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KCV Round 5 Race Report

10/18/2021

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​What a Journey It Has Been

The final round of the Karting Cup West was on the menu this weekend, at the challenging and fun figure eight of Lidköping Motorpark’s karting circuit. There was all to race for, with our rookie driver vying for a top 5 place in the championship while at the same time aiming for personal redemption from the disappointment of the previous round in Skövde where all had been looking so good in the opening laps of the Final.

So while there was an overall festive mood in the paddock amongst all the teams and competitors, there was an air of anticipation and expectation going into the weekend. We needed things to go our way, it was that simple.

Saturday was free practice day, a brisk Fall day with biting winds from the Northeast and periods of sun poking through light cloud cover.  The team and driver went about their business in a methodical and professional way, Deven showing good maturity in his pace development throughout the day and feedback to the race engineers and mechanics. Turns 7 and 13 were the key areas of the circuit, where maintaining momentum and speed carried you through the two long straights this 1.2km track had on offer. This proved a tough challenge for our man, who prefers more curvy tighter track layouts. Nevertheless, improvements were made, and at the end of the day, it was a satisfied team that packed it up and locked it down for Sunday race day.

​The morning of the race the team woke to 0°C temps as they pulled away from team headquarters and got on the road for the short journey East on the E44. It was clear skies and high air pressure, which brought the air temps down from the previous day, and tire pressures would have to be rethought.

As a beautiful sunrise rose over the circuit, the team, prepped for the first of two free practice sessions, jumping jacks and multiple layers of clothing being the order of the morning to keep warm and the blood flow going. It really had a preseason testing vibe to it with the weather. Due to the pandemic, the 2nd half of the season had been pushed back by almost a whole month and in Sweden, October is a gamble as to when winter will hit.

​In the first practice session, the track was literally like ice, the sun not having had time to raise the track temps above air temperatures yet. Deven had serious trouble with his hands, trying to shake them as much as he could down the straights to keep feeling in them, but was forced to come in a few minutes early as he just couldn’t take it anymore. You can’t drive if you can’t feel the steering wheel!
I had no idea what place I was in until after I came in, I just focused on the next corner the whole time.
Picture

Huddling in the race van with the heat turned up and the fans on full blast to warm up, race engineer and driver went over their plans for the rest of the day, reviewing the track and the strategy for qualifying later in the day.

The second FP session went much better, the circuit and the air temps had already risen to more acceptable levels and Deven quickly found his pace from the day before, putting in 1:04.3s laps near the end of the session, which was a bit quicker than Saturday practice. So the stage was set for qualifying, where a good session would be key to setting up for the sprint races to follow.

By the time the qualifying session came around, at 10:25am, track temps had risen significantly, nearing 15°C due to the sun beating down on it, with an air temp of 6-7°C. Rubber had also been laid down from all the other classes as well, so track evolution would play its part here as well. Our intrepid young racer had a slow start, sitting down in 12th spot for most of the session, but with only a couple of minutes to go found his rhythm. Putting in a 1:04.033s lap on his 8th pass of the circuit was good enough to see him jump up to a respectable mid-field 9th spot, only 0.003s away from an 8th position. This is how it stayed, and so it was a solid performance from The Kid. He would be starting the sprint races on the inside line, so missing out on 8th wasn’t the biggest deal in the world.

The starts have been the biggest opportunity for improvement this year, and unfortunately today was no different. Finding and being willing to take the right positioning on track for the opening corners is something that will come with more experience, and has been good at times this year, but the consistency track to track have been lacking.

​In the first Sprint Race, Big D missed the opportunity to take the inside line at the first hard braking point, the turn 3 hairpin, and lost a couple of positions, coming through the first lap in P11. He had the pace to then drive away from the field behind him, but curiously those ahead started finding time. Our best theoretical lap came in at 1:03.5XXs while our best actual lap in the first sprint was a 1:03.938s time. Those just up the road were putting in low 1:03’s so they were finding continuing evolutions where we were not.

The second Sprint Race was a similar story, but this time the start was better. We held 9th spot through the first lap and ended up coming home 10th after conceding a place mid race without much of a fight as the pace just wasn’t there coming out of the all important exits of turns 7 and 13.

