Top Novice Trophy for RAF Vulcan

Wednesday 24^th May saw the team arrive at the club HQ at 1700 to load up for an exciting race weekend. After a few hours all vehicles had been loaded and the team all went home for a night of rest.

Thursday was an early start, leaving RAF Waddington at 0700 and arriving at Rye House at 1100 to set up our site for the next few days. With limited space this proved tricky, but we were soon set up and could get some practice out on track. After an afternoon of adjusting setups, the team gained track knowledge and confidence going into the weekend.

Friday arrived and the team set out on improving kart setup further to improve lap times. All Karts proved to be strong, setting quick lap times, and more importantly, quicker times than rival teams. With no mechanical issues the team was in a good place and ready for the 3 Hour endurance race that was ahead the following day. That evening the team delivered a talk to local Sea Cadets about the RAF Waddington Vulcans, in return for the accommodation they had kindly provided us. With an insight into the RAF and the sport, the cadets got hands on with one of the karts.

Saturday morning the team arrived at the track for 0730. After completing final nut & bolt checks, the team was ready to hit the track. After a final drivers brief from track marshals, it would soon be lights out and time to race. Qualifying produced some good results for karts 51 and 52, qualifying 7^th and 13^th respectively. It wasn’t so good for the other 3 karts, with 53 in 20^th, 54 in 22^nd and after Kart 50 experienced slight engine issues, they qualified last in 28^th place.

The race began with the roar of 28 karts going into the first corner at high speed. Surprisingly no issues occurred, but then in the second hairpin Kart 53 took a knock on the left front wheel resulting in a broken track rod. This resulted in 40 minutes of repairs, all but putting them out of the race. Karts 50 & 54 had the most success after the first few laps gaining valuable places early. After 45 minutes it was time for the team’s first set of pit stops. All driver changes went smoothly, and the second drivers soon settled into the race. An incident on track saw the Marshalls wave the Battenburg flag, meaning the pace slowed right down to clear the track of any debris and stricken karts. The race soon restarted, and it was soon time for refuelling and the second driver change. With all 5 karts needing to be refuelled within a 10-minute period it would need to be a slick process. The team effort saw everything go smoothly and the drivers could settle into the second half of the race. The high temperatures meant the physical exertion would soon get the better of some drivers and the team could slowly pick up more vital places. The rest of the race went smoothly and with 10 minutes remaining kart 51 was gaining a lap a second on the REME Kart ahead. With only a few minutes remaining they got past and managed to hold off for what we thought was going to be second place. The chequered flag was waved after a successful race for the team.

We then had an agonising wait for the result to be finalised and the trophy presentation to begin. After penalties had been calculated, it was announced that kart 51 had finished 3^rd overall, and 1^st military kart. This brought two pieces of silverware to the team collection, and scoring valuable points in the championship.

In the premier category, Flt Lt Ling was aiming to compete well in the Novice championship after good results in the first two rounds. Friday testing started well, until engine problems emerged. With the engine stuttering and becoming limited to 1500rpm below max on the main straight, the top speed was reduced. The afternoon turned into a troubleshooting process, trying to eliminate possible causes. Despite best efforts, the root cause couldn’t be located. Thankfully, the problem only occurred for a minimal section of the track, so could still be used for racing the following day. 

Saturday morning began with a short practice session, before the first heat getting underway. Ling started at the back of the grid in 10^th, behind two fellow novices. Places were gradually made up over the 15 lap race, finishing in 7^th. After a short break, heat 2 was underway, starting from 9^th on the grid. A tangle into the third corner dropped Ling down to last place before fighting back through the field in a hotly contested race. After some penalties for dropped nosecones were applied, Ling was rewarded with a 6^th place finish. After a long break for the first prokart race, heat 3 began. After starting in 8^th, Ling made a poor start and dropped down to last place after the engine bogged down during the rolling start. After getting back up to speed, places were gained to finish the race in 6^th.

After making up places in all races, Ling was to start the Final in 7^th place, with both other novices closely behind. Up to 6^th on lap 4, Ling held position for the remainder of the race. Learning from mistakes in previous rounds, he opted to hold off attempting an overtake and instead retain the leading novice position. After a penalty was applied, Ling finished in 5^th and took the top novice trophy.

After round 3, Ling stands 3^rd in the overall Premier Armed Forces Championship, and leads the Novice Champs by 68 points. With half of the season remaining, he must continue to gain good results to stay on course for the Best Novice title.

Round 3 Results;

Endurance

Kart 50 – 11^th place (Gaining 17 places from qualifying)

Kart 51 – 3^rd Place (1^st Military)

Kart 52 – 20^th place (Given a 2-lap penalty for exceeding driver time)

Kart 53 – 27^th place (Didn’t finish last after missing most of the race)

Kart 54 – 13^th Place (Gained 9 places from qualifying)

Premier

Kart 51 – 5^th (Top Novice)

A successful 3^rd round means RAF Waddington Vulcans lead the Inter Station/Unit Championship by a thin margin of 2 points. Round 4 will see the Vulcans at Llandow Kart Circuit in South Wales, where we can hopefully build on the success so far.

I would like to thank our Sponsor TLM Nexus for their continued support throughout the season, which is helping support our current position in the championship.

Cpl Dan Holt

Kart 54 & Team Chef

RAF Waddington Kart Club