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2022 SKCC Round 7 Race Report - Kristianstad

9/27/2022

1 Comment

 

The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back

​This was it, the seventh and final round of the 2022 Southern Swedish Kart Championship Cup. It was hard to believe it had already been 5 months almost to the day when it all kicked off with a maiden top 10 finish at the first round in Helsingborg.

Then a long rough patch as the team threw away a second consecutive top 10 in round 2 in Växjö when going for slicks in mixed conditions and an ill-timed rain shower ruined the day.

​A powerful salvage job in round 3 followed that, also in Växjö during a double race weekend, grabbing a handful of points in the final after starting from the back of the grid when the spark plug cover fell off during qualifying, and fighting our way back through the field in the sprint heats to come home 15th.

After that the disappointment of round 4 in Klippan, where the team let Deven down in qualifying, forgetting to fuel his kart and he had to start from the back again, this time after making up 12 places in the opening lap of the final, crashed out and limped home to 28th.

Round 5 in Jönköping saw phantom mechanical issues that were not discovered until the next round of the competition, giving Deven no chance of putting in a performance and he bravely fought on at the back of the field.

The redemption in round 6 at Malmö where even with the mechanical issues only partly repaired, he showed his grit and skill to take home his best result of the season, another top 10 finish and silverware to put in the trophy room.

And now this - what would the final round have in store for Deven?
Picture

Friday Practice Day

​The weekend started off well. Coming to this international circuit for the first time this year. This was the site of Deven’s first ever points earning performance in a national series in 2021, so positive vibes flowed through the team as they set up in the paddock area upon arrival on Thursday night.

​The next morning was more of the same. The team tried all 3 of their race engines, and they were all humming a sweet tune, which allowed the team to try a lot of different chassis setup choices. It was a productive day and the final push sessions showed very promising pace, right up there with the front runners. It was decided to try a new setup idea for the race day, one that had been working well for fellow Intrepid Driver Program teammates. This was all set to go for race day.
Sunday Race Day

Free Practice 1 & 2 | 10 min each | P22, P20
It was a cold and blinding morning, with bright blue skies colliding with crispy cool fog rolling in on the Swedish Autumn morning. It was cold, only 6°C during the first warm up practice session of the day at 8:00am, and it wreaked havoc on Deven’s session.

​His visor fogged up on him and turning into the sun completely blinded him. He couldn’t see the braking points or the apexes for half of the corners, let alone others around him on track, and so wasn’t able to set representative times.
​Older tires as well as the new setup seemed to hamper the pace in the second practice session, as Deven was unable to extract the same confidence at turn-in that he exhibited 2 days earlier. Still, the pack was very compressed with only a couple of tenths seperating 8th from 22nd. It was still thought within the team that the different ride height setup would come into its own as the track warmed and rubbered up, so there was no panic yet.
Qualifying | 7 min | P28
It was at this point of the day that the team started panicking. The session started out well. Since there were 40 entries, the field was split into 2 groups. After the first flying laps, Deven had made a strong showing, 4th fastest in his group. Then something started happening. The mechanical gremlins were back, and with a vengeance. The data showed afterwards, something was causing a top end rev issue yet again, and it was not an easy thing to diagnose.

It crippled Deven’s performance in the session, and in a field this large and this competitive, it was a death sentence. He tumbled down the time sheets even as his times improved, and his driving was spot on. In the end languishing down in the bottom 3rd of the field was his fate. It was a real blow that knocked the wind out the team’s sails. The engine was pored over after the session, with no stone left unturned. But nothing could be found.

​It was reluctantly concluded that something in the setup must have not been allowing the engine freedom to rev out of the corners, but there was no such indication in the comparative data. Damage was done now, it would be 19th on the grid for the split group sprint races, and Deven would again have to fight his way from the back. The question was whether the team could give him a machine he could fight with.
Sprint Heat 1 | 7 Laps | P19 —> P19
His first sprint heat he came out fighting, gaining a gritty 2 spots at the start and holding them through the first lap. Then what no one ever wants to see happen, happened. As Deven rounded turn one for the 2nd time, double yellow flags were flashing. There had been a coming together in the fight for position ahead, and Intrepid teammate, and 2022 Kart Cup West Champion, Leo Abrahamsson had come out the worse.