So after the sprints is was all down to the Final. Going into the day the goal was a top 10 finish and to try and finish ahead of the closest rivals in the championship. It was going to be a difficult one, and the tension was palpable in the team tent leading up to the race. What we needed was a good start, some good hard racing, fighting spirit, and some good old fashioned luck.

Finishing off his pre-race ritual by solving his Rubik’s Cube in a personal best time, Deven put on his helmet for the last time this season, the last time as a rookie, and the last time aged in single digits. Special handshake with Daddy and then it was off to the pre-grid to lay it all out on the table.

The results of the Sprint races meant he was pushed down a grid spot in the Final, to 10th, and this meant being on the outside line for the start. It was the first challenge to overcome, but certainly not the last of the day. As they wound around the final corner of the formation lap and came slowly rumbling down the start finish straight, Deven was leaned forward in his seat, willing the start to go off. Down the front straight they came and The Kid made a good move to hang in there, staying even on the outside line through the fast turn 1 and through the quick kink that is turn 2. There was just no room to get inside for the turn 3 hairpin though and he was forced out wide on the exit, still even with those beside him. There was just no room left going into the fast right hander at turn 4 though and he was forced to concede the place as he couldn’t get to the apex first.

So he went over the bridge straight for the first time in 11th spot again, and was being hard pressed from behind by two karts behind. He defended well and when the kart behind dove in on him going under the tunnel at turn 11, he raced hard and dove right back on the all important final turn 13 that led out onto the start finish straight, and came over the line in 11th still after the first lap.

It was tense racing for the next few laps as The Kid was able to open up a small gap to those behind and even make a little headway on those in front, but it was looking like 11th was all that was going to be on the cards. But the two karts behind suddenly found renewed pace, and started closing on Deven again, and had caught him up by lap 7. Three karts in side by side, bumper to bumper racing came through the final turn, and our man got overtaken on the exit, but was able to maintain his momentum better because of it, and got up alongside coming over the start/finish line, crucially on the inside line. It was now a matter of who would dare stay on the gas the longest. Deven won that duel, and was able to force his opponent off the ideal line and sweep back past him.

At the same time, up ahead in the race Vendela Kördel, who had been having a cracking weekend herself, and fighting for a podium place all weekend long had disaster strike as her engine let her down and gave up the ghost. Such disappointment for her and her team. One person’s misfortune is another person’s opportunity, and the time it was Big D’s turn to ride the wave of fortune. Sweeping past the stricken number 17, Deven found himself in that top 10 spot he had been aiming for. This seemed to give him a boost because he seemed to gain focus, and dug a little deeper to find that little bit of pace, and was able to pull a gap again slightly in his three way battle, now for 10th spot.

The two behind then got in a tussle of their own a lap later, down the back side of the circuit, somewhere around turns 9 or 10 - it was hard to make out as the was no line of site to that part of the track. This ended up resulting in Deven pulling a comfortable 5-6s gap with now only a few laps to go. He drove it home, and completed his excellent weekend coming across the line in 10th.

In the end it wasn’t quite enough to get him in the top 5 of the championship, and so the energetic rookie would have to settle for 6th. Still a trophy winning spot, and the smiles and elation were huge at the prize ceremony.

All in all a very satisfying way to mark the end of a debut season.

​Team Principal, Dan put it into perspective, “Gotta be very happy with today - our pace development mysteriously stopped after qualifying, and so we struggled to latch onto those we had beaten or been around in the later sprints and the final, but a top ten finish on the day and a top 6 in the championship is something we all have to be happy with after what happened last week in Skövde. Really proud of The Kid today - showed good application and that he wanted it, so you really can’t ask for much more than that!”

Deven was a bit more on point, “What an awesome track! I had to fight hard to stay ahead of those guys behind, but there was no way I was letting them by in the final - I had no idea what place I was in until after I came in, I just focused on the next corner the whole time. Feels so good to make the top ten, there are some good drivers here - and 6th in the series! So cool! And a super huge Trophy! Wish this wasn’t the last one - can’t wait until next year!”

