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2.2
Celsius and with a forecast of snow later in the day. Not the best day to
go out and race, but twenty one teams presented themselves at the sign in
desk for the penultimate round of the SE Promax Challenge at Buckmore Park
on the 28th of February. We would have had three more teams had we not
altered the date after initial publication as the revised event clashed
with skiing holidays.
Yet again ZLR demonstrated their dominance of the class by taking
pole in the fifteen minute session. Mind you, it wasn’t a walkover as
Allied 1 were a mere four hundredths off their pace. Extreme Racing
and Screenvyn 86 were similarly close on the second row and it was
clear we were in for some more very of the very close racing that this
class regularly generates. The practice and qualifying sessions were not
without incident though and one particular shunt was to prove costly for a
couple of teams. Coming around Café Curve, Screenvyn 86 went wide,
caught the very slippery geo-block and spun out. Rolling across the
circuit in reverse on the exit of a blind corner would not be high on my
list of ambitions I must admit. Powering around the corner, nose to tail,
came Titan Motorsport and another who I believe to be Red Stripe
Racing
(it wasn't in fact),
though I couldn’t actually see the number. With the circuit blocked by the
reversing Screenvyn kart the boys had nowhere to go and both ended
up flying into the corporate pit lane tyre wall with considerable impact.
Screenvyn survived and proceeded on their way with little knowledge
of the mayhem left behind. Titan were not so lucky and the kart was
damaged to the point were unable to repair it and they became a DNS.
Another early casualty were HWB who had an off at post five which
resulted in a twisted chassis and though they tried to carry on into the
race, it was soon apparent that the kart had a different idea of turning
in than that of the driver and it was not long before the unlucky HWB
gang called it a day.
Despite the less than grippy nature of the circuit on this cold winter day
the start was virtually a text book job with only one spinner on the
opening lap. It was again Screenvyn 86 who managed to out brake
himself into hairpin one and dropped from 4th on the grid to last place in
just ten seconds. ZLR and Allied 1 came off the front row
and raced together for six or seven laps before Allied 2 popped in
front on lap eight and then hung on right up to the first driver change
and fuel stop. Augustea Racing were in and out of the pits with
monotonous regularity as they struggled to find a cure for the popping and
banging that was plaguing the engine.
Cobra ASM took temporary charge of the lead when Allied 2
pitted but then it was back to ZLR who always kept the race very
much in their control. Most teams managed to run a longer first stint than
is customary and the fuel bay was pretty busy around the one hour mark. If
it was indeed Red Stripe who had got caught up in the tyre wall
incident in practice, it would certainly explain why the team seemed to be
plagued with an engine that kept playing up. It became quite common to see
the driver doing yet another lap with his hand in the air before
disappearing into the pits again.
With ninety minutes showing on the computer screen, things were all quiet
in the fuel bay and it was an ideal moment to see just how the race was
panning out. Just two teams now occupied the lead lap as ZLR headed
the order nearly seven eighths of a lap clear of Cobra ASM. They
were followed by a trio of Allied karts. No 2 headed this
trio, Allied 1 were on the same lap while the No 3 team were
a lap adrift of their stable mates and two off the lead kart. Top of the
lease kart order at the halfway mark were Auto 1 Racing who seem to
have really got to grips with their kart this season and were currently
tucked up behind Allied 3 in sixth place. The next half hour marked
more forward progress for Auto 1 who got in between the Allied
trio who were themselves trading places with some regularity.
Leaving me little to say, Special Racing Projects had an uneventful
race and just kept clocking up the laps and changing driver with precision
and they were always in the upper reaches of the leaderboard, which is
exactly what is expected of a successful endurance team, but a little
frustrating for the race reporter who can only report that nothing
happened!
I had chickened out of racing today as my days of freezing my fingers to
the bone have long gone and I left the Levoi’s Suzuki kart in the
more than capable hands of my (much) younger team mate Dan Butler.
Unfazed, Dan ran virtually the whole race by himself and his lap times
never faltered as he slowly climbed the order from a P12 start . Fuel stop
number two gave Cobra ASM another shot at leading the race though
ZLR were still pretty close in second. Allied 3 were,
appropriately, third and by now three laps clear of Special Racing
Projects, Auto 1, Allied 4 and Levoi’s Suzuki all playing
together on the same lap.
As the lap counter hit the two hundred lap mark, it was with just under
half an hour to go and if the teams were all running the same fuel
strategy it would be a straight dash to the flag. The next few minutes
were to reveal that some of the front runners had gone for a three stop
strategy and would have to vacate the circuit once more. One of these was
race leader ZLR who came in with less than ten minutes of the race
remaining. This let Cobra ASM back in front but the mighty ZLR
empire had that all very much in their plan and returned to circuit right
behind Cobra. It was then just a matter of slipping past which
Roy Watts did with ease and holding on to the flag and the team’s
fourth race win on the trot. Cobra ASM came home just two seconds
behind for 45 points and the runner up trophies. Two laps down but with a
similar safety margin behind them, Allied 3 collected bronze and
Auto 1 took the remaining trophies of the day for their very fine
fourth place.
Just one round of the winter series remains and that is at Bayford Meadows
on the 13th March. Looking at the leader board, for Cobra ASM to
take the lead away from ZLR the former would need to secure a race
win and for ZLR to finish 24th or worse. The battle for third is
closer and currently held by Allied 1 after taking away their
lowest score. It will all become clear at Sittingbourne in just two weeks.
Following the completion of the winter series the focus will be on the
start of the Southern Promax Challenge hosted by Bayford Meadows but with
away rounds at Buckmore and Clay Pigeon. Full details are now available on
the series website www.pro-max.co.uk
It should be a good third year for Promax!
Race
Report by Alan Wood
This series is also covered by KARTING MAGAZINE on sale monthly and
available at THE KART SHOP AT BUCKMORE |