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[quote=TheFazz]
…..At one point in the final I had two guys trying to overtake me (left & right!) down to the first turn. I was not going to let that happen! And Naza gave me quite a run – that move round the outside was not something I was going to allow him to pull off! lol[/quote]
That 3 way dogfight around turn 1 was top class entertainment for spectators otherwise seen in F1 starts. Indeed it was wishful thinking for that guy trying the outside line..kah kah kah ![quote=Nohad][quote=TheFazz]One thing that I will not do next time is run 15 karts in the K3 class without sufficient spares (at least 5).
[/quote]From my personal viewpoint, I know quite a few K3 drivers had a very frustrating day and to some extent to some K2 drivers too as there were no spare or just lousy karts available if one of the karts break down.
Moreover, some of the K3 karts are basically “lemon”. This can be very frustrating as you become non-competitive at all from the start but merely a passenger on the kart. This doesn’t go down well with any of the karters as the main reason we are there is to compete and to compete as evenly as possible. BUT we have to understand that we are running on rental karts and performance do varies from kart to kart.
I did spoke some of the mechanics regarding the tuning & handling of some of the karts and the feedback is they did tune up the karts to be as even as possible but as time goes on, they couldn’t be testing every kart as they are quite tied-up with the daily rental karts and some private karts.I do understand due to time constraint, we try to minimise the number of races as much as possible. But running without spare karts or very minimum spare karts is indeed running on a very thin wire. I know this as I did organised a private race before with 13 karts per heat and even with that we face having spare kart problems.
IMHO, the most ideal race is to run K3 race with 11 karts max per heat and 8 karts max per heat for K2.
The fiasco in the K3 Heat 1 lap chart recording is somehow directly related to the spare karts availability. Some of the karts are practically not in ideal running condition and the karters changed the kart before the race or during the race without informing the marshals somehow confused the lap charter and that resulted in the delay of starting the final race as race positions need to be sorted out slowly.
To avoid such confusion in the future, we will need 1 marshal at the pit to oversee the changing of karts and record the change of kart. The record to be provided to the lap charter at the end of the race.
At the start/finish line, a minimum of 3 marshals shall be available. 1 marshal to record the kart positions on each lap, 1 marshal to read out the kart number to lap charter marshal & 1 marshal to change the lap display + to look out for any distress kart + waving of chequred flag.[/quote]
Agreed with you running 15 karts is like going to a market – dah lah bawa raga 🙂
Round 1 is a superb learning experience for me. Thanks Jason. I did better in the wet tracks probably because of my weight and a good kart. One thing for sure is that CK takes a very very long time to help drivers in distress. We practically have to pull ourselves out and into the track again. I had to do that twice and I can’t imagine if my engine stopped coz I don’t even know how to start it again.
I believe it is better to have 3 races for K3 with max 11 drivers than having 15 on the track. We had the same problem in Race 2 if I’m not mistaken where I did highlight we should not be having 15 drivers on the track but apparently we did the same mistake again for this race. Hmm… are we learning from the concerns of the drivers? Once bitten twice shy – the impact will be your drivers will run away. So think about it before things gets out of control.
[quote=Mad Marcy]I believe it is better to have 3 races for K3 with max 11 drivers than having 15 on the track. We had the same problem in Race 2 if I’m not mistaken where I did highlight we should not be having 15 drivers on the track but apparently we did the same mistake again for this race. Hmm… are we learning from the concerns of the drivers? Once bitten twice shy – the impact will be your drivers will run away. So think about it before things gets out of control.[/quote]
yes we had a difficult experience in round 2. But overlooked it in round 3 thinking that Citykarting had additional karts for the 80cc class. Patrick & Luen were busy chasing Citykarting for additional karts, but alas they could not comply with our initial expectations. By then it was too late.
Well, well, well, I had a great race for a change! Things did not bode too well at the beginning though, as my Kart #30 was unavailable for the 1st qualifying and I had to use Kart#18 as replacement. #18 had top end speed but was really hard to control round the corners, and in fact, I was running 2nd place at the end of lap 1, until I braked too hard, skidded a little and lost 2 places and I think ended up in 5th place for that round.
In between races, I was chatting with Ashraff and joked around that he’s one of the most unlucky karters in the K2 group; so much so that the event wouldn’t be complete without the site of Ashraff walking back to the pit lanes!