In a tough wheel to wheel battle, his kart had launched up off the inside curbing at the turn 2-3 chicane, and he landed hard back down to the ground, directly into his race seat, appearing to compress his spine and hit chest against the steering wheel. It looks for a moment when he went off the track that was trying to steer his way off the grass and back towards the track, but thought better of it. It was only moments before race officials and the medical team were on their way to the incident. A full course double yellow "slow” procedure was indicated at the end of the 2nd lap as he was checked on. 3 laps later, all under slow procedure, on lap 5, the race was red flagged as it became apparent that he would need medical treatment.

The karts were lined up in the pit lane in single file as they awaited the outcome of the crash. The medical team stretchered Leo off the track and he was ambulanced to hospital for checks on his back. No further information was known as the race was reset from lap 4 and the karts lined up to go out again, in a single file restart. Deven was in 17th position at this point, but it was very apparent that nothing the team had done between qualifying and the first sprint had worked to solve the power application issues. With 3 racing laps left and the field compressed up again due to the restart, he had no chance.

He lost back the two spots he had gained on the first flying lap down the high speed straights, and fought and clawed his way to hold 19th spot through to the chequered flag. The frustration and anger was plain on the young boy’s face as he came off the weigh station in parc fermé afterwards. How much longer would he have to endure this performance deficit?

​On a very positive note, news was received later in the day that after x-rays and tests, Leo had been released from hospital and sent home with strong painkillers for observation. The next day it was confirmed that he had been able to walk around under his own power, and it appears no major injuries were sustained. Excellent news to hear.
Sprint Heat 2 | 7 Laps | P19 —> P16
Well, it would end up being one more race Deven would suffer as the team decided to try one more thing to get the power to come alive before the Final. (if there would even be a final, which was not a self-evident eventuality with the way things were going on this day) With our race driver lining up again 19th on the grid, it was another tough assignment to make any headway.

Deven kept his impressive record of always making up places at the start of races by again being able to thread his way through smartly in the first corners of the race, moving himself up 3 spots to 16th, he did everything he could to maintain the position but as the race developed he just couldn’t hold out on the super long front straight. It was clear he was quicker on the technical back side of the track but he could never make any headway on the straights, and as a result of not being able to push ahead he was let out to dry instead. Dropped back one position on lap 3 and then one more on lap 6 to cross the line in 18th, but penalties just ahead saw him classified in 16th.

This actually saved him several places in the grid positions for the Feature Final, which he was able to qualify for despite the difficulties. Only his determination saved the team's blushes. As the karts came into the weigh station afterwards, it started to rain. Hard.
Feature Final | 13 Laps | P26 —> P26
The downpour lasted about 3 minutes, and track conditions went from dry to soaking wet in almost an instant. There was still almost 2 hours to go before the start of the Formula Mini final, but the rain didn’t completely stop, coming back in little spurts of drizzle on and off. In between were periods of bright, warm sunshine that was causing steam to come off the surface of the track. Meanwhile the team was fed up and had enough. It was all change in the race tent as the kart was torn apart, completely disassembled, and put back together again with factory neutral settings. The ride height on the front and back was reset. The 2nd race motor was mounted, the camber, caster, and toe all put back to neutral race settings. The width front and back as well as the tire pressures were all reset to those that had worked on Friday.

By the time all of this was achieved, it became apparent that it was going to be a wet race. The track was not going to dry up enough quite in time. Deven came back from the track reporting there was still spray coming from the OK class final. There wasn’t much time left, but it had to be done. From the neutral setup just accomplished the front was raised up to give more grip in the back, this increased the toe out and so it was adjusted to be straight and true on both sides. The wheel widths were adjusted and rain tires were fitted and the team made it to the pre-grid with only one minute to go until the 5 minute closing call. As the team rolled out onto the pre-grid, it was realised that they had screwed up two things. One, there was no tire pressure. Two, the rear wheels had been mounted backwards! Deven sprinted back to the race tent to get the wheel gun, while Dan procured an air gun from a kind competitor. After a mad scramble it looked like everything was in place. 5 minutes later, Deven rolled out of the pre-grid for the formation lap. The last race of the season. 

