Honda Cadet event at Rye House - 2011

5th June:
With another Bank Holiday Monday (ie not a school or work day), we took advantage and went testing again at Rye House where we bumped into Geri's old foe Jack Macaulay. Most of the morning was a free session and Geri certainly got in the laps while we tried different tyre pressures and different lines. After the break the sessions changed to 15 minutes on, 15 off giving barely enough time to make any changes. We had planned to get some new tyres late in the day, in time to scrub them in ready for the race weekend, but not so soon they would give off their best in testing. But the Japanese earthquake seems to have affected supply, the kart shop didn't have any, and of course Geri's tyres are already very old, dating back to last August.

Realising we couldn't get new tyres, we stopped for the day before wearing them out even more!

Back to race day, expectation was a dry day although it was very overcast. The weather forecast was for rain to come around 7pm, so we looked like we should be OK. WE have now learned that Rye House race days don't run so smoothly, there being little apparent attempt to keep to the provisional timetable. 3 lap qualifying should have started at 9:45 with heats to start at 10am, but it was 10:30 before the first heat started. 30 minutes lost already. And soon a lot more as there was an early red flag in the first race - the Honda Cadets would not be on until race 3. After a long delay, that race restarted only to be red flagged again late in the race - after much deliberation the result was called but even more time had been lost.

Geri's qualifying laps had gone OK, but once again he weighed in at 108kgs with 1/3 tank fuel on board - so last month was not an aberration, Geri has put on a stone this year. We have work to do to see if we can lose some of this weight, giving away 5kgs to the lighter drivers is too much.

Heat 1:
Geri was drawn 14th on the grid, so on the outside for the first corner. As is often the case there were a couple of false starts which can't do anything for the kids' concentration - and then they were off. Geri kept his foot in from the start and gained a place going through Stadium, but in the run down to the infield hairpin Geri lost a couple of places and ended the first lap one place down in 15th. He looked good going into Stadium, but slowed as he exited and pulled off the circuit - the kart had "just stopped" and Geri was out of the race. Another disappointing start.

We retrieved the kart at the end of the race but it started up straight away and seemed to run fine. We can only assume that Geri knocked the on/off switch with his elbow - more of a possibility now Geri is getting bigger.

Heat 1 – Honda Cadet – 05/06/11

Position Kart No Driver Name Laps Race Time Time Behind Best Time Best Lap No

1 71 William TREGURTHA 10 07:02.72 0:41.76 9

2 51 Ben SCOTT 10 07:02.80 0:00.08 0:41.86 6

3 58 Matthew HAYDEN 10 07:03.07 0:00.35 0:41.74 6

4 22 Rory HUDSON 10 07:04.46 0:01.74 0:41.82 9

5 90 Ryan GILLESPIE 10 07:08.03 0:05.31 0:42.43 9

6 98 Harrison HUGGAN 10 07:08.95 0:06.24 0:42.17 10

7 81 Dylan FROST 10 07:09.03 0:06.31 0:42.09 10

8 16 Lochlan BEARMAN 10 07:11.42 0:08.70 0:42.01 7

9 24 Alfie HARALAMBOUS 10 07:12.63 0:09.91 0:42.07 8

10 27 Rory SMITH 10 07:12.83 0:10.12 0:42.42 5

11 74 Nicholas FIGURADO 10 07:13.04 0:10.33 0:42.29 7

12 41 Jonathan CAMPBELL 10 07:13.18 0:10.47 0:42.58 8

13 33 Thomas ROW 10 07:14.55 0:11.83 0:42.42 8

14 99 James BECKWITH 10 07:15.03 0:12.32 0:42.10 8

15 64 Karl PURANIK 10 07:17.89 0:15.18 0:42.75 9

16 23 Ronan GRAVES 10 07:19.55 0:16.84 0:42.94 9

17 40 Thomas O'REGAN 10 07:20.23 0:17.52 277:46:40.00 0

18 46 Josh STEED 10 07:21.43 0:18.72 0:43.06 8

19 88 Jack CHAPMAN 10 07:31.60 0:28.89 0:44.14 9

20 78 Kieran WELSH 9 07:05.86 0:03.14 0:44.50 9

21 50 Geri NICOSIA 1 0:49.46 -7:46.74 0:49.46 1

22 56 Richard CRISP 0 0:00.45 -8:57.73 0:00.00 0

Download Heat 1 Race Results in PDF Format

Heat 2:
Sat in the assembly area we could see how Geri's elbow might easily knock the engine off - and looking around we could see that many of the karts have some form of protection in place to prevent this. Not something we were equipped to do on the day, so we just sat Geri in the kart and experimented with ways of holding the steering wheel that might negate the issue.

