It’s fair to say that I think about karting *a lot*. I don’t think that I’m unique in that respect; the sport is pretty adictive even for those of us who don’t actually get to sit in the seat but I’ve spent very little time on karting activities since cleaning up after our March race weekend. I’ve stopped fuming about our DNF in the final but, with the April round fast approaching and the promise of a bunch of Super One visitors, it’s time to get my head into gear!
It’s still early days as far as entries are concerned but I’m quite excited by some of the drivers that will be visiting. The club will host an Extreme grid for the first time since the Celtic Challenge in December and we should see double-digit entries for both TKM classes. If the club’s Junior graduates from last year all enter, the Extreme class should be a cracking contest š
As for us, I’ve been wanting to give the brakes some TLC so that has been my focus this week. I’d really like to be able replace the brake disc, certainly before Super One, as Junior hasn’t been completely happy with the brake system for while now and it’s one of the few things that remain from our original retirement package purchase that we made a little over three years ago. I’m not sure when that will happen though; we also need to get some new wet tyres but I’m hoping that the forecast is good to us and I can defer that purchaseĀ until June (when we would have to buy them for Super One regardless).
With the prospect of almost all of my bestest chums racing at the same track for the first time since the TKM Festival, the last thing I really wanted was to be reminded that I’d promised to drive the female side of the family to London on what turns out to be the practice Saturday but stuff(?) happens as they say. It will save me a few ponies if nothing else!
Given that Junior had unwrapped the new frame on Wednesday evening, it had been a mad rush to get the kart built for the Llandow race weekend. Iād stripped the kart the previous weekend under the cover story that I was embarrassed to look at the old chassis and that I was going to respray it. Junior’s response was to ask if I was going to do it properly this time!?! Thatās my boyā¦
To give me extra time and space (half a cramped garage doesnāt really work that well), Iād even been given permission to use the dining room š so I worked a couple of long evenings and did what I could until I had to take the kart outside before it became too wide to easily leave the house!
I actually got permission to build the kart indoors – I kid you not!
A late decision to patch the kart seat and drill fresh holes meant we werenāt ready to head for the track until lunchtime but we managed to be late enough to miss the Bristol Rovers v Newport *and* Wales v Italy traffic š
Haven’t gone topless in a while…
I was pretty confident in my work but history has shown that a newly built kart will lose at least one bolt on its installation lap and so it proved this time (side pod bolt) but Junior came in smiling and exclaimed it was easily the best kart he had ever driven!!! I didn’t tell him that it was easily the most expensive he had ever driven alsoā¦ The rest of the day went really well, we made a few tweaks and tested used vs new rubber for the race day but Junior looked much more comfortable at the wheel, as if he was having to fight less to get the kart to hit the apexes. It was a good day š
Sunday promised much. Again we had four heats and a final. We had fresh rubber and a new kart and, given the club’s struggles, a grid of seven was very pleasing. For the second month running the karting gods had given us a decent grid draw and heat #1 saw us start in third with the quickest karts in front of us. The odd-numbered half of the grid made their usual better start so Junior got into second but then inexplicably went for a pass on the leader into The Hook. The leader flashed across the front of him and Junior clipped him and span. I donāt know what he was thinking!?! It took some time for his pushers to right him and he ultimately finished well adrift. Luckily for him it happened on the first lap as I had eight minutes to swear at him under my breath before he came in, thereby adhering to my promise never to criticise his driving. He knew heād screwed up so it wasnāt like it would have achieved anything. Amusingly, one of the pushers/dads had knocked his bumper in on one side when they tried to right him and bumped a kerb so he unclipped the bumper clamp and reseated the bumper before sending Junior on his wayā¦ in front of the clerk, bless him! I didnāt see the official result to know if weād gotten a penalty but whatās another 10s when you are 30s behind?
Pac Man on a data logger!?!
