Monday, 28 January 2019

BRKC 2019. Milton Keynes, 19-20 January. Part 2

Saturday, 8pm.

On Formula Fast's plush viewing gantry, the towering heater flames are flickering on pale faces, the dimmed spotlights in the ceiling adding to a slightly eerie campfire-in-the-woods feel. But that's all about to change, as the engines begin to start in the pitlane and James Auld booms from the loudspeakers again. The screens fill with Arnaud Tinet's darkened visor, the red light of his GoPro camera winking in the gloom.

Lee Hackett shares the honour, with Owen Burton and Shaun Mcgrath, of the shortest wait between heats of the weekend. Having won the last heat of round 2 barely forty minutes ago, he's back again, joined by a host of familiar names: Spinnael, Weddell, Slater, Tinet. Lee takes a comfortable pole from Matej Vrana and, after a race-long game of cat and mouse, denies Vrana a first ever BRKC win by the skin of his teeth. Spinnael is third, with Michael Weddell squeaking through in fourth ahead of a charging Phillippe Denooz. Sam Slater is a subdued sixth, his weekend of woe continuing.

I'm slumped on the sofa, in the warm, with a belly full of pizza and fourteen hours of piano-wire tension behind me. Suddenly, the prospect of another race is almost too much to bear as my spirits dip and a dozen aches make themselves felt. I've spent just over 40 minutes on track today - not much - but the peaks and troughs of adrenaline, caffeine and sugar, the cold and the hours on my feet have taken their toll. I force myself upright and head into the driver's changing area to check my kit and get myself in gear for my third heat in an hour's time.

Ruben, out in the heat before mine, has had the same idea; after a brief chat earlier it's good to catch up with the reigning champion. He has two wins from two starts - business as usual - but sensibly, is taking nothing for granted. I ask after his girlfriend Edyta, whom I met in my final heat here last year. She has since notched up a podium finish in the women's class of KWC (a strong 54th overall) but is sadly absent this weekend due to work commitments. It's good to talk about something other than the here and now for a few moments, and my spirits are lifted as the drivers in heat 2 roll out of the pits.

Heat 2 is all about KWC superstars present and past, with Yoan Medart taking the pole by just 0.034 seconds (the tightest margin of the weekend so far) ahead of Michal Grzyb. 2008 world champion Gregory Laporte is third ahead of Dan Healey (by nine thousandths of a second!) and Opnithi Puyato. In the race, Yoan looks unflustered in the lead, as does everyone in a Bluestar Racing Team suit, despite huge pressure from Grzyb. As Dan Healey pits early and Laporte covers him, Puyato takes advantage of their squabble to jump them both with a beautifully judged pitstop. At the flag, Dan is less than 3.5 seconds behind winner Medart and has set the fastest lap of the race... yet is only fifth. Tough heat.

With heat 3 rolling out for qualifying, my world is doing that closing-in thing again, as Ramon Pineiro sets tongues wagging by outqualifying Ruben. Brad Philpot changes karts after qualifying out of position in 6th. After a false start, Pineiro leads them away, but Ruben makes an optimistic move from a very long way back into the hairpin. He's through while Pineiro, hung out to dry, is bundled down to fifth in the next couple of corners. There's talk of a bad pass flag, but it doesn't materialise; Ruben builds a comfortable lead while all hell breaks loose behind him. Pineiro's race goes from bad to catastrophic when he triggers the dreaded yellow light twice on separate visits to the pits; Ed White resists extreme pressure from an unexpected source - Adam Davis. And while they fight amongst themselves and get held up behind backmarkers, Remik Drzaga undercuts his way past them into second place. And there they stay until the flag: Boutens, Drzaga, White, Davis (bouncing back from a disastrous ninth place in round 2) and Brad, who has battled his way up from last on the grid.

I'm only peripherally aware of all this. The cold is biting now, and I'm jumping up and down in the pitlane to stay warm. Heat 4 includes two big names (Bartsch, van Pamelen), one strong newcomer (Ziejewski) and a couple of under-the-radar hands (Steve Gray and Gary Jones). Steve and Gary have had mixed fortunes so far today - I'm currently ahead of both of them on the leaderboard - but I know they'll be tough to beat.

And so it proves. Matt Bartsch takes the pole ahead of Adrian Ziejewski and Guillermo van Pamelen, with Steve, Gary and I making up the top six. I'm quite comfortable with the layout now, but the circuit seems to have cooled - I struggle to get the kart pointed where I need it. This continues into the race, where despite another good start I slip back in the early laps and am forced to defend from Darren Bird Pearce - who pits early to try and jump me. On lap 10, it's as if the lights have been switched on: the kart comes alive in my hands and I start to reel Gary in again. The laptimes show an improvement of only a tenth or two, but such are the margins at this level that it transforms my race.

