And we're far from on a big budget either!
My dad suffers from M.E. which means he can only work part time, as well as having a major effect on how he feels driving to and during race weekends. Couple that with my mum running an unprofitable health & beauty business, and our total family income is very little. This means that obviously our budget is dramatically less (been £7-8k for each of the last few seasons, a lot of which has come out of family savings) than that of almost all of the guys we'll be racing at in S1. I'm pretty sure I'll have to stop karting at the end of the year, to stop the drain on the family from getting even worse
Considering all our above problems, lack of testing time, running out the back of a trailer and unconventional chassis (we're the only ones on a Wright Braga in the north of the UK), I don't think we've done too bad a job in the 3 years we've been in the game. Was 3rd/13 in the club championship at Boyndie in my first year, having come from 10 points behind to 1 ahead at the last round, very nearly winning a heat on merit (against tough opposition, I came from 6th on the grid to take the lead with 2/3 laps to go, but got repassed and ended up 2nd).
2002 was a bit barren, but we put in a great performance at the Scottish champs, surprising many to come from normal midfield obscurity to be right up on the pace, finishing 6th/15 in the final after a close multi-kart fight for runner's up spot.
2003 was our best season so far. Out of 18 finals, we got
our first 3 fastest laps (Golspie & 2 at Boyndie), our first pole (Boyndie) and maiden 2 wins (Wigan & Glan-y-Gors). Were you at the latter perhaps tator? July meeting?
We finished 2nd in the NKF, having come from a long way behind thanks to a DNF at Wigan and no-show at Warden Law. We won the NKRA Scottish & Grand Final titles in Inter, though I was a bit ****ed off at the Grand Final having been one of the quickest of the 17 overall including Juniors all weekend, that we got caught up in an incident on lap 3 and bent the kart, still managing to drag the kart home as the top Inter, but am sure I could have finished in the top 5 instead of 10th if I hadn't been in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were also going very well at the Scottish champs, finishing 2nd in each of the dry heats, and netting 2nd on the grid for the final, but the tragic passing of the polesitter's father during the lunchbreak cast a shadow over the class, and we all agreed to withdraw in respect.
I won a trip to Knockhill for my performance at the '02 Scottish, along with 17 other drivers, and sat my ARDS test in an MG TF, drove a FFirst single seater, and got cheaufered around at high speed in a ZS by Colin Turkington. If the MSA and T-Cars stop mucking me about (
) I can hopefully get my mits on a car licence, and hopefully find a way there at some point in the future.
Well, that's my karting life story LOL!
Now just don't
ever call me well-funded or professional again