Heats 2,3 and 4 were notable for one thing: we took the lead in each race, we were caught and passed by the same driver each time and each time we caught back up and but could not make the move (or, when we did, it did not stick). We made the obvious tweaks between each heat and, by heat 4, didn’t fall away at all but Junior never looked like getting past the winner. We were clearly bang on the pace and possibly a fraction quicker but not in those early laps when we lost out most of all. We decided to gamble on a couple of bigger changes for the final but that is where the day took a big turn for the worse: when the karts came back into view on lap one, Junior wasn’t among them. One of the dads signalled to me that he was off so I ‘abandoned post’ and ran over to find out what had happened. Junior came stomping up the paddock waving his arms like Mr Tickle and I assumed he’d been punted off. It turned out that the fuel tank cap had come off and, despite it being one of the few things that my driver does between races, it was evidently my fault. Worse, he’d bailed out in a stupid place and left the kart for others to clear up. Worse still my new frame was hoisted up onto some tyres!!! And, to cap it all off, everyone assumed I was a numpty for not putting the cap on!!!!!! I wasn’t at all happy. Over the close season, I had promised myself that the days of things coming off were over: my friends can keep their kids on track for a weekend with no dramas and, after our dramas at the final club round last year, I was going to make damned sure we’d be in that boat in 2016. This stung and I wasn’t in the mood to have it pinned on me. I accept that people make mistakes and, since I’d only realised on Thursday that my old fuel tank wasn’t compatible with the new frame, I’d borrowed one from a friend. There’s a chance it was one of those tanks whose lids tighten and then, if you tighten them too far, lose the thread and loosen right off. Of course, I’m well aware of the viewpoint that the mechanic ultimately responsible for absolutely everything…
There wasn’t too much said after that. The car journey was quiet until we were about 5 minutes from home when I said my piece! It is done now. We’ve hopefully both learnt something. We’d otherwise had a good weekend and the kart felt great. We’ll move on so long as nobody mentions fuel caps anytime soon… š
Having originally planned to upgrade after our first year in the sport, if you had told me that weād start 2016 on a 7-year old chassis my response would have been āI bloody hope notā! Such is kartingā¦ weāve been running on a low tank, fund-wise, for a long time and there are always other things that you need to spend money on just to keep you on-track, especially if you want to compete. I stupidly sprayed the chassis at the start of last year and didnāt give it a lacquer coat(!) so oil and dirt have been clinging to the parts of my spray job that havenāt already flaked off and our chassisā¦ well, it was a bit embarrassing. Something had to change!
Goodbye old friend; pound per second, I don’t think many Ā£25 purchases have been around Llandow quite as quick as you but it’s time to move on!
Junior’s birthday was fast approaching and Iād been looking at chassis for quite a while: whereas sellers could barely give them away 12 months prior, the rise of TKM Extreme in Super One have seen tidy Tony Kart Vipers on the used market have become a thing of the past. So what about the Racer 401? For me, this was a more serious consideration: unlike the Viper, its CIK counterpart has evolved in recent years and I couldnāt help but wonder if at some point they might become the chassis of choice for OTK runners in TKM. In addition, they became fairly abundant on the used market at the end of last season although the majority have the āusual scrapesā which typically means running without chassis protectors (have you ever noticed how the underside of the front bar is always the last pic in the listing – if it is included?). A good rolling chassis would still cost Ā£1800-Ā£2000 and then I would have to get a front bar welded in, effectively ruining my investment (I know you donāt *have to* weld a bar in but I would have wanted to). Were there any other options? The Tal-Ko Veloce/TAG engine combination has seen a big rise in sales thanks in no small part to a certain cadet that stepped up last year and was instantly on the pace at most of the big meetings (you know – the bookies favourite for the title this year) š Itās great for the class that more cadets have gone down the TKM route but a non-OTK chassis would mean replacing all of my spares, much of which would not quite be as readily available as the OTK parts.
In the end I opted for a new bare Viper frame: it was cheaper than a rolling chassis and didnāt involve me taking a welder to an almost new kart. I normally find that Iām damned if I do and damned if I donāt so letās just hope it all goes well and we avoid any mishaps that might threaten my investment.
I’d mostly finished writing this and only realised that I hadn’t actually posted it when somebody messaged me to tell me that they hoped I hadn’t stopped writing the blog! My apologies folks, especially since we are closer to the next race weekend than the last one but here it is…
It was the start of a new era. All of our closest chums had gone: to Super One and to TKM Extreme š The loss of the twin-sized awning that I shared with another Dad at Clay Pigeon IKR in November left me with two choices: a heavy duty, compact awning with a Ā£500 price tag or the rental of a garage space at Llandow for a more modest Ā£160. Awning pros: I can use it anywhere, anytime. Awning cons: Iād need a compact awning that arenāt quite as strong as the heavier awnings that carry a 5-year warranty and it would leave me needing to find space in an already packed camping trailer or Clio. Garage pros: Warm. Dry. Sheltered. Enough said!
