This is a BBQ event by AmTwin along with some good deals
for the evening!
click image to enlarge.Be there!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
AmTwin BBQ evening
31 March
This is a BBQ event by AmTwin along with some good deals
for the evening!
click image to enlarge.
Be there!
This is a BBQ event by AmTwin along with some good deals
for the evening!
click image to enlarge.Be there!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Kart watching
28 March
Without an engine, I could not race even if I wanted to today.
But I was in to take a peek, and see how the guys are doing
before I head back to watch the Australia F1 race.
The field today is quite good. The qualifying times is quite tight.
And oh, Louis did decided to change the track layout after the
lot of them had told him that the Track A is too short per lap.
So it is Track H for the race.
Qualifying times:
Ang 37.00s, James 37.03s
Gary 37.18s, Leo 37.43s
Louis 37.50s, Alan Smith 37.88s
Allan Robert 37.89s, Mark 38.22s
Graeme 38.50s, Kenneth Wong 38.88s
Andre 40.31s
As you will see, out of the eleven guys 7 of them had less than
a second between them.
Although my inital plan was to just stay until the qualifying, now
I just had to watch at least the first of the 2 Heats.
Glad that I did, as nothing beat good 'live' actions up close and
personal!
Video @ FBook: Race Start
The race was good to watch all the way from the start to the
last lap of the last corner!
And the lead was swapped between Ang and James quite a couple
of times during the course of the race.
From where I can see, there was an incident when Louis hit the rear
of Leo quite hard at the hairpin just before the start finish line.
That impact resulted in Leo to DNF with a cracked exhaust.
Naturally, I guess he wasn't too pleased with that.
He had not finished a proper heat in a long while.
Race Actions Video @ FBook
The other dramatic actions come from Ang and James.
They had been since been trading places for the lead before the
last lap.
Ang seems to have good pace in the pit areas which may suggest
he is running a bigger sprocket than James.
Everytime Ang overtook James around the pits area, James will
just pass him before 130R.
So in the last lap, I was thinking something will happened and it did...
in the last corner no less!
James was leading Ang by a kart length or so..
James turned into the corner, and Ang thinking there was some space
for him to challenge for the entry of the hairpin, outbraked himself and
dived in...
Ang's kart hit Jame's left, and it climbed onto his kart.
They were entangled for quite awhile before they got separated.
Ang then just went on rolling to finish ahead of James, but
just then Gary came charging in and he actually finish ahead of James
in a blur!
What a finish! What a exciting race for me watching from the sides.
Now I'm just hoping the new Rotax Max will arrived soon.
I want to be part of the actions too!
ah... and for my 'trouble' in the 7 March race which I finished 3rd
I got this
Obviously we don't race for the trophies, but it is just nice to have
something to show for the effort we put in.
Even if there's nothing to show for it, I guess the lot of us will still race.
Without an engine, I could not race even if I wanted to today.
But I was in to take a peek, and see how the guys are doing
before I head back to watch the Australia F1 race.
The field today is quite good. The qualifying times is quite tight.
And oh, Louis did decided to change the track layout after the
lot of them had told him that the Track A is too short per lap.
So it is Track H for the race.
Ang 37.00s, James 37.03s
Gary 37.18s, Leo 37.43s
Louis 37.50s, Alan Smith 37.88s
Allan Robert 37.89s, Mark 38.22s
Graeme 38.50s, Kenneth Wong 38.88s
Andre 40.31s
As you will see, out of the eleven guys 7 of them had less than
a second between them.
Although my inital plan was to just stay until the qualifying, now
I just had to watch at least the first of the 2 Heats.
Glad that I did, as nothing beat good 'live' actions up close and
personal!
Video @ FBook: Race Start
last lap of the last corner!
And the lead was swapped between Ang and James quite a couple
of times during the course of the race.
From where I can see, there was an incident when Louis hit the rear
of Leo quite hard at the hairpin just before the start finish line.
That impact resulted in Leo to DNF with a cracked exhaust.
