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.

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.

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.

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

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.

MSOKC Race No. 3 – May 16, 2010 – Backwards Bonanza

NEWS – Mid State of Ohio Kart Club (MSOKC) Race No. 3 on Sunday, May 16, 2010, was the first of several reverse-direction (clockwise) events at Circleville Raceway Park (CRP) this season. Both Conor and Peter enjoy the variety that this brings, as CRP is a much different race track in this direction. The end of the long straightaway brings a near-hairpin turn in this direction, which emphasizes hard braking in the primary passing zone. The final turn in this direction (the normal Turn 1) is a very fast right-hander that takes courage to do flat out. For the third race in a row, we won heat races (both Conor and Peter this time) and both boys ended up on the podium in the feature. Conor also earned his first feature race pole position of the season.

PRACTICE – The new club-spec MG “Red” tires have held up pretty well on our Yamaha SuperCan kart (Peter), but we decided that the first set on our 80cc Shifter kart (Conor) wasn’t going to make it for three races. For Race No. 3, we rotated the tires on Peter’s kart and mounted up a new set for Conor. We saved Conor’s new set for his first heat race, however, and had him practice on his old set. Both boys acclimated quickly to the reverse direction during practice, although there are muscles that get used in this direction (seven rights three lefts) that don’t get used to a great extent in the other direction (seven lefts and three rights), particularly in the neck and torso.

YAMAHA JUNIOR – Peter made a great start from the fourth position (of eight in his class) at the start of his first heat race, moving to second in the first few turns. He was able to go much deeper into the turn at the end of the long straightaway (the normal Turn 4) than the leader and made a pass for the lead on Lap 4 (of eight). He went on to record another heat race win – his third in three events this season. There was a delay in the start of Peter’s second heat race when one of his competitors had trouble getting started. When the green flag finally did fly, Peter’s row was a bit behind the other row, and Peter dropped from fifth to sixth. It took Peter until Lap 6 to get past one kart and then he made another pass on the final lap for a fourth place finish. A first and a fourth earned him the third starting position for the feature. He held his position at the start, after which the first three separated themselves from the pack, running nose-to-tail. The second place kart passed the leader on lap seven (of 10) and Peter was able to do the same on Lap 8. Peter was right on the tail of the new leader for the last two laps. He pulled along side at the end of the long straightaway on the final lap, but couldn’t make the pass stick. He was disappointed not to get the win, but was happy to record another second place feature race finish. He also recorded the fastest lap of the race (47.048 seconds).

80cc SHIFTER – Once again, Conor’s first heat was almost a carbon copy of Peter’s. He started from the fourth position (of nine) and gained two positions at the start. He passed the leader at the end of the long straightaway on Lap 2 and went on for a comfortable heat race win. Conor was fortunate to end up where he did in his second heat race. He made a great start from the sixth position, but the lead kart missed a shift in the second turn (the normal Turn 9) on the first lap, which caused an accordion effect. Conor hit the kart in front of him rather hard, and while this deranged his nose slightly, it did not slow him down. He actually gained several positions on this lap, which put him up to third. On Lap 8, the second place kart got a bit sideways in final turn (the normal Turn 1) and Conor was able to muscle his way past in the next two corners. A first and a second earned Conor the pole position for his feature race. His start wasn’t his best of the day, and the second place kart was able to go side-by-side with Conor through the first turn, which put the other kart on the inside for the following turn. Conor wisely conceded the position and latched onto the tail of the leader. He was able to keep pace with the leader for the first few laps but then seemed to back off a bit then it became apparent that there was no way he was going to retake the lead. This was fine until the third place kart began to catch him in the late stages. After fending off several passing attempts, Conor also recorded another second place feature race finish.

NEXT RACE – After another three week break, which includes the Memorial Day holiday, MSOKC Race No. 4 is Sunday, June 6, 2010.

Bill
p.s., Lap times, lap charts, and results can be found at http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=536499.

Pictures from MSOKC Race No. 3 - May 16, 2010

Peter on the podium again...










...and Conor, too!