The final race of 2008... Happy Holidays!

To be frank, I have nothing much to say for this final race.

Except that my steering wheel was vibrating as if it High on
drugs, making it quite crazy to go around the entire track for
15 laps.

To make matter worse, this race was full of incidents with Red
Flag being shown, then crashes here and there.

Ah well, this is all part of the racing I guess.
-------------

In any case, wishes everyone a Merry Merry Christmas and
a wonderful 2009!

cheers

What are I make of?

Yes, that's I realised was the tagline of Tag Hauer however it
will be interesting to see how I react in this coming last race
after discovering that Rok engine is indeed 'inferior' to other
makes. That is, if everyone run at the standard minimum
weight of 160kg at Plentong.

The minimum weight stated in one technical regulation
I saw is:

ROK--155 KGS.
PRD FIRE BALL--165 KGS.
ROTAX MAX FR 125--165 KGS.
PARILLA X3--168 KGS.
KF2 HOMOLOGATED ENGINES --168 KGS.
SUPER ROK / PCR 125--168 KGS.

Which is for myself, I had been running more weights than
needed, and the rest of the field is running lighter than
needed. Gees !! It does quite a bit in explaining how the
rest can climb the uphill so nicely while I struggle to move!

To be frank, I feel like taking a freaking hammer and smashed
my engine and myself.... for buying the Rok!
I feel an impluse to buy a brand new engine. I dun want to be
left at the foot of the hill, literally!

Then I come to peace with it. Since the engine is lacking of
torque I should then be more aggressive in certain aspects of
my tuning. The engine can't be that all bad. I just have to
give it a little spankings so that it will move along!

So instead of been gentle and smooth with the throttle I will
gun the throttle more. I hope it works. I hope I will enjoy the
last race, which will run the full track layout.
21 Dec awaits

Picture ... Nice!

This was taken by Mark in the Nov race at Plentong,
coming down the slope heading into a hairpin going uphill.
It is always interesting to see myself in a picture racing.
Because most time when we are in the seat all we could see
is the track and the corners and the guy in front...

Thanks Mark, it is a nice one for my collections!

7 Dec...Disaster !

What exactly is a disaster?

I know it all on race day, 7 Dec.

Firstly, after charging up my battery, I started my engine.
It's good, then I proceed to push my kart out and I changed
to go out on the track for test and qualifying.

Up on the straight, the engine sound odd. The RPM holds at
about 9200 without pushing any further and then go again.
Odd. Then I came back in. Look at the engine and whatever
and then I went back out and try again. Same.

Pitted in and found Jason the mech, and we wondered if it's the
main jet that is too small for the long straight configuration.
We agreed to change it. But Lo and Behold, he found out that
my choke lever is UP!! WTHell!

In any case, we did changed the main jet. Went out quickly for
a few laps. The lap times are slowly improving during my runs.
Although it's not good, I'm getting better time each lap.

I tried to think while driving on how to get a slight faster time.
I did try to have lesser steering input on some corners,
and it works. However, when I did the same on the corner at
the uphill straight I went off. It was so fast, I could not react.
I did not think it will go off at all too. The kart landed into
the 'ditch'.

Damages: both that held the front steering component broke.
Worse still, brake disc is like to be slightly wrap, along with the
disc carrier, and the rear axle!

Think of it, I had never really went off so many times in practise
and in race or quali. I think I getting frustrated on the engine
performance. I'm pushing harder to match some of my friends'
timings. I know I can do it, but somehow the engine will not carry
me along.

That's about it on 7 Dec, as even though I tried to race in Heat 1
which is wet I could not do no more than 5 laps. The brake pad is
holding my traction which is needed to push me out of the corners,
more so vital in wet conditions.

To be honest, I'm hugely frustrated and angry. I'm unsure with who
or at what. But I know I'm feeling these emotions.
I just want to have a good race. A better race. I don't need to win to
be happy, but I just want to be able to compete properly and to have
the performance of the engine to match my expectations.