Our friends have gone š
It started raining as soon as we hit Cardiff and didnāt stop until we passed Cardiff again on the way home! We arrived to find our spot for the season and then unpacked as quickly as possible. Following our incomplete mission to run-in the practice motor earlier in the week, the first half of the day wasnāt a lot of fun for Junior: not only was it cold, wet and windy but he was having to potter around for the first four sessions at limited power. On a positive note it was the perfect opportunity for him to explore different areas of a very, very wet track to find what grip he could. I didnāt really help him that he was running with our worst inters (he didn’t complain so I didn’t make a big deal of it!) but I was preserving the better sets, particularly as our hitherto new wets had seen duty a couple of times in December. The track itself was very quiet; entries at the club were the lowest I had ever seen, despite the club offering four heats and a final on the Sunday!!! The grid would be a small one but weād see a hell of a lot more track time than some clubs I could mentionā¦ Junior enjoyed himself anyway. An open track on a practice Saturday was a unique experience and we were one of handful of drivers remaining on the track when the weather made a further turn for the worse and we called it a day. Drying the kart was a lengthy process :/
Inters?
Race Sunday. The track was still wet and it didnāt look like the new slicks I had bought would be seeing any action. This would be our first races with the new MSA ādroopy bumper’ fittings in place. With there being no problem with the driving standards at Llandow, I was already not a fan. Since the regulations werenāt kicking in until the March round this was just a testing opportunity to see how we got on with them. The karting gods had been kind to Junior and, starting 5th, 3rd, 1st and 3rd, he had a very kind grid draw. Did I already mention that there were FOUR HEATS? š
It wasn’t long before we were back into familiar territory however: with the two quickest drivers from last year having moved to Extreme, we should really have been contesting the win. Our performance on track indicated that was unlikely. Starting 5th, Junior quickly moved up to 3rd position and held 2nd for exactly one corner but we were 0.7s off the pace of the comfortable winner who was on fresh wets. In heat #2 our fate was pretty much confirmed. Junior started on pole but, with both his main rivals now on new tyres, dropped to third within two laps and was 9s adrift by the end of the race. He just didnāt have the grip that he needed and there was very little that I could do about it (I did try!). Significantly, despite no contact in either race (no – I didn’t just take his word for it, yes – I did check the GoPro) his bumper had ādroopedā in both heats. I thought I had made an even better job of tightening the clamps after the first heat but clearly not enough. It didnāt help that the brackets did not properly fit our kart so the bumper was only fully seated in half of each bracket. I cursed the ABKC and MSA (again) and, as the new brackets were not mandatory at this round, I took them off: I just didnāt need the distraction.
Heat #3 was a minor highlight. Junior won but only because his rivals failed to complete the race. Heat #4 saw us finish third again and you donāt need me to tell you where we finished the final!
Our day was done. The four heats was nice, would have been better still if we were on the pace. Junior picked up another trophy which was about the only consolation for an otherwise disappointing day. Weād clearly be needing new wets for the next round and some investigation into improving the bumper bracket fitting.
Costs: I need to find some receipts and quickly get this counter running before it’s too late!
The track basked in glorious sunshine, it was the first day of the school half-term and yet there wasnāt even a cadet in site, never mind a Bambino! It was an open track at Llandow, what could possibly go wrong?
It was the first time out on our droopy bumper and, as I pushed the kart up to the dummy grid, I turned to manoeuvre the gap between the office and the garages and merely tapped the metal gateā¦ instantly knocking back one side of the bumper!?! The brackets do not appear to be very compatible with the pre-2015 OTK bumper bars at all; I wonder if Iāll get any sympathy from the MSA?
We had two goals for the day: 1. Run in the race motor 2. Run in the practice motor. Junior was pottering around in his first session when one of the other dads commented that someone had lost a wheel! Donāt ever get distracted by somebody talking to you whilst you are checking that your lad has properly tightened the wheel nuts :/ Worse, he realised something was wrong but thought heād try to make it back to the pits! Guess what shape the mount holes on that rim are now?
It was even pleasantly warm!