Naturally, I guess he wasn't too pleased with that.
He had not finished a proper heat in a long while.
Race Actions Video @ FBook
The other dramatic actions come from Ang and James.
They had been since been trading places for the lead before the
last lap.
Ang seems to have good pace in the pit areas which may suggest
he is running a bigger sprocket than James.
Everytime Ang overtook James around the pits area, James will
just pass him before 130R.
So in the last lap, I was thinking something will happened and it did...
in the last corner no less!
James was leading Ang by a kart length or so..
James turned into the corner, and Ang thinking there was some space
for him to challenge for the entry of the hairpin, outbraked himself and
dived in...
Ang's kart hit Jame's left, and it climbed onto his kart.
They were entangled for quite awhile before they got separated.
Ang then just went on rolling to finish ahead of James, but
just then Gary came charging in and he actually finish ahead of James
in a blur!
What a finish! What a exciting race for me watching from the sides.
Now I'm just hoping the new Rotax Max will arrived soon.
I want to be part of the actions too!
ah... and for my 'trouble' in the 7 March race which I finished 3rd
I got this
Obviously we don't race for the trophies, but it is just nice to have
something to show for the effort we put in.
Even if there's nothing to show for it, I guess the lot of us will still race.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Level Up
21 March 2010
Consider this.... my good friend, KP, will now take me as a target
to chase for the races to come in Plentong!
I hope I don't disappoint him. And I hope to remain as a target
for as long as I can.
In truth, I think I had improved these few months.
Although there will be a hundred and one things and more to better
on, I think I had understand the engine, chassis and my own driving
much better than previously.
One catalyst that really assist me was the fact that James Lee started
to race with us in Plentong. Watching race videos that had him taking
the corners, the race line, having him in my kart and some valuable
advice from him really led me to understand more about the kart
overall.
Of course, the GP10 chassis also really help me in the overall driving.
There are certainly much more potential in getting the setup better to
suit my driving and the track.
Now, I had decided to part with the engine I had for a brand new one.
It will be a new 2010 Rotax Max engine.
The new engine which featured the same cylinder from the very
successful P9 Max but has 2 'major' improvements.
The improvement on the parts are for durability and had no advantage in
lap times, so they say.
2010 Exhaust improvement for 09 Rotax Max engine:
2010 Clutch improvement for 09 Rotax Max engine:
I just hope that with the newer engine I can really see where I am
on the track. Now, I wish that the engine will not be taking too long
to arrive. Because I do need a lot of track time to get up to speed.
That also one thing that help me (or anyone) to improve, which is to
get as much quality track time as possible.
Consider this.... my good friend, KP, will now take me as a target
to chase for the races to come in Plentong!
I hope I don't disappoint him. And I hope to remain as a target
for as long as I can.
In truth, I think I had improved these few months.
Although there will be a hundred and one things and more to better
on, I think I had understand the engine, chassis and my own driving
much better than previously.
One catalyst that really assist me was the fact that James Lee started
to race with us in Plentong. Watching race videos that had him taking
the corners, the race line, having him in my kart and some valuable
advice from him really led me to understand more about the kart
overall.
Of course, the GP10 chassis also really help me in the overall driving.
There are certainly much more potential in getting the setup better to
suit my driving and the track.
Now, I had decided to part with the engine I had for a brand new one.
It will be a new 2010 Rotax Max engine.
The new engine which featured the same cylinder from the very
successful P9 Max but has 2 'major' improvements.
The improvement on the parts are for durability and had no advantage in
lap times, so they say.
2010 Exhaust improvement for 09 Rotax Max engine:
2010 Clutch improvement for 09 Rotax Max engine:
on the track. Now, I wish that the engine will not be taking too long
to arrive. Because I do need a lot of track time to get up to speed.
That also one thing that help me (or anyone) to improve, which is to
get as much quality track time as possible.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Braking it finely
17 March
Another good article from appm.co.uk below
Braking is indeed one of the most important factor in driving fast.
