I probably should have thought of this before but on the way to the track, I began to wonder if I needed to change the rear sprocket to optimize the new engine set-up. I asked the father of one of the consistently fast drivers when we arrived at the track. He not only told me what we should run, he offered a gear for me to borrow. When we re-checked his ratio table, we both realized that with a 16 tooth front sprocket, neither of us had a large enough rear. He immediately offered a 14 tooth clutch sprocket which would get us in the ball park with the collection of rear sprockets I had on-hand. Great folks in this sport!
Gear ratios and weights didn't matter much because we were also without the correct rear tires for the class and Lian struggled for traction. Watching her on the track was impressive. I've gotten accustomed to watching her with the smaller plate, she is so much quicker! The Mychron gauge also revealed that the engine is spinning much faster - max RPM today 6,900 versus typically around 5,200 RPM in the other class.
After the first practice, we adjusted the air pressures slightly and went to the driver's meeting. Even though they spoke about doing something different like running the track backwards, the club officers decided to begin with a conventional race format. That was to be followed by the "Halloween intermission" then the fun races. The fun races were planned to be in a relay format where a competitor in one class would pair with a competitor in a second class. The first group would be arranged on the front straight with drivers standing nearby. At the green, they would run and jump in their kart, thier parent would start them and send them on their way (this is known as the Le Mans start even though that race doesn't start that way anymore). After 4 laps, they would head off the course and when they passed a cone on the pit lane, their partner would be cleared to leave the start grid and enter the track.
Out of six racers, Lian started 4th and finished 4th in Heat one. She complained that the kart was making her nervous by tipping up on two wheels in a fast left-hander. I countered by increasing the track-width of her rear wheels (surprisingly easy to do). Her kart was more stable after that change but still slid quite a bit. In the second heat, she started 3rd and finished 5th but felt safer. She added that the forces are tougher to deal with than before. In the Feature, she started 5th and finished 6th. Not what she hoped for but recognized that dad wasn't going to buy new tires for one race. We'll do that in the spring.
The race day dragged on a little long. It was made longer when the race director split the group in two to make it easier to officiate. Unfortunately, during the second feature race, the leader had her steering wheel come off at the end of the long straight. She sailed-off into the tire barrier and the race was red flagged. She escaped with a minor injury to her hand after a thorough check-over by the paramedics. Her kart was in drivable condition as well with some cracks and breaks in the nose. By the time all this was cleared-up, the sun was setting.
We decided to forgo the fun races. It was starting to look like we were not alone as other families were beginning to pack-up. I quickly removed the borrowed clutch and profusely thanked the other crew for letting us borrow it. We then loaded-up and headed home with a long list of things to buy or change on the kart.
At the top of Lian's list is new bodywork and wider tires. For me it's the right clutch sprocket and the additional weight. We are also considering a different seat as Lian complained it was hard to breathe when she was in the corners. She may benefit from some additional support if we can find one that fits better.
Here is a early twilight picture taken before the last sunset on this race season:
I'll keep this blog going over the winter as we prep the kart for next year. Thanks for reading!
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