2022 SKCC Rounds 2 & 3

If’s Maybe’s and But’s Don’t Earn Points

​It was a special double race weekend in Växjö for the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the 2022 Southern Swedish Karting Championship Cup. The team was in high spirits coming off a maiden podium performance in the Karting Cup West Series, and was ready to take revenge at a track that had dished out disappointment for the team last year, when our then rookie driver Deven missed out on the final by a single position due to the circuit's reduced 30 kart track license.

Deven’s performance was exceptional throughout the weekend, and his development curve as a driver continues to impress, especially given the extenuating circumstances he had to fight through as the weekend progressed.

It would be easy to blame technical issues that included a race motor that gave up after the first session of the first day, carburetor issues on day 2, getting bad luck with the weather in qualifying on day 1, and a crippling ignition cable disconnection during qualifying on day 2 - and we will do exactly that, but the way Deven rose to the challenge with a laser edged fighter pilot mentality was a lift for the whole team.

DAY ONE - SKCC ROUND 2:

Qualifying - 10 minutes - P18
After showing pace near the top of the field in free practice on Friday, it was time to lay it out on the table in qualifying. The first two practice session in the morning were on rain tires as scattered showers kept the track too wet to venture out on slicks. The story remained the same for qualifying in a tricky session. The team never really were able to find a wet setup that Deven was comfortable with. Combined with not getting proper track position, this led to a P9 in the first qualifying group. The second qualifying group had a much drier track to deal with and the times dropped by several seconds, which resulted in the qualifying results being combined separately in a scissor combination rather than put all together to make it as fair as possible. Not ideal at all and it meant a P18 starting position for the sprint heats, and a tough assignment for Deven if he was to make a bid for another top 10 finish in the final.

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Sprint Heat 1 - 14 laps - P11
It was a drier track for the first sprint race and it meant slicks for the whole field. Deven made a rocket of a start, jumping up 4 positions in the first lap to 14th and then proceeded to chase down opponent after opponent, making some really nice passing moves and showing a growing race craft to defend his overtakes before driving off to get the next one. Proper race driving, this was, and the fledgling race driver was rewarded with  P11 after 14 laps on this tiny little short track, gaining 7 positions in a very tightly contested field of 29. It was a good start, but now he needed to do it all over again in the second sprint.

Sprint Heat 2 - 14 laps - P9
The second heat was almost a carbon copy of the first. Track conditions were almost identical. Not a completely dry track but almost and it was no question which tires to be on. Deven made another exceptional start, this time going even better and was P12 after the first lap, in which he narrowly avoided a start incident just ahead of him that took out 2 drivers - but he successfully navigated through unscathed and went on to repeat his first sprint heroics. He made 4 impressive passes, improvising well to get past tough defensive driving and then placed his kart perfectly to close the door on any counter attacks before driving off to get the next one. He caught all the way up to the next group of 3 karts as well on the final lap, but just didn’t have the time to make any moves to take those final positions. However, a P9 and up 9 places was a great result, vital points scored, and the reward was a P11 starting spot on the grid for the Final. That top 10 finish was well within reach.

Final - 15 laps - Started P11 - DNF classified 23rd
This is where the weekend really took a turn for the worse for the team. In the build up to the race, a rain shower came through and was more than enough to make it rain tire conditions, but there was another class to race their final first. Everyone was out checking track conditions, and it was a real mixed bag on the pre-grid as they lined up. The sun came out for about 3 min and all started to change to dry tires as the slightest little dry line was starting to form in the race ahead. Then the sky got dark again a few minutes to start and there was a mass scramble as most teams elected last minute to fit rain tires. It was the safe choice. Race engineer and driver consulted and decided to go for the glory gamble and stay on slicks. If it didn’t rain again, we would be heroes. If it did it would mean complete disaster. Deven navigated the start well as the furthest driver up on the grid to have gone out on dry tires. He was losing ground but all he had to do was hang on and keep it in between the white lines and the track would come back to him. As lap 2 came around, though, it started to drop from the sky. First just a few drops, but then a proper shower within 30 seconds. It was all over. As Deven crossed the line for lap 3, race officials started to wave the blue and orange flags for the drivers on slicks, 7 of them total. Deven completed the 4th lap somehow keeping the kart on the track before filing off at the pit exit in devastation. It was tough to take after the brilliant sprint race displays, but it was a reality.