Too early before a corner, you will be likely to be overtaken at the
entry.
Braking too late, the exit speed will be greatly reduced and hence
may be overtaken at the stretch of tarmac that follows after.
As with all things, it is to get it right in a balance. A fine one.
And how exactly do we achieve that?
Get the right advice as the one from appm.co.uk or others driving
the track, then get on to the track and practice.
No magic formula. Hard work on the track is the surest work to
get better. The mind, the body and the eyes all have to get used to
the right way of doing things.
Maybe we will not constantly get it right on the 1st day of trying it,
then do it again on the next time on the track and you will find yourself
do it more naturally and better at it. Slowly or not, you will find yourself
improving. I have experienced it myself.
Which is why I am an advocate for diligent track works.
Need to get on the track soon then
cheers
----
In the next two emails we will be looking at the critical subject of braking, perhaps the single most important element of cornering. To begin with we are going to look at the Braking Point.
The braking point is the point at which we start to slow the car for a particular corner. Many drivers use a fixed reference point such as a patch or seam of tarmac or a marker board at the side of the track which can be effective in some circumstances but is generally a performance limiting factor for the following reasons:
· There is not always a convenient marker that is appropriate
· It prevents you from achieving the critical function of looking into the corner
· Conditions are always changing, track, tyres etc. which affect your braking point
· Your approach speed changes depending on whether you were quick or slow out of the preceding corner, had a tow off another car on the approach or the wind speed down the straight changed
· You will need a completely different point for the wet and intermediate conditions
· When you are following other cars they may obscure your marker
· It slows your learning of new circuits
Most importantly it does not fit with natural driving, the place where the elite drivers operate... in the 'Zone'!
To understand how to brake naturally in the 'Zone' you need to understand how your sub-conscious calculates your braking point when you are driving in the Zone. It goes something like this:
Before you brake your brain needs to know the following:
1. The shape of the corner and how sharp it is - this is to some extent stored in our memory if we already know the track but it is always better to take an overview of the corner on the approach where we can, to get real-time information
2. To know how sharp the corner is we need to know where the Exit is
3. Once we know where the Exit is, the next thing we need to know is where is the Clipping Point (CP) is
4. Once we know where the CP is we will know the shape of the corner and naturally the Turning In Point
5. Once we know the line and Turning In Point, only then will we know where to brake and how hard to brake
This all sounds very complicated but it is all about the simple action of feeding the relevant information about the corner into our brain through our eyes and then letting our sub-conscious calculate the correct result for free (refer to Email No.15 The Brain's Cornering Process). Where we brake at a marker we are not allowing ourselves to brake naturally based on the true facts of the corner that is approaching us.
The Correct Procedure
1. Take an overview - Where possible take an overview of the whole corner including the exit kerb on the approach (on the exit of the previous corner). This is actually only possible in a minority or corners so in these cases at least be aware of the true shape of the corner (in your minds eye) on the approach
2. Look into the corner - Instead of looking for a marker look into the corner towards the CP and the inside kerb. It is important to look into the corner well before the braking area to give yourself time to assess the corner. For shallow corners it is quite easy to see the CP, for tighter corners and hairpins look to where the grass, white line or kerb on the inside starts to turn into the corner near the CP
3. Brake - By understanding the shape of the corner and by looking into the corner you will get a 'feeling' that you need to brake now. That is your braking point created by your subconscious. This is exactly the same as when you ride a bike or drive on the road, there are no braking markers and you just brake when it 'feels' right
IMPORTANT!
It takes time to convert yourself from using markers to braking naturally so take your time and work up to it very gradually and safely
Another good article from appm.co.uk below
Braking is indeed one of the most important factor in driving fast.
Too early before a corner, you will be likely to be overtaken at the
entry.
Braking too late, the exit speed will be greatly reduced and hence
may be overtaken at the stretch of tarmac that follows after.
As with all things, it is to get it right in a balance. A fine one.
And how exactly do we achieve that?
