tlmNexus sponsored Kart 51 holds Top Novice at Llandow Race
RAF Waddington Vulcans Karting Team - Round 4 Results
Wednesday 21st June saw the Vulcans team arrive at the Club HQ and load up for another race weekend. After an hour or so, all the karts and kit were secured and ready for the journey to South Wales. Thursday was an early start, leaving RAF Waddington at 0800 and arriving at Llandow Circuit in the afternoon. With the awnings built and kit unloaded, the team sorted the karts to be ready for Friday practice.
With Llandow being a popular track amongst the drivers, they were all keen to get going on Friday morning. The team set out on improving their karts setup throughout the day, using every practice session to fine tune them further. All karts looked to be strong, setting quick lap times, challenging our main rivals. With the practice day over and no major mechanical issues, the team was in a good place and ready for the two 2-hour endurance races on the Saturday.
Saturday morning began with the team arriving at the track early to check over the karts and make sure all nuts & bolts were checked and ready to go. After the final drivers brief from track marshals, it was time to go racing.
Qualifying for race 1 was a tough one for the team as a whole. A red flag was waved in the middle of the session after the engine of another team’s kart failed, dropping oil into the final turn. Although kart 50 qualified P8, the rest of the team had ground to make up in the race; kart 53, 52 and 51 qualifying in P20, P25 and P37 respectively.
The race began with 35 karts (2 non-starters) going into the first corner at high speed. Despite the tight and technical nature of the first series of corners, no issues occurred. The team made great progress, especially in kart 51 as they quickly found themselves inside the top 10 along with kart 50, and kart 52 making their way into the top 15. Unfortunately, kart 53 started to suffer with mechanical issues and dropped back, ending up in the pits for lengthy repairs. Then a red-flag incident involving kart 51 happened, ending up in the tyre wall on the high speed back straight. The driver was checked out by the circuit medics, receiving the all clear. The clock had run down to 25 minutes remaining before the race got back underway, with kart 50 in an excellent 3rd overall. It was a sprint to the finish, with kart 50 taking 3rd overall and 1st military. Kart 52 finished P22, kart 51 managed to keep going and despite dropping way back, finished P26. Kart 53 stopped with only minutes remaining due to a mechanical issue and finished P34.
It was a swift turn around for the second race of the day. The team had a great qualifying with karts 51, 50 and 52, starting in 8th, 9th and 11th respectively, unfortunately, a mechanical issue for the struggling 53 meant it started in 26th.
The race got underway with Vulcans karts retaining places inside the top 15, gaining and losing some positions as the first hour went on. The first round of pit stops went smoothly with a driver change for kart 50 and dummy stops for 51, 52 and 53. The team played strategy well, with fuel stops and driver changes for the other karts going smoothly. Into the second hour, issues started to arise with kart 52 having to make an unscheduled pit stop. The driver’s high-vis jacket had come loose and become trapped in the brake, losing valuable time and track position. With half an hour remaining, kart 53 found itself out of the race after a competitor spun in front of them and the resulting collision left them with a bent rear axle. As the chequered flag waved for our second and final race of the weekend, kart 51 crossed the line in a strong P6 overall and P3 military. Kart 50 finished in P11, kart 52 in P24, and kart 53 in P34 following their early exit.
Premier
Flt Lt Ling was hoping to extend his lead with Kart 51 in the Premier Novice Championship for the second half of the season. Testing day seemed to go well, however lap times only improved by around 0.3 of a second throughout the day. Thankfully, the other premier drivers were having similar experiences, so all seemed to be going well.
Onto race day, and a short final practice session to scrub in a brand new set of slick tyres, the second allowed for the season. Heat 1 started with Ling 9th on the grid, making up a place on the first lap. Halfway through the race Ling was up to 5th, holding position until the chequered flag.
Heat 2 started from 10th, before Ling was forced to take to the grass whilst avoiding a spinning kart. Thankfully, he kept out of the barriers and was able to promptly restart, chasing down the field ahead. By lap 7 he had caught the back of the pack, pressing on to finish 6th.
Problems emerged whilst attempting to start Heat 3. As the pack slowed before the rolling start, Ling’s engine struggled at low speed and cut out. Unable to get it restarted, he was forced to retire to the pit lane. After troubleshooting, the engine started successfully, just in time for the Final to start.
Ling started the Final 8th on the grid, his chances of higher qualification lost with the disappointment of Heat 3. He just avoided a spinning kart on lap 1, making up a place to 7th. An overtake for 6th was made the next lap, followed by laps of close racing for 5th. Using his straight-line speed advantage, he was able to make a move into the hairpin, securing 5th for the finish.
Round 4 Results;
Race 1
Kart 50 - 3rd (1st Military)
Kart 51 - 26th (11 places gained from Qualifying)
Kart 52 - 22nd
Kart 53 - 34th
Race 2
Kart 50 - 11th
Kart 51 - 6th (3rd Military)
Kart 52 - 24th
Kart 53 - 34th
Premier
Kart 51 – 5th (Top Novice)
Some good results on a tough weekend overall in the Endurance category, picking up trophies in both races and bringing home plenty of points for our championship battle. In the Premier category, kart 51 remains 3rd in the overall AFKC Premier Championship, leading the Novice competition by 74 points.
Our thanks go out to all those at RAF Waddington who support us with our racing; in particular the Stn PEd Flt, Accounts and MT. In addition, to our supporters tlmNexus, ICS and JP Racing. Next month’s race is our home round at Fulbeck, where we hope to gain some good results for the home crowd.
Pte Bailey Vernon-Higgs
Kart 53
RAF Waddington Kart Club
Distribution:
RAF Waddington Stn Cdr
RAF Waddington Media Officer
RAF Waddington PEd Flt
Text and photos courtesy of John Blondel and the Vulcans Karting Team