Another great race this weekend…
Arriving on Friday for a full days testing before the race weekend we were confident of great lap times and being well prepared for the weekends racing.
The Korat track is now our favorite track in Thailand. Even outpacing Saraburi in terms of fun and technical features. 50% of the track is 100% flat out. All you have to do is get the corners (and the preparation for them) right! The rest is fun twisty technical stuff which is also very rewarding to drive. Despite the flat out high G corners, and the twisty in-field stuff Stephen is happy to report no problems with previous rib injuries.. So we seem to be in the clear on that one!
Stephen also spent some time with the track owner over the weekend and learned that he had built the track for his children so they could practice at home for the National Championships! Respect!
FRIDAY.
Friday we got the kart set up and went through an entire set of tyres testing. Our speeds were a little off the pace, but nothing to worry about. We made one mistake (in hindsight) of not buying a new set of tyres to practice on, and spent most of Saturday assuming slower speeds were down to using Vega and Bridgestone tyres for testing.
We also had problems with overheating all weekend. Something which will be solved with the purchase of a new radiator to go with our brand new Leopard Engine at the next meeting.
SATURDAY
Saturday we limited testing because of overheating problems and lack of spare tyres. Also the previous weeks testing had put a lot of strain on our main race engine, so we wanted to keep it at it’s best for Sunday.
At the end of the day Saturday we were very suprised when we qualified slowest in the field, but two penalties for modified air boxes on other karts moved us further up the grid to a more respectable 6th.
SUNDAY
The first heat on Sunday we came in last, after a couple of people had DNFs.
Second heat we had a total failure half way through which we initially thought was a bottom end sieze on the engine, but turned out to be an electrical problem. A coil had died.
In the final we started two from the back on the grid, and after an exciting start where Willem’s kart in front of Stephen spun, putting him off on the marbles, we were quick to make up places. Rising to 4th place and pushing for 3rd all was going very well. In fact no-one behind Stephen now seemed to be able to keep up, and we were gaining on the lead pack. Excellent!
In the 8th/9th lap Stephen spun and went off the track at the far end of the circuit. At that point he did not realise that his throttle was partially sticking (and has caused the problem), and manage to rally the kart back onto the track straight into the fastest section to try and make up two lost places.
At the first major braking point after that Stephen realised his throttle was stuck open 100%. He stuggled for a while trying to clear it, and then committed to finishing the race using brakes only.
For the final 10 / 12 laps Stephen made up some places and then proceeded to lose them again as engine temperatures reached 85+ degrees, and the brakes became intermittent demanding more and more radical driver input to keep the kart on the track.
Coming in 6th in the end Stephen made 10 Championship points and drove the kart straight off the track with both hands on the carb to kill the engine once he had crossed the line. Phew! Not the result we wanted, but minimal damage to the kart, some sorely needed points, and our hopes for this season are still alive..
It’s looking like it will be hard work to make the top three at the end of the year this year, but we will still try.. In any case we have invested in a new engine, continuing technical and logistical support from Thomas Raldorf and a slew of new parts to deal with known mechanical issues, and we are very optimistic for the next race in May at Bira.
Thanks to Julia, Thomas and Age for all their help this last race weekend.
A picture to aim to be in…… 
Congrats to the other competitors, and thanks for the good times…
