Kingston Park 1 Hour Enduro Round 3 25/07/2017 Light Division

Good Evening and welcome back to another round of Kingston Park’s 1 hour solo enduro this evening we had 2 grids for our 2 weight divisions with 20 drivers competing in the light division and 15 in the heavy division. The lights were up first and with race control keeping the drivers on their toes as always got the drivers to pick numbers out of a bucket as they came into register and weigh up signifying what kart they would be qualifying in for this evenings big race. As they all completed their qualifying it was Dylan Jones finding himself topping the time sheets followed very very closely by Daniel Martin our round 2 winner and current lap record holder and Tom Fanshawe in 3^rd but when you’re competing in a one hour long race where you start from is almost irrelevant its where you finish the race that matters.

The drivers are given a very brief break before having to get ready for the 1 hour challenge that waited for them on track it was a very tense briefing area before the race started race control was trying to be very strict whilst laying down the rules but the drivers where well and truly more interested in scoping out their competition. A lot of eyes were on Daniel Martin and Tom Fanshawe being 2 drivers that have had a lot of success in this race in the past but a lot of attention was on Dylan Jones he starts this race from pole a position all 20 drivers would love to be in. The drivers are aware of the rules and requirements for the race ahead and now head out to their go karts for the start of the formation lap.

All drivers follow the pace kart around for their formation lap as the pace kart peals into the pits we see the pack come down the straight they have all bunched up nicely and the green lights come on and they are off! Very very nice start from all the drivers especially from our leaders Dylan Jones and Daniel Martin waste no time starting to battle Tom Fanshawe gets away very nicely from 3^rd and the rest of the field gets very aggressive fighting to make and not lose positions out there. With the midfield battling so hard our 3 leaders break away from the pack very quickly Daniel Martin has taken the lead from Dylan Jones in the first 2 laps he tries to break away but Tom Fanshawe has made light work of Dylan Jones and is now all over Daniel Martin. Daniel Martin is driving defensive this brings Dylan Jones in for a 3 way fight we are 10 minutes in and Tom Fanshawe goes for the move around the outside into turn 1 Daniel Martin holds him off but Tom now has the inside into turn 2 he has taken the Lead! It’s very short lived though as Daniel Martin gets the lead back at turn 5 Dyaln Jones watches this fight unfold though and picks of Tom Fanshawe as well and gets passed Daniel Martin as well and finds himself in the lead heading into turn 7 but goes in to hot and Daniel Martin takes the lead back and Tom Fanshawe finds himself in 2^nd again and Dylan Jones is back into 3^rd how did all this happen in 1 lap? Daniel tries to make a break for it but Tom Fanshawe isn’t having none of that getting the lead and making it stick Dylan Jones meanwhile has slipped off the front 2 after his brief period in the lead. As the leaders make their way onto the back of lap traffic as the 20 minute point hits the pit window also opens a few drivers decide to come in early but the pits have actually been very quiet for the first 5 minutes as per our usual first 5 lap rush. Daniel Martin was our first of the leaders to decide to come into the pits to change his go kart he makes it out of the pit lane very tidily indeed with a 63 second stop. Dylan Jones follows suit but he comes in way to hot that will be a drive thru penalty for him. Robert Dair has found a lot of pace after being one of the first to stop for a kart change he has now found his way into the top five halfway thru this race he will be at the pointy end come the end of the race after winning the first round this year he really would like a good result. We had a very big rush of pit stops around the 30-35 minute mark and a few drivers in the big midfield battle lost a lot of time in their battle with their rivals. Daniel Martin starts laying down some heat being the fastest on track consistently knowing this period is so vital Tom Fanshawe going for the latest pit stop possible Daniel knows it makes his job a lot easier if he can pass him whilst Tom is in the pits opposed to on track. Just before the pit window closes Tom Fanshawe comes in just in time as well one more lap would have left it to late he serves his 60 seconds almost perfectly but comes out 8 seconds down on Daniel Martin he now has his work cut out for him for the rest of the race. Robert Dair has found himself in 4^th position with the speed he is showing it’s only a matter of time until he catches Dylan Jones and gets into a fight for 3^rd position. Just under 15 minutes to go now and Daniel Martin’s advantage is almost 15 seconds he is the master at putting the hammer down at the closing stages of these races. 10 minutes to go and Robert Dair has found himself on the back of Dylan Jones for the number three position Dylan is trying to make Robert drive the long way around doing a good job of defending that position but Robert pulls a veteran manoeuvre waiting for Jones to get caught up with a lapper and makes the dive for the position almost a Mika Hakkinen at Spa like maneuverer. With just under 5 minutes to go Daniel Martin has almost sealed and signed the envelope to send off to race control for his winner’s trophy he is over 20 seconds down the road over Tom Fanshawe who really needs to start checking his mirrors (or shoulder go karts don’t have mirrors) since Robert Dair is finishing strong and fancies a shot at 2^nd place. Time is up and Daniel Martin starts his last 2 laps he almost backs off into cruise control soaking up the atmosphere and the glory of a 2^nd win in a row as he comes down the straight to take the chequered flag he has done it Daniel Martin is a round 3 kingston park raceway 1 hour Enduro winner by 29 seconds over Tom Fanshawe who holds off a very fast finishing Robert Dair.

Before the trophies where handed out we got the chance to have a quick word to some of the drivers first up was Dylan Jones “I was very happy with my quali pace felt I definitely had the speed of the top guys I just tried too hard at the early stages and maybe exhausted a little too much energy racing them” Jones said. “We saw at one point you jumped from 3^rd to 1^st than dropped back to 3^rd in the matter of 2 corners would you care to mention what was happening at that point?” race control asked, “I noticed Daniel and Tom where getting very into it I seen a massive opportunity to take the lead and it worked as I went into turn 7 I knew they would be battling behind me so I really pushed hard through 7 to try and make a bit of breathing room for myself but went in to hot and lost both those positions I made up after that I just tried to tuck in and not lose touch on the front 2 unfortunately after receiving a drive thru for speeding into the pits the win kind of slipped just out of my grasp.” Daniel was very keen to have a chat with our track representative “just wow what a crazy race I honestly can’t believe I won that!” said Daniel Martin “I felt early on I just couldn’t handle with Tom Fanshawe’s pace in the early stages he was just in a class of his own, last time I was very successful being conservative at the start than pushing like hell towards the end so I opted that approach I also realised early on that Tom wouldn’t be doing an early pit stop so I decided I would go for it.” Race control eager to know “what’s your secret? After winning your 2^nd race in a row now you must be doing something no one else is.” Asked the Marshal’s “Mate I just try and give it 100% every time I’m in the kart a little bit of quick thinking with strategy but just being consistent and I really have been just making sure I got plenty left in the tank come those last 15 to 20 minutes I definitely feel I have won both the races by leaving a hard charge to closing stages of the race and just seems like no one has an answer for my pace that late into the race. Also can’t do it without the Mrs, better through that in there she’s already giving me the evils since I haven’t mentioned her” as our race winner chuckles away as our drivers make their way to the podium.

So that concludes our evening of another exiting 1 hour endurance race if you think you got what it takes to take out the top step on our coca cola podium make sure you join us next time for round 4 of our Kingston park raceway’s 1 hour endurance challenge until next time I hope we had one hell of a night out!