I may have Roland to be at the track to see the lack of bottom end
one of these days real soon, else I may just go bonkers!

ah well, till 21 Dec! and fingers crossed.

Race Layout for 7 Dec

High Speed!

Age matters in F1

Nothing much has really caught my attention lately in the world of F1
except for minor things like the good old Bernie had proposed
MEDALs for finishers , small rear wings and gigantic front
wings on cars which look absolutely hideous relatively to the ones
we are all used to, qualifying format could change... yes, AGAIN!
then turbo engine cld be back BECAUSE it is going to be more fuel efficient!
believe u, me.

all this is minor as it's all talk, until it really happen then it
happened.

then i go to chance upon this piece of news which Giorgio Pantano
had spoken to the press that he's disappointed of being not being even
ask to test for any F1 teams after winning the 2008 GP2 series.
why?
apparently, he's OLD at 29 years of age.

then i think to myself, it was really not too long ago that
F1 has slightly more drivers in his age group, the late 20s, and 30s.
man with experience, bravery and skills...etc

correct me if i'm wrong. i may be very wrong here

now, F1 bosses seemingly want Boys who had just ended their puberty
AND have all of the mentioned attributes instead.

as far as i can remembered, it could all started with a Finn, Kimi.
who at the age of 22, got his F1 Super Licence, only with 2 seasons
in Formula Renault UK Championship previously. however, he had
won 13 races of the total 23 racesthere. impressive! we know how
it all goes for him after his 1st season in F1 with Sauber. he was
crowned world champ in 2007 with Ferrari.

then, a certain Alonso, who is discovered to race in Minardi.
started the same year as Kimi and went on to become a 2 time
world champion with Renault eventually.

last season and this year, we hear a lot of a young chap too, name
Lewis. who won his 1st title with McLaren at a age of 23.

in fact, season 2008 has Piquet Jr, Rosberg, Nakajima (3 of 23),
Glock (26), Sutil(25), and Vettel (21) who are considered young,
fast, willing and gifted. Especially Vettel who will be watched very
closely in 2009 season after his maiden win with STR.

come 2009, i reckon there will be 1 or 2 more young guns coming
into F1. STR possibly will have 2 seats, IF it remain operational.
Honda is eager to have a younger Brazilian to replace 'old'
Barrichello. this fresh face however will bring back a old famous
name to F1, Senna, Bruno.

why is younger driver more sought after?
importantly, they are cheaper to put in the car and/or can get
sponsor $$ for the team. so, money talks.
young driver are more willing and seemingly braver as they
want to prove themselves on the track. these 2 combi will give
any more estab driver a reason to have sleepless night if they are
not performing to a level relative to their salary.

last but not least, we all know that we can't teach an old dog
new tricks....!!


PS. i'm selling my kart suit, anyone interested pls look at:
http://www.mycarforum.com/classifieds/classifieds.pl?id=13465
(hawking hawking touting!! )

Race Day, 23 Nov

This was the race that I thought I could do Okay...
oh well, I did only OK, which is slightly disappointing as I
wanted to equal my previous race finishing position or better.

To be better I may have to rely a lot on luck which I think we
all had after we had to wait for more than 2 hours before Ken's
brake been fixed to start the Heat 2 under huge cloud But no
rain at all. Phew! Collective luck but not for individual

Qualifying is not too good. As per normal, I start almost from the
back. sigh
Before Heat 1, and after my qualifying, one of the mechanics, Ah
Seng, took my kart out for a spin or two. He confirm my feel of the
Rok engine. It is that there's no low end torque, which is quite
particular important in this track when the several hairpins that
go uphill upon the exit. Without the torque, I lose out in the
hill climb. I literally see the rest of the field pull away from
me almost after exit. It's a depressing sight.

He recommended a change in sprocket and I decided to roll with
his idea.