Geri was drawn 9th on the grid but was caught napping at the start and was already down to 11th as he crossed the start line. Worse was to come as he fell back to 15th by the end of the first lap losing places at both hairpins - these seem to be Geri's Achilles heel. Geri maintained position for the next 3 laps despite intense pressure, especially coming into Stadium where Geri just shut the door on the following drivers, one time the two drivers behind him collided but Geri stayed in 15th. With karts behind Geri closing up, once one passed him, another pushed through so Geri lost 2 places on lap 5 to karts 22 and 56. Geri kept pushing and was rewarded the following lap when he gained a place from regular foe Kieran Walsh in kart 78, but crossed the line at the end of the lap level with 74 who pulled away, so back to 17th again. Geri managed to hold off Kieran for the final laps and finish 17th with a best lap of 43.10 - after heat 1 we were just glad of a finish.

Heat 2 – Honda Cadet – 05/06/11

Position Kart No Driver Name Laps Race Time Time Behind Best Time Best Lap No

1 98 Harrison HUGGAN 10 07:02.72 0:41.63 5

2 81 Dylan FROST 10 07:02.66 -1:59.94 0:41.96 9

3 58 Matthew HAYDEN 10 07:03.16 0:00.45 0:41.69 5

4 51 Ben SCOTT 10 07:03.18 0:00.46 0:41.37 9

5 71 William TREGURTHA 10 07:03.34 0:00.62 0:41.30 7

6 24 Alfie HARALAMBOUS 10 07:04.48 0:01.76 0:41.93 5

7 16 Lochlan BEARMAN 10 07:04.54 0:01.83 0:41.67 8

8 33 Thomas ROW 10 07:07.43 0:04.71 0:42.24 7

9 90 Ryan GILLESPIE 10 07:07.89 0:05.18 0:41.94 9

10 27 Rory SMITH 10 07:08.02 0:05.30 0:42.27 8

11 22 Rory HUDSON 10 07:11.20 0:08.49 0:41.58 9

12 23 Ronan GRAVES 10 07:12.33 0:09.62 0:42.56 8

13 41 Jonathan CAMPBELL 10 07:12.35 0:09.63 0:42.00 9

14 99 James BECKWITH 10 07:14.02 0:11.30 0:42.03 7

15 74 Nicholas FIGURADO 10 07:18.60 0:15.89 0:42.33 10

16 56 Richard CRISP 10 07:19.87 0:17.16 0:42.75 10

17 50 Geri NICOSIA 10 07:21.06 0:18.34 0:43.10 8

18 40 Thomas O'REGAN 10 07:22.11 0:19.39 0:43.04 10

19 78 Kieran WELSH 10 07:22.94 0:20.22 0:43.54 7

20 46 Josh STEED 10 07:23.15 0:20.43 0:43.20 7

21 64 Karl PURANIK 10 07:23.47 0:20.75 0:42.77 2

22 88 Jack CHAPMAN 10 07:26.02 0:23.30 0:43.32 6

Download Heat 2 Race Results in PDF Format

Heat 3:
Geri was drawn 5th on the grid, we challenged him to stay as far up front for as long as possible, a challenge he rose to. 5th across the line, 4th into Stadium and as 64 spun in front of him coming out of Stadium, Geri was momentarily up into 3rd place. Of course, it didn't last and losing places again in the two hairpins, Geri ended lap 1 in 7th, falling back to 8th, 9th, then 11th over the next three laps as he gamely tried to hold place - a large gap opened up in front of him as he was holding off challenges from behind.

3 more places were lost over the next 3 laps, after which Geri held station in 14th, just losing 14th place to kart 24 on the final lap, missing the place by 0.4 seconds.

Heat 3 – Honda Cadet – 05/06/11

Position Kart No Driver Name Laps Race Time Time Behind Best Time Best Lap No

1 22 Rory HUDSON 10 07:01.07 0:41.71 7

2 16 Lochlan BEARMAN 10 07:04.12 0:03.05 0:41.91 8

3 56 Richard CRISP 10 07:05.32 0:04.25 0:42.05 9

4 71 William TREGURTHA 10 07:05.32 0:04.26 0:41.28 7

5 33 Thomas ROW 10 07:05.48 0:04.42 0:41.99 6

6 27 Rory SMITH 10 07:05.66 0:04.60 0:41.73 10

7 58 Matthew HAYDEN 10 07:08.47 0:07.41 0:41.78 10

8 81 Dylan FROST 10 07:08.52 0:07.45 0:41.68 8

9 90 Ryan GILLESPIE 10 07:08.96 0:07.89 0:41.67 8

10 99 James BECKWITH 10 07:09.93 0:08.86 0:41.74 7

11 41 Jonathan CAMPBELL 10 07:10.02 0:08.95 0:41.91 9

12 98 Harrison HUGGAN 10 07:13.28 0:12.21 0:42.08 8

13 23 Ronan GRAVES 10 07:14.37 0:13.31 0:42.43 9

14 24 Alfie HARALAMBOUS 10 07:17.63 0:16.56 0:42.26 2

15 50 Geri NICOSIA 10 07:18.04 0:16.97 0:43.15 10

16 64 Karl PURANIK 10 07:21.44 0:20.37 0:42.57 7

17 46 Josh STEED 10 07:23.93 0:22.87 0:42.57 7

18 88 Jack CHAPMAN 10 07:25.93 0:24.86 0:43.22 9

19 78 Kieran WELSH 10 07:27.68 0:26.62 0:43.43 2

20 74 Nicholas FIGURADO 2 01:32.91 -6:31.84 0:43.75 2

21 40 Thomas O'REGAN 1 0:48.32 -7:47.26 0:48.32 1

22 51 Ben SCOTT 0 0:00.54 -8:59.47 0:00.00 0

Download Heat 3 Race Results in PDF Format

Final:
The rain had held off all day so far, just as forecast. But in the first final, rain started falling lightly about 5 laps in. It didn't look that bad, but then marshals started showing slippery circuit flags, and then two karts went off in a big way at Pylon, within a lap the race had been red flagged as slick-shod drivers were falling off everywhere. After a long break the race was restarted with most drivers now on wets, watching them it looked like wets were the way to go, so we swapped Geri's kart over to wets.

