put Henry in our Yamaha SuperCan kart during Peter’s two-race absence, but he decided that the potential enjoyment wasn’t worth the expenditure involved. Also, Henry is working full time during the week this summer and wanted to spend time that weekend with friends. Conor had new tires for Race No. 5. As usual, we had him practice initially using an older set that we have mounted on a duplicate set of rims. At least I thought they were a duplicate set. We discovered that the hub offset is different on the fronts of one set compared to the other, which explains the difference in handling we’ve been experiencing between practice and race conditions. We would struggle with lack of rear grip (too much front grip) during practice, only to have it sort itself out during race conditions – or vice-versa, which was worse. With this under control, and with new tires and a carburetor adjustment that seemed to help, Conor was easily turning laps in the 44 second range during his second practice session.
80cc SHIFTER – The random draw for starting positions had Conor starting from pole position in his first heat race. He didn’t get away from the standing start as cleanly as he has been and was squeezed out of the lead in Turn 1. Further back in the field, two karts made wheel-to-wheel contact with one being launched into the hay bales on the outside in Turn 1. Everyone was okay, but fortunately for Conor, this caused a red flag condition which meant that the race would be restarted. Conor got away much more cleanly during the restart and led easily into Turn 1. He immediately began to pull away and developed a fairly large gap back to second place. At about mid distance (Lap 4 of 8), he backed off a bit to save his tires yet still continued to pull away. He won easily and recorded the fastest lap time in the process (44.781 seconds and the only kart in the 44 second range). Conor made another great start from the rear (sixth of seven) in his second heat. He immediately began slicing through the field and was up to third by the end of the first lap. The two karts in front of him were involved in what would become an epic dual for the lead. Conor was right on their tail and waited for his opportunity, but it never came. He had the speed to be more offensive, but seemed to be content knowing that a third place finish would give him a front row starting position for the feature. The rain came just as the starting lineups for the feature were being posted. After it became apparent that the rain was not going to let up, points for the feature were awarded based on earned starting position, which resulted in second place points for Conor. This was a bit disappointing since Conor seemed to have the speed for his first feature race win of the season.
NEXT RACE – The MSOKC schedule for the first part of the season has been rather spread out this year. By the time that Race No. 6 rolls around on Saturday, July 17, 2010, we will have had after another three week break. Race No. 6 will be another night race at CRP but with a qualifying format, in which we seem to do well. Peter will still be in Italy (he returns July 19), so unless Henry has a change of heart, we will once again have only one kart to look after. Beginning with Race No. 6, we have five races in a six week span, which includes a two-day event – the Commercial Point Grand Prix on August 14-15, 2010.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=557628.
PRACTICE – It’s been quite a while since we had only one kart to look after during a race day, but that’s just what we had for Race No. 5. Peter is spending the better part of a month this summer in Italy. We had planned to put Henry in our Yamaha SuperCan kart during Peter’s two-race absence, but he decided that the potential enjoyment wasn’t worth the expenditure involved. Also, Henry is working full time during the week this summer and wanted to spend time that weekend with friends. Conor had new tires for Race No. 5. As usual, we had him practice initially using an older set that we have mounted on a duplicate set of rims. At least I thought they were a duplicate set. We discovered that the hub offset is different on the fronts of one set compared to the other, which explains the difference in handling we’ve been experiencing between practice and race conditions. We would struggle with lack of rear grip (too much front grip) during practice, only to have it sort itself out during race conditions – or vice-versa, which was worse. With this under control, and with new tires and a carburetor adjustment that seemed to help, Conor was easily turning laps in the 44 second range during his second practice session.
80cc SHIFTER – The random draw for starting positions had Conor starting from pole position in his first heat race. He didn’t get away from the standing start as cleanly as he has been and was squeezed out of the lead in Turn 1. Further back in the field, two karts made wheel-to-wheel contact with one being launched into the hay bales on the outside in Turn 1. Everyone was okay, but fortunately for Conor, this caused a red flag condition which meant that the race would be restarted. Conor got away much more cleanly during the restart and led easily into Turn 1. He immediately began to pull away and developed a fairly large gap back to second place. At about mid distance (Lap 4 of 8), he backed off a bit to save his tires yet still continued to pull away. He won easily and recorded the fastest lap time in the process (44.781 seconds and the only kart in the 44 second range). Conor made another great start from the rear (sixth of seven) in his second heat. He immediately began slicing through the field and was up to third by the end of the first lap. The two karts in front of him were involved in what would become an epic dual for the lead. Conor was right on their tail and waited for his opportunity, but it never came. He had the speed to be more offensive, but seemed to be content knowing that a third place finish would give him a front row starting position for the feature. The rain came just as the starting lineups for the feature were being posted. After it became apparent that the rain was not going to let up, points for the feature were awarded based on earned starting position, which resulted in second place points for Conor. This was a bit disappointing since Conor seemed to have the speed for his first feature race win of the season.
