InkJet disappear, literally, into the distance
November 2009
A fine win from InkJet Racing still wasn’t enough to secure them second in the championship as they were pipped at the post by 3Cubed who secured their first ever championship top 3 finish after coming home 6th.The brand new engines were being used for the first time at this race but they looked unlikely to be tested to their full potential as the day dawned very wet. Even at this late stage in the season there were driver changes with Sami Seppala joining Matt Brooks at Vagisil.
It was the rather talkative James Taylor who put Loud Pedal Racing on pole position. An equally impressive performance came from Panic Racing who lined up second in what would be their last outing as a team after 9 years of competition. Vagisil were third with InkJet, Five Gloves and Loose Heads rounding out the top 6. It was just as well High Times had already wrapped up the title because Rich Higham could manage no better than 13th as a result of being team-mate-less. His team mates were late as a result of someone kindly decorating the front of a train.
Proving that he can drive as well as he can pose, James Taylor seemed delighted with his pole lap.
“Considering I’m nearly a super heavyweight and I’m in the heavies rather than the prems I’m pretty happy with that. I was all over the place at the last endurance race and spun twice but I’m over the moon. This is really quite stressful because I had all the premier boys up my arse and they are really quick so it was a real struggle to try and keep them behind me.”
Loud Pedal Racing lead around the first lap with Vagisil nipping into second and InkJet moving well up in third. Panic’s good qualifying performance came to nought as they went off on the opening tour. The front two, piloted by Taylor and Brooks, were in a league of their own and giving the Premier boys a few headaches.
High Times’ day went from bad to worse after they missed the first pit stop window – again a result of the tardiness of his team mates. Rich Higham:
“My team mates turned up just in time to not put the board out for the first pit stop window. I’m really happy about that. If we hadn’t already wrapped it up I’d be looking for new team mates next year. They really are swines: They didn’t turn up on time and now I’m being blamed for missing the window. Shocking behaviour!”
Further down the order Es Car Go and HB Racing were struggling trailing in the early stages of the race. As the track started to dry during the half way mark, InkJet Racing found their feet and started making up ground on the karts in front and were in a strong position by lap 80. KAD Racing were also making up ground after a poor qualifying performance and looked to be knocking on the door of a podium finish.
Loose Heads were also looking good for a podium finish for much of the race. Although James Akehurst was looking more like one of the Village People than a racing driver, they were once again proving what they could have achieved this year if they had managed to keep their karts in one piece for the duration of a race. Akehurst:
“We’re lucky that it’s wet so we shouldn’t break the kart but it’s drying now so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. We qualified thirteenth but we’re running well in class now. I’m quietly confident of a podium because both of our podiums this year have come in damp conditions.”
Having made a one-off appearance for Mad Rush at the previous race, Matt Brooks was back in the soothing environment of Vagisil. Like at the previous race, he was looking extremely rapid.
“We were third in class but we’ve just had a spin and lost half a lap but we’re still on the lead lap so I think we’re still in with a chance of a top three. We’ve got a good kart so it’s going well.”
However, a black flag later in the race would scupper any chance of a podium finish.
The Joy Riders were gunning for the runner up spot in the championship but did themselves no favours with a spin early on in the race. The recently crowned Open Endurance champion (with the help of a certain legend) gave his views during the race.
“It’s not going at all well. We qualified poorly but I made an initial good start but then spun it on my own going into the hairpin. I clawed it back but now it’s started to dry out the kart has no top end. I think 3Cubed are ahead of us now so it’s going to be difficult to get the place off them in the championship.”
James Akehurst decided it would be more fun at the YMCA and this meant the end of the race for Loose Heads and an almost certain podium finish. At the front, InkJet had pulled out a huge cushion over their nearest rivals and scored their second win of the season. Loud Pedal came home second with Panic Racing managing to sneak onto the podium to end their long career on a high note. A spin and a black flag for Vagisil would drop them to fifth at the finish behind KAD Racing.
InkJet continued their anonymity in the race reports by doing a vanishing act after the race so were not available to comment. After picking up their trophy they disappeared into the scenery once more so instead of speaking on their behalf, I have contacted MI5 to recommend them for a role in espionage.
On a sadder note, Panic Racing bowed out after this race and Nick Hardy gave his views on his decade of competition in Club100.
“It was great to come third in our last race and get our first trophy of the year. It was a great way to end nine great years of great racing. The club has been fantastic and the competition over the years has been great. We’ve raced all the way from Rookies to Clubman and the competition is so fierce now. We’re not getting any younger so I think it’s the right time to stop. We might come back and do the odd race because it’s hard to stay away but anyway it’s a great way to finish and it’s been an enjoyable nine years.”
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