Up front, Matt Bartsch leads a tight three-way battle from van Pamelen, who catches Ziejewski napping with a beautiful move into the first hairpin on lap 7, and slips past Bartsch with similar finesse a few laps later. Bartsch retakes the lead with brutal efficiency out of the first hairpin - but the Bad Pass flag is shown and he drops to third, with Ziejewski now leading. Suddenly Bartsch has a rear bumper full of Steve Gray.

Meanwhile I'm hounding Gary and deliberating whether or not to pit, as there is space behind me. I decide that I'm quicker giving chase than I would be on my own - but hindsight exposes the weakness in my racecraft. As we catch Harvey Baul into the new section, I make a small mistake, rapping the inside barrier at the tight left hander - then am badly delayed passing him. I lose two seconds on track and a further second in an inexplicably slow pitstop, condemning me to finish where I started.

Steve Gray has stayed with the leaders throughout, and jumps Matt Bartsch with a superb pitstop, while van Pamelen barges past Ziejewski rather less elegantly than earlier on. Bartsch tries an optimistic move into the hairpin but instantly - and sportingly - gives the place back. The finishing order is decided in the last three metres of the race, as Gray and Bartsch tangle again at the final corner and Gary Jones slips through to take fourth place by three hundredths of a second. A brilliant, hard fought win for the absurdly youthful Guillermo van Pamelen.

Out of the kart, I'm surprised to find Ryan and Neil Smith, and Michael Weddell, still trackside at this late hour - they've stayed on to support Calum Conway in the last heat of the evening. They're both very complimentary, which means a lot to me. Despite a few niggling errors I have been better this year; my mood is much improved when I realise that I have already scored more points after three rounds (15) than I did in the whole of BRKC 2018.

I miss the final heat, but it's no longer a surprise to see Dean Hale at the sharp end. He's closely followed by Lukáš Englický (bouncing back from an eighth place in his second heat), while Chris Daines holds off Mario Blanco Gonzalez for third. After his fine fourth place finishes in rounds 1 and 2, Dan Truman is a disgruntled seventh having lost out to Phil Prior in the pits.

Now it's time for a change of clothes, a shower, and a reminder of what warm feels like. Having come off track at 10pm I'm asleep before midnight. With my final heat a whopping 16 hours away I'm planning a long lie-in on Sunday.

My body clock has other ideas, waking me up exactly seven minutes before track action resumes; by 8.10am I'm in the pub beside my Premier Inn in search of breakfast and - most importantly - coffee. Lawrence Hackett - father of Lee - has nabbed a table facing the lake and invites me to join him; Geoff White - father of Ed - turns up shortly afterwards. Over the next two hours we consume a mountain of breakfast and an urn apiece of coffee, as the sun streams through the windows. For a little while, it's good to have nowhere in particular to be, to talk about something other than the BRKC.

I'm struck anew by the commitment of the hardy souls that support their loved ones in this and other competitions all over the world. Besides my breakfast companions, the likes of Neil Smith (father of Ryan), Belinda Norris (Richard Jute's other half), Joanna Piskorz, Mandy and John Marsh (parents of Connor), Jo Healey, Anthony Mays, Wendy Manley, Richard Spinnael, Guy and Janneke Boutens, dozens of others... unsung heroes all. They give generously of their time, energy and money, share the euphoria and the heartbreak. They help make this the very special event it is.

We're keeping tabs on the action; after Wojtek Grzyb holds off Christophe Verhoeven in heat 6 (with Jim Lovell an excellent third) and Patryk Nieroda does the same for Lewis Manley in heat 7, I'm pleased to see Ryan top the list in qualifying for heat 8. He narrowly loses out to Brandon Williams in the race, with Connor third; all three are heading for the semi-finals barring any disasters in their final heat. The Mayses troop in to say hello, looking dejected: Tyler slipped from second on the grid to fourth in heat 6. It's his best result of the weekend, but his semi-final dream is over for this year.

After a slow start on Saturday, Sean Brierley bangs in his first win of the weekend in heat 9, ahead of a strong field including Marcel Hollink, Mariusz Nowicki, Joris Sturm, Slawek Piskorz, Johnny Elliott (disappointed, no doubt) and last-minute stand-in Jessica Alexander, who had never seen the circuit before her first heat on Saturday morning. And I'm impressed to see Dante Dhillon - who had a front row seat to my wheel detachment in round 1 - win a chaotic heat 10 ahead of Logan Sougné and Marc Meulemeester. George Lovell is visibly frustrated in sixth, having challenged for the win before being spun around in the new section and losing more places with an ill-fated move into the last corner.

