A lousy way to start...

26 Aug

Yes, there was a race last Sunday, 23 Aug.
However since it was such a bloody awful day that I was very reluctant to write about it.

The day was consigned to be a bad one from my tyre choice. I tested the kart and set it up with MG yellow but somehow I stupidly went to use Bridgestone YKB.

All the good feeling in the kart was almost instantly gone. The front end seems lacking in grip and the rear somehow feel too tight. Furthermore my rib begins to hurt already. How bad it was hurting is that I could not raise my left hand above my head on Sunday evening. Also, although I did not

Qualifying was bad. I think I started from 14 from 17 guys. I could not be bother much to be honest. I was just hoping to do the race proper, which I can't because I was really hurting.

Both heats I stopped mid way through.

Thus I don't know what to say about the race much. Except that if once you feel that your kart is hopping too much, please widening the rear track. I was 'con' by Louis in narrowing it which is how I got my 'bad' ribs

Talking about Louis, the track boss, my day was bad because of him too

This is what happened:
Before the qualifying, James(ah sheng) saw that my chain is loose. So i looked for Jason tighten it. Finding Jason, who was doing nothing much, I requested him to help me with it

Louis asked me what I needed Jason for
I said " chain loose lor" casually

What happened next really perplexed me... and many others who saw the incident.

Louis just went into a mad rage shouting that I should not leave things till late, I should be there early to do it. The best bit is that he refused to have any of his mechanics and workers to assist me!

Maybe he's just having a foul mood day, which is why Ivan got the same treatment much earlier on too.

Perhaps I should screamed back at him that the sprocket was put on by his worker, and now that it came loose. Should I be blamed? Will chain remain tight as ever?? Darn it ! Darn him!

I did not have any requests, that was the first thing that I ever request to be done on the kart that particular day and I got a berserk treatment? Am I not a paying customer?

He's the kind of people who thinking that there's no need for setting changes on a chassis or engine, and just drive and race. That's really a  very wrong idea of racing. As track condition always changes, and weather condition always changes we need to be able to tune the kart to drive better in different conditions. A lot of good drivers are good because they understand these and are able to apply it. If he don't understand these, then there's no way he can help in improve anyone's driving techniques.

At the end of the day, we both were seriously thinking of leaving the track. Or we may just do no race there and leave our karts there for practice for 2010 RMC. Because as much fun there are with racing our friends there, there are quite a number of issues with the participating karts, and needless to say the crazy boss is, well, a nut case!

All said and done, I will have to rest my ribs before I can hop back in my kart.
Till then, I have some serious thinking to do.

a Visit to RMC R5

19 Aug

Driving over 4 hours starting at 530am for about 320km
from Singapore to KL, Malaysia to watch RMC races
was what Ivan and I did on 16 Aug!

It was a good experience in watching a good professional

kart race.

Caught up with many friends who I had not seen since

Permas track.

Before the pics, let me share the direction to Elite Track from

Singapore which I had much trouble finding online.

* Get on to the North South Highway heading towards KL

* at Exit 214, turn Left and head towards 'Ipoh'

* Drive all the way to Exit 603.

(Note that you will find the exit number in a descending

order, so don't freak out like we initially did.)

* This is the important bit now... when you are approaching the

Exit toll station go to the extreme LEFT counter.

take the toll exit ticket or pay the toll fee, and look for a sign

which says "Kaunter Jalan". It will lead you turning left, past a

small office. Just follow the small road, which you will find that

will bring you back highway in the opposite direction.

* Then head for Exit 604, similarly when you are approaching

the Exit toll station go to the extreme LEFT counter.
take the toll exit ticket or pay the toll fee

* Drive on for about 1-2 km, you will see the Caltex petrol station
and should also notice signboard saying Speedway PLUS Circuit.

and you are there already!

Testing... Analysing... Prepared

12 Aug

Read some nice articles from APPM, www.appm.co.uk
and I reckon it is specially useful to me with the new chassis
and stuffs.. so I thought it's good to share it and perhaps
see if there's more we can do than what the article had already
suggested.

One of the most important aspects of winning is effective preparation and this applies to all sports not just motor racing. But in motor racing preparation is probably more important as we have to work with so many variables, the track, the kart and the driver's mental state are just one aspect, you then have to factor in the conditions in which you have to perform; dry, wet and intermediate - each of these needing a separate plan for both driving, mindset and set-up.

Preparation is an area in which many drivers fall down, turning up un-prepared for a test is really not good enough in a sport where the margins between winning and being an also ran are incredibly fine.

1. Review your notes - post-event record keeping is essential and your starting point for any test is to review your notes from when you either raced or tested at that particular circuit the last time

2. Goal - clearly define your goal for the test and communicate it to the team, this will give both of you the direction you need to be effective

3. Driving plan - As discussed in an earlier email "Creating a Driving Plan" you need to create a plan which details which areas you will you focus on in each corner, remember you need a separate plan for dry, wet and intermediate conditions

4. Set-up plan - prepare with your engineer / mechanic a structured plan of kart and driver development for dry, wet and intermediate conditions, so that whatever the day you will have an effective days testing

5. Mind management - run through issues that may distract you from focussing on your performance and detail how you will manage them. Examples of distractions could be:

- Negative thinking about your performance

- Worrying about the performance of your kart

- Worrying about the performance of other drivers

- Losing concentration and starting to over drive, etc., etc.

