Gearup F-Series Round 4

So round 4 of the F Series is done, it's taken a couple of days to come to terms with such a rough weekend. Round 4 saw me and Jamie fly out to Boston and then make the six hour drive down to the New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Thursday we did a few test sessions running only half the circuit before a thunderstorm came and stopped running. Friday we ran the full circuit, finishing the day with times that put us well within the top 3.

Saturday morning for whatever reason we were down on power with the engine, we swapped a few parts which could cause potential problems and found a little bit of speed, but only enough to put us P5 in qualifying.

I nearly didn't manage to start race 1 as the engine wouldn't fire up. After a great deal of panic we somehow got her going and I just managed to slot into my grid position before the start. I got a good run into the first corner and got the kart alongside the guy who started third, unfortunately the next thing I knew I was on the grass and then couldn't get the motor running again. Fortunately there was minimal damage to the kart, and I was ready to go for it in Race 2.

We started 20th and I drove up to 4th until the last lap where on the main straight, my ht lead parted company with the spark plug cap which stopped the engine all together. I pulled the kart over in disbelief, we had a fantastic race up until that point and I thought for just a minute that we had a chance to salvage the weekend. This then meant we had to start from the back again in Race 3. We didn't have such a good start and I could only make it up to 8th with the race being cut short by a couple of laps.

I believe that even with the disastrous weekend we had, we still lead the championship which is the main positive to take away.

I would like to say a massive thank you to Jamie for everything, we may not have had the result but we were very well prepared, and I was really pleased with the approach we had over the weekend. You couldn't have done anything more for me and it's just a shame that we were looking good for at least a podium until it all fell apart. A big thanks to Sean, George and Alex as always! Also to all my friends and family for their continued support.

I would also just like to say that through all the chaos of the weekend it was extremely nice to see people come together to help one another, you don't see that often enough and it shows true sportsmanship.

Anyway, onwards and upwards to the next one, three rounds to go, we can do it! 👊🏻

8th August 2016