Get the right advice as the one from appm.co.uk or others driving
the track, then get on to the track and practice.
No magic formula. Hard work on the track is the surest work to
get better. The mind, the body and the eyes all have to get used to
the right way of doing things.
Maybe we will not constantly get it right on the 1st day of trying it,
then do it again on the next time on the track and you will find yourself
do it more naturally and better at it. Slowly or not, you will find yourself
improving. I have experienced it myself.
Which is why I am an advocate for diligent track works.
Need to get on the track soon then
cheers
----
In the next two emails we will be looking at the critical subject of braking, perhaps the single most important element of cornering. To begin with we are going to look at the Braking Point.
The braking point is the point at which we start to slow the car for a particular corner. Many drivers use a fixed reference point such as a patch or seam of tarmac or a marker board at the side of the track which can be effective in some circumstances but is generally a performance limiting factor for the following reasons:
· There is not always a convenient marker that is appropriate
· It prevents you from achieving the critical function of looking into the corner
· Conditions are always changing, track, tyres etc. which affect your braking point
· Your approach speed changes depending on whether you were quick or slow out of the preceding corner, had a tow off another car on the approach or the wind speed down the straight changed
· You will need a completely different point for the wet and intermediate conditions
· When you are following other cars they may obscure your marker
· It slows your learning of new circuits
Most importantly it does not fit with natural driving, the place where the elite drivers operate... in the 'Zone'!
To understand how to brake naturally in the 'Zone' you need to understand how your sub-conscious calculates your braking point when you are driving in the Zone. It goes something like this:
Before you brake your brain needs to know the following:
1. The shape of the corner and how sharp it is - this is to some extent stored in our memory if we already know the track but it is always better to take an overview of the corner on the approach where we can, to get real-time information
2. To know how sharp the corner is we need to know where the Exit is
3. Once we know where the Exit is, the next thing we need to know is where is the Clipping Point (CP) is
4. Once we know where the CP is we will know the shape of the corner and naturally the Turning In Point
5. Once we know the line and Turning In Point, only then will we know where to brake and how hard to brake
This all sounds very complicated but it is all about the simple action of feeding the relevant information about the corner into our brain through our eyes and then letting our sub-conscious calculate the correct result for free (refer to Email No.15 The Brain's Cornering Process). Where we brake at a marker we are not allowing ourselves to brake naturally based on the true facts of the corner that is approaching us.
The Correct Procedure
1. Take an overview - Where possible take an overview of the whole corner including the exit kerb on the approach (on the exit of the previous corner). This is actually only possible in a minority or corners so in these cases at least be aware of the true shape of the corner (in your minds eye) on the approach
2. Look into the corner - Instead of looking for a marker look into the corner towards the CP and the inside kerb. It is important to look into the corner well before the braking area to give yourself time to assess the corner. For shallow corners it is quite easy to see the CP, for tighter corners and hairpins look to where the grass, white line or kerb on the inside starts to turn into the corner near the CP
3. Brake - By understanding the shape of the corner and by looking into the corner you will get a 'feeling' that you need to brake now. That is your braking point created by your subconscious. This is exactly the same as when you ride a bike or drive on the road, there are no braking markers and you just brake when it 'feels' right
IMPORTANT!
It takes time to convert yourself from using markers to braking naturally so take your time and work up to it very gradually and safely
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Keep Driving
13 March
Jam at the causeway even at the early hour of 7am!
What normally took me 10 mins at the same time, took
45 mins today! 
Gees!
I just needed to hit the track today to get the track time with
Mojo D2 tyres, which is RMC tyres. I feel it is essential to get
into the groove of driving again too. Frankly, during last Sunday
race, I felt I was not on the rhythm of things.
Getting the kart prepared today, thankfully I realised/ recalled
the exhaust bracket was loose before I went out on track.
Else, some things may be damaged during the course of driving
today.
While waiting to charge up my battery for awhile longer, I asked
Sherry who did she helped to take photos for last sundays race.