NEXT RACE – The MSOKC schedule for the first part of the season has been rather spread out this year. By the time that Race No. 6 rolls around on Saturday, July 17, 2010, we will have had after another three week break. Race No. 6 will be another night race at CRP but with a qualifying format, in which we seem to do well. Peter will still be in Italy (he returns July 19), so unless Henry has a change of heart, we will once again have only one kart to look after. Beginning with Race No. 6, we have five races in a six week span, which includes a two-day event – the Commercial Point Grand Prix on August 14-15, 2010.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=557628.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix Website
The website for the 2010 Commercial Point Grand Prix (CPGP) has finally been updated. It can be found here:
http://cpgrandprix.com/
The CPGP will take place August 14-15, 2010, through the streets of Commercial Point, Ohio. Bruce Brothers racing will have three entrants in four classes - Peter in Yamaha Junior Lite, Conor in 80cc shifter (trophy and pro classes), and Henry in Yamaha Heavy.
Bill
http://cpgrandprix.com/
The CPGP will take place August 14-15, 2010, through the streets of Commercial Point, Ohio. Bruce Brothers racing will have three entrants in four classes - Peter in Yamaha Junior Lite, Conor in 80cc shifter (trophy and pro classes), and Henry in Yamaha Heavy.
Bill
Saturday, June 19, 2010
MSOKC Race No. 4 – June 6, 2010 – The Lows with the Highs
NEWS – The start of the 2010 Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) season had been remarkable for Bruce Brothers Racing until Race No. 4 on Sunday, June 6, 2010. This was the first race of the season without any twists – regular direction, rolling starts (except shifter karts), heat race format, and daytime schedule. While we seem to do well when there is a twist involved, there was no reason to suspect that we’d have a difficult day for Race No. 4. Sometimes, it’s just your turn for a bit of bad luck, and for both Peter and Conor, it was apparently their time. Both were fast all day, qualified reasonably well for their feature, but were involved in a series of incidents that resulted in less than desirable overall results for the day. Peter tangled with a spinning kart in his feature race and Conor was taken out twice – once while leading a heat race and again in his feature.
PRACTICE – It was pouring down rain when we arrived at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) on Sunday morning, but the forecast called for clearing skies. It cleared up at about 10:00 AM and practice got underway about an hour later than normal. This was Peter’s fourth race on his initial set of MG “Red” tires. While they are holding up quite well, he was at a slight disadvantage to those who had new or newer tires for this race. Conor’s second set had only race laps from Race No. 3 on them, so he was in excellent shape tire-wise. During practice, we experimented with gear ratios on both karts to account for the big headwind that was blowing down the long back straightaway.
YAMAHA JUNIOR – There were nine karts in Peter’s class on Sunday, two of which would be disqualified at the end of the day for non-club-spec tires. From the fourth starting position in his first heat race, he made one pass on the first lap. While trying to get by the next kart in the queue, he left the door open in Turn 10 and dropped back to fourth. After he finally did make the pass back into third, he set the fastest lap of the race (46.855 seconds). Peter also gained one position (from sixth to fifth) at the start of his second heat race. He lost a position on Lap 2, gained one on Lap 4, and lost one on Lap 5 to finish where he started – in sixth. Through all of this, he somehow managed to set the fastest lap of the race again (46.777). A third and a sixth resulted in a fifth place starting position for his feature race. He once again gained a position at the start. On Lap 2, the second place kart spun ahead of Peter in Turn 9. I thought that this was going to promote Peter to as high as second, but the spinning kart ended up right in front of him and Peter hit him hard. This deranged the nose of his kart slightly and dropped him back to seventh, after which he had trouble getting around a slower (and somewhat erratic) kart. He finished in seventh but was promoted to sixth after the tire disqualifications.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor made a great start from outside the front row in his first heat race, leading easily into Turn 1. The pole sitter had dropped back at the start but began to catch Conor at the end of the first lap. The second place kart made an aggressive move to the inside of Conor in Turn 5 on Lap 2. There was contact and both karts went into the grass. Conor had to get out and push to get going again, which dropped him to last. The offending kart received a rolled black flag (warning) and the driver apologized profusely afterwards for taking Conor out while he was leading. Conor also gained one position (from fifth to fourth) at the start of his second heat race. He was passed by the eventual winner on Lap 2 but made the position back up on the same lap by passing another kart. He spent the remaining laps embroiled in a battle with a slower kart. These two traded places on Lap 6, but Conor was not able to make the pass stick. A fifth and a fourth was good enough for a fourth place starting position for the feature. Conor once again made a great start and was up on the third place starter by nearly a kart length entering Turn 1, but the third place starter failed to concede the position. The right front tire of the offending kart hit Conor just ahead of his left rear, which sent Conor into the grass again. It took him more than a minute to get going again, which ended his hopes of salvaging some valuable championship points for the day.
