Glimpses of real pace were shown, though, and in the 2nd to last session, just as Deven was on a flier near the end, which would have seen him right at the pointy end of the times, he caught too much grip on the entry to the off camber right handed 2nd to last corner, went up high on 2 wheels, just managing to keep the kart upright and not flip over, but losing control and going into the dirt at the exit of the corner. He tried to shake the experience off, but it happened again during the last session and as a result he didn’t push there in the tricky off camber corner, and was well off the pace. It was a problem that needed to be solved before qualifying on Sunday, and there would be only one session in the morning to try something else before qualifying. Not the best way to end free practice. SUNDAY RACE DAY The weather had been perfect all weekend long, and Sunday was no exception. After a much needed rest day on Saturday, where other categories had their races, it was time for Mini 60 to get on track. Free Practice Group 2 | 10min | P14 in Group, P30 Overall What the team needed was a clean race day after the debacle that occurred in Helsingborg the weekend prior. Unfortunately, that is not what we got. In the build up to the session, the engine refused to turn over, no spark was coming to the spark plug. This resulted in a dismounting of the unit and it was discovered that an ignition wire had failed and needed to be replaced. This was done a bit frantically with two mechanics working together to put everything back together. Meanwhile, there was confusion as to the group allocations for the warm up and qualifying sessions. Originally allocated to Group 1, late reshuffling by the race organization meant Deven would go out in group 2 instead. With the installation completed with several minutes to spare for the first group session, it was a let off to be lined up to go out and then be reassigned to the next group. With the qualifying format the way it is, staggered results between the groups, it actually mattered who was in your group. Either way, there was not enough time to check, but rather get out on track and sort it out afterwards. In parallel, it was not clear whether the best strategy was to send out the kart on the new race tires for the warm up session, or save them for qualifying. The general consensus was to run them in, but now being in group 2, the team had the luxury of checking the timing sheets to see if there was any peaking of the new tires in the first group. Thus the scrub set of practice tires from Friday were at the ready on the pre grid just in case. As the Group 1 session went on it became clear there was no early peak and the original strategy was confirmed. Now it was out on track for the Group 2 warm up practice session. Well for a couple laps anyway. Long story short, a loose fuel line ended Deven’s session short after only 1 full flying lap. All the preparation and strategy meant nothing. No way to point fingers, the offending fuel line was replaced as a precaution after the session, but it was most likely a case of two mechanics working simultaneously and missing to properly attach it to the fuel pump. It meant not getting comfortable with the final sector before having to really push nor getting a feel for track conditions in general. Big let down, but at least it wasn’t in the actual qualifying session. Qualifying Group 2 | 8min | P12 in Group, P24 Overall (Staggered) Our man Deven went out in qualifying and just didn’t look comfortable. He was fighting with the steering wheel, picking out different lines almost every lap on the entry to the last sector, then trying different entries into the 2nd to last turn 15 where he had his 2 wheel moment on Friday, and just couldn’t find any rhythm in the chassis or the driving. Disappointing result that was almost 6 tenths off his personal best time from Friday practice, and it meant P12 in the group and thus P24 overall. Again it would be an uphill battle through the heats, and it was a stressful atmosphere in the paddock as confounded mechanics and coaches expressed their frustration at the driver. Data was analyzed and the only answer that came down was driving. A couple of minor setup changes were made to try and stabilize the kart a bit but it was down to the kid to get his mojo back. Qualifying Heat B+C | 10 laps | P16 → P15 The qualifying result put Deven P8 in Heat Group C, so he was first out in the heats and would start on the outside of row 8 in P16 for both of his qualifying heats. Starts have been a highlight of Deven’s skill set thus far in his career and he made another good one. He was up in P12 after