I'm in transit during the start of round 4, so completely miss the biggest shock of the weekend, as Ross O'meara takes pole ahead of a glittering field, resists incredible pressure in a five-way fight for the lead, and brings the house down when he wins ahead of Lukáš Englický, Patryk Nieroda, Dean Hale and Johnny Elliott. The other drivers are quick to congratulate him on the in lap, which is lovely to see.

Five minutes later, the formbook isn't just torn up - it's burned to a crisp as Arron Pullan and Gary Llewellyn take the top two spots in qualifying, ahead of none other than Bradley Philpot, Wojtek Grzyb and Guillermo van Pamelen. Local specialist - and Kam Ho Masters Trophy contender - Gary slips past Pullan in the early laps and, rather like O'Meara, resists a mountain of pressure from world class drivers to take the flag ahead of Grzyb and van Pamelen. A stunning result for one of the oldest drivers in the field.

There's still some grumbling about the karts, but the facts are that the Formula Fast mechanics are still working overtime to keep them equalised, and the entire fleet is still covered by no more than a quarter of a second. It's a demonstration, if ever we needed one, of the incredible driving standards on display, of the tiny margins between world class drivers and the merely very good.

Heat 3 is all about Dan Healey. The Bristol-based Club100 regular has been fast all weekend, but has been lumbered with some of the toughest heat draws of all. He takes pole position and sweeps to a comfortable win as the Chris Daines/Mariusz Nowicki squabble behind him explodes into tit-for-tat banzai moves at the final corner.

There's barely time to draw breath before Brandon Williams takes the crown for tightest pole position margin of the weekend - 0.010 seconds - from Ruben Boutens. Brandon takes a defensive line in the early laps, keeping the pace relatively slow as a five kart train builds behind him - Boutens, Polish Junior champion Matys, Gonzalez and Ben Churchill. And as first Gonzalez and then Matys pit, the world champion suddenly looks vulnerable. How often can we say that?

Ruben is forced to pit to cover the others, Brandon following suit - and the status quo is maintained for precisely one lap until new leader Ben Churchill pits. He exits alongside Ruben and slots into second as Ruben is bundled down to fourth, forced to defend hard from fifth-placed Gonzalez into the Snail. Ahead, Matys has found the inside line down the back straight and takes Churchill at the hairpin. Ruben follows him through; they're three wide through the loop in front of the crane camera, Churchill and Gonzalez sandwiching Ruben... and poor Ben Churchill shunts hard into the inside barrier. The collective gasp from the viewing gantry echoes off the walls, the air briefly rife with talk of a penalty for Ruben - but it's not forthcoming and rightly so in my opinion.

All of this has given Brandon a little breathing space as temporary leaders Gavin Williams and Sebastian Raikkonen pit. Ruben is now third, behind Matys, but not for long - he pulls another of those impossible moves into the hairpin, seemingly putting his kart into a six inch gap... and is chasing down Brandon. But the Covkart champion holds on as the clock ticks interminably down and Ruben is again forced to defend from a determined Matys, with Gonzalez right behind. There's a huge cheer as Brandon takes the flag after one of the best races of the weekend, and much praise for Ben Churchill - fifth place a meagre reward for a great drive.

Heat 5 is a little quieter, with a couple of non-starters meaning just eight drivers roll out for qualifying. Michal Grzyb takes the pole ahead of Phillippe Denooz and hangs on to take his first win of the weekend, Denooz also bagging his best ever BRKC result with second. Slawek Piskorz undercuts his way past Robin Kassam to take his second podium and complete another fine weekend for the long time BRKC regular. In the final reckoning, Denooz and Piskorz will join no less than five other drivers tied on 27 points.

After a weekend of highs and lows, Richard Jute finally gets the job done in heat six, dominating from pole; George Lovell makes up for his disappointment in round 3 by winning a five way battle for second from Jamie Henderson (his first podium of a very consistent weekend), Ryan Smith, Marc Meulemeester and Ramon Pineiro. It's Ryan's first non-podium of the weekend, but he's comfortably through to the semi-finals with 33 points.

There's been a catering disaster today: the Bandit has broken down and my much-anticipated brisket sandwich is not to be. I, along with many others, am devastated. My second pizza of the weekend goes some way towards alleviating my sorrows. Lawrence Hackett raises his eyebrows at the sight of it. "All I've seen you do today is eat..." He's not wrong.