It turned out that Louis had her to shoot us for a 'newspaper clip',
but he deemed that the pics are not good enough.
That you will have to be the judge of it, some pics below.
Ah, yes, I was wearing a new blue suit!
Frederick, arrived at the track too. It was nice to have some
company, and it prove good too later on as CK suggested to
have a 10 laps race ... twice.
Before we did that, I went out and have a feel of the Mojo on my
kart. Not surprising, it does felt less grippy. The grip of the Mojo
certainly cannot be compare to MG, but with some testing sessions
and settings on the chassis I think it can be very drivable.
The first 9 laps I did returned with the fastest time of 47+sec.
Not good. But I was not too concerned then since I knew that my
first outing of the day is normally 'slow'.
It is when I returned to the pits and he suggested the 'race'
I was fine with the idea but was slightly apprehensive as I was
on the slightly inferior rubber. At the same time, I did not know
their level of driving so I just hope they will be 'nice; on the track.
The first 10 laps started, I was at the 3rd position.
I took the both of them at the downhill hairpin, and remain there
for the rest of it. In fact I was the only one driving after 5 laps,
I think as the both of them has some issue with the kart.
This session saw me going at 46.61s.
Hmm Not too slow, I think. Certainly, not the fastest but a
good improvement from the 1st session and the last time I used
Mojo last month.
We rested and chit chat for awhile before we head out again.
Another 10 laps. Thank goodness the weather great, cooling,
cloudy but dry.
Likewise, I just slotted in behind the both of them and
similarly I overtook them at the same hairpin.
I was thinking they are not too comfortable in the braking
at the spot, or did my front brake helps? Maybe both.
This session, CK managed to finish the 10 laps but Frederick
had to stop after 5 laps.
Quite nicely, this session I managed to improve another 0.1s.
With that I also started to pack, and hope to learn something
today from the track time.
I need more practice for sure. For now, some pics from last
sunday race:
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stay Chill
11 March
A few more reflections of the race last Sunday.
Beginning with the race start, both starts were poor AGAIN.
I was just very lucky that I did not made to suffer from it.
Although KP told me he did....
Since he was directly behind me for the Heat 1 start, my slow
getting away hindered his and his engine stalled when he had
to brake to avoid hitting me.
My apologies, buddy!
His pace was good that day after he overcame his engine stall
and got going. He was fourth after the 1st 3-4 laps chasing me
down for third.
Then his exhaust broke!
So I was lucky again! But when we spoke I had to agree he
would/ may have make my race slightly more interesting.
The question is then now... do I want interesting or just 'boring' ??
Heat 1, I was firmly setting my sights on Allan Lange, and I feel
my driving wasn't too bad.
It is Heat 2 that I felt I was driving like a novice all over again!
Perhaps it was because of the flying moment that gave me some
jitters. I knew I had to defend somewhat from the guys close
behind.
But driving over some high kerbs, braking too late, turning in too
early into the hairpins was not my 'style'...
In short, I was feeling the heat literally for the 1st few laps of
Heat 2, and I let it affects me!
Luckily, after a few laps with Tony & Louis behind I managed
to calm myself down and drove more sensibly.
I reckon that's about when I started to pull away from them.
Self confidence is one factor I really need to incorporate into my
driving, beside my horrendous starts too.
I do felt the one month or so away really do me no good.
Some of the lines that were practiced was off (slightly or otherwise).
I do recognize I am not very talented, which is why I need to have
more track time.
Practice may not make me perfect, but at least I will be closer to it.
Time to hit the track soon!
A few more reflections of the race last Sunday.
Beginning with the race start, both starts were poor AGAIN.
I was just very lucky that I did not made to suffer from it.
Although KP told me he did....
Since he was directly behind me for the Heat 1 start, my slow
getting away hindered his and his engine stalled when he had
to brake to avoid hitting me.
My apologies, buddy!
His pace was good that day after he overcame his engine stall
and got going. He was fourth after the 1st 3-4 laps chasing me
down for third.