the first 5 corners and into the sweeping left handed turn 7. However, the #56 of Frykberg bumped Deven from behind into the entry of the turn 8 hairpin and pushed him out into the marbles, forcing Deven to let off or go into the grass. The complete loss of momentum is so killer in this category, and our man was helpless as he watched 4 karts swoop past on the long turn 9. At the end of lap 1 then, it was status quo, P16 across the line. Lap 2 saw our man catch back up to the pack ahead and take advantage of a tangle between 2 karts to take him up to 14th and hunting down the next kart, a familiar adversary in the #46 of Holmberg. He took a lap to measure him up, and then on lap 4 got him in the first chicane section at turns 5 and 6. Momentum was good and he was quicker than those ahead. Unfortunately, naive race craft meant he went backwards instead of forwards… Catching fellow racer and friend, the #119 of Henrik Bergström, at just the wrong moment, lack of patience saw Deven try to overtake at the quick and sharp turn 10, an ill-advised move that simply caused both of them to lose momentum and let back in the kart behind to join the fight. Bergström quite rightly kept his nose in through 10 and 11 and then had track position to reclaim the spot, Deven forced to let off to not go off into turns 12 and 13. Now he was vulnerable and drivers in this class don’t need a second invitation. The #2 of Poulsen and the #16 of Strömberg were through at turn 15 and suddenly instead of P12 Deven was P15. It took him another lap to catch back up to Bergström and by then the two ahead had already gone by so in this shorter race it was probably too late already to get them again. Deven was also losing time in the 10-11-12-13 combination at the back of the track, choosing a different line than the rest of the field, and it was not getting him an advantage. Cursed mumbling from coaches said it all. As it was, Deven’s pace advantage to the #119 allowed him to catch up, and this time Deven chose a proper overtaking spot to make the move. Going into the turn 8 hairpin Deven made an early move for the apex, making it there ahead of the Tony Kart driver. Bergström again tried to hang it on the outside around the corner instead of let off, but whereas earlier it was smart, at this part of the track it was fatal. He had nowhere to go on exit and was out into the grass as he skated off like he was on ice. It was an unfortunate incident and afterwards, Deven felt bad it went that way for his buddy. Sometimes that is racing. Now back up in 14th, Deven had lost a lot of time and momentum - and he had pressure from behind for the remaining 3 laps of the race. The #512 of Dane Matias Kristensen took him at turn 15 and he was in 15th again. That is how it ended. Many things to learn from but the result didn’t help much in moving up the field after a poor day of racing so far. Qualifying Heat A+C | 10 laps | P16 → P10 Back in the team tent the mood had not really improved. Deven was not responding to instructions and making too many excuses. It was a negative spiral and an intervention was needed to reset and refocus. Nobody knows what was said behind the team tent between Grabko GP team principal Dan Grabko and AD Motorsport and Grabko GP Race Driver Deven Grabko. But it seemed to work. When the kid reentered the tent, he was more calm and collected, focused and determined. The subsequent race debrief with mechanic and coach, Max Sjölander, seemed more productive. Only time would tell. The next heat would be vital in trying to get up the field for the Super Heat starting grid. At the start of the heat, it seemed the happy-go-lucky, hard charging Deven Grabko was back. He knew exactly how he was going to navigate the start and executed his vision to perfection. He made two spots almost instantly and then flew around the outside of the front straight, past 3 more karts, timing the start almost perfectly. Charging down to the turn 3 hairpin he took 3 more positions, choosing to hang it out on the outside of turn 4 so he could get the inside of the turns 5 and 6 chicane section. This didn’t quite work out for him, however, and he dropped back 2 spots instead. He still had his momentum with him though, and right on the bumper of the man ahead across the line for lap 1, in 10th spot. He ran out of gear before the braking zone of turn 2 though, and had to settle for a move at turn 3 instead, which he executed perfectly and was up in P9. The gap to the group ahead, P5-P8, was bigger now, so Deven had to put his head down and try to close it. He made headway on lap 4 and was getting ready to get them in his sights, but then a couple