"TO DO" LIST

This is a picture of me behaving badly with a pint of Smirff in my hand. Smirff is a cocktail of Smirnoff Ice, WKD Blue with an extra shot of vodka. Quite lethal. The event was my colleague and friend Tanya's 40th birthday party last weekend. My fellow partygoer is another colleague and friend Cheryl. We had a great time.

Plans for my "Oz-Bus" trip in the Spring are progressing well. I've put a sponsorship link on the blog (all donations will be gratefully received by Marie Curie), made a list of all the countries that I will be passing through for my vaccination requirements (Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania,Latvia,Russia,Trans Siberian Express, Mongolia, China, South Korea, Japan, Alaska, Canada & USA), ordered my rucksack (a Berghaus Jalan 70 + 15 wheeled travel pack) and organised to borrow a sleeping bag, liner and blow up pillow from a friend. This has made a bit of a dent in my "to do" list.

A "pending event" is that I've given a mad interview to Eddie Bluelight for his regular "Sunday Roast" feature. You can catch this from next Sunday on his blog Clouds and Silvery Linings (http://eddybluelights.blogspot.com) This is a great honour. Thanks Eddie.

RACE REPORT

You can just about make out my logo on Wayne's cart. It looks good doesn't it? He had a good race and reported as follows:


I tested all day Saturday and managed a grand total of 4 laps as I had nothing but problems throughout the day but with some help from some very friendly people I managed to get the kart running right for the race day.

There were bigger grids this time with just over 20 karts entered in my heats, again the main aim was to keep out of trouble and get a signature on my license for the upgrade.
In the first heat I recorded a lap time 0.2 of a second faster than I went last month so at least I was heading in the right direction, I finished 15th from 21 karts.


In the 2nd heat I went a further 0.2 second faster so I’d already gained nearly half a second per lap than last month, I finished 17th from 20 karts.

Heat 3 was basically a non starter when contact with another kart forced me to retire with

The final was excellent and I made up 6 places on the first lap alone (more than anyone else!), I kept my head but I think I had set my tyre pressures a little high and towards the end of the race I was sliding about and losing momentum which allowed a few karts to sneak past me – I recorded my fastest lap of the meeting and set a new personal best, half a second quicker than last month so things are heading in the right direction – I finished 17th from 20 after starting 20th (remember I have to start at the back for every race until I get 6 signatures on my license, I now have 2).

Overall I’m very pleased after the disaster of testing, I can feel myself getting quicker and my driving is improving all the time.

The kart will now be completely stripped and cleaned before the next meeting.

Take care
Wayne