Sam, Henry, Jaydan and Will @ Shenny

The idea that the second round at Shenny in October could be an easier one was probably far from the truth, all the lads are coming along well right now, engine power is certainly there as always and Sam and Jaydan with the increased track time are moving forward, both are showing well at CKC and in 2017 we expect to see them looking for silverware, Henry and Will continue to develop well and have the ability to keep in the mix now, Dad is getting his head around managing the karts at the same time and whilst not front runners as we move into the colder season the boys will be at Clay with Holly next year and we think will be able to get to the front when needed.

Saturday test was a straightforward affair, despite the weather variations we had the lads driving the lines and certainly with Sam looking at the faster end of the grid we were happy with the progress, I was still walking around in Julies jacket gloating about lost weight and everyone was agreeing somewhat sceptically!

Race day turned out to be a great effort, Will had the pace he wanted but we were still working on his setups (feedback is everything pal!) the boys were in the right places and Sam was today looking better than ever and was contending with the top 8, Jaydan and I had had a conversation regarding trackwalks and focus during these morning wanders and was now seeing the benefit.

We went out for the final with Jaydan and Sam midfield, Henry and Will had appeared a row behind so the team were relaxed and full of smiles….of course at turn one the smiles ceased as Sam and Jaydan were removed during a rather confusing pileup, with both lads needing a check-up we were pleased to hear they were fine but the damage caused had ended their day sadly so they joined us on the embankment to cheer on the brothers Will and Henry as they went nose to tail for the duration.

Henry and Will finished 14th and 15th after a great battle and deserved better but fighting with each other held them back from possibly 12th or slightly lower.

A sad conclusion to an otherwise great weekend, we move on looking forward to straight karts and good racing.

Karting will have these moments, it’s hard to bear of course but when you launch 30 8yr old plus kids toward a first corner the outcome is never assured! It’s irrelevant what series any of the drivers are racing in, the sticker on the helmet is simply a sticker not a sign for anyone to apportion blame because they are ‘Super One’ or whatever, Sam will be Super One next year, do we have to take him to another circuit to familiarise for his round only to immediately have him tagged as a problem because of the visor sticker or markings on his graphics? That’s crazy talk!

I watched an F1 driver that I haven’t really rated to be honest driving in the wet recently to a level comparable to the famous Donnington European GP moment with Senna, his lines were so varied it caught everyone on the hop, he is different like many of our cadets, when you chuck them on a 1000m circuit together stuff happens…simple fact, often hard for me and my parents to accept but it happens, behaviours and attitudes change when you really want something, when you truly have to win and only win, but they make mistakes and when they are under constant scrutiny because they are unfamiliar or a known ‘S1’ entrant their mistakes will be magnified because they are being watched so hard, we had a driver who gave up the sport because of this level of scrutiny yet his performances when left alone could be truly brilliant, I have had his closest rivals admit to me 3 years later that fact, but he wasn’t perfect….and of course none of them ever will be……accept it and don’t assume you are better – go and learn 15 tracks perfectly and accept how hard it is to deal with the differing attitudes from all over the UK, if it annoys you that our pods may get scraped then maybe this isn’t the sport for you.

I am not the biggest fan of the series in question for different reasons but it is the only ‘pinnacle’ and until someone comes up with an alternative we need to accept that these lads drive harder and are under greater pressures to achieve.

Rant over – keep it flat!