The 37th race of the weekend is won fairly comfortably by Sam Spinnael from pole; Ed White makes a risky move stick on Michael Weddell at the final corner on lap 3. And there they stay until the flag, all three comfortably into the semi-finals. Gary Jones is fourth, his solid results in rounds 3 and 4 lifting him into the top 50.

Matt Bartsch takes pole for heat 8 ahead of Bradley Sheppard and Yoan Medart, the SCK local again doing very well to get in amongst the heavy hitters - and I'm pleased to see my Media Moguls teammate Tim Andrew up in fourth. Sadly, he's bundled down to ninth during a disastrous second lap which begins to go wrong as soon as Adrian Ziejewski gets his nose ahead into the Snail.

At Bartsch sails away in the lead, Bradley is given a little breathing space by the battle behind - Yoan Medart defending hard from the excellent Ziejewski. Yoan pits in the hope of some clear air - and his engine stalls in the pits! He restarts it himself, showing incredible presence of mind, and loses just three seconds. But it's more than enough for Ziejewski, who undercuts his way past Sheppard. Matt Bartsch takes the flag to complete a topsy-turvy weekend which has seen him finish at both ends of the field. Ziejewski is second and into the semis with a complete set of podium finishes, while Bradley will agonisingly miss out: he's the only driver of the four tied on 29 points without a second or first place finish. Yoan Medart's fourth place is his worst result of the weekend, but also one of its biggest saves - his final hopes are kept alive.

This year, my final heat is also the final heat. I'm pacing up and down the pitlane as Connor Marsh - comfortably in the lead of heat 9 ahead of Lee Hackett and Lewis Manley - has his engine cut out briefly at the first pitstop light. It restarts of its own accord, but costs him two seconds and, ultimately a place; Lee Hackett takes a lucky win while Connor is left frustrated after doing everything right - and having set one of the fastest laps of the weekend so far. Lewis is third ahead of Owen Burton - another driver who, on the quiet, has turned in some superb drives this weekend. Logan Sougné is an uncharacteristic fifth ahead of Sam Slater, who has driven out of his skin this weekend but simply hasn't had Lady Luck on his side.

My turn. The nerves are, finally, at bay. As we roll out to qualify I feel confident for the first time this weekend. Too confident, perhaps - I set a strong first sector but get too greedy into the final corner, losing a tenth and at least one place. I line up seventh again, my usual half-second down on the polesitter - Sean Brierley. I have Steve Gray behind me, and although I get another strong start, glued to Jim Lovell's bumper throughout the first corners, Gray is all over me and not for the first time, I lose time defending my position in the early laps. And also not for the first time, the driver behind pits in an attempt to jump me. But it goes wrong for Steve as he jumps the second light in the pits.

I get my head down and make a vain attempt to stay with Jim, who is streaking away at a couple of tenths per lap as an interesting situation develops behind me. Rob Duma has pitted early from third on the grid, and now leads a train of early pitters: Opnithi Puyato, Steve Gray (still to serve a penalty) and Kyle Power (who started last having taken a spare kart for qualifying). I sense that my real race is with this lot: if I can pull more than a pitstop clear, I'll jump them. On the other hand, it wouldn't take a big slip to finish ninth.

Lap after lap, the bright red-and yellow helmets of Duma and Puyato flash past at the corner of my eye, heading into the Snail as I'm exiting it; to begin with, the gap stays steady, then slowly, slowly, it begins to increase. There's chaos behind as Kyle and Steve get tangled at the exit of the hairpin and bring out the yellows. Jim Lovell exits the pits just ahead of me; the fastest man on track, he's pulled a full pitstop's worth. Focused on him, I'm late realising that Puyato and Duma have swapped places. Puyato is streaking away; I pit, but it's too late - my best pitstop of the weekend ensures that I safely jump Duma and the others, but Opnithi Puyato is a couple of seconds up the road.

Sean takes a comfortable win ahead of a titanic scrap: Matej Vrana holds off a charging Jim Lovell, who loses third place to Christophe Verhoeven (by 0.018 seconds) after tangling with Vrana at the final corner. Puyato is fifth ahead of me, with Duma a couple of seconds back. I've driven hard and reasonably well aside from a small mistake in qualifying, and am happy enough with sixth place.

For me, that's a wrap. With 20 points, I'm 57th on the leaderboard. Not quite what I was hoping for, but I've improved on last year's horror show by six points and 21 places. I change out of my overalls, treat myself to a cup of tea and a KitKat, revert from competitor to interested spectator. And it's about to get very, very interesting.

Photo by Tim Andrew






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