
	OPEN ENDURANCE KART CHAMPIONSHIP

FORUM


	2008 Summer Championship ROUND 2 Daytona Milton Keynes

	RACE REPORT
	With severe weather warnings in place Round Two of the OEKC Summer Championship was looking doubtful. As many teams set out on the journey to Milton Keynes many were unsure if the track would be usable or even if they would actually make it! Until the track opened we would just have to continue fighting the elements to get there. News came through at 7.30 that the track was clear although the snow was settling on the grass. The first race of the day was now on for all the teams to get to the circuit in time. 30mph on a snow covered M4 wasn't helping. Amazingly 13 teams made it to Daytona to be greeted by sunshine and a very usable kart track. It was cold and wets would need to be used but with the forecast saying that it would be clear for the remainder of the day it would be interesting to see how long it took to dry and what set up each of the teams would decide to go with. Due to the late arrival of a number of teams practice & qualifying was shortened to allow the completion of the full 4.5hr race distance. KKC took the pole, with Appliance 2nd and the Biland of Saxon 1 in third. KKC made a great start, leading the field into turn one. Box Tech also made a strong start from 4th, moving past Saxon 1 into the 1st corner then diving up the inside of Appliance into the esses to take second. Maintenance, running without James who had sustained a broken ankle on the Tuesday, drafted in Rob as a replacement. Qualifying 6th they took a place at the start only to tangle on the second lap dropping them effectively to last. Their race would be further hampered by not re-tightening the valves in their slicks, something that James would normally do. With the sun shining and a health breeze the track was drying faster than most teams expected and a dry line was already visible after only 30 minutes. Those karts that had decided on a wet setup would find that their wet tyres would be compromised before the optimum pit stop window. After 30minutes karts were starting to pit to replace their worn wets with slicks and the lap times showed that there was extra pace to be had by the switch. KKC pitted on lap 45 but a lengthy delay making changes dropped them back to 4th. Box Tech who had held station in 2nd since the start now took the lead. Their setup was working well with the now treadless wets, which enabled them to stay out till the fuel window, although the other teams now running slicks had a faster pace. After all the teams had completed their first stop & tyre change the lead positions were, 1st Box Tech, 2nd Appliance, 3rd TT Sport. At the two-hour mark, Box Tech held a one-lap lead over Red Max, who had moved through the field to take second, Appliance dropping back to third. The Bilands of Saxon 1 & 2 were now finding the conditions more suited to them and gradually moved up the leader board as their lap times tumbled. With Stanion Slicks & TT Sport firmly in their sights. By the three-hour mark the Bilands had moved up to 3rd & 4th position with only Red Max (2nd) and Box Tech (1st) ahead. As the race entered the closing stages Stanion Slick moved past TT Sport into 5th and Maintenance after their initial problems reclaimed 7th from Le Maverick. The TKM 2/ of CJ Davies Racing proved once again that determination really does pay dividends as they completed the race distance yet again. Box Tech took the win by two laps from Red Max, with the Biland of Saxon 1 taking the final podium position. Saxon 2 claimed 4th. The Bilands yet again ran faultlessly throughout the race. With their pace the first race win cannot be far away. The 3rd round of the OEKC is on 11th May at Whilton Mill, so see you all there.

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