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DAY TWO - SKCC ROUND 3:

Qualifying - 10 min - P26
Barely having got over the previous day's disappointment, starting the new day in this way was very hard to take for both the team and our driver. The two free practice sessions had shown on the data that Deven was well into the top 10, even looking at a possible top 6 result if he could put a lap together, but it just wasn’t going to happen for him this weekend. Fate wasn’t having it. In the build up to qualifying the team was randomly selected for clutch engagement control. This meant fitting specialized equipment on the kart in order to measure the engine RPM’s at which the clutch engaged. One sensor is fitted to the ignition cable to read the engine RPM’s. This was the critical element. Deven went out for qualifying and completed his out-lap as normal. On his first flying lap he noticed the engine starting to cut out randomly, but pushed on and completed his lap, but on the second flying lap it started to get worse and worse. Something was wrong. Unaware that according to the regulations, he could not come out again on track under qualifying if he came off to check the engine, he came into the pit as it was not drivable. The slight upward tension from the extra RPM sensor, combined with the normal engine vibrations, had caused the ignition cable to detach from the spark plug. It was a freak incident, but it had ruined and wreaked havoc on Deven’s and the Team’s race day. It meant a non-representative qualifying time and a 3rd from last P26 qualifying position. If yesterday was a challenge, today was a near impossible task. Understandably there was massive frustration and disappointment in the team pit area, and tears of anger and despair on the part of our driver. However, what you could also see when you looked into Deven’s eyes through the welling tears was something else as well. Defiance, Determination, Resolve. He was not going to let this defeat him. There were still 3 races left to salvage something from this weekend.

Sprint Race 1 - 14 laps - P17
Race motor failure. Unlucky qualifying group weather. Disconnected ignition cable. None of it mattered. Deven was a driver possessed. In an ultra-competitive, super closely contested field on one of the shortest tracks of the year, Deven flew off the start like he had afterburners attached to his race machine. Picking off 5 positions at the start through sheer power of will and unwillingness to let anyone get in his way, he was up to 21st before coming to the turn 4 hairpin for the first time. He then set in motion his internal overtake button. Lap after lap he chased down the next driver ahead and made clean, assertive passing moves. He then secured the place for a corner or two before driving away and going after the next one. This ferocious race craft continued for all 14 laps and he was 17th by the time the checkered flag came, having run out of laps as he was bearing down on the group ahead of him as well. 9 positions gained. It was a statement of intent to the rest of the field. Watch out because here I come.

Sprint Race 2 - 14 laps - P17
There was no way that he could repeat the performance from the first sprint race. It was simply too much to ask for a ten year old mentally and physically, right? It was the third long day in a row of hard racing, waking up early to make it to the track, dealing with all the disappointment and frustration of the past two days. However, the boost of that powerful first sprint performance had given Deven a renewed energy and will, and the resolute fist bump he gave his race mechanic on the pre-grid said it all. Again he managed to get an incredible and clean start, This time “only” managing 3 places up by the end of the first lap. Now in 23rd, he needed to get on his horse. He did. He took two more spots on lap two and again showed good composure and race intelligence to secure his overtakes to discourage any counterattacking before moving on to the next racers ahead. Another pass on lap 4. 2 more passes on lap 5. One more on lap 8 and he was 17th and still had 6 laps to go. He put in his fastest laps of the race on laps 9 and 10 and caught up to the next group on lap 11 when his pace fell off a few tenths of a second. It seemed he was losing on the straights slightly, and lacked the little oomph to quite close up on the group ahead. 17th was the end result. Another mega drive from the young driver, another sprint race up 9 positions. It was all you could possibly have asked of him and more. P17 on the starting grid for the Final was the outcome of the sprint races, and the was now suddenly all to play for. Could a miracle top 10 still be on the cards?

