And so we continue, eating between stints and keeping a close eye both on the lap times and on the spreadsheet set up by Joao, with all sorts of strategies for various situations. What happens if there’s a safety car? What happens if it rains? It’s all been thought of.
By the halfway point, we’ve dropped to fifth overall – out of contention for an overall podium, but still third in the Pro class and with a lead of more than a lap over our nearest competitors. I start feeling ever so slightly confident.
Alas, too soon. We hadn’t counted on Timeless Events, the team behind us, being quite so fast. Several of their team are capable of mid-1min 12s, and bit by bit, they chip away at us. You can tell they’re good – they have their own custom helmet designs and everything. By the time Anas jumps in for the final stint, they’re 10 seconds ahead of us. No pressure then…
Anas sets off with dogged determination and maintains the gap, occasionally chipping away at the lead only to be pegged back again when negotiating backmarkers. Hopes are still high, but then a much lower ranked visiting team, with one hot shoe driver, inexplicably decides to make life difficult for us. As Anas charges through the backmarkers, the interloper takes it upon himself to block at every opportunity, even forcing Anas off the road at one point. We’re incandescent – what’s the point of blocking someone you’re five laps behind, when he’s racing for a podium? Pleas to the stewards would be pointless – any penalty for them wouldn’t make any difference to us. And so when CG Pro takes the win at 2am, we finish in sixth overall, 19 seconds behind third in class.
It’s gutting, but only because we genuinely had a chance of some sort of glory – our first in four years of racing. But having said that, if you’d have told any of us a year ago that we’d be sixth overall, we’d have been delighted. We’ve made very few mistakes and come oh-so-close to surprising plenty of people. And I’ve learned that if I can stop eating pies before the next round in May, I could actually post some pretty decent lap times.
This is undoubtedly the most cost-effective form of motorsport available. You don’t need any of your own kit – everything is supplied by the Kartdrome, although plenty of people do end up buying their own helmet, suit, gloves and shoes. And with 30 teams on one track, you’re guaranteed plenty of overtaking action. No wonder even the pros keeping coming back. And perhaps in round 2, we’ll be closer to taking them on.