And now, all of the sudden, we are here, at the end of our inaugural season. It seems like only yesterday that both team and driver dove in head first into the amazing and unforgiving world of motor racing. It has been a crazy and exciting time full of ultimate highs and deepest lows - a rollercoaster of emotions that had everything one could imagine all packed into an 8 month microcosm of life. Tears of all flavors have flowed freely at one time or another - joy & sadness, elation & frustration, triumph & defeat, satisfaction & desperation.

The learning curve has been steeper than anyone could have imagined for the whole team. Upon reflection, though, we wouldn’t have had it any other way. There are far too many partners, sponsors, suppliers, and simply friends to the team that have helped us through the season in one way or another that it would almost be remiss of us to try and list them, but we’re going to have a go at it anyway. PLEASE forgive us if we do miss you here, we have appreciated every little gesture no matter how small.

First of all, our engine and chassis supplier as well as on site mechanic support, LK Racing. Leo & Mattias, thank you both for your dedicated support and input, which has been invaluable all season long, and on more than one occasion race-weekend-saving. Can’t wait to further develop this relationship next year.

Uddevalla Karting Club - what a great group of racing enthusiasts to be a part of. Great race track, good facilities, and amazing members make this a great platform for getting into racing. Thank you all collectively for being awesome.

Justin and Elliot Russell - help, support, advice, friendship, what a cool father/son duo, you guys are more appreciated than you know! Allehall Racing, thanks for being a great sparring partner and test day companion, really looking forward to even more fun next year. Jim Abrahamsson, for being accessible and approachable and willing to share with a rookie team. The Silverfjäll, Welander, Packalén Spangenberg, Fransson, Emanuelsson, and Hagardzon families, the entire LK Racing Intrepid Team, and all of you out there who didn’t hesitate to help us when we we needed it whether it was a stripped or broken bolt, a carburetor issue, kart and chassis setup, race van battery, etc. We are grateful to all of you!

Last but not least, a special and heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and partners. Without your support and encouragement, none of this would be possible. Freem Sweden, Improx Customs, Profil 461, Weret Surf Watches, The Techno Creatives, Elevate IoT Platform, Telus International, Intrepid Racing Karts, Sparco, Tillett, Shell Racing Fuels, Eni Racing Lubricants, Leatt,  and of course our parent company, The Grabko Group - no words can describe our gratefulness!
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KCV Round 4 Race Report

10/11/2021

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​Checking in at the Heartbreak Hotel

Skövde was the venue for the 4th round of the Karting Cup West Series, hosted at the Skövde Motorpark Karting Circuit. This was one of only a few counterclockwise circuits on the calendar for the year, and was a very tight and twisty short track measuring only 800m in length and with no real straights to speak of - more like two brief respites from turning, one at the start finish line and one on the back side of the track.

All of this would appear to have made things that much more difficult for the team getting the kart set up right, but in the first free practice session in the morning, it appeared that they had done their homework. The kart was working right from the get go, and Deven was on good form, already expressing his liking for the track during the initial track walk in the misty sunrise earlier in the morning.

In a field of 30, the rookie driver moved up the timing sheets into the top 20 with a 19th fastest time by the end of the second and last free practice session. Things were looking up and the driver also felt he knew where to find more time for qualifying.

So on with the race tires for qualifying, right? This is the point where the signs began to point to something being amiss in the alignment of the stars. The “newer” race tires had been mislabeled on loading for travel. This meant that the wrong tires were registered for the race, and also the wrong tires were mounted for qualifying. This became immediately apparent as The Kid recorded his first flying lap. He was visibly struggling for rear grip, and his times suffered badly for it. Instead of moving up the field for qualifying, he dropped down, even though his driving was improving with every lap that went.

​Coming into parc fermé after the session the time sheets showed 23rd, and a 0.6s slower fastest lap than in FP2. The team had let the little man down. He took it on the chin and kept his head held high. He was no stranger to having to fight his way up the field.
​In the first sprint race, though, he got caught out on the start as the first four turns weave back and forth left and then left and then right and then right, and getting the kart positioned for turn three properly was the key to gaining places. Getting stuck on the outside allowed several karts he had passed in the first two turns to get through and he was a net 24th.