Then his exhaust broke!
So I was lucky again! But when we spoke I had to agree he
would/ may have make my race slightly more interesting.
The question is then now... do I want interesting or just 'boring' ??
Heat 1, I was firmly setting my sights on Allan Lange, and I feel
my driving wasn't too bad.
It is Heat 2 that I felt I was driving like a novice all over again!
Perhaps it was because of the flying moment that gave me some
jitters. I knew I had to defend somewhat from the guys close
behind.
But driving over some high kerbs, braking too late, turning in too
early into the hairpins was not my 'style'...
In short, I was feeling the heat literally for the 1st few laps of
Heat 2, and I let it affects me!
Luckily, after a few laps with Tony & Louis behind I managed
to calm myself down and drove more sensibly.
I reckon that's about when I started to pull away from them.
Self confidence is one factor I really need to incorporate into my
driving, beside my horrendous starts too.
I do felt the one month or so away really do me no good.
Some of the lines that were practiced was off (slightly or otherwise).
I do recognize I am not very talented, which is why I need to have
more track time.
Practice may not make me perfect, but at least I will be closer to it.
Time to hit the track soon!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tales of times
9 March
I think it's always best to tell the race with the help of the time sheets.
And as usual, let's start with the Qualifying.
It was tricky qualifying for me. Mainly because I was struggling to
find the good limits for the Dungeon hairpin.
For the 4 quick laps, I was actually trying to find a sweet braking
point for the entry for each of these laps.
Different approaches but they all return about the same times.
Which is why I abort any more runs, hoping to have done enough
and saving myself and the kart for the race to come.
At this point I did not know where I will start, I was just hoping
for the upper half of the field will do. Thus, I was satisfied
to take fourth on the starting grid out of the 13 guys when I
returned to the pits.
But starting at fourth, give me something to ponder about since
I will be on the outside of the race line. It will be very tough to
defend. So I will just to see what unfold in front of me, and
get as good a start as possible.
Work for it but hope for the best!
A few interesting thing was that KP and Graeme actually qualified
with the same time. Here we are talking about the two decimal
places timing at 53.52 ! Amazing. But since Graeme got the time
first he decided to get the points, while KP get the 'better position'.
Another is the amazing drive from James Lee again.
51.61 ! It is 0.7 faster than Leo who qualified second, and about
2 seconds faster than the rest of the field.
It is no wonder, I keep asking him for advice!
Heat 1
The first heat was delayed due to a couple of things, which I cannot
remember what exactly now. I think it was a few karts had some
mechanical issues that need to be resolved.
However, I can clearly remember that the heat from the sun is just
immense. It was just crazy, which is why I kept drinking water,
and isotonic drinks. Else there will be every chance to be caught
out by the heat exhaustion and/or cramps.
I think it's always best to tell the race with the help of the time sheets.
And as usual, let's start with the Qualifying.
find the good limits for the Dungeon hairpin.
For the 4 quick laps, I was actually trying to find a sweet braking
point for the entry for each of these laps.
Different approaches but they all return about the same times.
Which is why I abort any more runs, hoping to have done enough
and saving myself and the kart for the race to come.
At this point I did not know where I will start, I was just hoping
for the upper half of the field will do. Thus, I was satisfied
to take fourth on the starting grid out of the 13 guys when I
returned to the pits.
But starting at fourth, give me something to ponder about since
I will be on the outside of the race line. It will be very tough to
defend. So I will just to see what unfold in front of me, and
get as good a start as possible.
Work for it but hope for the best!
A few interesting thing was that KP and Graeme actually qualified
with the same time. Here we are talking about the two decimal
places timing at 53.52 ! Amazing. But since Graeme got the time
first he decided to get the points, while KP get the 'better position'.
Another is the amazing drive from James Lee again.
51.61 ! It is 0.7 faster than Leo who qualified second, and about
2 seconds faster than the rest of the field.
It is no wonder, I keep asking him for advice!
