2011 prep begins!

Spending some time in the shop on the new Birel for 2011

MKC 2011

Michigan Kart Club Series 2011 Michigan Kart Club has announced their 2011 race schedule including racing at the regions best tracks! Feel free to contact MKC to join, or for more details on their class structure or racing details. Join us for some great racing in 2011! Waterford Hills May 28th & 29th Hosted by MKC  Grattan July 16th & 17th Hosted by CES  Point Pelee August 28th Hosted by Point Pelee Kart Club (Double Points/Counts as two races)  Mid-Ohio October 28-30th Hosted by Dart Kart Club  2011 Series is best 3 of 4  Must be a MKC member to receive points and be eligible for year end trophywww.michigankartclub.com

New SKF bearings

Prepping for next year. I have just installed the new SKF kart unit bearings in my CY31 chassis! A great unit, and it should help make axle changes a bit easier. They also have removable seals which will make cleaning and regreasing easier as well.

Looking forward to testing them on a Rotax powered Birel unit for 2011.

Indy MotoGP

On a relaxing weekend off from racing...kind-of :)
Here are a couple of photo's from this years RedBull Indy MotoGP. An awesome event, with over 100,000 fans in attendance. These bikes are simply amazing! A must see if you have never witnessed in person. The photo of the sea of RED is where we were sitting for the main event. We mixed it up with the fellow Ducati riders as we cheered on Nicky Hayden.

Saturday - race day

The day of the finals was here. A DNF in heat 3 had me starting 10th out of the field of 28karts. Not as high as I had hoped, but heck, I could race to the front from there! I had been in the top 5 for lap times all week, so I had plenty of laps to make up some ground.

Prefinal

The start of the race was again as aggressive as the previous heat races (if not more so). Everyone in the top 10 was not giving an inch through the first 3 turns...and I found myself getting shuffled back a few spots and running in 14th spot by the time we rounded the start finish for lap 2. I settled in and started to pass where I could to slowly regain positions. I was quick in the tight section of the track, but not making any real gains on the long straights. I made up as much ground as I could each lap in the tight section, and by lap 10 was up into the top 10. As I rounded the hairpin leading onto the long straight-away...the kart DIED! I pulled off into the grass and tried to get re-started with no luck! There goes another respectable finish!! After riding the gator back to the scales (for the 2nd time in TWO races!), we found that there was a problem with the carburetor. = This means I'm starting the final from DEAD LAST!

Final

Well, the start goes pretty smooth from last place :) And I waited until after turn 2 before I started trying to move up the pack. Unfortunately for me, the guy directly in front of me was racing like it was the last lap for the WIN! I experienced some of the worst blocking I had seen all weekend. He even managed to drive me off into the grass at one point to prevent me from passing...after about 5 laps of that, I was a good 4-5 seconds behind the entire field! It was a few laps before I could catch the pack and begin to make a few more passes. I made my last pass on the white flag lap that put me into 19th place, which is where I finished. A fair finished after what was some BAD LUCK for the previous 2 races. I would have traded that luck for earlier in the weekend - FOR SURE!

All-in-all, a great event, and some awesome racing. The racing was VERY competitive, and for the most part; respectful.

Friday heat races

Heat 2

Starting again from my 6th place...I lost a little ground during the start as our outside lane was again slow at the drop of the green flag (no due to the lack of me pushing Sean!). I lost two spots through the first two turns....but would battle back to gain one spot back before the end of the heat for a 7th place finish.

Heat 3

My start was a bit more aggressive on this heat. Every inch of space on the track was valuable through turns 1-3 at the drop of the green! I made a couple of quick moves through the first section of the track and had myself up to 4th place as we entered the first hair-pin leading to the long straight. And then my luck turned! There was a kart turned in the exit of the hair-pin...he was directly in front of me, and I had NOWHERE to go! BAM! I hit his right rear tire, and off the track we went. He fortunately drove off...I did not. = DNF in heat 3!

heat 1

4th place finish....I had to earn each of the 2 spots I picked up from my 6th place start!

qualify

Qualified in 6th place! Goal was top 5, so I missed by a few hundreths on my time....it was a solid result, and a good starting point for the heat races.