Come Heat 1, I realised it was still just not good enough too.
I was just following James very closely, but unable to find a nice
place to overtake him. I was holding my position, waiting for my time.
Our race was for a start grid of 6 or 7. It was quite fun.
Somehow on Lap 10, I got a bit impatient and try to take him in the
slippery hairpin behind the pit building. Bad idea... I ran so wide that
I went into the grass! After that, I tried to mount a chase again but
seemingly impossible. I lost 4 seconds in my trip to the grasslands
Looking at the back, there seems to be no one near so I just decided to
lax my throttle and drive for the next few laps.

Heat 2 started under huge clouds hanging in the sky. It is no doubt
threatening to rain, but it went on dry for the full race.

After a lap of rolling start lap, I was ready to go. Seeing the green flag
early I throttle on earlier and got side by side to James at the hairpin
and I throttle harder for the straight that is to come... I should be sixth
already and then the very unexpected came about, I felt slow!
I was feeling even slower than a tortoise when James, Graeme, Kelvin,
and Ken all overtook me in like a flash!! WTH !!!
Forget about position then, I was just going to try to get it all back.
It wasn't easy at all. I only managed to finish 7th at the end.
At the end, I was thinking if there's 2 more laps I should be able to
get closer to Graeme and try to take 6th. Well, on a hindsight lah.

Am I happy about the race? NOPE. Mainly because I need to address
the lack of low end torque of the engine, and try to see how to fix it or
at least improve it. Come on Rok, up your pace for me!

till 7 Dec.

Another Layout for 23 Nov Race

Fits like A Gloves

Quite an interesting video for one of the most important
gear for karting.

And to be honest, a pair of gloves is the first serious stuff
I purchased when I started karting.



Go Kart Racing Gloves

Track Configurations

Because of the variations Plentong track can have for different races,
we do not always race in the same track layout.

The last race was done in this configuration as seen by the
red dots :
The challenge of this particular layout is the long long straight.
How do one set up the kart for that?
For the majority, we do it by using a smaller sprocket so that
it's not too damaging to the engine and able to have a higher top
end speed.

I wasn't too keen at all to have a engine failure. All I wanted
is to able to finish the race. In any case, to finish either 1st, 2nd
or 3rd etc... firstly I have to cross the finishing line.

Personally, after the race I wasn't particularly tired nor do I
have any ache the very next day.
However that night, upon finishing my dinner I was knackered
by about 9 plus, 10pm ! Newborn baby don't fall asleep or sleep
this well!

12, 7, Sixth on 9 Nov

9 Nov, 2008

Will we have a wet kart race when I awake to a wet wet pouring
Sunday early morning? And the sky do not look to be clear any time.

However, on I went to JB for my '1st' race this year.

This is a race I did not expect much from myself and I put two
targets for myself to aim for in my previous entry..

<My aim for this race is to finish among the 1st eight and
get a point.
So, my another aim is not to be lap by the front leaders and
to be consistent in my own pace.>

And a pat on myself that both targets were met!!

Firstly, I had to go on my qualifying very late as they seemingly
had some difficulties putting new tyres for me!
However that has some good in it, as the track was drying up nicely
enough however I wasn't too keen to push too hard as some sections
are still wet.
Also, I suspected the 1st hairpin for the race start will be a bit of chaos,
thus I'm more than happy to qualify 12th after more of others went out
after me to get a better time.

No worries though, for my aim is really to keep my nose clean and
see out Heat 1 and look at what unfolds in Heat 2.

Heat 1 went quite ok for me. It was a bit boring but Okay.
And true enough, at the 1st hairpin, Tony went off at the start.
No brakes, he was saying.
As Graeme was steady in his pace in front of me and I don't seems to
be able to get any closer to him after I got past Allan.
While Mary Ann, was drifting further behind me.
Towards to end I was just cruising a bit.
In Heat 1, Raymond, Noel, and Allan DNF due to several reasons.
Jason did not managed to get his kart sorted out in time for this heat.
So I was to start in 7th position in Heat 2 to determine the final finishing
position for the overall race.


