2014 Season Wrap-up of Points Races

Okay, you regular readers know that I have not been regular at writing.  The last post was for a race in mid August and I just got it out in late October.  No excuses, just been more intent on other things and kinda busy with work.  We were able to fix the issues I found with the kart in race 10.  I repaired the header threads and sent the head to a engine builder to fix the intake valve leak.  Unfortunately, the head was beyond repair and I ended-up buying a new one (it comes with valves installed).

Later on, we decided to have the kart scaled again to ensure it was not tweaked after she backed into the tire barrier during a wet track condition.  Her times were way down and I was not sure why.  Turns out her chassis had a cracked weld near the seat mount and that allowed it to flex too much and not transfer weight properly in the corners.  That has also been repaired and we re-scaled it before race 14.

Through it all we been able to continue racing all the club races so I'll recap briefly races 11-16:

Race 11 - placed 2nd

Race 12 - placed 2nd

Race 13 - placed 5th

Race 14 - placed 3rd

Race 15 - placed 7th

Race 16 - placed 6th

Race 17 was the final points race of the season and Lian was really hoping to end on a high note.  Races 15 and 16 saw circumstances conspire against her so she was hungry to get a finish that reflected her true speed out there.

Lian started 5th in Heat 1 and finished 3rd.  She started 3rd in Heat 2 and finished second.  This put her 3rd for the start of the Feature.  She was feeling confident because she had beaten both the first and second place starters in the past.  Likewise, both of those drivers wanted a win to cap their season so the start was going to be interesting.

This is probably my favorite helmet camera footage ever.  I purposely added no music so you could hear her voice (though it was breaking up from a recent cold).  Click here and you will see why.

Lian managed to take her first Feature win!  Can you tell it she was happy?!?

Here is a very proud mom and dad at the start/finish line where Lian got her checkered flag for a parade lap.

Getting the checkers for her first Feature win.  Notice the "stitched" nose bodywork after hard contact in Race 15

The celebration continued most of the drive home until her voice gave out.  Lian made me promise to keep the battered nose bodywork on display in our garage.  Now she feels like she has really accomplished something in this sport and is looking forward to the challenge of next season.

Thanks for reading and sharing the fun with us!