| 3DR Take Double Victory at Kimbolton! |
| Wednesday, 15 October 2008 10:27 |
|
A weekend more reminiscent of the middle of July presented itself before the team at Kimbolton last weekend. With Henry needing a good result here to aid his hopes for the overall championship title, and Danny hungry for more success following his podium at PFI the previous weekend, the pressure was on to perform in the Cambridgeshire heat.
Saturday’s unofficial practice was used to run through a chassis balance programme with Danny, which proved to be successful. All of the equipment for Sunday was also run through, as he ended the day 4 tenths up on closest rival, British championship front runner Mark Morrissey. Saturday was used to allow Henry to adapt to a new chassis setup, and to perfect power. Again, success was found in these areas, with Henry fastest all day, missing the lap record in the final session by 3 hundredths of a second! With such an advantage over the full 32 field of drivers on Saturday, Danny set about ripping apart the opposition in his 3 qualifying heats. With starting grids of 5, 9, and 21, he stormed through to finish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively. With 3 lap records on the way, and pole for the final, everything looked a bit too easy! Henry achieved fastest lap in Heat 2, but some inexperience, and outside row grid slots made it hard for him to make progress. In heat 1, a bad start dropped him to 11. He recovered to 4th, only to lose 2 places on the final lap in Turn 1. The very next thing happened in heat 2, and when he had nowhere to go at the start of heat 3, a collision in front put him down in 21st. A valiant drive through to 13th rescued a grid slot of 5th for the main final. ‘I know that I have the pace to win today. The team have put a very fast kart down for me all weekend, and it is a shame that I have had bad heats. Still, grid 5 for the final gives me a chance, and I am determined to secure my first victory today!’ Commented Jackson. A discussion about how to handle the start worked for Henry, and he slotted inside the two outside row starters, and came out of turn 3 in 3rd place. A hard move on championship rival Reynolds in Turn 4 on lap 2 ensured that he was racing with Stars of Tomorrow front runner Adam Bonham. The pair started to break away from the 25 strong grid of drivers, before Henry made his move for the lead. A pass in Turn 9 at the hairpin saw Reynolds and Prior close up, but Bonham used his head and worked with the 3DR protégé to open up a 2 second gap over the field. With 3 laps remaining, Jackson left the door open into Turn 1, allowing Bonham to pass. Sat in Bonham’s tow, Henry regrouped and made a lunge from 2 kart lengths behind with 2 laps to go going into Turn 4. Forcing Bonham wide, Henry escaped at the front, and drove the kart to victory! A rather uneventful race for Danny saw him grab the lead from Dawson, Turton, and Walsh at the start. Consistent lapping destroyed the field, with Danny taking yet another lap record. 5 tenths quicker than his rivals every lap put him safe, 9 seconds ahead of the chasing pack. With 3 laps to go, Dawson, Turton and Walsh collided, all 3 having off-rack ventures. It was left to Ian Alexander, and Alex Rowley to make up the podium, some 17 seconds behind Russell at the finish! ‘Today has been excellent for the team. Henry has taken victory just 2 months after joining us, and Danny has confirmed the teams domination in the Senior Rotax class. The whole team are ecstatic about this result, and we will go to Shenington next weekend upbeat and looking to once again stand on the top step of the podium!’ Tom Smith, Team Manager. The team now travel to Shenington, and with Henrys first win under his belt, he will be looking for more. Dominic is now within 7 points of the championship lead, so tensions will be high as results are needed. Watch this space! |
