2017 – Rotax Pro Tour – Round 2

Written By :

jpp

Category :

Karting

Posted On :

13/03/2017

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Southern Go Kart Club – 10/3/2017 to 12/3/2017

Round 2 of the Rotax Pro Tour was held at the Southern Go Kart Club at Bolivar in South Australia.  Finally a chance to race on a local track (no big drive to get there), and also a chance to for Jim to race on a track he is familiar with.

Practice on Friday went fairly well, with Jim hanging around the top 5 all day.

Qualifying went reasonably well,  with Jim ending up in 7th.  it was close though, and Jim was just over a tenth of a second from the top 3.

A decent sized field, and for once Jim is near the front of it.

Heat 1 went well, with Jim falling back to 8th after the first lap, and then working his way back to 6th at the end of the race.  He was then promoted to 5th after a penalty for another competitor.

Heat 2  didn’t go as well, with Jim being involved in an incident at the first corner, and falling to the back of the field.  He worked his way back up to finish in 12th.

Jim tries to work his way back through the field.
Jim tries to work his way back through the field.

At the start of Heat 3, Jim again fell back to 8th, and managed to finish the heat in 7th position.

Hey, these guys are all near the front. We must be getting something right.
Hey, these guys are all near the front. We must be getting something right.

The pre-final on Sunday didn’t quite go as planned, with Jim involved in incidents in the first couple of corners, and falling to the back of the field.  As he was working back through the field, he was again involved in some contact which spun him off the track.  The kart wouldn’t start and he was forced to retire.

A photo of the only incident Jim managed to avoid over the weekend.
A photo of the only incident Jim managed to avoid over the weekend.

Due to the DNF in the Prefinal, Jim had to start from the rear of the grid in the final.  The rain before the race just added a little more interest.  Jim got a great start, and was driving well, up in to 8th place early in the race.  Unfortunately, by some twist of poor mechanicking, the tyres weren’t handling the heat of the drying track, and Jim’s pace went off.  He came home in 11th, promoted up to 10th after a penalty to another competitor.

Jim showed his result in round 1 wasn’t just luck, and he is getting close to the pace of the guys on the podium.  While the ultimate result wasn’t there, we gained some valuable experience and had a great time.

Jim would like to thank Iocane, WIFA Racing, EvoKart Australia, Haak Engines, and his mum and sister for all their support.  Thanks also to all the officials and volunteers, without whom Jim couldn’t race.

Thankfully, while we had back luck everywhere else, Christine was well behaved.   I would have got some points if I hadn’t messed up the setup for the final.  The current score:

JP -> 3 (Survived 2 weeks without hurting himself, use of Angle Grinder Persuasion, Ancient Spirit Mumbo Jumbo)

Christine -> 7 (Burn by exhaust, Degreasing of the eye, Magical Goggle Piercing Metal bit, Special Combo, Epidermal Peel, Degrease, Rinse, Repeat, 98 Octane Eye Wash).