Author: Brett Gaskin

A 37 year old motorsport addict, blogging my experiences in karting and beyond...

“And rubbin’, son, is racin’!”

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Date: 15th November 2014 (61 days until the BRKC)
Track: Teamsport Gosport
My PB at this track (before this session): 30.486s
Best lap time this session: 31.085s

This week was my first karting session in a while, so I expected to be a little ring rusty, but still to perform well. It was also my first race in my new racing suit, which was very comfortable to race in (and the internal padding prevented me from waking up with any bruises this morning!).

So on to the three sessions last night. Lots of yellow and red flags in general and I got a couple of “No bumping” boards shown at me (some justified, some not in my opinion).

wpid-photo-3-6.jpg.jpegThe first race was pretty uneventful, I achieved my fastest lap of 31.085s, finishing in second place, 4/1000ths of a second ahead of the more experienced driver in the field, an achievement that I was quite proud of at the time.

The second race was a lot more aggressive and frustrating in equal measures. I set off second out of the pits and had five laps of clear track in which I set my fastest laps of this race (31.498s on both lap 4 and 5). After this however, I got caught in traffic from those who started behind me in the pit lane.

In fact, there was one driver in particular that I was ridiculously frustrated by; lapping about one to one and a half seconds per lap slower than I would have been, but taking defensive lines through every single corner and always finding himself having the inside line at the end of the series of bends when I pulled alongside him. It was the frustration of a number of laps behind him that caused me to start to make overtaking attempts that really weren’t there to be made (I did take the defensive driver off on a couple of occasions, which earned me the “No bumping” warnings). However, each time I did, I let him back in front afterwards (I may be competitive, but I am fair in my racing).

wpid-photo-1-8.jpg.jpegIn between the second and third races, one of the other drivers came up to me and chatted to me briefly about karting in general and the previous session. He said that he looked behind him when I was charging through the field again and thought ‘Shit!’. He then described that for the rest of the race he was determined to keep me behind him at any cost. It was then that I realised it was the driver who had held me up for 17 laps of the previous race!

Actually, this attitude was brilliant for me to practice my race craft, rather than go for a fast single lap.

In the third session, I thought that I would go for the race practice rather than the time trial practice. I started off first from the pit lane and after being overtaken once by the more experienced driver, I set off carving my way through the field lapping each driver as I came across them on track. It just so happened that the hardest guy to overtake in the second race was also my rival in the third.

wpid-photo-3-7.jpg.jpegHe wasn’t going to give me an easy ride and I couldn’t pull a reckless manoeuvre up the inside of him because he wasn’t going to give way. What I needed to do was be brave and be very late on the brakes and also feign the route that I was going to take through the corners to make him defend a different line. Whatever I did worked and I managed to cleanly overtake him a couple of times before the time ran out in addition, I achieved a 31.290s fastest lap in this final race.

I was quite disappointed with my lap times when I got back home last night, but having analysed them on my spreadsheet today, actually it was a successful night in many ways.

I log all of my lap times and plot a variety of things including fastest lap times, mean lap times, variance/standard deviation etc. (this is my geekiness/scientist coming out!). Last night, whilst slightly slower than usual, was one of my most consistent nights for a month.

Pre-race press conference

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With 65 days until the BRKC, I want to ask YOU what content you would like to see on here!

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Do you want to see videos, photographs or tables of results? Would you like to conduct an interview with me? Would you like an audio commentary of my fastest lap in practice? Or how I have cut 20% off my lap times over the past 6 months?

Comment below, or catch me on Twitter, and I will try to include your suggestions in the upcoming posts.

A quick update on my “Future races?” blog post: one of my former colleagues (who is a natural around a kart track) has stepped up to be a teammate. However, I think that to have a fighting chance, we need a team of four, so there is still chance to contact me and get registered.

Future races?

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Hi guys, no racing for me again this weekend (shame!) but I’m all booked up for the next couple of weekends!

Whilst I’m really looking forward to the BRKC (only 68 days to go!), I am already looking at entering some other races next year.

My sister-in-law(-in-law) sent me a link recently to a charity team endurance race, called “Karting For Heroes” (link: http://www.kartingforheroes.com/).

This blog post is somewhat of a plea for two teammates, who can be experienced or inexperienced, but are willing to have fun and raise money for a very worthwhile cause. If you are interested in having a go, meeting new people and generally having a laugh, message me or leave a comment below.

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Also, if any of you hear of other rental kart races, please do give me a heads up and message me through the blog or leave a comment on any post!

“Oh, suits me sir!”

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Days until the BRKC: 74

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No results to feedback this week, as I had a weekend without karting.