With that little hiccup behind us, Junior progressed to run the engine in. It was a beautiful day to the point I was actually having to remove layers and, with only a few junior and seniors and no younger drivers, we could come and go as we pleased. It gave us the luxury of letting the engine cool between sessions and weād achieved our first goal by early afternoon. Then things took a backward step: we were under a little pressure to get out before an arrive/drive group went out so I hadnāt checked the spark or started the engine on the stand. Of course the kart didnāt start: it was clear that there was no spark. We took the kart back to our pit area and true enough: there was nothing. Replacing the spark plug did not help. I checked the spade connectors on the PVL which seemed to be seated ok and then snipped a little off of the HT lead and re-seated the spark plug. At this point I wondered if the spade connectors had been seated the right way around. I couldnāt be certain they hadnāt been but I re-seated them as per my other engine; the motor started straight away! Back to business then? Not quite: the kart started but Junior could get the engine to pick up beyond 5,000 rpm and pulled over. I wondered if a spade connector had come loose since, although Iād firmly seated them, I didnāt have any wire to tie them on. Things looked ok and we tried again with the same result: Junior did another 150m and then stopped once again. After a spot of physical exercise that involved lifting the trolley over several fences to avoid having to push the trolley around the track through the what was effectively swampland, we got back to work. Another carb showed the same behaviour: the engine fired but ran running really poorly. By the time I had swapped over the finger guard/ignition coil from the āgoodā engine and still not made any progress, we had reached the point where we could either put the race motor back on (to ensure that it was ok after Iād removed the ignition more than anything else!) or pack up and go home. It was 4pm and we had a lot of packing up to do, none of which can really be done in the dark so our day was done.
Having spent the day getting in my first sunburn of the season, we got back, had some tea and I took the engine over to my trusted karting dad advisor š who also happens to own a torque wrench (it *really* is about time I got myself one of those). His verdict was that the engine would be flooded and the engine just hadnāt been able to burn off the fuel that had accumulated during my attempts to start it on the stand. Sure enough, with the head and barrel removed (I could have just removed the spark plug but I like to check the head and barrel over) we turned it upside and down and a fair amount of fuel drained out. There could still be an ignition problem but I am really hoping the engine does not have to go back to the builder and we can use it this coming race weekend.
And that, as they say, was that. We’ll be hoping for better luck when we visit at the weekend!
It wasn’t originally intended but I’ve quite enjoyed five weeks off from karting. Junior should have contested the third round of the Clay Pigeon IKR Winter Series: the kart was ready, his entry was in and then…Junior got a bit too big for his boots and I scratched his entry!?! As soon as uttered the words “And you *won’t* be racing this weekend”, I instantly regretted it. It was a Homer “Doh!” moment as I realised what I had said and cursed myself for not taking his PS4 away for a month! He was sitting in second place in the championship and a good result might have put him in with a chance of taking the title to the final round but there we go. With the title gone and the final round clashing with the Llandow MSA practice Saturday, our IKR season will come to a premature end and those Sava harder tyres that I so wanted to try will either be sold having only been used in one heat over the two rounds that we contested (20 laps old, yours for Ā£70!) or saved for next winter. Before you get the wrong idea, I should add that I cannot remember the last time I felt the need to punish Junior: he is a *very* good lad, certainly the most conscientious I’ve ever met but parents must set their own tolerance levels and I guess mine are pretty low! I still reckon I’m a great dad š Moving on…
Considering we’ve not seen any track action, 2016 is already off to a very expensive start: Both our motors have had rebuilds; the race engine rebuild was scheduled, the practice motor rebuild wasn’t. We’ll probably need a new set of slicks to start the season too :/
The kart finally got some attention at the weekend. With the chassis now turning 7 years old :/ it isn’t looking its best (never spray a kart and not give a coat of lacquer!). We’ll start the season on it and see what we can do with a view to getting something newer. It’s all set for a half-term outing when we’ll run in the engines and set ourselves up for Round #1 at Llandow.
I have to be honest: I really didn’t have a clue where we would be racing in 2016. With the race motor due a rebuild, the practice motor suffering a problem (why do engine bills always seem to come in twos no matter how well you plan your rebuild schedule?), an imminent awning purchase and aspirations for a newer chassis, the Super One series that Junior wanted to contest is out of reach (probably for the best in such an important schooling year). With the prospects for a Junior TKM grid at Llandow looking bleak, I was thinking that we’d see out the Clay Pigeon IKR winter series, go a little quiet in spring to allow Junior some exam preparation time and get a few summer rounds at Kimbolton under our belts ahead of the Maxxis TKM Festival.