During the 1 hour odd break, we had a simple lunch & relax.

Heat 2, started slightly after 3 pm.

We had 4 rolling start laps as some karts at the back cannot keep the
group close and tight enough. It was particularly bad, just imagine
all the fumes we had to breathe in. The fumes are the worst when
our engine go in slow speed.
Furthermore, Raymond, because of his DNF in Heat 1, starting from the
back was jump starting the middle pack to the front. He even crashed
in to Kenneth back on one of the rolling lap!! Thank Goodness,
that he did not crashed in to me though. Raymond had to race without
his front bumper.
Then when it's finally going to start he accelerate past me and Graeme
before the start finish line.
Although, this is not a sanctioned race I reckon he should just be a
bit more gentlemanly in his approach.
After the race, Noel did 'confront' him on it. Well, that's that, I guess.

For me, my start was not good. I just held on to my position after I was
overtaken by Jason and Raymond. Then at lap 2, after the 1st hairpin,
Tony out accelerate me and took me on the straight, and he also took
Graeme after that.

Soon after a lap, I managed to out pace Graeme and took his place too
on the straight. But boy oh boy, after that we swap places a couple of
occasions before I held it all together. Still I had to constantly check for
his presence, which I believed why I couldn't put in a really good lap time.
But then it was all very Fun!! Graeme and me shared some
good laugh after the race too.

During Heat 2, Louis, Leo, Tony & Mary-Ann DNF due to several reasons.

And upon completing the 15 laps of Heat 2, I finished the race 6th which
is higher than my target finish, also I was not been lapped by the front
runners. Nice!

Till the next race!

How do you start a race

On 9 Nov, Sunday, I will participate in a race once again
after a long long absence.
Quite delighted that I can race again in my kart.
However, I will be going into this race doing my best but
expecting nothing. The reason being I need to get into the
flow of things once again. It's tough to just get in and race.

My aim for this race is to finish among the 1st eight and
get a point. It was will difficult, because this race will have
most of the very good seasoned kart racers in it.
So, my another aim is not to be lap by the front leaders and
to be consistent in my own pace.

Wish me "God Speed"
---------

The key to getting a good start is confidence and self-assurance. The biggest problem for drivers at the start of a race is that they get a sensory overload. There is just way too much going on around them to be able to make the right move at the right time.

Normally to get over being overloaded I would suggest get out and practice, but there is a limited supply of race starts….you don’t get to practice starts enough. So use the next best thing. Visualization.

Sounds like psychological rubbish I know, but frankly it works wonders with my drivers and will make your starts go much better if you take it seriously. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Take time out before your race and sit down somewhere relatively quiet. Take a look at where you are starting, who is beside you and who is in front.

2. Now make a plan of exactly how you want your start to go. Lets imagine you are starting in 8th place with a grid of 20. You need to make a plan about how your perfect start will go. Imagine that you are going to fly across the line. Pass the guy inside you going over the line and then stuff it up the inside of the 6th place kart into the first corner.

3. You need to make this plan seem real! So say to yourself exactly what’s going to happen. Make decisions about every move you are going to make.

4. Then sit there and imagine exactly how the whole of the first lap will go. And you have to imagine the best first lap ever. Passing a kart every opportunity.

Ok, so now you have a mental plan of the start, if you take it seriously you will feel a sense of confidence and power on your way to the grid.

Here’s the next step.

Sit in your kart on the dummy grid. Go through the plan you made earlier and visualize that perfect first lap again. Now, the next thing is to prepare yourself to take control of the other drivers around you. Chances are they are not nearly as prepared as you are right now. So you have the advantage over them and you are the most confident driver there!

The rolling lap. This is the time to really think over how your planned start is going to happen. Focus on the kart ahead of you and stick to the rear of that kart like glue. Don’t worry if you give it a few bumps here and there…you really need to stay close.

