Round 1 OEKC Winter Series December 9th 2007; Report by Gary Chandler

The 2007/8 Winter Cup got underway at Whilton Mill on 9th December. Considering the forecast and the fact that a number of regular teams were unable to make the race a respectable sixteen karts would line up for the race. As the teams pitched up the forecasted wet weather had not arrived although the track was still very wet from the overnight rain. Wet tyres would be needed during practice but the track would surely dry. As the teams made their first exploratory laps it was clear that the newly laid track sections gave plenty of grip but that the old tarmac was proving very slippy with a number of karts pirouetting off track. Disaster struck Box Tech before Qualifying had even begun. With the Litigators spinning exiting the final corner in front of Box Tech a collision was unavoidable. What appeared to be a fairly low speed impact would seriously damage the front end of the Box Tech Kart and they would have their work cut out to even make the grid. Saxon 2 in their Biland took the pole from TrickSport's Rotax with the Litigators running a full French spec Enduro Rotax (in preparation for a full season in the French Championship & subsequently not eligible for Rotax or Championship points) in third. The track was starting to dry in places and if the weather didn't produce some of the anticipated rain soon the Wet tyres would struggle to complete the race. We didn't have to wait long. As the karts started the formation lap the rain began to fall. As the green flag dropped the rain had become heavy and the karts all struggled to find he lines with the most grip. Red Max even missing the Boot section completely as they flew straight over the grass to re join at the final corner. They duly let the teams past that they had overtaken. Both Maintenance (71) with their new MS Kart & Box Tech we're struggling for pace with their engines, both had misfires and neither got to them running properly during the race although many solutions were tried. Red Stripe had started with a conservative setup, running very low pressures to try and conserve their wets as much as possible, however with the rains arrival they had to struggle for grip & ultimate pace. After discussing pressures with a few teams on their second stop on the 2hr mark they increased the pressures to 15psi at the front & it transformed the handling. They would be rewarded by the end of the race with a podium finish. Stirling Benz on their first foray into the OEKC, first drive in a Biland and first drive in the wet certainly had a baptism of fire. They however stuck at the job in hand and throughout the day pushed the kart to the limit. As the race unfolded the AJB Prokart was gradually being reeled in by the Rotax's & Biland's. Red Max having had a dice with TrickSport & KKC had taken the Rotax lead and set off in hot pursuit. Lack of a working laptimer on their kart however didn't help them to gauge what their outright pace was although the kart felt good. Appliance (70) had also been making good progress throughout the race. Their newly acquired R2 Prokart chassis mated to the Rotax engine was working perfectly and they had moved themselves into podium territory. The water was playing havoc with many teams. Box Tech & Maintenance were still struggling, Saxon 1 also water in the electrics and just couldn't dry them out sufficiently to continue & now Red Max on their third & final pit stop couldn't get the motor to fire back into life. Changing the Air box, plug & ignition switches fixed the problem but they had now lost their lead rejoining in 5th some 8 laps down. Unfortunately all the attempts at starting the engine had compromised the battery power and 10 minutes before the end it failed. Appliance now had a commanding 5-lap advantage on their second place rivals Saxon 2 in the Biland. With the fitting of the Cush Drive to the Bilands none of them have experience any chain issues, all bodes well for 2008. As the Chequered flag fell, Appliance took a well-deserved race win. Saxon 2 were second with Red Stripe third. Stanion Slicks just 30 seconds behind in 4th.