Video and Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 3

A video of the start of Conor's second heat race in the 80cc Shifter kart can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sExW8UC5dDQ

Conor did double-duty - raced his own kart and filled in for Peter in our Spec 100 Pipe kart.  Some pictures are shown below.

A full race report will follow.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 2 – May 6, 2012 – A Frightening Moment

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.

Stills from Video of Conor's Flip

He's okay.  A full race report will follow.

MSOKC Race No. 1 – April 22, 2012 – Double Perfect

NEWS – Very little Windex was needed by Bruce Brothers Racing during Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 1 a week ago Sunday.  Peter and Conor both qualified on pole, led every lap of their heat races, and backed this up by leading every lap of their feature races.  Face shields stay pretty clean when you run at the front all day.  The cold weather – I’m not sure that it ever got above 50°F that day – also kept the bugs at bay.

PRACTICE – Both boys had new tires for Race No. 1.  Grip was at a premium on Sunday, so this helped immensely – but nearly everyone had new tires for Race No. 1.  Peter elected to put his on for the second practice session and Conor elected to save his for the qualifying session.  On well-used practice tires, Peter spun on the first lap of his first practice session and Conor spun on the first lap of both of his practice sessions.

SPEC 100 PIPE – Peter had the fastest time of his second practice session (48.2 seconds), but several karts in his class were in the same ballpark.  The feeling was that a lap in the high 47 second range would be required to take pole position in the qualifying session.  On Peter’s third qualifying lap, he reeled off a 47.02 to take pole position by just over a quarter of a second.  Starting from pole position in his heat race, Peter took the lead going into Turn 1 and never looked back.  He won by just over 4 seconds and lowered the fastest lap of the day in this class to 46.51 in the process.  The start of Peter’s feature race was much the same except that, by mid-distance, the gap that had grown to about two seconds shrank to less than a second.  Peter was able to respond – his fastest lap was a 46.49 in Lap 7 (of 8) – and he won by just over a second.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor made good use of his new tires.  His third qualifying lap was a 45.26, which was almost a second faster than the next best time.  He got away well from the standing start in his heat race, pulled away by about a second per lap, and won by over six seconds.  Conor’s start in his feature race was not quite as decisive, but he managed to maintain the lead at the start.  Once out front, he again extended his lead on every lap.  The winning margin was again just over six seconds.  Conor used our new GoPro camera during his feature race.  A low resolution version of all eight laps (and the victory lap) can be found here, and a reduced vibration, higher resolution version of the first two laps can be found here.

NEXT RACE – MSOKC Race No. 2 is Sunday, May 6, 2012, at CRP and will feature a heat race format instead of timed qualifying.  Starting from a randomly picked starting position (i.e., not necessarily at the front) should make for some better GoPro videos…

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found here.

Bruce Brothers Racing – 2012 Season Preview

The 2012 season gets underway for Bruce Brothers Racing this Sunday, April 22, 2012, with Mid State of Ohio Kart Club Race No. 1 at Circleville Raceway Park. Peter will contest the Spec 100 Pipe class again and Conor will contest the 80cc Shifter class again. Peter’s engine got a complete rebuild prior to the 2011 season finale, so his kart needed very little work during the off-season. Conor’s engine got a top end rebuild and we also rebuilt his front brakes – I think we finally got the front brakes on this kart figured out. We even had time for a practice session already this year. Part of my spring cleaning included our race trailer – we’ll be getting better gas mileage in the truck this season.

For Christmas, Henry got the boys and me a GoPro Hero video camera for taking on-board videos in high definition. We were able to try it out a couple of times during the off-season. The first was at a new indoor karting facility in Cincinnati (http://www.cincykarting.com/). The other was at an outdoor facility in Bahrain (http://www.bahrain-karting.com/) – Peter and Conor tagged along with me on a business trip there for their Spring Break. Videos for the latter, including the on-board, can be found here:

Bruce Brothers Racing at Bahrain International Karting Circuit

Bruce Brothers Racing - Two Laps Around Bahrain International Karting Circuit

Bruce Brothers Racing - Under/Over pass in Turn 1 at Bahrain International Karting Circuit

Our race schedule for 2012, which once again includes the MSOKC series and the Commercial Point Karting Classic (formerly the Commercial Point Grand Prix), is as follows:

