Off topic - news of Nathan Freke
Discussion
"Nathan Freke competed in the British Superkart championship last weekend at
Thruxton in Hampshire. Unfortunately it was another case of ‘deja vue ‘. To
try to sort out the kart handling problems, Nathan’s sponsor, Formula One
Karts, brought in current World Superkart Champion, Mark Owens, to drive an
identical outfit to Nathan. It was hoped that the feedback given by the more
experienced driver would more accurately pinpoint the handling problems
Nathan had been experiencing all season.
Timed practice found both karts struggling for pace with Nathan qualifying
in 10th and the other kart 27th. Nathan was complaining of a lack of power,
critical at Thruxton where the karts are flat out for three quarters of the
lap, and that his qualifying time had come when he managed to slipstream a
faster kart for part of the lap. Changes were made to both engines and
Nathan took his place on grid 10, unfortunately the kart of Mark Owens only
just made it to the grid as the karts were on their formation lap and had to
start from the back. Nathan had a brilliant start and was up to 5th by the
end of the first lap, but then as the race progressed, lacking engine power,
he drifted back until a jumping chain forced him to retire. The kart of
Owens having retired after 2 laps with gear selection problems.
The retirement meant that Nathan would start on grid 33 for the 2nd race
with World Champion Owens on grid 37. A decision was take to make some
drastic changes to both engines to increase the power output, particularly
in top gear, as neither motor would pull sufficiently in that gear. The
result would be either go or blow. Nathan took his place on grid 33 and with
nothing to lose took a big gamble at the start to drive around the outside
of the field into the first corner. The gamble paid off and together with
some other stunning maneouvers he drove into 8th place by the end of the
first lap. Sadly he did not come round a 2nd time, the result of a broken ‘O
’ ring that caused a coolant loss forcing Nathan to stop. The kart of World
Champion Owens continued and was in the top 10 until a thrown chain also
forced him to retire.
Nathan commented afterwards ‘ I am bitterly disappointed with the 2nd race,
as for the first time this season I felt that the engine was right and that
I could have competed on equal power terms with the front runners. To have a
50p ‘O’ ring let me down is just the continuation of the luck (bad) we have
had all year’
However there was a bright spot to the weekend, being that World Champion
Owens, confirmed Nathan’s view on the kart handling problems, a re-design is
in progress, and Nathan was consistently over a second quicker per lap that
the current World Champion – confirming that he is a top driver and with the
right luck and equipment is capable of competing at the highest level."
It would be great to see Nathan back in Tuscan for the final round.
Thruxton in Hampshire. Unfortunately it was another case of ‘deja vue ‘. To
try to sort out the kart handling problems, Nathan’s sponsor, Formula One
Karts, brought in current World Superkart Champion, Mark Owens, to drive an
identical outfit to Nathan. It was hoped that the feedback given by the more
experienced driver would more accurately pinpoint the handling problems
Nathan had been experiencing all season.
Timed practice found both karts struggling for pace with Nathan qualifying
in 10th and the other kart 27th. Nathan was complaining of a lack of power,
critical at Thruxton where the karts are flat out for three quarters of the
lap, and that his qualifying time had come when he managed to slipstream a
faster kart for part of the lap. Changes were made to both engines and
Nathan took his place on grid 10, unfortunately the kart of Mark Owens only
just made it to the grid as the karts were on their formation lap and had to
start from the back. Nathan had a brilliant start and was up to 5th by the
end of the first lap, but then as the race progressed, lacking engine power,
he drifted back until a jumping chain forced him to retire. The kart of
Owens having retired after 2 laps with gear selection problems.
The retirement meant that Nathan would start on grid 33 for the 2nd race
with World Champion Owens on grid 37. A decision was take to make some
drastic changes to both engines to increase the power output, particularly
in top gear, as neither motor would pull sufficiently in that gear. The
result would be either go or blow. Nathan took his place on grid 33 and with
nothing to lose took a big gamble at the start to drive around the outside
of the field into the first corner. The gamble paid off and together with
some other stunning maneouvers he drove into 8th place by the end of the
first lap. Sadly he did not come round a 2nd time, the result of a broken ‘O
’ ring that caused a coolant loss forcing Nathan to stop. The kart of World
Champion Owens continued and was in the top 10 until a thrown chain also
forced him to retire.
Nathan commented afterwards ‘ I am bitterly disappointed with the 2nd race,
as for the first time this season I felt that the engine was right and that
I could have competed on equal power terms with the front runners. To have a
50p ‘O’ ring let me down is just the continuation of the luck (bad) we have
had all year’
However there was a bright spot to the weekend, being that World Champion
Owens, confirmed Nathan’s view on the kart handling problems, a re-design is
in progress, and Nathan was consistently over a second quicker per lap that
the current World Champion – confirming that he is a top driver and with the
right luck and equipment is capable of competing at the highest level."
It would be great to see Nathan back in Tuscan for the final round.
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