Heat 1
The first heat was delayed due to a couple of things, which I cannot
remember what exactly now. I think it was a few karts had some
mechanical issues that need to be resolved.
However, I can clearly remember that the heat from the sun is just
immense. It was just crazy, which is why I kept drinking water,
and isotonic drinks. Else there will be every chance to be caught
out by the heat exhaustion and/or cramps.
Finally, we got a go ahead and off we went.
During the rolling start, Leo in second place had a problem and
had to pull to the side and out of the race. With that, I actually had the
chance to roll with James Lee for the formation. Nice!
And what a view from the front row! 
When we are about to start, Jason who will dropped the green flag
for the start signal to us one more lap to roll which I presumed it's to
accommodate Leo. The mechanics thought they had solved his
electrical problems, however it was not the case.
During that time, Tony thinking it is a race start blazed his way
to the front, from ninth to first!! Thankfully, he managed to sense
something was amiss, slowed and rejoined the formation.
My start was not too good. Perhaps there was some hesitation on my
part. I was ready to throttle but back off again, and there & then the
green flag dropped. BUMMER!
Thankfully, this mistake did not cause me much trouble other than
Allan Lange went through with James at the Dungeon hairpin before
me. I believed I was in 3rd place from lap 1 all the way to lap 15.
I know James will be fast and will just disappear from the pack, but
Allan was doing something special with his kart. I just cannot keep up
with his pace, and there's a constant gap through the spoon.
Some said he's using a better engine and so and so. Perhaps he is driving
a better engine, but I am sure that he is driving much better now.
Just look at his lap times, which shows a nice consistent times.
For his age, which is close to 60, he had showed something steely within
himself regardless of good engine or not!
Talking about engine, it will be soon before I had to swap mine for a
new one. The compression is not at its best, and that I may be doing
some good times in Plentong. But if I race this in RMC I will certainly
be murdered on the track without a hint of hesitation from the rest guys
on it. So another headache($) for me. 
Opps.. wasn't I supposed to talk about the race itself?
I was but this just about that is to it. Not one overtaking move hadbeen executed. What a strange race!! Maybe why I felt odd or
'down'
During this heat and the next one, I actually realized I had having
a bit of low self confidence. Although I was very much concentrating
on trying my best to catch Allan Lange, I was also constantly looking
back to check for the rest of the guys behind. I kept thinking there
will be someone up in my arse. At some laps, I was even on the
defensive line. Not too sure if there's someone really near me,
but I think I should have more confidence in myself, and the kart.
The one month away from the kart certainly did not help in this
respect.
Heat 2
Starting from 3rd this time, sure seems to be a good place to be at.
Inside line which I can defend if I start well just behind James.
I was looking forward to it.
BUT, I screwed my start slightly again.
This time round there was a consequence.
As I was trying to blaze my way to the 1st hairpin, Allan
in 2nd place actually gently squeeze me to my right.
Moving to my right to avoid banging him I actually went on to
a gentle concrete round kerb , and launched myself into the
air for awhile.
Again thankfully, there was no major incident for others from
my 'flying' start. Graeme told me after it seems I will flying back
down back on him! It does cause me to lose a place at the hairpin,
which I quickly retook it when Graeme's kart had a stuck throttle line.
The few laps after I was quite a bit concerned with the kart itself.
It seems to be slower.... or is it the heat which we are racing at
3+pm ? Maybe a combination of everything.
During the next 5-6 laps, Louis and Tony were quite near me.
However, I was regaining a bit of pace and just managed to slowly
edge further ahead from them.
Another 2 laps or so, I saw Yellow flag near the pits area.
James was standing over his kart... he's DNF and without having to
fight for it, I was second!
Then I was slightly more motivated to try even more to catch up with
Allan. A heat win will be nice!
However, it was too much to do too late in the race.
Second place isn't too bad at all, but there was still something amiss
from the overall good result.
In any case, this is a good start for the 'season' which I managed
to fulfill my target I set out for myself.
May more of the same come!
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