Again he showed he had more pace than the two karts ahead but couldn’t capitalize on it, not finding a way passed. A similar story in the 2nd sprint race followed, as he attempted to correct his positioning but couldn’t find an opening to transition from the inside of turn 2 to the inside of turn 3, and was again stuck on the outside going into turn 4. He finished 23rd but this meant a 24th spot on the grid for the semifinal.

The semifinal was a much better drive from the fledgling racer, he managed the start well and drove away from those behind but then had a bit of a lonely race as he couldn’t make much headway going forward with the older tires, and started trying to drift through the harder hairpins to see if it would help anything. It didn’t. Back to the drawing board.

So lining up 23rd in the Final was just the way it was going to be after so much promise in the free practice sessions. The tire fiasco would have to be investigated after the weekend, and measures put in place to make sure a mistake like this wouldn’t happen again.

​As it was the Final itself started out in a dream scenario. The team’s closest rivals in the championship were either behind on the starting grid, or only just ahead. At the start there were several incidents that Deven managed to navigate cleanly through and he found himself in 20th spot after lap one was complete. Crucially those close rivals had been part of those opening incidents and this left Deven with the opportunity to make up some vital ground in the points standings where he was 6th going into the day.

Now, with two slower karts ahead of him after the jumbling at the start, he duly began to hunt them down and was closing fast. He had fully caught them up on lap 3 of 16, and it looked an inevitability that he would sail past them and go on to finish well up in the midfield and close out his season in fine style.

But then the worst that could happen, happened. The two karts ahead were fighting their own fight, part of the reason Deven was able to catch them up as quickly as he did. Going into the quick back side zigzag section of the track, The Kid had just come up right on the back of the karts ahead, planning to follow them through and then pass on the short little start finish straight that came after, maybe even getting both of them at the same time.

However, the kart ahead had no idea Deven was there, and tried an ill advised move of its own, getting into the side of the 18th placed kart and spinning out only millimeters in front of The Grabko GP machine.

Deven had absolutely no chance whatsoever. He was into the back and up over the top of the spun ‘round kart before he could even blink. It was race over, points gone, and series position lost, all in the blink of an eye.

True heartbreak for the young man, who sportingly cheered on the rest of the field from the racing steward post for a lap or two until he dejectedly sat himself down, head sunk into his hands and pondered what could have been. 

Luckily the racing machine suffered no real damage, just simple bodywork. Deven drove it home into parc fermé after the checkered flag had gone, and after weighing in and being met by the mechanic team, the tears he had been holding in started to flow freely. They didn’t stop for a good long while after either.

It was no way to end the fight in the KCV series, and definitely not the way to end the season, and so it was decided by the team, which had initially not planned on making the final round in Lidköping the following week, that their plans needed to change in order to fight for that all important spot in the series championship, and give our driver a chance at redemption.

So The final round of the KCV series in back on the calendar and we will see you all next week for the real final race of the season, with hopefully a better and slightly more satisfying end to our rookie year in racing.

#jointhejourney - Support #grassrootsracing, support Grabko GP!
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KCV Round 3 Race Report

10/4/2021

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​Have another!

Torrential rain was the order of the day for the third round of the Karting Cup West Series. Held at the Team 13 Track, the same venue as the Gothenburg Grand Prix of only a few weeks ago, this was going to be a much more challenging circumstance.

But it was the same for everyone, and as the team readied for the coming day with the rain pouring down, energy was positive after the first round of the series saw the rookie in 4th spot in this championship coming into the weekend.

With funds and resources running low for the rest of the 2021 season, and this being the penultimate race of the season, it was two sets of worn, used rain tires that were the options for the team. The first practice session revealed the challenge the day was going to be on used tires, as the forecast was not for continuous rain, and the expectation was that the track would be able to dry out a little bit as the day went on.

