Reece Yusuf Racing. Chart my journey with me to F1.
I must start my post with a great big apology to everyone for not writing any posts to my blog for nearly two months. I will be honest with you all and admit I have been suffering from a serious condition the last few months - known as LAZYITIS. You will be pleased to know that I am cured of this condition now and I am back and ready to get my fingers moving again - LOL.I have been a disappointed with my performances during the F6 rounds and this round has been no exception. At least I got a hatrick, all be it an unwelcome one, because in all 3 rounds that I have competed in I have failed to finish in one of my heats, which is having an adverse affect on my points position.The day started out with a 3 lap practice followed by timed qualifying, in which I could only qualify in 9th place. In Pre-final race one, I ended up gaining 3 places to finish 6th. The lesson I drew from that heat was, that I was very quick in that heat and had I qualified higher up the grid, then I would have got a great result. It was the first time that I actually lapped sub 54 seconds at Bayford Meadows.
Which leads me on to why I was so quick in race 1? I have been told by those that know me well that when I have a target to chase, I can be very quick, but when I'm on my own, I don't seem to push myself as much. This could well be the case and if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can overcome this problem- then please let me know.Race two was one to forget as I had a clash with another kart after I had overtaken him, resulting in my chain coming off and my not finishing the race. This all resulted in my starting the final in last place - GREAT. The final started off ok and I gained a few places but I hit another kart and damaged my nose cone, which left it scraping on the floor and thus scrubbing my lap times. I did my best to catch the guys in front of me; however, I was to badly hampered and ended up finishing 11th.
Owner driver is new to us all and I know that I have not shown my true potential like I do in hire karts. Rest assured though, I will show my true self before long, so watch this space.
I arrived at Bayford Meadows, in Kent ,on what was a bright if breezy day. It was a headache trying to find a place to park our van - the place was bursting at the seems!! I was very excited about making my debut in the F6 Honda cadet owner driver racing championships.
After unloading the kart, I went to sign on with the other drivers. I was surprised at how many drivers were going to be taking part in the days racing! I then had to go to scrutineering, with my kart, to make sure it was legal to race it.
Everything seemed to be going fine with the inspection but then the scrutineer started to focus on the front nose cone on my kart. He told us that he wasn't sure if we would be able to race with the bumper, as it didn't meet the new regulation - which only came into effect in January of this year. The chief scrutineer was called over to us. He advised us immediately, that I couldn't race with my existing nose cone. With that, I started to panic!!! He was telling me I couldn't race. I felt cold inside, as I thought about not been able to race. Paul - my mechanic , went to the Project One shop to see if he could purchase the correct nose cone and luckily, the staff at the Project One shop had one, so the day was saved! Paul had to change the nose cone really fast as practice was about to start. I think the Renault F1 team would have been proud of how fast it was changed! ( Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration on my part?!)
I went to the dummy grid and lined up for practice. I was a bit nervous but once I got onto the track, the adrenaline took over and I was really pumped up. My first heat was timed qualifying. I qualified in 11th place.
My next race was, prefinal race 1. I had a good start from the rolling start system that F6 uses - a format that had previously, been alien to me. I had another good race, overtaking a few other drivers to finish in 6th place. I was going quite well despite the fact that my lines were not perfect.
The pre-final race 2, was a very eventful race for me! I had a great start and was making my way up the field, when a driver shunted me and caused me to spin. With that, I was at the back of the grid by a long way. I kept on going but had to endure being lapped by the leaders. I was commended for my driving when they did lap me, as on seeing the blue flags, I moved right out of the way, so as not to disrupt their race. I finished the race a disappointing last place.
As a result of my poor finish in the previous race, I had to line up for the grand final all the way down in 16th place. As we lined up on the formation lap, I made sure that I was close to the bumper of the driver in front. At the green flag, I had a superb start and found myself in 9th place after the 1st corner!!! I was trading places with the drivers in front, throughout the early laps as I made some neat overtaking moves too.
I drove well- if a bit too aggressive- by carrying too much speed into the corners. This is something I have to sort out for the next round. I was the top place rookie and could have beaten more of the more established drivers, had I calmed my driving down a bit as I did spin. I was fortunate that I didn't lose a place as a result, which was a relief. I ended the race in 6th place for my class, which I am pleased with for my very 1st race in an owner driver championship. I was really happy to receive a trophy for the top novice in my class.
I am already looking forward to the next round on April 7th, at Bayford again. I intend to improve on my performance in that meeting.
My next race is at Buckmore Park on the 24th of March. I'm hoping I perform well there.
Bye,
Reece
Today was a novel day for me, as I was testing my new kart at Bayford Meadows kart track in Sittingbourne,Kent, for the first time. I can't even describe the overwhelming feeling of excitement I felt, the night before as I lay in bed, waiting for the hours to ebb away! However, I was also feeling apprehensive, because I knew that it may be rain- and I'm not keen on karting in the rain!
We arrived at the track around 10.30 A.M. and the weather was dry. I felt quite confident that we may have been spared the rain, because although it was cloudy, the sky was bright.
I drove a few reconnaissance laps to warm my tyres and assess the handling of my kart. Infact, my kart was going like a dream so, as you can imagine, I felt exhilarated and as though I was in heaven!!! Nothing gives me greater pleasure than driving a kart-when it's dry!!!
However, my delightful mood was soon shattered when the rain came spilling down, thus turning Bayford Meadows into an ice rink. So, instead of trying to reduce my lap times, I found myself auditioning for the Kart Figure Skating Championships!! I must say, I would have scored a perfect 10 for artistic impression of my pirouettes, around the track!
The rain became all-consuming and the wind got stronger. I dived into the pits to change my tyres to wets , then went straight back out. To say the track was very slippery is an understatement and I think I did remarkably well to keep my kart on the track- for the majority of the time at least.
There wasn't any chance the rain wouldn't relent and to my amazement, my fellow die hard karters, packed up before I could blink. They made a hasty exit from the circuit but I wasn't going to be beaten by the rain, so I continued doing lap after lap. I reached a point where I couldn't even feel my fingers because I was so cold and wet. So, eventually, like the others, I decided to call it a day. However, this was not before becoming completely waterlogged and feeling exceptionally cold.
When you see karters going around tracks on hot, sunny days, it appears to be easy. However, when you have to do the same thing in the piercingly cold rain, it takes dedication and determination- which I have in abundance I think , or do I?
I just pray that during the first Formula 6 round, at Bayford Meadows this Saturday, that the sun smiles down on me. (Fingers crossed)
Anyway I must go to bed now as I have school in the morning.
