NORMAL SERVICE RESUMED

This weeks testing went back to basics for the team. After a really productive outing last week, focus returned to scouting out the characteristics of the different racing machines.

The team requested untried karts for this week's sessions, and the Gokartcentralen track officials were happy to cooperate. Kart 9 was nominated for the reconnaissance run, and driver Dan Grabko got straight to work, pumping in mid 35 second lap times from the get go. The kart seemed to be a very well balanced package, with little to no undue under or over steer, and good pedal feel in both the brakes and accelerator.

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Dan was hitting apexes well and good into an impressive and consistent rhythm early on in the run. If not for the virgin nature of the track and cold tires, times would have been in the very low 35's from this first go. As it was, the combination foiled any realistic attempts at a personal best time, but with a 35.516 in the bank coming into the pit lane at the end of the session, moods were high in the intervening debrief and preparation for the simulation portion of the day.


Unfortunately the positives were few and far between for the rest of the day. Due to time constraints, the team ended up sharing the track with several others on different installation and setup programs, lapping only in the high 36's and 37's. This, combined with two spins that brought out the yellow flags, resulted in very few clean laps and a sort of stop and go nature to the second run, and it really couldn't be categorized as a proper qualifying simulation.

​Despite the distractions and frustrations, good data on kart 12 was gathered. Dan reported over the radio that while brake and accelerator pedal feel was good, it was a much more twitchy chassis, tending to both understeer and oversteer, and without much warning or consistency.

Dan managed only 3 or 4 truly clean laps out of the 12 where he wasn't passing or lapping slower traffic, or slowed by caution flags, and clocked in a best time of 35.832 in the unfavorable conditions.

Afterwards, Dan's mood was reflective, "Of course the second session wasn't optimal. There were a lot of cars out there on that second run, and we couldn't really run the program we wanted to. That goes with the territory at this level. We can't expect to have the track all to ourselves all the time, or dictate what the other teams are doing. Overall I'm happy with the day, though. We found a new kart that seems to match my driving style quite well, so can keep an eye out for that one during the next round. We've now got 3 or 4 karts that we like and know about now, so that is always a positive."

With only 3 weeks and two testing sessions left until the penultimate round of the Championship, the team is getting geared up for the run in to the season. Follow us as we chase down 5th place in the Gokartcentralen Open GP Championsip, the West Coast's premier electric gokart racing series!