of wiggle moments in his bogey last sector on laps 5 and 6 and he lost headway. Again this invited those chasing behind back in, and instead of attacking ahead it was defense mode. A two lap fight for 9th ensued on lap 7 between him and the quick #199 of Rasmus Ydrefalk that resulted in Deven getting caught out for yet another place and down to 11th as the #101 of Dane Reistrup took advantage and sailed through along with Ydrefalk. Now frustrated with himself and feeling irritation rise up into his head, he had to gather himself together and get back in a rhythm. Last lap chaos ensued. Deven caught up and passed the #35 of Charlie Jonasson expertly and then was right back on the heels of Ydrefalk when a lapped kart foiled any overtaking hopes going into the final turns. Deven crossed the line 10th. It was exactly the result the team needed, and broke the negative cycle of the day to this point. The final sector was still a big cause for concern as our man was losing precious tenths there compared to those ahead, and it needed to be fixed going forward. But the hard charging positive attitude was back, and it seemed confidence had been restored in the driver. Super Heat | 10 laps | P15 → P11 The top 10 result in the 2nd heat proved key for the young pilot, as he moved up 9 spots in the rankings from qualifying, up from 24th to 15th, earning him a coveted inside spot on the grid - again from row 8 but this time with the full field of 35 karts lining up to duke it out for a nice starting position in the Feature Final. Deven would line up behind the #2 of Benjamin Poulsen, who he had tight racing with already earlier in the day. Unfortunately, Poulsen misinterpreted the start procedure which was new for this season. In bad luck for Ydrefalk, his #199 machine stalled at the start and he never made it back to his starting position. Even though an extra formation lap was given, one is no longer allowed to take back their spot after the first formation lap regardless. Thus, Poulsen left a gap ahead, even after the first formation lap and even after the red line on the 2nd start attempt. Thus he missed the start completely, giving a 3-4 kart length gap to P9 ahead and also getting on the throttle extremely late. The Kid had to push him through the turn 1 kink and down the front straight with nowhere to go. Still, he was effectively starting P13 instead of P15 and was P12 through turn 2, lucking out that the #16 of Strömberg also had a bad start to hold up the outside line of the grid. Then in the fallout of the shuffling around in the first chicane section, Deven was still P12. Up ahead, the #4 of Granquist went off into the grass from P7 and Deven took the opportunity to follow the group of 4 karts through to pass him up, and seeing an opening also dove down the inside of the #21 of Salomonsson, effectively making a double pass at turn 8. Now into the final chicane section, his weakest area of the track, he was P10. He navigated the final sector very well and crossing the finish line for the first time was up on the back of the #37 of Dane William Sterup Nielsen, who had been running in the top 5 the whole day. Deven got a good run on him down to turn 3 and made the move cleanly. Now in P9 he was really feeling the early lap momentum, and now he was on the hunt. Next up was Mads Skov Nielsen’s #534 Danish racing machine. He got a great exit out of turn 6 at the same time as the #101 of another Dane, Marc Alexander Reistrup, had a moment that killed both his and Nielsen’s momentum and Deven swooped past and into P7. Now just ahead in P6 was the Ward Racing WSK Master Series race winning Maximus Unt, and he showed Deven just how he should be taking the last sector of the track on. It looked like Deven would get a run on him going into turn 10, but Unt just flew through, taking a later apex than Deven had done all day long and thus straightening out the whole 4-turn combination. Deven was left in the dust, and to make matters worse, he got caught up by William Nielsen again, who had recovered his momentum and also was driving the final chicane section properly. He was able to take our man down the inside of turn 15 and Deven was back in 8th spot at the end of lap 2. The Kid wasn’t giving up though and showed excellent speed through the first 9 turns of the lap threatening to retake 7th spot from the #37 man, but his weakness in the last section was now exposed as the racers settled into race pace after the huff and puff of the starting laps. W. Nielsen pulled away there and Deven would not threaten him again. Indeed the middle stint of the race would see Deven drop back to 12th as he just couldn’t find the