6. Visualise laps - once you are clear on your plan it is now time for you to visualise laps of you driving perfectly in dry, wet and intermediate conditions

Improved preparation will lead to a better set-up, greater confidence, a calmer mind and clearer focus, all of which will help you access the Zone more easily. This in turn will lead to you and your car performing better than those of your rivals who are not as well prepared as you.

As part of your commitment to constantly improve your personal performance and the performance of your kart it is essential that you carefully review both of these areas after each and every test.

The end of a day's testing should be the start of an in-depth process of analysing of how you and your kart have performed so that you can clearly identify areas where you have performed better and areas where there is still improvement to come.

As with all things in karting it is important that you are structured in how you go about this:

1. Start the next day - It is always best to wait until the day following a test to de-brief yourself as your mind will be fresher and your thought process clearer

2. Have all relevant information to hand - This should include your lapping log, the record of changes made, any notes you made on the day and your data

3. Review your personal driving performance - Go through each corner in turn and review what you did that worked and areas that you know you need to improve

4. How were you mentally? - Did you maintain your concentration throughout the day, were you able to focus 100% on your driving performance (in the Zone) or were you distracted by such things as times, handling issues or other drivers?

5. How did your car perform? - You need to review all of the changes that were made to the kart and be clear on what worked and what didn't and how the kart can be made even better the next time you drive it

6. Conclusions - There is no point undertaking any form of analysis unless it leads to clear and concise conclusions and an action plan that will be used to carry you and the kart forward into the next test or race

GP10 pics

10 Aug

A friend and fellow karter Kenneth Wong took some pics
while I preparing to give my kart its 1st run...

I knew he wanted to take some pics but I did not know
when he took all these (even those when I was in the kart)

Thanks, bro!

Happy Bithday !

9 Aug

Today is Singapore National Day, so Happy National Day
holiday everyone!

And Happy Birthday too to BOLT, my new kart of
a GP10 chassis with Rotax Max engine.

Have been awaiting for this moment to come...
and today had been the ever first time I sat in the kart!

Hence, today had been a day of testing. Real testing of
trying things out.
Obviously somethings had gone wrong, like a throttle jam
in the earlier part of the day and a missing fuel tank catch
at the end of the day...

But I think the day went on fine especially with the great
assistances like technical advice from Gary, the work of
Jason, and the 'race' with Graeme.
Thanks guys!
Especially to Graeme who gave me first whack on my
rear bumper after I overtook him at Turn 1.

And thank God for holding the rain that is ever
threatening the whole day

All in all, I managed to get a couple of good runs with
the issues identified, and solutions found.
From the very 1st run to the very end there were relative
vast improvement.

However, I believed there will be more to test on like
ride height of the chassis, and engine sprocket selections
etc

I believe with more track time on the kart I should be able
to do a competitive lap times consistently.

locked in the cage... awaiting its owner to arrive

released from the cage, but have to be work on before it can
hit the track

the finished 'product' and BOLT is really to pounce

<78> powered Rotax Max engine on a GP10 chassis

Pleasure Pressure

5 Aug

Within the next couple of days, my new kart of GP10 chassis
armed with a P7 Rotax Max engine fitted with a Tillett seat
should be ready to hit the track proper.

I hope there will be some "exciting times" for me with
these very good equipment. Exciting times in terms of
good lap times and even 'gooder' results too!

Some of my buddies from the race track had been saying
to me that I will definitely be 'fast' on the track with this
'babe' and I really do hope so.

However, as I was been told by by the good man, "KJ"
who is the dealer for GP10 in Asia, that this is NOT a
magic chassis.

Totally understood what he is saying.

There are a lot to do before I can really get to where
I think I can during a race.
Basically, I have to tune the kart to my utmost liking
and while doing these we must not forget the engine has
to be set up nicely too.
Having said and done the equipment portions, I have to
constantly refined my racing line, braking technique (front
brake is new to me!), and smooth steering inputs.
Better overall skills will and should shave off a couple of
tenths here and there on any track configurations.

Another aspect is that I have to improve my overall
fitness further. Once, I did told Ivan that driver's fitness
in karting is one of the most essential factor for any serious
race participants. We concluded that if supposedly my racing
line, technique, and equipment is not up to par, then I hope
me been fitter can push harder on my kart for a longer
period of time. I will chase until either the guy in front break
or I cannot breathe any longer.

Pleasure or Pressure? Ivan interestingly had mentioned
to me that "do i feel the pressure?"
He asked because I had gotten the GP10 at a wonderful price
so that I can hopefully 'showcase' it to where a lot of locals kart
and race.
Thus, I need to produce some good "result"... preferably
sooner than later! Also there's some sort of expectations for
the 2010 RMC. Honestly, I do not feel any pressure.
Yes, I will perform to my best abilities and race my heart out...
Then again, I always do so. It will be no different.
Now, I will just try even harder.

Hence, I think it will be a pleasure to be racing at the sharp
fore.

To me, pressure will be unable to race due to lack of funds.
That will be a heart breaker.
No amount of skill or talent or willingness can overcome
the cold hard truth that motorsports has to do a lot with
financial resources.

I just hope the economy situation will be turning for
the better so that I don't have to think thrice before
committing to a race in 2010.

Meanwhile, the track awaits a blue machine...