And then we attended the Llandow Kart Club end of season awards dinner. I really like LKC; the people, the track… it’s a small club that tries hard. Of course, I’m not the easiest person to please(!) and there are some things I’d like to change but the club have demonstrated a willingness to listen: permitting cameras having previously been steadfastly opposed to them, boosting numbers with offers that saw a really impressive Celtic Challenge round in December. On top of that, I’ve not seen another club offer such huge trophies and award trophies down to third (and often fourth) place regardless of grid size. I had felt as though we had to leave just to find a decent race but on the journey home, after Junior had picked up a huge trophy for his third-placed finish in the club championship and I’d bid a fond farewell to my pit buddies and their overweight kids š š š who are having to move up to Extreme this year, Junior and I revised our plans for 2016.
Kimbolton is an immensely enjoyable, must-drive event but we don’t have much of a chance there. We could, however, be competitive at the Llandow Super One round and the Welsh Championships and contesting the club championship would put us in the best position to really compete in these races. Contesting the visiting Super One round as a guest will be dependent upon having the required funds available but I have applied for a National ‘A’ license just in case. With Super One taking place in June and the Welsh Champs in July, our plans to get a couple of rounds practice at Kimbolton will have to sacrificed but you can’t have it all!
It was clear that the club needed a core of last season’s drivers to remain to stand a hope of retaining a JTKM grid so I have set about finding out who’s in and who’s out in my normal hassle-free manner š It’s looking encouraging so far (I started the process yesterday): we’ve four drivers remaining from 2015 and, pleasingly, three or four more graduating from cadets. Hopefully the resurgence of TKM at a national level, combined with what looks like a guaranteed club grid will encourage a few more before the season gets underway. Fancy joining us? š
Three years ago today, at a wet Clay Pigeon Raceway (some things never change), we rented a 2-stroke kart for the day. This was to see a) if Junior definitely enjoyed it and b) if I could manage push starting a direct drive engine. Junior was very slow and our host advised that it might be better to stay in arrive/drive karting for another year! Ā£14,513 later… there are times I wish I had heeded that advice!!!
We had a hectic couple of days with testing at PFI following only hours after our annual Christmas Karting event at Teamsport, Bristol. This year was our biggest yet with 45 drivers. It was good fun although the event did become a bit of a black flag-fest, something several of the dads (and the track) have commented on since. This was the first year I’ve seen races red flagged and drivers asked to leave their karts!!! I don’t exactly speak from a position of strength since I got a black flag in the A Final for spinning someone but I’ll need to think of something to rein it in a bit next year. As for our performances… Junior was hampered by being spun a few times at important moments and finished 6th.I was spun in my first heat, got black flagged for speeding under yellows when leading by miles in my second heat (duh!), bagged an A Final spot with a decent drive in the semi-final and was doing ok in a duff kart before seeing black in the final š Getting home at midnight wasn’t the best preparation for a day at PFI…
With nowhere near enough sleep in the bag, we headed for PFI. Logistically, we had a few challenges: I was already taking the wife out for a meal in Gloucestershire at 8pm and not being back in time for that wasn’t an option. I would never make it with the trailer so I’d booked a practice day with TWMotorsport which included rental of one of their Tony Kart Vipers and packaged it up as a Christmas present from Junior’s nan. There were lots of other benefits to running with TWM for the day: with their scouts deployed around the track we’d benefit from their tuition at an unfamiliar track, it would give Junior the chance to compare the Viper with our EVR and I’d be able to ditch everything and run away at the end of the day! Since we were travelling without the kart and trailer (and with the added incentive that this was a present from her mum), I’d prised the keys to the Kia Sportage from my wife’s hands (a karting first!) to accommodate our tyres, spares and tools. Its ability to get us back that little bit more quickly was of course welcome š
The kart had been prepared the day before. The engine, Alfano and GoPro were all ready to go. I just needed to bolt on some wheels and add fuel. We were at the track at 8:30 and navigated the sign-on process ready in plenty of time to hit the track in the opening session. It was a wonderfully sunny day and the track looked awesome; I don’t generally wish I could have a go but I’d love to have done a couple of laps to sample the long, flat out section from the start straight,Ā under the bridge and into the banked curve. Unsurprisingly we weren’t particularly quick in the opening session although the engine sounded a little flat; I just put it down to Junior not really getting out of the corners. When he came in, both rear hubs had loose bolts!?! I’d been setting the rear width and, um, I might not have done up the bolts tightly