However this was not the case. Instead of a few showers scattered throughout the day, it was an almost continuous downpour the whole day, with shorter periods of lighter drizzle breaking up the proper rain.
​We still somehow came home with a bit of hardware. Go figure! That is racing sometimes.

The track was so wet that there was standing water in several key braking areas of the track, and fresh rain tires would allow for much better braking traction. Unfortunately this was not available to our little warrior, and he had to make due with what he had.

​He fought on valiantly, but could only manage a 12th position in qualifying. Things got worse as well, as a start motor casing failure caused a delay in the pre-grid and thus the #14 GrabkoGP machine ended up a half lap behind on the formation lap. The race stewards made the decision to start the race in any case and not take an extra formation lap to allow the kart to catch up to the pack. Then mysteriously the black and white flag was shown on our next lap around the track in last place, with the start finish steward motioning our driver into the pit, which he duly followed, thus ending his race before it even started.

In the aftermath the Race Director made a visit to the team tent, apologizing for the miscommunication, noting that the wrong information was forwarded on to the on-track official, resulting in both the wrong flag being shown to the driver as well as the wrong gesturing to enter the pit.

The damage had already been done, though. A DNF in the first sprint race meant that it would be extremely difficult to move up the field for the final regardless of the race result of the 2nd sprint race - this especially because on pace the team were already lacking and could only realistically expect a 10-12th place finish at best.

The 2nd sprint race wasn’t quite a best case scenario either. Starting 12th and ending up 13th, running in 11th most of the race and defending well until he lost out avoiding a spinning kart ahead which allowed the kart behind to take advantage and slip through.

So a DNF in Sprint 1 and a 13th place finish in Sprint 2 saw the little man lining up 16th for the final. It was a bitter pill to swallow for everyone, but there was still hardware to fight for and so that is what The Kid focused on.

He got off to a good start, making up two places off the start, and kept his head in a truly testing race of attrition which meant that keeping the kart actually on track was a huge challenge in itself. Even the pole sitter and leader of the final crashed out in the conditions, with others spinning off left and right as well.

​Deven drove like he was on his tippy toes through the corners, making sure he kept himself pointing straight with his almost useless worn out rain tires, and as such lacked the outright pace to take himself further up the field, but due to the conditions found himself halfway through the race running in 12th.

It was heartening for the whole team to see his fighting spirit, and having taken himself up those 4 positions, he was doing well defending from behind as a couple of those who had spun out earlier were catching up and putting on the pressure.

He was even gaining on the 11th and 10th placed karts ahead when the 10th placed racer lost it in the final hairpin, and the 11th placed driver only several meters ahead of Deven was forced to make evasive maneuvers. He managed to keep himself pointing in the right direction, but right into the line Deven had chosen to take.

Thus he was forced to make a last second correction out to the wide side of the track and lost so much time that even though he went around the spun out kart successfully, he ended up a net 13th as the 2 karts chasing him behind were able to slither by with more time to react and take the much preferred inside line.

Then to add insult to injury, the original spinner was able to catch up Deven and pass him on the second to last lap, meaning that in the end he took the checkered flag in 14th as he crossed the start/finish line for the last time.

It was a bit of a let down given how hard he had fought and worked himself into a decent position.

The Kid was open about his challenges on the day. “I am really disappointed with 14th today, but I just didn’t feel as comfortable in the rain as some of these other guys, and I just couldn’t seem to get the same kind of grip as the other guys out there either. I was basically on ice skates, man! Afraid I was going to lose it and spin out on almost every corner. It was a real fight today just to bring the kart home every session!”

Chief Mechanic, Dan was equally keen to let his feelings be known. “Yeah, our tent broke apart during setup this morning, we had a start motor casing explode on the pre-grid for the first Sprint, we had a miscommunication from the race officials, and we didn’t even have the proper equipment for the conditions today. We still somehow came home with a bit of hardware. Go figure! That is racing sometimes.”

This being the penultimate race of the season for the team, with next week being the 4th round of the KCV series in Skövde! Deven still lies in 6th spot in the KCV championship standings after this round, so there is everything to race for in the final race of the season.

Don’t miss it! Support #grassrootsracing, Join the Journey and support GrabkoGP!
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