Aug 20, 20226 min read

Brentwood Karting AllStar Cup Final

So it's the end of the Season Celebrations today at Brentwood Karting and what better way to celebrate than by taking part in the AllStar Cup Final.

It was always going to be a difficult task with the original AllStar format coming back. During the height of Covid19, Brentwood Karting did a fantastic job of keeping the track operating but in order to do this they needed to keep numbers low to ensure that they were compliant with Government rules. So we did a League Round as normal with the Top 5 Cadets qualifying for the final, the seniors did the same and we had 1 Super Final of 5 Cadets vs 5 Seniors.

This AllStar final was back to the original format , everyone being thrown together to compete in mixed groups from the off, it was not an easy task. I had been asked to "Test" the karts on the Saturday to try to get the karts as even as possible and on the Test Day, the Cadet karts were outperforming the Senior karts so I was feeling a little optimistic.

So what happened on the day?

I was placed in Group B, with only 3 other cadets, so we was well outnumbered by the seniors, 9 vs 3, not great odds in our favour as normally in the final, the cadets all need to work together in order to progress up the pack, but with these low numbers we was pretty much on our own.

We had a practice which was just a few laps to get used to the kart and I actually topped the time sheets, this gave me hope that I had a quick kart as I was starting P9 on the grid. The heat was restarted twice as the heat was lead by the 2 other cadets and seniors were literally loading them into Swimming Pool and then they was flying wide into the tyre barriers.

In the end the decision was taken for Heat to be started as a grid start as opposed to a rolling start due to the seniors driving and was told that if it happened again drivers would be disqualified. The heat this time got underway but I didn't really get the start I needed and due to the restarts our time was reduced on the race by a couple of minutes. After a few laps, I started making my way through the pack and settled down into P2, maybe if the race hadn't have been cut short I could have possibly won the heat but the clocked counted down too quick for me to get any better than P2, but was happy with the start I had made on the weekend.

Heat 2 - The grid was reversed so I was now starting P4 on the grid. Before the Heat we was watching what was happening on track and noticed that if you was on the outside of the track you was being sent so wide going into Swimming Pool that you would end up in the tyre wall or pushed against the barrier, so as I was starting on the outside my main aim was to get on the inside as quickly as possible. This didn't happen as there was no gap for me to get in, so I was pushed up against the tyre wall and I had to lift off and quickly fell to the back of the pack, this was going to be a long race.

Unfortunately, unlike the first kart that I had, this one just didn't have the pace and I really couldn't make my way through and on the occasion that I did get through I was hit with an ABC and in the end I had to settle for P7, I wasn't happy with that at all.

The final lists were up on the board and there was 4 Finals and I had made it to P2 in the B Final, it wasn't over yet! It was announced that the Top 2 would be promoted to the A Final, and IF a cadet was not in the final then the top placing cadet would be promoted. All I had to do was hold my place and I was through, sounds pretty straightforward, right?!?!

I was placed on the outside in P2, would I survive the first few corners?!?! Well, I kinda survived but I did drop down to P3 but the senior that was following me and took the position did leave me enough room that I survived and didn't drop down loads of places unlike the previous heat. So now it was just a case of I needed to battle back and I did get the position back and was holding out in P2. I was quite happy to finish there as I didn't want to do anything that could jeopardise my start in the A Final. I punched the air as I crossed the line just behind Trent, it still wasn't over and had earned the place in the Final, not been given it.

Next up was the A Final! I can't believe that I had made it and was the last cadet standing. This time round we had to qualify for the race, I didn't feel that I had put together a great lap as the kart was sliding around quite a bit, but was shocked to have secured P3. I would have preferred P1 or P2 as I could have got a good launch but P3 put me in the middle of a very large Senior sandwich, but at least I was on the inside.

The first attempt at the rolling start was an absolute disaster with P5 behind me loading straight into the back of me and ploughing me straight into Sam in front of me, which I actually think he thought was my fault which it totally wasn't and he got a talking to by Kevo when we restarted and again Dan warning people about loading into Swimming Pool and if it happened again he would put me on pole..... I think he should have just done that!

The restart didn't go well again for me, coming out of Range I was hit from behind AGAIN by the same person that loaded me in the first start which pushed me wide making me lose ground, then being pushed wide straight into the barrier at Bubba's and was miles behind at the back of the pack when I rejoined the track, no penalties were given. So was now just a case of trying to get my head down & catch the pack up.

I caught the pack up and took advantage of a battle ahead of me as they was battling I slipped through the inside of them both and was now in P8. This then quickly lead to me being alongside Charlie and directly behind a 3 wide scrap going into Paddock and was just hoping that I would make it out of the other side, I was hit a bit wide, but it was the safer place for me to be really as the kart pace was quicker on the straight than the seniors so I slipped back into position & was now P5.

This is again where my race started to unravel. I was pushed wide and then all the progress I had made was wiped out. Again fighting back I made up 2 positions again but was hit with an ABC. I gave the position back and after doing so was hit from behind and went straight into the barrier again. I ended up finishing last and was really disappointed.

I still finished Top Cadet for the 3rd AllStar Final in a row and had the Fastest Lap of the day but still no trophy, there’s always next season to try again!

Congrats to @sam_may_racing_journey for his AllStar win 🤜🏼

Next week we are back to 0 points again next week for the start of my final cadet season.

AllStar Presentation Mention

Following on from the AllStar Final comes the good part.... It's Trophy Time!!

The Cadet Presentation For The Season

When The Whole League Get Their Revenge On The Race Director For Soaking Them With Water In The Pit Lane Mid Race On Thursday Practices & Not Agreeing With The Decisions This Season - Ha Ha Ha!