same race pace as those around him. Reistrup, Nielsen, Salomonsson and Granquist all got him on the back side of the track during this stint. It was certainly disheartening from the grandstand, and frustrating for the mechanic and coaches who had hammered the line he should have been taking there all day long. But The Kid is nothing if not a fighter and he did his best to fight back. With 3 laps to go he put in his best lap of the race and it was enough to close him back up on the #21 again, who after losing out to Granquist, made a couple of mistakes, getting his rear wheel onto the grass a couple of times, and lost momentum to give Deven a sniff. Deven got the final sector perfectly for once and closed in on him as they crossed the line together with 2 laps to go. Always need a bit of good fortune in racing and Deven got it here as they closed up on lapped traffic. Salomonsson was forced to take a tighter line into the turn 4 hairpin that leads into the first chicane to get by, and hopped the inside curbing, unsettling the kart. Deven was able to simply take the proper racing line, and thus got a great run into the chicane section, and was past him before they even got to turn 5. With the gap to P10 too big to overcome with only a lap and a half to go, full focus was on maintaining the P11 spot to bring it home for the final. In the end it was actually a hard charging Poulsen in the #2 kart that almost stole P11 at the death. He had also gotten past Salomonsson after Deven, and as they came around the final corner it became a short and slow motion drag race to the finish line that Deven just edged out by a few hundredths of a second. As it was, it was another strong result on a track Deven obviously didn’t fancy, but he had managed to stay in the fight for a top 10 position anyway. The result meant that Deven climbed another 2 spots in the overall rankings and would start P13 in the Feature Final Race. Final | 13 laps | P13 → P14 (P13) So this was it then. Deven had managed to somehow match his best SKCC Final starting position of the season thus far despite all the challenges he was having with the track. Imagine if he could finally fix the last sector, how quick he would be… As it was, there was a real opportunity at a top 10 finish, but at the pace we were running everything would have to go just right. Instead it was a mixed bag, as often is the case. At the start the #9 of River Nilsson and Mads got tangled up, touching both front and rear wheels, sliding off into the grass down the front straight, literally right in front of Deven. He avoided any contact at all, but this lost him precious momentum, so even though he was through relatively unscathed and picked up those two positions, he lost one to the #69 of Liam Secall. He thrust through turn 2 though, and made a great run up the outside of turn 3, momentarily up to P7, right alongside his rapid teammate, the #12 of Jonathan Landström. Unfortunately this is where the mixed bag came in. The #101 of Reistrup had gotten pushed out wide ahead and he came back onto the racing line right into Deven, who had nowhere to go, with Unt on his inside and Reistrup cutting him off coming back on track. He bumped into the back corner of Reistrup and it was curtains for his rocket start. He lost 7 positions in the short little straight down to turn 4, and another at turn 5 before he could recover. It was a blow that was hard to recover from here, where he didn’t quite have the race pace to get up to the front runners and needed the good start to race with them properly. He was P15 crossing the line at the end of the first lap and to his credit was able to hook back up to the 4 kart group ahead on the following laps. He looked quicker in the first two sectors of track and was hanging with them even in the last sector, where he looked to finally have figured out his way through the 2nd chicane section. But he would have to make his moves forward now or it would be a case of pass or be passed. On lap 4 he made it by the #512 of Dane Matias Kristensen going into the turn 5-6 chicane, and looked to have good pace to those ahead. Unfortunately he made a mistake at turn 8, out-braking himself into the hairpin and going deep into the corner, missing the apex completely. It was the first real mistake of its kind he had made all day, but it came in the Final and it was punished by his competitors. Slow going through the long right handed turn 9, he was a sitting duck as they came to the wide entry and off camber penultimate turn 15. Deven got mugged late by Kristensen there. Kristensen got a bad exit as a result of the slightly clumsy manoeuver, which gave Deven