Max Takes the BKC Championship Lead at Whilton Mill

Last weekend Max was competing in his second national series of 2021, The BKC IAME Cadet championship.

It was his third time out in the IAME class and on his Synergy Racing Developments chassis and he seemed to have settled in to the new class well.

Max had an writing test at school Friday morning, so he missed the morning sessions of testing. Being his local circuit, we didn’t think it would be a problem and the agreement is that he gets to go karting as long as he works hard at school.

The afternoon sessions were in monsoon like weather and Max was struggling to get on top of the conditions. The team worked hard with him, going through his data to help him get the best out of himself and we finished the day with lots to discuss on the way home.

Saturday morning came and the weather was looking far more favorable, with very little signs of rain. The first practice session gave us a chance to run the race engine and tweak the chassis setup, before heading in to qualifying.

Qualifying – P3

Max went out at the front for qualifying and despite not having a tow from a kart in front of him, was really quick. He was constantly setting purple lap times, only to be beaten by the karts directly behind him that he was towing along. He finished quali in P3 and only 0.099 seconds off pole!! This was a brilliant performance while out in clean air and gave Max confidence for the heats.

Heat 1 – 2nd

There were a number of failed starts, which was more to do with slower karts not keeping up with the pack, but the Clerk decided that it was the front row at fault and put them to the back. This gave Max pole and he led the race until halfway through the penultimate lap, where his teammate Kacper made a move for the lead. It was some good points in the bag, so 2nd was a good result.

Heat 2 – 3rd

Another close battle and kept out of trouble.

Heat 3 – 3rd

Another great race and at the end the scrutineer took the carburetor off the top 4 drivers and sealed them over night. From then on in we had to go to the scrutineering bay before we went on the grid, to put the carb on in a controlled environment, before heading to parc ferme to collect and fit the tyres.

Heat 4 – 1st

Starting 3rd Max took the lead on the first lap and didn’t look back. He worked brilliantly with Kacper and they had pulled a 5 second lead by the time the last lap board came out. They took it easy on the last lap and bagged more points.

Prefinal

Max qualified on Pole for the prefinal with teammate Kacper P2, a great team effort. As the gates opened to allow us to collect the tyres from Parc ferme, I was in scrutineering putting the carb on the motor and didn’t spot that it had started raining until I came out to collect the tyres. I had 2 minutes left to fit them, which didn’t give enough time to change the setup for the wet, before the gate to the grid closed. I told Max that he would just have to make it work, as it was doubtful that he would have any front grip with the wheels so far in. He said it would be fine and out he went for the start. He drove a superb race battling for the lead with Braith Murdoch and crossed the line in P2. He certainly made up for dad’s error and drove around the issues.

Final 4th

While prepping the kart for the final, we noticed that an exhaust manifold nut was loose and it wouldn’t tighten up properly. The stud has stripped and we couldn’t risk leaving it, only to then be disqualified at the end of the final for it. Jordan whipped the head and barell off and ran off to Helicoil the barrel. He managed to get it back to me just a few minutes before the gates opened.

We rushed down to parc ferme in time to get the carb bolted on, run up the engine and fit the tyres. It was looking fairly dry, but not totally, so we opted for a different gearing to the normal dry conditions.

The race started and Max despite slipping to 3rd at the start was looking good. He was battling with 1st and 2nd and was the quickest kid on track early on. It soon became apparent that we didn’t quite have the top end we needed, with that and Max pulling out of a few moves, which would have given him a bit of a buffer (lesson learned), he had soon dropped to 6th and then 7th. He managed to stick with the pack though and as the last board came out, they were all very close. Coming in to the complex for the last time, there was contact up ahead and despite having to take to the grass around the outside of them, he got back on track to finish 5th.

His was bitterly disappointed with the result but that was helped slightly when 5th became 4th due to a technical penalty for the kart in 3rd who was disqualified. Racing doesn’t always go your way and dealing with these disappointments is character building for a 10yr old and just makes Max even more determined to win next time out.

The best news of all is that Max left the circuit as the championship leader and that makes it all worthwhile. The team worked so well this weekend and they are really helping Max get the best out of himself. Without Billy, Chris and Scott Albone Racing Development, these results just wouldn’t be possible. Thanks for Jordan at Force Motorsport for the engines, which were great as always.

As always a big thank you to his partners for their support @Lavender Hall Autos JLF Designs – Helmet Paintwork, Arai Helmets UK, Motul, Stu Stretton Media and to his school Balsall Common Primary School for the support they give him. #karting #winner #BKC

Max Horlor Championship Leader, has a nice ring to it don’t you think!!