You read it here last week when Mike predicted that Ash would get a top ten place this week. On his return from Rowrah, Mike commented that Ash is now starting to perform to a predicted level on a consistent basis. He isn't expected to win in his first year at this level, but the signs are encouraging.
After a long drive up on Thursday, practice went to plan on Friday and Saturday and Mike knew that at top 10 finish or higher was probable, but that would mean that Ash had to get in the first few rows in the final. With the higher quality of drivers in Stars than a club meeting, Mike was happy for Ash to make just 5 places in each heat rather than the normal 10.
In Heat 1 Ash started 7th behind a pack of faster drivers, but managed to gain 3 places to come in a creditable 4th. Once again Matt Parry, also from the Ultimate team, was the quickest driver, but the other drivers such as Callum Bowyer and Jordan King who finished on the podium, were three of the top seeds, so Mike said he was very pleased with the outcome.
In the second Heat Ash started 21st, and drove very well to finish 10th and was the driver making the most progress in that heat. Unlike some heats where you can skip past a few if there is an incident, this was no fluke, and after the first lap, drivers were passed on a regular basis and finishing ahead of his rivals from the first heat. Mike calculated that a top 10 finish in the next heat should secure a final grid position near the front.
In the final heat Ash started 10th, so any finishing position above that would approximately define the Final grid position. As the chart shows, Ash moved from 10th to 5th, and could have been higher as he was overtaken by Parry, Bowyer and King and actually overtook 8 drivers in the race. As Ash had been beaten by these drivers in heat 1, it was anticipated that they would make up the front rows of the grid, plus some of the winners from heats 2 & 3. Getting placed 7th in the final was probably as good as it was going to get and it would be a new experience for Ash to be so high up a top quality grid.
Mike said" Standing on the grid with Ash, you are so close to the front, in with all the top drivers, but then you notice a few other quick drivers behind. I told Ash just to concentrate on making the first corner on the inside and as close to the driver in front as possible. In my experience if you get hit from behind you shouldn't get spun out as being sandwiched, the momentum will get passed onto the driver in front, so you stay on the track!" Matt Parry had been excluded from a heat, so he was back in 26th and was bound to get through, as would Danny Harwood, Andy King and Callum Bowyer, who had each had a poor heat at some stage on Sunday. In the race only Sam Clarence managed to get passed in the early stages, but as the race went on Ash was caught first by Matt Parry and then by Callum Bowyer and finally by Andy King at the mid-race stage. Fortunately those behind were having a hectic battle, so didn't really challenge Ash. 
As the chart shows, Ash was 12th fastest in the final, so getting in the top 10 was a good result. Mike said afterwards" In a top final like this you are often lucky to survive the first lap unscathed. So provided you are still running, from there on you need to be smoother than ever in order to keep up lap times and not try to over-drive the kart. This prevents other drivers catching you and then aiming a pass. Obviously Ash lacks experience of this type of event, but that will come with time and he is bound to get frustrated until he has developed the skills. The trick is not to force the Kart off line or scrub off speed, so 2/10ths a lap should be easy to find by the end of this season. There is very little difference between the Karts so the best drivers need to be mentally and physically fit which comes from good coaching and experience. A good example is Matt Parry who on similar equipment moved from 26th to 3rd in the final.
So far so good, but now Ash must aim to keep this up to ensure a minimum of a top ten seeding."
No comments:
Post a Comment