WildCard Racing

So after rushing around like the proverbial headless chickens trying to get an entry together for this season’s EKL it was great to actually get on with some racing!

 

Arriving at Whilton Mill the drivers we greeted by a busy paddock filled with EPEC teams preparing for their weekend & cold, damp track conditions. After completing all the paperwork associated with the opening round it was time to fire up the karts and head out on to the circuit for the hours practice. For Mike & Tom this was a chance to learn the Whilton Mill international circuit and for Stefan a chance to familiarise his self with the EKL karts he’ll be driving this year. Practice is also a good opportunity for all the teams to check their ballast, to make sure each driver is running the correct weight on that circuits scales and the scrutineering area was full of teams trying to do just that! The hour was soon gone and the teams started busily preparing the karts on the dummy grid for the 1st of the 12 sprint races.

 

As with all EKL sprint races the starting order had been drawn at random and WCR had been allocated to start 26th / 34 karts. Tom Eastwood was the driver at the wheel and held his own throughout his 1st ever race at Whilton Mill finishing 22nd.

 

Next out for WCR was Stefan Child who had the advantage of starting on pole for race 2. Stefan started well but after a few laps the red flag was waved as there had been a driver injured during an incident at turn 1. This took a few minutes to clear but thankfully the driver involved was only shaken (and probably a little bruised) and the race was restarted. It was a good battle throughout for the remaining laps and SC brought the kart home in 4th. Not bad considering the 3 teams finishing in front (both Titan teams and one of the Teesside teams) turned out to be the top 3 overall teams for round 1.

 

Race 3 saw Mike Philippou out for his 1st time racing around Whilton and starting 28th on the grid. MP kept it clean and after quickly settling in to a rhythm managed to work his way up to finish 12th by the end of the 10 laps, recording the fastest lap on the way.

 

The next few races went steadily for the team with all 3 drivers starting mid field or further back for each race and WCR managed to build up some decent points, the highlight being a 4th place finish from 16th on the grid for MP in race 6.

 

For each of the final 3 races WCR had grid positions in the top 5 and this gave all 3 drivers an opportunity for some solo glory as well as getting some invaluable points for the team. Tom was up 1st and had a starting position of 5th for race 9. Due to a mixture of a bit of bad luck and a kart that seemed a little off the pace Tom finished the heat in 13th, which was a lower finishing position than he deserved. Stefan stepped up for race 11 with a grid position of 2nd, after a good start SC spent the race battling hard with the lead few karts with each team swapping the top 3 positions throughout the race and as the chequered flag dropped Stefan pulled off (and I quote) a “ big dog” last corner move to steal back 2nd. Mike was WCR’s driver for the 12th and final sprint of the day, starting in 3rd MP quickly moved in to the lead and stayed there for the majority of the race until the hard charging Titan Tornadoe’s kart piloted by Damian Hickman reeled him in and after a good battle passed him to take the win.

 

 

Sprint stats

 

Sprints Total points: 984

 

Mike Philippou

Average starting position: 19th

Average finishing position: 8.25

Total positions gained: 43

Average positions gained per sprint: 10.75

Total sprint points: 393

Average points per sprint: 98

1 x sprint fastest lap

 

Stefan Child

Average starting position: 13th

Average finishing position: 11.75

Total positions gained: 5

Average positions gained per spring: 1.25

Total sprint points: 351

Average points per sprint: 87

 

Tom Eastwood

Average starting position: 17.25

Average finishing position: 21st

Total positions gained: -15

Average positions gained: -3.75

Total sprint points: 240

Average points per sprint: 60

 

 

ROC

Next race on the schedule was the “Race of Champions”, to those of you unfamiliar with the EKL format for this race each team choose one driver to compete. This driver will then go out for a 5 minute qualifying session followed by a 15 lap sprint with cash prizes on offer for the top 3 finishers. Mike was chosen to drive for WCR so after a difficult qualifying session lined up 11th on the grid and after a strong start MP quickly moved through the field and up in to 6th position. At this point the top 2 teams (Teesside Tigers & Northampton Dark Knights) were establishing a strong lead and would eventually finish in those position. However it was a 4 way battle for 3rd with both Titan teams, the 2nd Teesside kart and Wildcard Racing all fighting it out! After a lot of position swapping Teesside Thunder took the final podium position with WCR finishing 5th and spliting the 2 Titan teams. MP also recorded the fastest lap of the race, which also turned out to be the fastest lap of the day outside of the endurance race.

 

 

Endurance

As always the final race of the day was the 2 hour endurance! Before the race started however the EKL crew announced that they were looking in to the posibility of having to shorten the length of the race due to light levels. This thankfully did not materialise, however due to some areas of the international circuit not being fully floodlit, during the latter half of the race certain corners became blind until you were on the apex! This was an interesting twist on the Whilton Mill circuit and something I'm sure many of the racers had not had to deal with before.

WCR didn't enjoy the best qualifying session but still started the race in a slightly above mid way 13th place. Stefan was at the wheel for the team off the start and put in a solid 45 mintute stint before coming in for a required fuel stop and driver change. At this time WCR found itself in a respectable 8th place, however not aided by some bad luck having to que for the fueling area the team returned to the track several positions down on that. MP took over for the 2nd stint and went about trying to recover some ground. Dispite some solid and consistent lap times by all the drivers though the team never really seemed to get fully going in the endurance and by the time the next change over was due WCR where just outside the top 10. As the rules state there must be a minimum of 3 driver changes SC jumped back in the kart for the required 5 lap stint before handing over to Tom for the final 40 odd minutes of the race. Tom did what he could but by the time the chequered flag dropped at the end of the 2 hour race WCR crossed the line 16th. Dispite a lttle disappointment from the team that their form the Sprints & ROC didn't quite carry over to the Endurance this did mean however that WCR had secured enough points to finish the day 10th overall and therefore meet their pre-event target of a debut top 10 finish.

 

Well done to all involved and we look forward to seeing you all at Teesside!