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METS 2nd AND 7th AT BUCKMORE QUALIFIER

After the cold spell that hit the UK in the past fortnight, Swansea Metropolitan headed off to Rye House to find the circuit flooded and a change of venue was inevitable. Buckmore Park in Kent became the BUKC Southern Qualification round.

 

The Mets were greeted by an Icy circuit which whilst treacherous at first, soon dried out and a sunny day of racing was ahead. Both The ‘A’ and ‘B’ Teams were strong and a good result was always a strong possibility.

 

Race 1

Lloyd Eveleigh (A) and Will Albrow (B) started in 13th and 8th on the grid respectively and both made decent starts gaining a few places off the line. Will had a superb race, moving through to 3rd place at the end of the race to give the ‘B’ team a great start to the day. Lloyd suffered at the hands of mechanical problems yet still managed to cross the line in 12th despite being underpowered.

 

Race 2

Pete Cole (A) and Shaun Dickson (B) started in 9th and 4th respectively for Race 2 and they drove impeccably throughout. Shaun was leading by the end of lap one and Pete came surging through the pack to set up a 1-2 for Swansea Metropolitan. Pete took the win by some 0.34 seconds from Shaun who continued the B teams strong start to the day. The A team were glad to get back to winning ways and hoped it would continue throughout the day.

 

Race 3

Oli Knights (A) and Will Wood (B) started in 3rd and 15th respectively for the third race of the day. Oli made a good start moving up to the lead before falling to 2nd behind Cardiff. Will was unfortunate to be knocked off whilst running strongly, however he showed the pace he can run at by passing many top teams on his way to recovering to a 13th place finish, a top 10 was easily possible but for bad luck. Oli meanwhile kept the pressure on Cardiff A and sure enough they cracked, spinning off and leaving Oli to take the lead and then the victory.

 

Race 4

Daryl Henderson (A) and Sean Robinson (B) started their first BUKC races from 27th and 15th respectively. Daryl made a stunning start, going from 27th to 11th on lap one. Sean moved up through the field to bring the B team kart closer to the front before getting tangled up in an accident. He recovered well to 17th place and it was clear a higher finish could have been on the cards. Daryl kept up a bullish pace and ended up finishing 7th in his first race for the Mets.

 

Race 5

The first of the one hour endurance races was to be Lloyd and Daryl driving the A team kart and Sean and Shaun driving the B team kart. It was clear from the start that Daryl was suffering with a heavily 4 stroking kart whilst Sean moved up through the field. All was looking ok until Sean suddenly appeared in the pits with a broken kart. A quick change was made and the B team were on a damage limitation drive when Shaun Dickson took the wheel. Daryl was up in 7th place from 21st on the grid yet suffering from a heavily four stroking engine. He handed over to Lloyd for the final stint who held position until the engine lost most of its power and the A team had to follow the B teams lead and change karts. The new kart was clearly better and Lloyd recovered to 13th at the flag. Shaun Dickson had benefitted from the new B team kart and woved through to 7th at the end of the race. Disappointing for the team as bad fortune cost both karts a top result.

 

Race 6

The final action of the day was race 6 when Pete and Oli took the helm of the A team kart, Will Albrow started the B team kart with Will Wood set to take over later in the race. Pete had a good start moving swiftly through from 17th place up to the top 5 by the first pit stop. A super efficient stop left Peter with a clear track and he made good use of it to emerge in the lead by the end of the first pit window. Will Albrow was having a solid drive up until the first stop when a small error left him sat stalled waiting for a pusher kart and costing the B team a good opportunity. Peter and Will completed their stints before handing over to Oli (A) and Will W(B) to the final leg. Oli kept his cool and drove consistently to win the final race of the day and cement a solid qualification postion for the A team. Will Wood continued his pace from the morning and managed to salvage a respectable 14th by the finish which considering the time lost after the accident was a credible result.

 

 

 

The A team ended the day in 2nd position overall with Oxford winning the Southern Qualifiers. The B team were in 7th position.

 

There are many positives to be taken from the Buckmore meeting where only little errors and  poor reliability cost both teams better results. Whilst a double podium was possible, everyone is keen to go to Whilton Mill on Tuesday in a confident mood with the little mistakes out of their systems to start the BUKC championship on a winning note.

 

Buckmore just proved that both the A and B teams are capable of challenging for the top spots from the word go next week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next Race Meeting:

Whilton Mill

BUKC

R1 + R2

9th February 2010

 

Date