But still some great news; I now have my very own racing suit! It fits like a glove and whilst I haven’t tried it out in anger yet, it feels amazing in comparison to the rental ones I have been wearing week in and week out.

I doubt that any difference will be made to my PBs in wearing this suit, but with this suit, my white helmet, and my karting gloves, my kit is almost complete and I look that little bit more professional when I’m in the kart.

Hopefully, there will be a karting times update by next week, but life is getting quite busy with a variety of different events and social visits in the lead up to Christmas.

With regards to the BRKC, today I confirmed my practice session on the Friday… I will be practicing in the third session that runs from 4pm to 7pm. Closer to the time, I will link to the live “TV” coverage of the weekend, so you guys can shout and support me wherever you may be!

P.S. Anyone who gets the comedy reference in the title earns a gold star! 😉

All paid up and ready to go.

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Here’s just a quick post to say that, with 79 days until the BRKC, I have paid my entry fee, the hotel is booked and I am all set for the race weekend!

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As a side note, I am thinking of asking for sponsorship as a way to fund my “kit” i.e. custom helmet, racing suit, gloves, boots etc. and of course entry fees for championships. I am looking into “Kickstarter” generally, but will have to investigate the tax implications first!

Solid driving – making progress!

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Date: 25th October 2014 (83 days until the BRKC)
Track: Teamsport Gosport
My PB at this track (before this session): 30.486s
Best lap time this session: 30.646s

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In the lead up to the BRKC, I will also be posting to this blog with an update of how my practice/regular karting sessions went, along with the hard stats of fastest laps and race results!

Since I started karting a few months ago, I have exclusively driven at my local track in Gosport every Saturday that I can (Teamsport have a 3-for-2 offer on a Saturday evening which makes it a little more affordable as a hobby).

But enough of setting the scene; on to this week’s session! I don’t think anyone could deny that it was quite literally a slow start. Jammed in the middle of the whole field of drivers, in a kart that didn’t particularly suit my driving style, my fastest lap in the first session was a disappointing 32.872s, placing me 6th out of the field.

I really didn’t like the results from the first session and felt quite dejected. I thought that maybe I had lost my cutting edge after the couple of big crashes I had a few weeks ago (due to inexperienced and, I believe, jealous drivers). But the thought of having lost my attacking instinct running through my head spurred me on to better things in the next two races!

photo 3Race two was my best this week (as usual!) and I was going for it like never before. I had clear track to start off with and, when someone was in front of me, I generally dispatched them with a decisive move within a few corners. This session finished with a fastest lap of 30.646s and a second place finish overall.

The third race was a combination of the two; some open track, followed by being held up by some slower drivers. As seems common in these 3 race sessions, the drivers go “all out” in the last race, which also sees more bumping and crashing. Fortunately for me, I managed to avoid all the crashes going on around me in all three races this time. Again, I finished second, but with a slower fastest lap of 31.211s.

photo 5Overall, I think I put in a solid but unspectacular performance this week. However, leading up to the BRKC, I think it is all about consistency.

Whilst I enjoy racing at Gosport; it being super convenient, only a mile away from our house and getting to know the guys there, I think I may need to move further afield to try different tracks in the lead up to the championship.

And it’s GO GO GO…

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So, as you may or may not know, I have taken up karting as a hobby for the past few months and, if I say so myself, I seem to have some talent for it.

Now I’m not saying that I’m the next Lewis Hamilton (whilst he’s only 2 years older, he has been racing for 20 years more than me), but whilst I’m having fun doing it, it is a great way to let off steam and get away from the world; your helmet can be a great (but lonely) place to be when travelling around a track at 40mph with your backside about 4 inches from the ground and barriers all around you.

I started getting serious about it quite quickly, buying my own helmet and gloves (for both comfort and hygiene reasons!) just a couple of weeks into this new adventure.
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Up to this point in my “motorsport career”, I have not entered any races (the closest that I have come to a race was on my stag do and I finished a disputed 5th out of 6 (I still maintain that I was only overtaken once from my 3rd place grid position!). But this is soon to change!

About a month ago, I saw a link online for the BRKC and so I took a look at their Facebook group.

The British Rental Kart Championship is a weekend event with a cash prize for the winner and also acts as the feeder series to the KWC (the world championships). I saw that the next championships were being held in January 2015, so in a moment of self-belief, I entered on their website.

About a week ago, the confirmation came through that I was provisionally one of the 100 drivers that could compete in the BRKC in Milton Keynes. Excitedly, and with my wife on a conference, I booked the hotel for that weekend in January and in a couple of weeks when I get paid for doing my day job, I will be paying my entrance fee to confirm my place!
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I will be updating this blog with all of my highs, lows, thrills and spills from now until the BRKC (only 86 days to go!) and beyond!