The track was indeed treacherous, almost dry in parts and like driving on black ice in others. There was one spin on the formation lap. Deven didn’t survive the start. He got almost too good a start and got into the back of the kart ahead of him at a slight angle at just the wrong time, and it spun him around as he let off the gas. He never left the track though and got going again quickly enough, but now running dead last. Fortunately for him, the first lap mayhem was far from over. The differing conditions on the track played havoc with everyone, from the front of the pack all the way to the back. It was a game of survival out there. A big pile up occured at the wide entry hairpin that starts sector three of the track, and there came Deven barreling down and past them. In just the one lap that followed, he made up 6 places and was showing much faster pace than those ahead. Finally the team had gotten the setup right for him in that moment, and the engine was giving him all of its potential as well.

The elation was short lived, however. Having almost made his way up to the top 20 on lap 2 it came crashing down on him again. He was catching up to a competitor who then pushed too hard in the same wide entry hairpin at the back side of the track and spun right in front of Deven. It was still slippery there, obviously, and the slightest touch of the brakes to try and avoid the spun kart was enough to send Deven whipping around as well. A travesty for the young racing driver. He got himself going again and powered away, but now it was a matter of being just too far behind. He was now down in 33rd of 36 karts and there was no hope of any salvaging of the race. There were still 9 laps to go but that is just not enough.

Deven never gave up though, and again showed really competitive pace, markedly faster than those around and just ahead of him, and had it been a qualifying session instead, he would have been well inside the top half of the field. He made some very good passing moves during the remaining 8 laps, and made up 5 places, catching up to and latching onto the back of a 10 kart pack as he rounded the final corner on the final lap. Had he had 2 more laps available to him, who knows what may have happened. As it was, it was an anticlimactic end to the 2022 SKCC series, where so much potential was left unrealized and so many opportunities left untaken, most of which was down to the team’s failure to address mechanical issues during key moments.
Summary
It has been such a learning experience again for the team. Tasting the sweet success of running at the front all day and being on the podium to the really gut wrenching feeling of dogging it out at the back of the grid all day with no solution as to a way forward. Great drives and racing performances left us wondering when the next race was going to be, and other days wondering what we are even doing on the race track. That is the roller coaster ride that is motorsport and racing. 

​Grabko GP would like to thank its sponsors and partners, without whom we wouldn’t be able to compete at all:
Improx Customs | Profil #461 | The Techno Creatives | Dumpling X Sweden | Elevate: Bespoke IoT Platforms | Weret: Surf Watches from Sweden

#karting #grabkogp #racing #motorsport #intrepid #lkracing #skcc #kcv #usac #sbf #teamzamp #minus273 #freemsweden #kartinglife #kartingemotionandpassion #uddevallakartingklubb
This weekend fortune was not with us, but we know we can learn from all of our experiences this season, do our homework over the off season - and we have a lot of homework to do! Deven drove well and deserved better from this weekend. Sometimes that’s the way it goes, but it has been on too many occasions this season for us to be able to say he has been given a fair shake of the dice. That is our goal for next year. To make sure he gets that fair shake.”

​~ Dan Grabko, Team Manager
Man, what a day - I feel like I drove my face off more than ever this weekend. I’m actually happy with my driving, which makes the results today even more frustrating. If we had used that motor the whole day I am certain things would have been different. I understand why we didn’t and you can always say that kind of stuff after you know what happened, but man it felt good in the final. If only I hadn’t had that 2nd spin! But if I hadn’t I would have ploughed right into her (Tuve Davidsson) instead. Anyway, then had a good fight with Landström at the back of the field. I don’t know how he ended up back there with me, but that was fun because he is a good driver who I respect a lot and I was able to get by him on this occasion. Didn’t really help the end result though. I was catching up fast to a bunch of karts and needed only a lap or two more to get in there with them. Really sad for the result, but now looking forward to whatever the future might bring! I really want to thank all of our sponsors, The Techno Creatives, DumplingX Sweden, Weret surf watches, Improx Customs & Profil #461 who did our race van and applied the kart stickers so well - without them we couldn’t even be out here racing. Also thank you to LK Racing and Intrepid kart. When everything was working, the package was a rocket ship!”

​~ Deven Grabko, Race Driver
1 Comment
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11/6/2022 03:08:56

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