Well, as fate would have it, Ashraff really lived up to his reputation in the 2nd qualifying! After running over and “beheading” a cone (we now dub him…Sir Cone Buster!), his wheels suddenly came off and flew right over my head in the corner before the back straight! My eyes were fixed on that wheel as it was headed towards me, but at the same time I forgot that poor Ashraff was spinning in front of my kart, but luckily I managed to swerve and avoid him in time. Lo and behold, I saw him walking back, head down, towards the pit lane, and couldn’t stop laughing in my helmet for over half a lap!! heh heh…sorry bro…I couldn’t help myself!Anyway, I had a great race in Kart 22 and chose that for the final race. This kart had real power and great handling, and for both the 2nd qualifying and finals, I was able to work my way from last position up to the top 3.
We had a really poor start for the final race and I think it’s high time we start penalising or banning karters who can’t keep pace up front. It’s frustrating to see immature behaviour up front when the rest are trying to form up for a decent, fair start.
Anyway, apart from the start, it was a great, satisfying race for me as I was able to work up to 4th position before encountering some stiff resistance from Henzee and Jin. Thinking these were P1&2, I made a great effort to hound and fight for position, and eventually Henzee gave way graciously, leaving Jin in front of me at the last lap. Not sure what happened but I managed to overtake Jin at the last corner to cross the finish line in what I thought was P1! Overall a great race despite the “false start”.[quote=Nohad]The fiasco in the K3 Heat 1 lap chart recording is somehow directly related to the spare karts availability. Some of the karts are practically not in ideal running condition and the karters changed the kart before the race or during the race without informing the marshals somehow confused the lap charter and that resulted in the delay of starting the final race as race positions need to be sorted out slowly.
To avoid such confusion in the future, we will need 1 marshal at the pit to oversee the changing of karts and record the change of kart. The record to be provided to the lap charter at the end of the race.
At the start/finish line, a minimum of 3 marshals shall be available. 1 marshal to record the kart positions on each lap, 1 marshal to read out the kart number to lap charter marshal & 1 marshal to change the lap display + to look out for any distress kart + waving of chequred flag.[/quote]
I think anyone who changed karts should have the courtesy to inform someone at hand to ensure the lap scorers are informed – THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, at least as I see it! Mykart works with volunteers, not slaves……everyone please tow in line!
[quote=Nohad]
To help Citykarting to improve the kart conditions, we need to provide a checklist of feedback to them to work on. In order for that to happen, we need the help of the karters to fill up the checklist of the kart they raced on after each race.[/quote]I am very keen to see this work in reality……but based on my experience with rental kart operators, I see this as difficult.
In any case, you can initiate this and see if it helps!
[quote=naza]However, out of the many problems, I thought chains ‘putus’and ‘brakes tak makan’ or sprocket ‘dah habis gigi’ are the three common occurances that can easily be detected and rectified.[/quote]
At least I get specific complaints here. Can I suggest the following self checks?
1)Chain putus….not easy to detect but a close view of the chain OUTER edges give you a clue.
2)Brakes tak makan – this one, we discussed many times – please test brakes and ensure pads have plenty meat before your race!
3)Sprocket no teeth – this is easiest to see and verify. If teeth very short and shiny, dun use the kart. If not sure, see the karts around you.
At end of day, if you NOT happy with kart – change the kart. You are ENTITLED to do so provided there is enough spare karts – BEFORE your race starts. If not, speak to Fazz – show him why we need to hold race to change the items. I recommend you be picky in your finals race….earlier is at your own choice.
Dun complain when your kart fails esp if you did not check your ride over.
Guys, hire kart are hire karts – no matter how much you pay, an element of luck is always there.
[quote=Jules]Can I suggest the following self checks?[/quote]
[quote=Jules]At end of day, if you NOT happy with kart – change the kart. You are ENTITLED to do so provided there is enough spare karts – BEFORE your race starts. If not, speak to Fazz – show him why we need to hold race to change the items. I recommend you be picky in your finals race….earlier is at your own choice.
Dun complain when your kart fails esp if you did not check your ride over.
Guys, hire kart are hire karts – no matter how much you pay, an element of luck is always there.[/quote]
Jules – you are correct about rental karts. However, some of these basic “fitness” should have been sorted out by the operator. I myself checked the brakes of my #51 kart for my final, but found it lacking. This was done once the kart choices were made. I had to wait a while for the crew to fix it, but they could not do it as it would appear that there was some sort of blockage in the brake line. So I had to change karts.
It is fortunate that most regular my-karters are constantly advised what to check before hand etc (even then…). But what of the casual karter? How would we deal with a brake failure at the end of the long straight?
To me Jules, yes we can do our own checks. But not everybody will be like you and a few of the regulars. We need to work constructively with Citykarting to see how their operational procedures can be improved. I spoke to Uncle that I would like to work together on this.
[quote=luen]By any chance that we can have a set of 3 walkie talkies for the track event control conversation?[/quote]
was thinking of buying a set – anybody got good pricing?
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