Let the racing begin!

HOT!

Practice day has come to a close. I ran in the top 10 in times for practice. Ready for qualifying tomorrow am. Temps in the 90's today, and the track temp was over 110F!! The heat was draining, but we made steady improvements all day as I slowly moved up the time charts. Scattered showers predicted for the balance of the week....so things will be interesting!

rain hit the tent

rain storms blowing through

Rain is cooling things off for the welcome dinner

ready for day 1

US Rotax grands

Day 1. Registration and tech done. Ready for the start of practice tomorrow. Time will tell how much work we have ahead of us!

test day

Great day testing at New Castle....perfect weather, and tons of laps. Working with a GPS and data collection was a big help. Made consistant gains in lap times all but 1 session. I ended up only 2hundreths of my target lap time, so a productive day!
We had 4 Rotax karts sharing data, which was a bonus for number comparisons, and testing results. A couple of lead-and-follow sessions also helped on track driving lines.

Looking forward to the Rotax Grand Nationals scheduled July 15-17th!

Team America MRP/Birel

My sights are now on the Rmax Grand Nationals in July at NCMP. I have signed on to race under the Team America MRP/Birel tent. I plan to make a trip to the track for some motor testing in advance of the formal event practice with the team engineer, and a couple of other team drivers.

New Castle Motorsports June update

Rmax Challenge update-

June 5th Rmax Challenge race at New Castle Motorsports had a low kart count for the day. I was hopeful that a larger amount of people would turn-out for practice/preparation for the Rotax Grand Nationals scheduled at NCMP for July. The race had 5 karts in the Masters group. The format was a qualifying session, heat race, and final race. I was fast during qualifying, and was on the pole.....until...I came across the scales about 20lbs light :) ... That left me with a challenge for the heat race! So, I started in the back of the pack for the heat race...and lap-by-lap fought my way to the front. The kart was handling great, and our set-up was good for the day. I made my way to 1st place, and pulled a comfortable lead to take the checker flag in first place. I even came across the scales at the correct weight :) I started the final in first....lost a couple of spots on the drop of the green, but after lap 5 I had worked my way back to 1st place...and did not look back from there. I scored the race win! That makes my 5th win of the season!

KRA June 6th

Sunday I entered the KRA Tag class. As always, the KRA tag class has plenty of competition. We had a chance to race on a new track layout at NCMP. The track included 90% of the oval that then lead back onto the main road course with a huge elevation change and a VERY tight 'S' section that proved to be a challenge for me. The track was a blast to drive, and the oval was very fast....but I struggled with the tight section after the oval all day. The Rotax lacked enough bottom end power with the gear that I had selected! I struggled to a 10th place qualifying position, and finished the race with a hard fought 8th place. Not my best performance, but I feel that the kart gear selection and my driving in the tight portion of the track could both use improvements!

Next scheduled race is at Grattan Raceway, unfortunately we will miss the Grattan race as I have returned the TKZ tow vehicle back to GM :(

Waterford 2010 is in the books. A great weekend for racing at one of Michigan's finest tracks. It is always a great time to drive at Waterford Hills. The weekend entry count was less than expected, but that meant plenty of track time for those of us there! Saturday had non-stop practice sessions and the canceling of the afternoon pro races (due to low entries), but additional practice time for everyone.

Sunday was again a beautiful day with temps in the 80's, a light breeze and clear blue skies! Two morning practice sessions followed by two races for each group. My 125 shifter was quick all weekend with little if any changes required all weekend. I was lucky enough to just drive, and enjoy the track. I started the first race on the pole, and got a great start at the drop of the green and never looked back. I had my competition covered by at least 2 seconds per lap! I was running lap times at just over a second off the track record! The second race of the day was a duplicate of the 1st....a great start, and I was off to my second win of the day!