The start. Here is the most important practical piece of advice I can give you. Whatever happens you have to go first. You have to accelerate before the driver ahead of you. Now, you might say that it’s too risky to do that because you will hit him…..But, you won’t hit him if you stick to his bumper so close that there is never any space between you! So if you push him gently over the line that’s fine, at least he didn’t get away. So, if you are always so close to the driver in front that you are touching, then you will be able to hit the gas before him without the worry that you will whack him up the arse and crash!

And once you get over the line you are into your plan.

Make the moves, make that perfect first lap happen.

from http://www.karting1.co.uk/starts-karting.htm

Seb Loeb does it again!

If you follow WRC, Loeb is like the M.Schumacher of F1.
His driving is always close to perfect, neat without any mistakes
and very fast! Congrats to Seb!

With him winning another title, Red Bull, the main sponsor of Citroen,
he will get to test a RBR F1 car soon.
------
Sebastien Loeb won his fifth consecutive Drivers’ Championship title from only six full seasons of WRC competition. He done it by coming in 3rd in Rally Japan over the weekends.

This score takes Loeb and his co-driver Daniel Elena clear of the record they previously shared with Juha Kankkunen and, more especially, Tommi Makinen, who was the only driver before them to rack up four consecutive championship wins (1996 to 1999).

After a jubilant return to the Citroen service area in Sapporo this afternoon Loeb reflected on his achievement. "It's a fantastic feeling," beamed Sebastien. "Along with Daniel and everyone in the team, the objective we set ourselves for this year was to win another world crown, and it's tremendously satisfying to have met that target today. I really wanted to wrap up the title here in Japan to enable us to go into Wales Rally GB with a totally free mind. That made the weekend very long and very frustrating, and I have to say that it wasn't much fun. Our C4 and our Pirelli tyres worked very well together on this event, though, and we did what we could to keep any thoughts about the championship out of our minds, but it wasn't easy. The title just seemed to loom larger after every stage, and it was well worth the wait in the end!"

"I cannot say whether this year's title is any finer than the others," continued Seb. "I will always have special memories of our first crown and I don't want to give the impression that winning is something you get accustomed to; it's just that each title feels different. One thing that has been the same each time is the thrill of being able to share our joy with everyone in the team. They have always given us a car with the potential to challenge for victory, and this is their title, too. That includes Dani Sordo and Marc Marti whose own results contributed to our success. Our thoughts now turn to Cardiff where we will try to make it a championship double for Citroen..."

"It's been a long year, but winning the title is such a great feeling," agreed Daniel Elena. "This is our fifth world crown together, and each one has given me tremendous pleasure. I'm not interested in the statistics, though; what counts the most is enjoying the stages, profiting from the terrific atmosphere within the team and working with Seb."

After the podium ceremony, team boss Olivier Quesnel was clearly moved by his first title as the new boss of Citroen Sport: "It's very, very satisfying," he said. "The fact that Sebastien and Daniel have sewn up the Drivers' title means we have now achieved half the target we set ourselves before the start of the season. We will take time to celebrate today's result with all the Citroen Sport staff back at our base in Satory, but we will then immediately re-focus with a view to wrapping up the Manufacturers' crown in Wales.”

from wrc.com

Lewis Hamilton is World Champion!

After 18 races around the globe, Lewis Hamilton is now World Champion
by a single point from Massa!
I guess I don't have to say much of frantic last 30 seconds of the race.
If you have not watched it 'live', watch the repeat !
Never in my wildest dream I would think such drama will be played
on a F1 race!

Well done, & congrats Lewis

Slow is Faster

1 Nov, 2008

Went to the track in the morning when it is still raining
very much cats and dogs. I am seriously thinking of
sleeping in instead of karting....

But I'm glad I went in. Because while my friend is awaiting
for his kart to be ready, he tried out my kart.
Seriously, before he tried, I had serious doubt abut my kart
overall. I felt it was slow. I felt it has no low end torque, which
mean I loses out at almost every corner exit.

