From the Archives

How karts have changed over the years..?

Whilst looking through some archived images I came across the above pic of yours truly, when I made my race debut at Fulbeck in Lincolnshire on novice plates (or what is now more commonly accepted as being a 'rookie'), in the 100 National class.

It was a scorching hot June day in 1984, and the kart was my brothers' (Andrew and Kieran) Premier chassis (from the late Brian Wilson stable) using a Parilla TT27 engine on Bridgestone tyres, and which was fresh from a race win at Wombwell the previous month in Andrew's hands.

It was a traumatic day as I had only been able to get in five laps practice the previous weekend at Lindholme before an engine problem intervened on the older TT22 motor. The problem remained on the TT22 for first practice when the engine refused to start, and so we switched to the race-winning TT27 for the second session, only for one of the more experienced green plates to spin on the first lap and wipe me out! I was able to re-start, and with the grand total of three laps to learn the track, plus the five laps from Lindholme a week earlier, I was into my first race!

Starting 29th I finished 11th, and then in the second heat after starting on grid 30 (all novices had to start at the back of the grid), I finsihed in 10th place. With no experience, but with two good results against the class opposition of the time, I was on a high, until Andrew found a fracture in the chassis that we could not repair.

The fracture obviously came from the earlier 'hit' at the chicane in practice, but unknown to me it had also kinked the rear axle. When Kieran subsequently drove the kart at Wombwell the following week he declared it undriveable. He asked me if I had felt a vibration at Fulbeck, which of course I had, as I remembered how my blurred eyes had watered from the vibration, but I thought that was normal..! No experience remember, I just thought that was what karters put up with. I'm pleased to say young bruv was quite impressed by my latent prowess!

Fun days.

Zuera 2010

OK, maybe a bit of artisitic licence has been used, but my frustrations at not being able to go to Zuera in Spain for the next round of the WSK series, will be evident from those who know me. Up until early this morning my evening flight with Ryanair from Stansted still seemed a possibility, but then the weather problems made even that an impossibility. And even if I had, somehow, been able to get to the track, the problem would have then been trying to get back.

At least there are a few benefits by not being able to travel to Spain today, and decorating the house is not one of them. Eurosport has Jon Lancaster's first race of the year in the WSR Formula 3.5 event tomorrow (after a 22-hour drive to Motorland Aragon in Spain), we then have the Chinese GP on Sunday, and I have a load of requests from Glan-Y-Gors drivers to see if I have any images of them from the last Super 1 round a couple of weekends ago. Leading TKM driver Randal Lynn has even made a tentative offer to race with 'Hayden-Media' logos, so that is something esle that I now need to look at...

The next WSK race is at Genk in Belgium next month. Perhaps the ash will have cleared by then..? If only to stop me having to suffer from cancellation charges..?

Glan-Y-Gors TKM Super 1

My season opened in North Wales last weekend with the TKM (and Honda Cadet) round of he 2010 Super 1 Championship, at the pictureseque G-Y-G circuit, where some excellent racing was on offer.

To say it was a bit chilly on the highest part of the circuit was perhaps an understatement, and with the distant mountains covered in snow, apparently from a snow fall just a couple of days earlier, maybe an extra thermal or two would not have gone amiss..! And after coming back from Asia just a couple days earlier where the temperature had been closer to 40 degC, instead of the 5degC at G-Y-G, maybe I had good reason as I struggled to avoid camera shake!

Randal Lynn (pictured) had an accident with Charlie Bruce-White in Extreme TKM when both had been fighting for the lead, leaving the way clear for Ryan Cole to take a closely fought win. Over in Honda Cadet meanwhile Billy Monger was a worthy and ecstatic victor, with James Peace (Junior TKM) and Michael Rich (Senior 4 Stroke), mounting the top step of the podium in their respective classes.

Zuera is next on the schedule in two weeks time in Spain, for another round of the 2010 WSK championship, so further news to follow soon...

Top Step of the Podium

Well, it's been a long time coming, and because of a sojourn in Asia I have been away for awhile so this Blog update is later than it would otherwise have been, but Anthony finally returned to the top step of the podium after winning the Sebring 12-hour race for Peugeot.

Teamed up with his Austrian ex-F1 friend Alexander Wurz, and the Spanish ace Marc Gene, the three of them won a tense and exciting race, with Anthony overjoyed at being in charge of a 'proper' racing car again.

It was curious at the weekend when commentating for 5 Live in the Malaysian GP, when Ant and David Croft received a text suggesting Anthony was criticising Force India..? Whilst he would no doubt wish to be able to get into such a car, and would arguably be quicker than either Sutil or Liuzzi, the fact remains that the Peugeot LMP is, as Anthony put it, a "race winning car", and that is the difference.

Anthony signs at last...

After being left stranded in the wilderness by short-sighted Formula 1 teams, especially where years of loyalty to one team since 2001 have counted for nothing, it is satisfying to report that Anthony finally has a race-seat sorted for 2010.

He did test for the Peugeot sports-car team in 2009 at Paul Ricard, but despite his rapid pace he lost out to a Frenchman at the final reckoning. Thankfully the Peugeot bosses have recognised the talent in their midst, which led to Ant being signed to drive in this year's Sebring 12-hours, and the Le Mans 24-hours. He will be partnered with his old Austrian friend Alexander Wurz, and the Spanish ace Marc Gene, in what is not just a potential race-winning LMP-1, but also a race-winning driver combination.

It was about time some good news emerged from 2010...

2010 plans now settling into place

The new 2010 Yellow Pages directory will be out soon, anticipated for February 2010, when my new advert (see above) will appear for the first time.

With the plans in place 2010 promises to be a good year, and once the racing season calendar has been settled, you are likely to find me setting-up shop on spare days, either at The Range near North Bridge in Doncaster, and/are at the Lakeside Outlet on the outskirts of Doncaster close to the M18.

Do not be afraid to call in for a chat, or to even view what is on offer. With the latest digital wedding albums that few people in the area can probably match for the cost, together with canvas prints, exclusive limited edition prints, and images 'burnt' into wood, courtesy of my networked colleague James Scatchard of Photo-Etch, most people should find something different that might tickle their taste buds.

PF International test with Jon Lancaster

It seems like a long break over the winter months, with the recent heavy snow having an effect on events nationwide, but it was satisfying to be able to get to PF International this weekend, as part of the Jon Lancaster family team.

Jon's 2010 season should be settled early next week as he puts in place exciting plans for this year, with potentially Formula 1 just on the horizon. And nothing could be more befitting than Jon, who ain't so 'little' anymore, when bearing in mind his race-winning seasons in Renault World Series 3.5 (2009), European Formula 3 (2008), and European Formula Renault (2007), which of course followed his highly successful final year in karting in 2006 as the Vice World Champion.

Jon has retained close links with Ronnie Sala at Birel, one of the leading karting marques of the 21st century, and as a means of keeping Jon's eye sharp in preparation for his 2010 season in Europe, Ronnie, along with his former karting engine man Fred and GKS Lemmens, had provided a brand new chassis and engine for the PF International test.

A full report will appear on http://www.jonlancasterracing.com/, but needless to say, Jonny Boy had an exciting time back on the karting season after almost a four year absence.