NEXT RACE – After another three week break, during which we are visiting family in Kansas City, our first night race of the season is MSOKC Race No. 5 on Saturday, June 26, 2010, at CRP. Gates open at 1:00 PM and racing gets underway at 5:00 PM. In the mean time, school is out for the summer for Peter and Conor, and Henry is home from college. Conor will begin a summer internship at Center for Automotive Research at OSU when we return to Columbus and Henry has already started his summer job at the James Cancer Hospital at OSU. Peter will be spending about a month in Italy this summer (Rome, then the island of Sardinia) with our neighbors and good friends the Rizzoni family, so Henry will be contesting the MSOKC Yamaha SuperCan Heavy class during Peter’s two-race absence.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=546502.
PRACTICE – It was pouring down rain when we arrived at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) on Sunday morning, but the forecast called for clearing skies. It cleared up at about 10:00 AM and practice got underway about an hour later than normal. This was Peter’s fourth race on his initial set of MG “Red” tires. While they are holding up quite well, he was at a slight disadvantage to those who had new or newer tires for this race. Conor’s second set had only race laps from Race No. 3 on them, so he was in excellent shape tire-wise. During practice, we experimented with gear ratios on both karts to account for the big headwind that was blowing down the long back straightaway.
YAMAHA JUNIOR – There were nine karts in Peter’s class on Sunday, two of which would be disqualified at the end of the day for non-club-spec tires. From the fourth starting position in his first heat race, he made one pass on the first lap. While trying to get by the next kart in the queue, he left the door open in Turn 10 and dropped back to fourth. After he finally did make the pass back into third, he set the fastest lap of the race (46.855 seconds). Peter also gained one position (from sixth to fifth) at the start of his second heat race. He lost a position on Lap 2, gained one on Lap 4, and lost one on Lap 5 to finish where he started – in sixth. Through all of this, he somehow managed to set the fastest lap of the race again (46.777). A third and a sixth resulted in a fifth place starting position for his feature race. He once again gained a position at the start. On Lap 2, the second place kart spun ahead of Peter in Turn 9. I thought that this was going to promote Peter to as high as second, but the spinning kart ended up right in front of him and Peter hit him hard. This deranged the nose of his kart slightly and dropped him back to seventh, after which he had trouble getting around a slower (and somewhat erratic) kart. He finished in seventh but was promoted to sixth after the tire disqualifications.
80cc SHIFTER – Conor made a great start from outside the front row in his first heat race, leading easily into Turn 1. The pole sitter had dropped back at the start but began to catch Conor at the end of the first lap. The second place kart made an aggressive move to the inside of Conor in Turn 5 on Lap 2. There was contact and both karts went into the grass. Conor had to get out and push to get going again, which dropped him to last. The offending kart received a rolled black flag (warning) and the driver apologized profusely afterwards for taking Conor out while he was leading. Conor also gained one position (from fifth to fourth) at the start of his second heat race. He was passed by the eventual winner on Lap 2 but made the position back up on the same lap by passing another kart. He spent the remaining laps embroiled in a battle with a slower kart. These two traded places on Lap 6, but Conor was not able to make the pass stick. A fifth and a fourth was good enough for a fourth place starting position for the feature. Conor once again made a great start and was up on the third place starter by nearly a kart length entering Turn 1, but the third place starter failed to concede the position. The right front tire of the offending kart hit Conor just ahead of his left rear, which sent Conor into the grass again. It took him more than a minute to get going again, which ended his hopes of salvaging some valuable championship points for the day.
NEXT RACE – After another three week break, during which we are visiting family in Kansas City, our first night race of the season is MSOKC Race No. 5 on Saturday, June 26, 2010, at CRP. Gates open at 1:00 PM and racing gets underway at 5:00 PM. In the mean time, school is out for the summer for Peter and Conor, and Henry is home from college. Conor will begin a summer internship at Center for Automotive Research at OSU when we return to Columbus and Henry has already started his summer job at the James Cancer Hospital at OSU. Peter will be spending about a month in Italy this summer (Rome, then the island of Sardinia) with our neighbors and good friends the Rizzoni family, so Henry will be contesting the MSOKC Yamaha SuperCan Heavy class during Peter’s two-race absence.
Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=546502.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