However, my friend love my kart after he tried it out and
bring it to a fast time around the track.
WOW!! Then I realised something when he talk me through
his laps with my kart and when we 'race' together later on.

I realised that my kart is indeed faster at some points of the
track, which is why I loses out. I carried too much speed into
the corners and hence exited too slowly. With my brake all
good now, I should discard my resident fear of brake failures
and utilized it properly. I must control my speed into the corners
for a slower entry speed, which will give me a smooth faster speed
exit into the next section of the track.

The next race will be on 9 Nov, I'm looking forward to it.
It should be interesting.

PS. and thanks to my friend who shown me that my kart isn't
too crap after all! i do think i need a instructor!

PSS. hope the kid who crashed his race kart into the fun kart
and overturn with him flying out of the kart is of no serious
condition.

What Make You MooooovE....

Maybe you have read what I posted previously... perhaps
you have not. Nonetheless, I had been thinking about it.
Thinking about how one day I can feel so good about the kart,
and another day I just feel lousy, even plain depressing.

In the past 2 weeks, I had time to think it through somewhat.

Firstly, I identified that the most obvious reason is that of my
physical condition of the particular day. Someday, you just go.
And you just feel great. And then you kart some more. "What a day!"
you tell yourself. After all the exhaustion from the track activities,
you only feel knackered when you reached home in the evening.
Even though the neck and arm are ached, you will feel immensely
satisfied. However, could my physical condition differ that much
from one session to another?? A question I afraid I cannot answer
in absolute terms.

Which brought to think about "My Think"
Ok, ok I meant to say the mental sharpness or frame of mind that
particular day at the track.
I guess we have some of the 'Down time Days' along the way, I had
them too. I believed it is during these days, I just feel like driving
around the track. Feel the wind blowing into my helmet or suit.
It's like a leisure activities rather than a sports.

However, there are other times when I am like a different animal.
It is in these some days, I reached the track roaring to go like a lion
being unleashed to chase its prey..
Devouring whatever that stand in its way. Leaving no live prisoners
in its wake. Those days I felt motivated. I feel nothing can beat me.

BUT, I have to discover what this it that make me tick... make me
move like a hunting predator.

This is being demonstrated in the movie "Kung Fu Panda" which I
watched recently. If you have watched it, you will see that Master Shifu
discover how to use Po’s passion for food as a motivation to learn kung fu.
Chopstick skills improved Po’s agility. By putting together his 'constant'
hunger for food AND learning kung fu, he was able to master the art
beautifully.

So, I really do hope I will find out HOW and What about "My Think"
to make me Move on the track soon... Move real fast, that is!

10.10

Yes, a weekday for karting. How nice!
It was a surprise to see Gary there at the track side as well.
Since he's there means I could use his laser alignment tool for
my front wheel!
it's one of the most hi tech things I had done for my kart
COOL !

The initial alignment was very very wrong and out. After
spending some time to have it aligned, I was ready to kart.

I was ready for a good time. A good lap.....

However, throughout the day I somehow suffered from much
vibrations from the front. Could it be that the new hub was not
fitted properly or it was somewhat crooked?
Also, could it be that I was not feeling too good that day?

It was bad, after about 5 laps I was feeling the effects of the
vibrations. I was tired. And all my best lap time comes in the
second lap of the 3 sessions! tsktsk

It was an odd day. A bad day. As I promised myself a better
timing overall but all I got a a lot of screeching tyres noise.
Perhaps, they are right I should be smoother round the corners.
Maybe it's the bad habit that die hard.

Well, I shall test myself with the kart again soon.
And it's really go from the start.

PS. Learnt from one of my buddy there that he crashed out
heavily at the corner before the downhill.
Leg swollen as he flown out of the kart.
Thus, drive safely.... kart even more safely.
Get Well soon, Kenneth, my friend