Ben @ FEKC

The constant threat of rain for the Saturday test remained for the week preceding this meeting, the ‘apps’ didn’t disappoint this time, hurrying to the circuit for the predicted downpour at 0915 we had the 6x3 up and walls on as the heavens opened! After a quick meeting with Mr Dodds to look at a rather smart new chassis which we hope to be working with soon we settled down to the days business.

Ben's plan all along was simply to run out the old kart for the Saturday and concentrate on having some track time, thankfully we managed to drag the race kart out later in the day and got some dry track time in at which point the showers rolled back in.

Ben’s performances in what potentially could be his final year in karting have been incredibly strong, the stiff competition at the tracks he frequents have been challenging to say the least, often misplaced by a level of inconsistency in the monitoring of local regulations as well Ben has been frustrated and his driving probably not as rewarded as we would have hoped, with two rounds left to roll we are confident we can get into the front row if we don’t get ‘removed’ randomly! Its karting of course and we carry on with that forced smile ….as you do!

A swift track walk on the Sunday concluded with the agreement that Whingers is actually a right hander after all! seriously it was a swift wander with a few pointers and we settled down to the day’s business and a quick bacon roll [edit that before Joulz finds out about the bacon]

The heats were fairly straight forward but a little lacklustre unusually for Ben, we seemed to be lacking power and the awning was full of discussion, heat 3 was a little unfortunate, we had recovered the power but got hit from behind into the kart in front (sounds like the CKC report!!) and lost a chain, Ben managed to get it back on but with 2 laps to make up it was a case of testing, getting a dropped nose penalty as well caused some lip biting but we returned to the awning via the burger van……as you do!

Starting the final in 20th in this class does make matters slightly more challenging! On the grid we discussed tactics and agreed we were looking for a top 31 finish :)

Ben drove as well as he could, gaining 6 places he finished 14th with a much improved kart, we think he could have got a top 8 near his friendly rival Ethan had we managed to find the problem earlier in the day, we are experts on carbs, coils, exhausts and all things Rotax now though so all good.

The team extends its congratulations firstly to Guy Cunnington on securing the Clay Minimax Championship with a really dominant performance against strong competition this year and also Sean Cuss at Attaq for his first round win, the top three Hondas were in a class of their own in the final and any of the three could have won, a red flag concluded the race early but it was a deserved win for a great effort throughout the day overall.

Keep it flat out there and keep watching for news of developments ahead in 2017.

Supporters:

Cummins and Pope - www.cummins-pope.co.uk Walker Bros - www.walkerbrotherselectrical.co.uk Sawmills Garage - www.sawmillsgarage.co.uk

Without this support the team could not continue to operate on a low cost basis, the development of youngsters in karting at this early stage is vital to the continuity of our sport, Veneno will always be about the driver and is thankful for the generous support of its sponsors.