I was pleased with the kart, and everything ran great all weekend. The MKC club was helpful, cordial and it was great to see some good friends at the track.

That tops off my 4th race win of the season....next stop is NCMP for the Rmax Challenge race on Saturday June 5th.

Waterford Hills

Getting ready for a return to Waterford Hills after a few years without a date on their calendar. One of the few tracks in Michigan...and the ONLY track in SouthEast MI will be the setting for the Memorial Day weekend. Waterford Hills is a 1.46mile track with changing elevation and very technical corner layouts. Should make for a great weekend of racing...and one of the closest tracks that we visit during the year! I plan on racing both 125 shifter and tag classes. Practice is scheduled for Saturday with a money race planned for Saturday afternoon, and racing all day Sunday.

Sunday KRA

Sundays KRA race at NCMP started with a wet track...and plenty of clouds. Set-up was a guessing game with parts of the track very low on grip, and light sprinkles coming and going through the day. I made 3 solid laps in qualifying before the track became slick again. Luckily, my 3rd lap was fast enough to lock down the 1st spot on the grid! The only Rotax on a grid of 10 Leopards.

I paced the race start, and jumped out to a small lead for 3 laps. It was on lap 4 that there was an attempt at a pass on the long back straight. I knew that it was a matter of time before my gear selection was going to cost me on the straight-away. On the next lap, I was passed on the straight and lost the lead. I would hold onto 2nd place for the remainder of the race.

Great finish to a good weekend. We proved that the Rotax can be competitive at the KRA series with the Leopards. We dodged the rain for the weekend, and had a fun weekend at the track!

....next race - Waterford Hills Road Course

race day win

Race day win! 3for3 on the season. Followed up with a night at Ro's and some good live music.

WIN - WIN

The first RMax Challenge race of the season is finished. It was a double race event at New Castle Motorsports park hosted by Terry Riggins and the Great Lakes Pro Series. The weather was typical central Indiana...sunny, cool and W I N D Y!! Wow, there was 30+MPH winds on Saturday, and 20mph on Sunday. The entire weekend was DRY, and Sunny, so no complaints from me or the other racers!

There was a good turn-out for the weekend, with over 10 entries in the Rotax Master class alone.

This was my first race weekend on the new RY31 chassis, equipped with my OGRacing accessories ;) ... I found the chassis VERY receptive to changes, and the baseline settings were close to where we needed them. Very few minor changes were needed on the chassis for the weekend. The chassis worked very well, and in my opinion better matched to the Rotax engine than the R32 that I have raced in the past. We did make some tuning changes on the Rotax motor for the weekend, again, minor changes needed on the powerplant. Practice went well as I improved on the lap times with each session. All of the changes made were moves in the right direction. All of the changes led to qualifying and finishing first all weekend. Qualified on the pole for the class, and won the heat race and feature for both days!

Successful outing for the first event of the year.

let the season begin!

Solid practice day, and ready for the first Rotax Challenge event of the year.

countdown

Countdown to the season opening race for the GLPS at New Castle Motorsports Park in two weeks!! April 16-18

track day planned for Friday

Should be great weather. The season has begun!

New Castle Motorsports Park

Spring outing - 2010

FINALLY - Spring has arrived. The first outing of 2010...March 19th, with mid 60 degree weather and sunny sky's. A great way to kick of the season. First order of business was setting up the garage at New Castle Motorsports Park, and to break in a new motor. The garage will be a bonus this year. It should pay for itself in saved gas $$ tugging the trailer to and from the track! Not to mention the convenience of just closing the garage door at the end of the weekend :)

Motor break in went well, and I was able to get in two solid days of track time. Great weather, and a productive weekend. 4 weeks until our first scheduled GLPS race at New Castle. I'm hopeful for a big turnout and some good racing.