enough (or perhaps just not done them up!). Good job those hubs were a really tight fit on the axle, huh? :/ Just ahead of the second session Tim (the ‘TW’ in TWM) noticed that the compression on the engine was poor enough that you could push the kart along the ground. Junior was pretty slow again so we went for the sledge hammer approach and swapped both the carb and engine, this was not the time to be troubleshooting issues. The third session was much more satisfactory as Junior bettered his previous times by three seconds! With a happier driver we were able to focus on enjoying the rest of the day. Other than tweaking the tyre pressures, we just left Junior to it and I took the opportunity to take some photos. I very rarely use my camera (a fairly old Canon EOS 400D) these days but I’d borrowed a very nice lens from one of the boys from the photography club at work: an EF 70-200mm f/2.8 and wanted to get some shots that would hopefully be worthy of printing out. For the most part, my pics were a bit disappointing: I struggled to get the sharpness that I was looking for but I did get one shot that I was very happy with… š
Junior had been hovering just over the 63s mark for most of the afternoon and desperately wanted to get a 62.x. I’d taken some one race day-old tyres and it seemed harsh not to let him have a go on them, even if I’d sooner have kept them for a race day somewhere down the line. He found a couple of tenths to get a 63.0s and I thought he’d probably have missed his best chance with the sun setting and things starting to get chilly. I almost swapped the practice tyres back on. Luckily for him I relented as he bagged a 62.9s in the penultimate session of the day, still a fraction under a second slower than the quickest JTKMs (there were some very fast drivers in attendance) but plenty good enough for us on a first visit š It was 3.30pm and, at that point, we faced a choice: leave and get home in time for my meal or stay and drive under the floodlights. Not much of a choice really, is it? We did as much packing as we could and waited for our turn on track. As we watched from the dummy grid one of the senior X30 drivers was lapping with LED lights fitted onto his nassau – it looked very cool, one of those things that you’d need to very quick to pull off (not a problem for one of the countries leading drivers in this case)!
Driving under floodlights is something that Junior has always wanted to do. I’m not sure his tinted visor would have done him many favours but Junior had a blast: PFI under the lights is now officially the most fun he has ever had in a kart! He had a minor concern when he came around the bottom bend to find his mate parked on the exit kerb but, fortunately, the grass was forgiving and Junior was able to take evasive action without binning it. With that session over, our day was done. The team got to work on removing my engine, airbox and exhaust in double quick time and we left PFI 20 mins after coming off-track! Although we knocked 20 minutes off the Waze ETA (I have my limits) and were home by 7:30pm, we were still 25 mins late for our dinner reservation!
It was a fantastic day. Thanks to TWM for hosting us; Junior thoroughly enjoyed himself and progressed markedly over the course of the day. Being the social animal that I am š it was good to catch up with some of the dads that I’d met when they came to practice at Llandow ahead of the Super One round there. Potential engine problem aside, the day had gone very well and Junior had found some respectable pace on his first visit. Because the track was unfamiliar it hadn’t really been possible to gauge the Viper against our EVR. The track is our new favourite track. Although the toilet facilities are in the Clay Pigeon league š I’d encourage any driver to sample PFI as least once no matter where they normally race, especially in one of the winter months with the prospect of a floodlit session. Here’s the GoPro footage in case you are interested:
Cost of race day: Practice fee Ā£50, petrol (car) Ā£56, fuel (kart)Ā Ā£13, numbers for the rental kart (just wouldn’t have been the same in Extreme #66!) Ā£3
Who am I trying to kid? Although Junior didn’t have any karting-related items from us in his Christmas stocking, I’d arranged something pretty special for his Nan to give him: a practice day at PFI running with TWMotorsport in one of their Tony Kart Vipers š He’s very much looking forward to this, as it’s a track he has always wanted to drive but has always been that bit too far away for a day trip. I am too although for slightly different reasons: I don’t have to tow the trailer 140 miles each-way and I’ve informed my wife that I’m taking the Sportage instead of the Clio š It will also be very interesting to see how Junior finds the handling of the Viper compared with his EVR.
There’s a bit of uncertainty regarding the TVKC membership requirements: the track told me you had to be a member (the prospect of a Ā£60 outlay on top of the practice fee has always put me off visiting previously but I’d thought we’d bite the bullet if we had to) but other drivers have said they paid a Ā£10 day membership fee. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see! The timing isn’t great also: we’ve our annual Christmas Karting the night before and Teamsport don’t have a great record for finishing promptly. Hopefully we are finished promptly and Junior won’t be too sore for my putting him in his indoor karting place š Wish me luck!