Final - 19 laps - Started P17 - Finished P15
There was tentative positivity in the team pit area leading up to this race. It was sunny and warm and it seemed that Deven’s sheer force of will had allowed the entire team to overcome the challenges they had faced during the weekend. He was comfortable with the chassis and the setup, and only looking forward to seeing hpow far up the field he could finish, as opposed to looking back. He knew he was still well out of place on the grid. For the team this was still something new, but expectations were slowly being shifted up the grid as Deven continued to show his accelerated development curve. Out on the pre-grid for the race, all team were preparing for the final. Deven’s race mechanic set about prepping the engine for a test start before setting the machine down on the ground in the grid position. It was more difficult to get going than it had been during the day, but fired up well enough after a bit of extra churning of the start motor. Down on the asphalt it went. 5 minutes later the cone at the front of the pre-grid was removed indicating the drivers to start their engines. It wouldn’t turn over. The race mechanic bent down and tried to help. Give it more gas. Nothing. Pop off the fuel line and clear the carburetor of fuel. Try again. Nothing. Won’t turn over. Panic started to ensue in both mechanic and driver. The rest of the karts rumbled out onto the track for the formation lap. Try again. Nothing. Remove air intake. Spray engine starter into the carburetor. Race mechanics from other teams sprint over to help. It is not fun watching other teams not get out for the start either. What a community of racers. Someone has an 18V RC battery. Startmotor fires triple as fast. Engine start up. But the formation lap is almost over. Is it too late? NO - the race officials have indicated an additional formation lap! Engine sputtering. Dies. Hurry, attached the air intake again. scramble to reattached the normal start battery. Fire it up. It starts. The field is all the way down the back straight. Go go go!! Deven makes it out and even is able to take his normal place on the starting grid as the karts rumble down the last “s” complex before the start finish line for the rolling start. He is there. he made it and will get to race.

And race he did. Somehow keeping his cool during the whole engine start ordeal, he had really gotten the start down here at this track. He knew exactly what to do and executed yet again. He made up 4 places at the start once more, crossing the line for the first lap all the way up to P13. It looked like it was on. Already on lap 2, though the data was showing something not quite right. Not enough fuel was getting to the engine at any RPM, so Deven was losing 2-3 tenths in pace due to carburetor issues. It was the same issue that had almost prevented him from starting the race in the first place. It meant he had to start defending from the second lap of the race as opposed to focusing ahead as he had been able to do during the sprint races. On lap 3 he was forced to concede a place back to 14th. He held pace well enough but the two behind him were gaining ever so slightly, and on lap 8 he lost another spot. This time though, sheer determination kept him in touch with those ahead, and he was in a yo-yo battle back and forth the rest of the race. This also caused a slow down in outright pace though, and allowed a few drivers behind to close in. In a chaotic last lap battle between 5 racers, Deven was briefly up in 13th place again in the last turn 7-8 combo but had to place his kart awkwardly to get there and didn't get the drive needed out of turn 8. He was consequently beaten in a drag race to the final corner turn 9 and had to settle for 15th spot as he crossed the finish line in his cripple machine for the final time as the checkered flag came out.

Reflections

​What a weekend. Seriously the highs and lows of what can be going to the races. Disastrous qualifying and feature final circumstances that sandwiched amazing sprint race performances by Deven. The team just weren’t able to put the whole puzzle together to make one of the race days a success. Here is what the team had to say about the weekend:

So easy to reflect on what could have been. We lost our race motor in the morning on day one, so didn’t have it the whole weekend. We got unlucky with the weather going out in the first qualifying group on Saturday. We made the wrong call on slicks for the final on Saturday. We lost out completely on qualifying on Sunday with the freak accident detached ignition cable. We got carburetor gremlins just at the final on Sunday that not only slowed him down, but almost didn’t even allow him to race. But despite all of that, Deven’s storming performances in the Sprints were a real highlight for the team. He showed he has the pace, the race craft and the ability to execute out on the track. Now we have to stop letting him down off it. Our development curve has to match his, otherwise we are doing him a disservice. Kid deserves better and we are going to give it to him. Can’t wait to get out on track again in two weeks time.”
~ Dan Grabko, Team Principal

The only thing good about this weekend was the sprint races. It was so much fun getting those good starts and chasing everyone down and passing them. My speed was great. I just wish I could have shown it for real up at the front. Really angry about all the bad luck we had. Ruined all the good that we did, and I got no real reward for how well I drove. We gotta make sure stuff like this doesn’t happen anymore. I want to be there up at the front where I belong. I know I have the pace, so the team has to make sure I have the equipment as well. We lost vital points in the championship now with two bad final results and it is going to be tough to catch back up. We won’t give up though - never!
~ Deven Grabko, Race Driver

​The Team 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

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