New TOY in the stable!

This is to pass the time on the long breaks between racing weekends!

Grosse Ile

The race at the Grosse Ile airport proved to be a short weekend for the TKZ team. We arrived on Saturday morning to see what we thought to be....well....less than desirable racing conditions. In an attempt to utilize two runways of the airport and maximize space, the racing circuit was very tight, not much room for passing, and in my opinion, rather unsafe. I decided to run a few practice laps and make the best of the track we had to race with. There was an incident on the first practice session, and a few close calls.....the next rounds of practice seemed to go O.K. On to qualifying...on my second of three laps I came towards the chicane section of the track to find a TIRE in the middle of the racing line (with no advance warning!), and on my third of three laps, had a slower kart pull from the side of the racing line into the middle of the track. After the qualifying session was complete (and no weigh in?) I found that the tire in the track was due to a flip that occurred on lap one. Whew! What a morning....

...needless to say, with the questionable race circuit, we decided it would be more cost effective and safer if we packed the trailer up and called it a weekend, with everything, and everyone in one piece. The one unknown variable in going to a temporary circuit is the track layout, and the thought behind the layout in advance. Not all temporary circuits are created equal!

Gingerman

A great weekend for racing at Gingerman is in the books. Great weather and large fields for the action at the 1.9 mile 11 turn road course outside of South Haven MI. The TKZ performance was respectable. I raced two classes on Saturday. Entering the stock moto in the CIK shifter class, and racing the Rotax with the tag class. The tag class had over 20 entries, and the CIK shifter with 30+ karts. The start of the tag race had me dead last by turn 1. A horrible start left me with a great challenge for the 30 minute race. I managed to work my way up to 3rd place by the end of the race. I landed a strong 10th place finish with my stock moto with the full modified CIK 125 shifter class....

I was only entered to race the tag class on Sunday. The fields were just as big for Sundays action...and I again finished 3rd in the tag 30 minute race.

Ready for a race weekend at Gingerman Raceway. The trip to Gingerman always is a great weekend. Competitive racing, close to Lake Michigan, and great times in South Haven! Final details wrapped up tonight. Weather should give us a great weekend for racing. This will be the start of a back-to-back race weekend.

GLPS Race 1-2 New Castle

The first race weekend of the season is in the books. As usual, no race weekend goes without some type of excitement...some racing,  some technical. Friday's practice session went smooth. Weather was in the upper 70's all day, with winds gusting in the 30mph range!

Saturdays racing schedule proved to be a physical challenge for my first outing. Racing two classes, that of course, were back to back. That basically means race one kart, fly into the pits after the checker flag flies, park it, and run to the other kart on the grid and GO RACING again! I am a junky. A good way to get my fill of racing. The line up had me racing the 125 shifter class first, and the Rotax 2nd. The final for each class consisted of 18 laps. That meant 36 laps of non-stop racing fun! The Rotax ran flawless all weekend, and I placed 3rd overall for the day. The shifter on the otherhand...gave us some technical challenges through the day. During qualifying we were WAY off with our jetting - 10th place result. Prefinal = broken coil wire, 8th place finish. Final = broken coil wire, 6th place finish. All-in-all not a bad day, and GREAT FUN. Oh, I forgot to mention...during the first Rotax race, the gas cap seal was missing. That meant that during the first few laps with a full tank of gas, my knee pad that I wear to soften the blow of my knee slamming against the top of the gas tank managed to become soaked with GAS! That lead to a nice BURNING sensation while I raced for 20 minutes. Needless to say, I needed a little aloe vera to cool my knee. 

Sundays weather proved to be more of the same. Beautiful morning, sunny skies and highs in the upper 80's. I opted out of the two class deal (muscles were a little sore!). I decided to race the shifter for the day, and one Rotax race. Believe it or not....NO technical issues for the day! Races went well. Great starts, some awesome clean, fun racing! Qualified 8th in the shifter, finished my prefinal in 3rd (after what was an AMAZING launch on the start for me!), and finished the final in 4th. I battled for the 3rd place spot for a few lapps with Eric Batt before he make a pass stick after his 3rd attempt. I tried for a couple of laps to real him in, but no luck.

I did race the Rotax in the prefinal on Sunday....starting in the back of the field. I had some great racing, and managed to work myself up into the 3rd place finishing order in the Rotax class. 

Another great race weekend in the books. Looking forward to the next outing in May. Gingerman Raceway in South Haven MI.

1 week and counting! Spring is here and I can't wait to hit the track for the first race weekend!

....here is the FROZEN cylinder. Now replaced with the new latest and greatest 2009 updated cylinder from ROTAX. The good news is that these can be repaired. Now I have a never used 'spare' once I have it welded. And after our Rmax training program completion...we are certified for the removal/replacement of the cylinder. Should prove to be a valuable resource.