Elite Karting League

Clay Pigeon, May 2014

On a wet & windy day at Clay Pigeon International Kart Circuit in Dorset, I would sample my first taste of racing in the Elite Karting League, & would witness first hand some of the amazing talent on show by some of the UKs best karters.

I would be lining up for the Bristol Bandits team, one of three teams entered for my area by Darren Pearce. Alongside Jordan Donegan & Pete Leppan, we would make up one of over thirty teams entered in the competition.

This being my first visit to Clay Pigeon, I was keen to get out on track as early as possible, but the weather was always going to make things difficult- as it turned out I didn't do any dry-weather racing all day! What was obvious from the 5 or so minutes of practice that I did get was that a) this was still a VERY quick circuit even in the wet, and b) there were some VERY (!) quick drivers here. It was fairly obvious  from the get-go that this event for me would just be a case of survival, as I set myself a personal goal of having clean races & making as few mistakes as possible.

The EKL is quite a grand concept, and after a short drivers briefing, the teams made their way onto track for the opening practice. I have to say a massive thanks to Darren, Jordan & Pete for helping me out massively during this first event, sorting out signing on & the lead weights needed to meet the minimum weight limit. The pits & paddock could only be described as chaos at the best of times, with the weather only adding to the madness-and yet everything seemed to move along smoothly, with the heats only being interrupted by EPEC practice for the owner-drivers racing at the circuit the next day. My first heat race passed without incident, and I ended up finishing around abouts where I started as although I was passed by several drivers on track, I also passed just as many who had spun off in the torrential conditions.

Heat 2 was a little more eventful, although the outcome was pretty much the same, with me finishing roughly where I started. This time during the race though, I narrowly avoided what can only be described as an optimistic dive by one driver on the first corner of the first lap. I was on the very inside of the corner when someone came flashing past me already on the grass, and wiped out about three other drivers in front of me. I dodged the carnage, and went about my race, again passing and being passed  by an equal amount of drivers, and also at one time having to take to the grass myself to avoid another kart.

By Heat 3, I have to admit my heart wasn't really in it, a combination of the weather and the sheer scale of the event made me withdraw a little inside myself and I can only apologise to my team-mates because of that. My third and final heat passed without incident, and as we broke for lunch before the 'Race of Champions' I was already looking forward to getting out of my wet race wear and making the return trip home. Fiona, my long-suffering girlfriend had taken it upon herself to look after our transport/accommodation and was doing her best to be supportive and keep my spirits high.

We made our way around the other side of the track away from the paddock to watch the ROC (Where a nominated driver from each team take part in a race to win back their teams entry fee) with the rest of Team Bristol, where we witnessed a close fight at the front and Team Captain Darren Pearce struggle with an awful kart at the rear of the field, before gearing up for the final 2 hour Team Endurance event.

As a team, we made the decision to only send out two drivers for the short qualifying session in order to maximise track time, and it worked as we took a position inside the top 10 in the dying moments. Jordan Donegan was nominated as the driver to take the start for us, handing over to me for the second stint. After looking like the weather was going to give us abit of a break (having dried up enough in the Race of Champions to finally hear some tyre squeal during the race) it started to spit with rain again as the race began.

After 20 minutes or so, Jordan came into the pits having battled with the midfield pack for the first part of the race, and I climbed into the kart for what was to be my last session of the day. For the next fifteen minutes or so I again stuck to my game plan, staying out of trouble and staying on the black stuff. As is usually the way though, I soon got sucked into a battle with the guy in front and in my over-enthusiasm I ended up putting a couple of wheels on the grass, and away she went! Luckily I was able to recover quickly, losing only a couple of positions and coming out just ahead of Dan Healey, who I had a nice battle with for a few laps before he broke away as we moved through some traffic. Just as I was building my confidence again, I was take completely by surprise by someone coming around the outside of me in the second to last corner and literally pushing me off the inside of the track. Again, my wheels were on the grass and I spun again onto the infield. In my frustration, I threw my arm in the air, and half-spun again trying to recover. i signalled to the pits that i was ready to come in, and cruised back into the pits in a mood greyer than the overhead sky.

I didn't hang about after getting out of the kart, getting back to the camper as quickly as possible to get changed into some dry clothes, before re-joining the rest of Team Bristol in watching the last half-hour of the race from the grandstand.

Overall, I have mixed feeling about the event in general. I want to say a big thank you to Darren for asking me to take part in one of his teams, and to Jordan in particular for showing me the ropes and generally going above & beyond the call of duty in making sure my races went as smoothly as possible. My thanks also goes the other members of the Bristol-based teams- bandits the lot of you! As far as the EKL goes, I'm not 100% sure at this time where my future lies. Darren had asked me before this event if Id like to take part in the second Clay Pigeon round in October, but right now I'll admit to not being sure. There are obviously some very talented drivers racing in the series, but there are also some guys racing who seem to have forgotten that at the end of the day, something like karting should be fun and fair. There are those with experience who will respect you and give you space even if they're quicker, but others will literally make it their goal to have you off the track and cant seem to pass a single person without making some amount of contact. I'm just not sure right now that its something I want to be a a part of.

Next up for me is the Top Gun series finale at TeamSport Bristol, following on only a few days after the EKL race, and I must admit its going to be alot more within my comfort zone. I'll be sure to get a race report up as soon as possible, as staffer Andy Collins looks to exact revenge over Oliver Bayani for his defeat in the last round.

Until then, happy karting. And remember, keep it fun!