Stars Rounds 6 & 7 Aug (7/8) testing and 9/10 Genk (Belgium)

A month off now as Mike spends time in Spain, and then instead of being at the TKM Festival at Whilton Mill, Mike will be away in Belgium. The plan was to make it over for testing before, but now they will be away for a week to test on 7/8 th August and race two rounds on 9/10th August. This will be Mike's first visit to the track.

STARS @ LLANDOW - NOT AS GOOD AS HOPED

Ash travelled Thursday and practiced Friday without Mike, as he had some exams to sit. Saturdays practice went well, with Ash on the pace, so all looked promising for Sunday.

In the first heat Ash was starting in the middle of the grid in 14th, so a top 5 place was the aim. Ash quickly moved through the pack to 9th by the end of the first lap, but dropped back to 12h following some contact. The graph shows that Ash was black flagged after lap 4, but Mike believes that he was excluded, pending an appeal.

In the second heat Ash was on the second row with the obvious intention to stay there. He lost a couple of places at the start, then took a place back only to losse a couple more as the race progressed. 6th wasn't the worst result, but for the last heat Ash needed a good result in order to make the 'A' final.

Mike gave Ash some straight talking before the third heat, as he had to make 10 places or be in the 'B' final! Ash was 18th on the grid, and steadily picked off a driver per lap to make 11th by the finish with a sensible approach. Some quick calculations showed that Ash might just scrape into the final, but it would be close. As Ash had never been in the 'B' final he didn't want that experience this weekend.

Ash was driving quickly enough, and was now the 9th fastest driver at the meeting, so a top 10 position was still possible.

Ash was starting from 22nd place so he would have to pass a couple each lap if he was to gain valuable championship points. Unfortunately his first lap was spent going backwards, so he was back in almpst last place before he could start his climb up the field. The next few laps saw Ash get back to his starting position and then in lap 6 Ash jumped another couple of places and ultimately finished 16th. Not the best result, but some points.

LLANDOW THIS WEEKEND FOR THE NEXT STARS ROUND

Having had a few weeks off, Ash should be refreshed and ready for the next round. Mike said " From my experiences setting fastest laps with England on this track a couple of years ago and then in the Super 1 and Motors rounds last year, there are three key corners on this track that Ash needs to master to give him the chance to make three clean overtaking moves each lap.

Now it has been extended it's much easier to pass, as in the past there was just the large bend in front of the pits where you either braked late up the inside or did a switch-back." Mike is hoping Ash will be on the front row again and hopefully get on the podium. Having treated him self to a new set of rubber on his car, a place bonus would come in handy.

It was good to note that at Whilton Ash won the BRDC - LEWIS HAMILTON "True Grit Award"

STILL IN TOP TEN OF THE STARS CHAMPIONSHIP

Considering the problems in the final, the overall score of 134 (5 points for attending) means Ash is still in the top 10 and could easily have made the top 5.
On reflections very few drivers managed more points from the round, and the points haul was the best so far! I have just indicated the top 26 drivers, but there was also a second page full. Mike said" It was as good as we could have hoped for. We mustn't forget that this is Ash's first season of National events".

WHILTON MILL - SO CLOSE TO VICTORY

"What a shame" was Mikes reaction after Ash made a great attempt at winning his first Stars round. The meeting started well, with Ash setting the fastest time in practice on Friday and then keeping his driving smooth on Saturday as he pushed to reduce his lap times. The weather had been mixed, but Sunday was a sizzler, so the lap record was in danger.





Ash was due out on the track for the second heat of the day, so the track was starting to build up some rubber. Starting in 8th, the plan was to get a top three place, but Ash did much better and won the heat!


In the next heat, Ash was starting 6th, so once again a top finish was anticipated, and coming second ensured that he gained another bundle of points. Ash set the fastest time of the day up to that point, despite collecting a bent axle in the process.
The next heat was almost back to back with the second one, so there was no time for Mike to strip the Kart and replace the axle. Ash was sent out to do his bestknowing that by starting 22nd any progress past 10th would have been exceptional. Once again Ash did better than expected and came in 4th! Mike said "It was his best drive ever, and proved that in the right frame of mind, he can win the meeting". Perhaps that was tempting fate, but with 2nd on the grid it was all to play for.


On the warm up lap, the rear of Ash's Kart took a battering from the driver behind, and although the Kart was only a couple of weeks old, what was about to happen next, was unpredicted. Firstly, Ash made a great start and by the second lap had moved into the front, passing his Ultimate team mate Matt Parry. Then the bumper snapped which initially affected the rear grip, allowing Matt to pass Ash. Once the faulty part had been spotted by the Clerk of the Course, Ash was given a mechanical flag and had to return to the Pits. Mike worked quickly to get Ash back in the race, but several laps down. A sad end to the meeting as the bumper must have had a fault to have sheared off so easily.. Ash and the team were obviously upset, but alas that is Motor Sport but at least another 129 points for the championship.

One last piece of data that is encouraging for Mike and Ash is the overall lap times. Ash was very consistent this weekend and proved to set the 9th fastest time and could easily have been third fastest! That further cements his claim to being in the top 10 drivers in the class and encouragement for the rest of the season to aim for a top 5 finish. The foundations have been laid, and despite not getting good points in the final, the heat points all help to keep Ash towards the top in the championship. Once the official table has been produced it will be posted here.

STARS AT WHILTON MILL THIS WEEK

"Having won a club round earlier in the season, and had a top 10 result at Rowrah in the last round, Ash looks set for another good weekend at Daventry" said Mike and a full report will follow next week.

A TOP TEN RESULT FOR ASH AT ROWRAH

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."