an opening to answer back immediately, but it didn’t come off and Deven touched into the back of him instead, losing even more momentum. The #33 of Raasum snuck through as a result and it was suddenly P16 after 5 laps! This was not going the way we’d hoped, even though the pace overall was the best Deven had delivered all day. Small things are magnified in the Final, and slight misfortune at the start and a deep corner at turn 8 had been enough to see Deven in this spot with 8 laps to go. But The Kid doesn’t even know what the word quit means, and he never stopped pushing the whole way. It was obvious we were running one gear too high. Deven was excellent out of the final corner and getting runs on everyone there. Had he been given the sprocket, he would have been passing down the front straight all day long. As it was, he was back on the bumper of Raasum and through to P15 again cleanly at turn 3. On the next lap he inherited P14 as the #313 of another Dane, Leeroy Malmros, spun off after getting a wheel out on the grass before trying to turn in to the hairpin at turn 8. The chase was on now to hunt down Kristensen again with just less than half the race to go. Deven wanted it badly. On laps 9 and 10 he put in his two quickest laps of the day, finally figuring out the final sector after all this time. It was looking good as he had closed the gap to just under 3 tenths after having it as high as 1.5s two laps earlier. Then came lap 11. Deven was closing right in when he slightly missed the apex at turns 1 and 8, so instead of getting an opportunity at a passing move, he lost full contact again. Then in the final sector he got all twisted up as he tried to push too hard, and came way off line at turn 11, making him let off at turns 12 and 13. Just like that the gap was back to over a second again as they crossed the line with only 2 laps to go. Deven felt it slipping away, and he put everything into the next lap. Unfortunately it was a case of slight overdriving, and he wasn’t able to close again, losing 2 tenths instead. In the end it was P14 across the line in the Final after a long hard slog. A front fairing penalty ahead for Ydrefalk saw the young racer climb up a spot to be classified 13th, but he was not satisfied. He had finally shown the proper top 10 pace in the final, but had gotten a worse result. That is how it can be in the cut-throat, ultra competitive category of Mini 60. SUMMARY Given the massive challenges faced at this track where pace was extremely elusive for The Kid, it is a credit to him to have forced his way through to this result, even if he and the rest of the team knew there could easily have been more in it for him if only he had been able to apply his coaching earlier and execute on the final sector of track. It is a lesson learned and given the rest of the package he showed during the races, he has the potential to be properly rapid going forward. Now it is a one week break before the 2nd round of the Kart Cup West Series in Gothenburg on June 3-4. Man, it was so hard this weekend. Everyone was yelling at me and I was getting sad and frustrated, because I knew I was doing bad, and I knew everyone was trying to help me. I couldn’t figure it out until like the end of the Super Heat and then I knew what it felt like and could do it again. Still was hard but I was getting it more and more. Wish I had done it right earlier. A bit more luck at the start, where I knew exactly what I wanted to do, and was doing it too before that guy came from off line and cut me off, and I would have been right up there - it would have been different. Then I just started pushing a little bit too much to try and make up for it. Really frustrating final even though I could feel I was faster than before. I just want to get back in the seat again now ASAP, bro! Bring on the next one!” It doesn’t all happen in a day. We have all seen the flashes of Dev’s brilliance. He needs to be more consistent with that and a bit more mature mentally, he will get there. As a long term project, so much potential and we are looking forward to helping him realize it.”
Grabko GP would like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors, without whose support and trust, this journey would not be possible.
Brunbergs | Trollhättans Oljor | Chassis Autonomy | The Grabko Group Until next time, thank you all for the support! #karting #racing #motorsport #speed #grassrootsracing #winningenergy #energycorse #admotorsport #grabkogp #usackarting #hardwork #nevergiveup #believe #jointhejourney #brunbergs #trollhättansoljor #chassisautonomy #gotrollhattan #visittv
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