As the second final started, the call for the Honda Cadets came through. We watched the first lap and saw a mixture of slick and wet shod karts and after quick discussion with Geri, opted to swap back to slicks. We just made the assembly area in time to take his grid position (18th) and found that only Geri and one of the novices behind him had taken that option - everyone else was forced to play safe on wets.

And it looked like our gamble was going to pay off as Geri gained 5 places going round Stadium, simply keeping his foot in when all around were being cautious. He did lose one place predictably at the infield hairpin, but ending lap one in 14th showed a gain of 4 places. It was all very close on lap 2, but as Geri went into the infield hairpin he spun off to the outside and fell back to 18th, although still clear of the following karts. Unfortunately he was now 3 seconds behind the trio of karts next up in front. Geri hunted then down, at first it wasn't easy to see that he was gaining, although the gap behind him was stretching out visibly. Slowly but surely Geri was catching the trio in front, on lap 9 he caught and passed the first kart going into Stadium, the next one was caught and passed as Geri dived down the inside at the infield hairpin, dishing out what many have done to him. The front kart of the trio was in Geri's sights and Geri was plainly running much quicker. Geri chased his down through the Esses and was very fast into Paddock, the last corner on the lap. The kart in front spun under pressure and Geri couldn't avoid hitting him head on - the impact jarred Geri's elbow and knocked the engine off! At least now Geri understood what had happened and was able to flick the switch back on, the motion of the kart brought the engine back into life - but Geri was back to 18th again, 2 seconds behind kart 46. Geri was chasing hard, the gap was .6 seconds a lap later, the following lap it was 0.1s but as the lap last board was displayed, could Geri get by any of the three karts in front of him. A fast run into Stadium and an attempt to drive straight round the outside showed promise but 46 managed to keep the place and finishing just 0.1s ahead.

The gamble was plainly the right one, if Geri hadn't knocked off the engine he would have finished 3 places higher comfortably - his fastest lap time was better than anyone below 10th place. The other kart on slicks went from 20th on the grid to finish 9th!

A-Final – Honda Cadet – 05/06/11

Position Kart No Driver Name Laps Race Time Time Behind Best Time Best Lap No

1 58 Matthew HAYDEN 13 09:25.97 0:42.94 8

2 22 Rory HUDSON 13 09:30.20 0:04.23 0:43.44 7

3 24 Alfie HARALAMBOUS 13 09:30.36 0:04.39 0:43.01 10

4 51 Ben SCOTT 13 09:34.26 0:08.29 0:43.33 6

5 81 Dylan FROST 13 09:34.97 0:09.00 0:43.52 7

6 98 Harrison HUGGAN 13 09:36.19 0:10.22 0:43.51 9

7 16 Lochlan BEARMAN 13 09:37.41 0:11.44 0:43.60 10

8 56 Richard CRISP 13 09:40.15 0:14.18 0:43.89 5

9 40 Thomas O'REGAN 13 09:40.21 0:14.24 0:43.38 12

10 27 Rory SMITH 13 09:41.87 0:15.90 0:44.14 4

11 71 William TREGURTHA 13 09:42.54 0:16.57 0:44.38 13

12 74 Nicholas FIGURADO 13 09:43.91 0:17.94 0:44.05 10

13 90 Ryan GILLESPIE 13 09:45.96 0:19.99 0:44.70 8

14 23 Ronan GRAVES 13 09:46.30 0:20.33 0:44.52 2

15 78 Kieran WELSH 13 09:57.89 0:31.92 0:45.30 7

16 64 Karl PURANIK 13 09:59.06 0:33.09 0:45.36 4

17 46 Josh STEED 13 09:59.21 0:33.24 0:45.18 6

18 50 Geri NICOSIA 13 09:59.32 0:33.35 0:44.37 7

19 88 Jack CHAPMAN 12 09:28.26 0:02.29 0:45.54 10

20 41 Jonathan CAMPBELL 12 09:34.35 0:08.38 0:47.12 12

21 33 Thomas ROW 12 09:37.41 0:11.44 0:46.24 12

22 99 James BECKWITH 12 09:39.09 0:13.12 0:46.84 12

Download A-Final Race Results in PDF Format

We have some work to do - we need to find a support team before the next race and we need to get Geri's engine checked over as we have no idea how good or bad it is.

Send comments to: webmaster@nyssaracing.com