Thrashed Cleared of Team Orders Fine (02/06/07) - by Manix

Saturday 2nd June saw the thrashed team (minus Jules) back at Lakeside Karting for a rematch to settle a few scores. Still hurting from losing the fastest lap at our last outing I was keen to put the record straight in proper race conditions.

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Preparation

We’d all booked in for 2 x 30 minute races and as race day approached we all started taking an unusual interest in the weather forecast. Despite the BBC doing it’s best to put us going it turned out to be a glorious day and perfect race conditions. Still, during the briefing another bombshell was dropped when the 2 x 30 minute races we thought we’d entered got changed to a 1 hour endurance. Not usually a problem, but as we we’re all competing individually and I’d just drunk 4 litres of water our usual confident demeanor somewhat evaporated.

Even practice didn’t go according to plan, Dan and Andy both having problems with their karts, and this set the mood for the rest of the race.

The Early Laps

As the flag dropped for the rolling start I floored the throttle and started catching the two karts in front of me, swiftly despatching them on the exit of the first corner. Coming into the first hairpin I let the next victim outbreak himself and run wide whilst I slipped through on the racing line, I was feeling good and racing smooth just the way I liked. There was a couple of clear laps to put in some real storming laps and then I’d catch a group of three or four having they’re own little battle, a little thinking ahead got me past them within a couple of corners.

Everything was going so well, the track was grippy and I was getting through traffic like a knife through butter and then the yellow flags started coming out. A series of four of five laps under the yellows prevented any further progress whilst the marshals pulled some karts out of the tyre wall. Eventually we got the green light and the race was back on…. For a lap. More yellows and frustration followed from a few drivers in the form of hand signals that you might not find in the highway code and some illegal overtaking, not by any of the Thrashed team I hasten to add.

Road Rage

Up to speed once again and I was tailing a guy through turn 7 and we we’re side by side through the chicane with enough space for us both when he decided to push me off the circuit. I lost ground on the dirt but caught up by the last corner only to see him punting another racer into the tyres and the red mist descended. I slipstreamed him into the first corner but didn’t have enough to make it stick, so by the 3rd corner when I’d got past his blocking tactics I was not in the best of moods. This time it was me giving the hand signals as I left him for dust. And then I saw something that I’ve never seen before, full course red flags. The race was being stopped. We all got pulled into the pits and congregated around the course director waiting for an explanation. Because of the excessive number of incidents on track and the lack of racers slowing down under the yellows we’d been stopped, given a stern talking to and went back out on track.

How many yellow flags?

A couple of good laps battling it out with Dan and then he got me on the last corner as I went wide, still I was on the gas earlier and looking good to take the position back at the end of the straight when another yellow came out. The same pattern occurred all through the afternoon and with all the stops going on we had no idea where any of us were in the race. We all saw a couple of other good drivers out there (shout out to Peter – the green gremlin ☺) and whoever was in kart 1, you guys earnt some kudos out there.

Andy East was having problems of his own with a dead engine that took an age to replace and I was starting to think this race was going to come down to pitstops of which we were required to make 3. The next time I came round on a yellow flag lap I darted into the pits only to find 2 karts infront of me just sitting in the way. No amount of shouting or nudging got them going and I lost 2 laps just waiting to get into the pits.

Back on track more carnage was taking place, karts in the tyre wall, on the grass, even one trying to get out to the M25 and again there were yellow flags all over the place. The race finished a couple of minutes early when a 3 kart pile up occurred at the bottom of the jump and the organisers patience with lack of talent expired.

Team Orders in play?

Still, everybody was in good spirits back in the paddock and we we’re pleased to find out that me, Andy and Dan had all recorded fastest laps within 2 hundreds of a second of each other. I was hover surprised to find out that we’d scored a thrashed 1,2,3 with Dan taking the op spot and Andy second. With all the yellow flags and stops going on I’d thought we’d be all over the shop. But we’d made it and there was only one thing left to do, spray each other in cheap fizzy plonk and then pour it down some unsuspecting backs.

Of course, Andy East had to go one further taking the remains of his bottle home in the car only to have it explode on the passenger seat the cork narrowly missing his face and the “champagne” literally rained down on him covering the windscreen and dashboard… Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke eh? ☺

Here’s looking forward to the next battle.