Race No. 1 - Sunday, April 22 - Normal/Qualifying/20 bonus points
Race No. 2 - Sunday, May 6 - Normal (may be combined with Sunday portion of Vintage Kart event)
Race No. 3 - Sunday, May 20 - Clockwise
Race No. 4 - Sunday, June 3 - Normal/Standing Starts
Race No. 5 - Sunday, June 17 - Normal
Race No. 6 - Sunday, July 1 - Clockwise/Qualifying
Race No. 7 - Sunday, July 15 - Normal/20 Lap Combined Feature for 80cc Shifter, TaG, and Spec 100
Race No. 8 - Sunday, July 29 - Normal/20 Lap Combined Feature for SuperCan Heavy and SuperCan Novice
Commercial Point Karting Classic - August 4 and 5 - Non-Championship Event
Race No. 9 - Sunday, August 19 - Clockwise/Standing Starts
Rain Date No. 1 - Sunday, August 26
Race No. 10 - Sunday, September 9 - Normal/Qualifying/Hog Roast
Race No. 11 - Sunday, September 23 - Normal/20 Bonus Points
Race No. 12 - Sunday, October 7 - Clockwise/Qualifying/40 Bonus points
Rain Date No. 2 - Sunday, October 14

CRP is located on U.S. Route 23 just north of Circleville (click here for a map). As always, thanks to everyone for their encouragement and support.

Bill

MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 2, 2011 – Peter Finishes With a Win

NEWS – The winter has come and gone, and I’m just now getting around to reporting on the final race of the 2011 season. Bruce Brother Racing was back to a two-kart team for Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 12 on Sunday, October 2, 2011. Conor had just moved into his residence hall at Ohio State and elected to sit the previous race out. Peter’s engine had returned from the engine builder in time for Race No. 11, but his UA Crew rowing team had their first regatta of the season in Toledo that day, so he also missed Race No. 11. Race No. 12 was a reverse-direction (clockwise) event at Circleville Raceway Park that featured qualifying instead of the normal heat race format. We had to pick up Conor from his residence hall on our way to the track, which was a bit weird.

PRACTICE – Both boys practiced on older tires and would race on one-race-old tires. Peter spent a bit of extra practice time breaking in his rebuilt engine. It became apparent that the engine builder did a great job because Peter dipped into the 46 second range during practice. His engine was so strong that we decided to change the gear ratio for his qualifying session. In spite of his older tires, Conor was fast during practice, too.

SPEC 100 PIPE – Peter’s qualifying time was only a tenth of a second slower than the fastest time of the session, but there was another kart in between, so he qualified third. In his heat race, Peter ran in third for the first six laps. He made an excellent pass for second on Lap 7. On the last lap (Lap 8), the leader came to a stop with what I recall was an engine problem, giving the win to Peter. A third and a first earned Peter the pole position for his feature race. He got snookered during the rolling start and settled in to second place. He was stuck to the rear bumper of the leading kart for the first nine laps (of 10). After displaying incredible patients, he finally found his opportunity – an awesome out-braking maneuver entering Turn 4 – on the last lap. Peter finished his season with a feature race win and lowered his personal best lap time to 46.198 – the fastest lap of the season for anyone in this class.

80cc SHIFTER – Conor’s qualifying session ended with him having the second fastest time but only two tenths slower than the fastest qualifier. He got away well from the standing start of his heat race and was able to muscle his way into the lead on the inside of the second corner (Turn 9 in the reverse direction). He went on to lead every lap and won by a comfortable margin. A second and a first earned Conor the pole position for his feature race. He made another great start and led easily for the first five laps or so. The second place kart began to reel Conor in and eventually made a pass on Lap 9. The eventual winner is a relative new-comer to this class who is an accomplished national-level kart racer but is not used to shifting. He is obviously finding his stride.

NEXT RACE – Conor had already clinched the series championship in the 80cc Shifter class and Peter had missed too many races to be in contention for the championship in the Spec 100 Pipe class, so Race No. 12 was a low pressure event for us. Since then, we have attended the MSOKC season-ending banquet, stored the equipment for the winter, and have gotten it back out again. The first race of the 2012 season is this Sunday, April 22, 2012.

Bill

p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=723410.

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 12 – October 2, 2011

Click to enlarge.









Staying warm before practice.









Driver's meeting.









Conor prepares to qualify.









The end of Lap 1 of Conor's heat race.









Conor exits the track.









Peter leads towards the end of his heat race.









Peter exits the track.









Conor, Peter, and friends.









Conor on the pole for the start of his feature race.









Conor leads through Turn 10 (the first corner for a reverse-direction event).









Conor leads through Turn 9.









Conor leads comfortably during the opening laps of his feature race.









Peter on the grid for his feature race.









Peter leads the field through Turn 1 toward the start of his feature race.









Close racing on Lap 9.









Peter with the checkered flag.










Peter's lap time for Lap No. 7 of his feature race was sub-46.2 seconds - a personal best.

Bill