2013-12-09 09:17:19.2
Eddie's new partnership with 'Data Partners' got off to a brilliant start as he claimed victory in a 50 lap karting event at Red Lodge.
Eddie joined data Partners on Wednesday and was invited to take part in the event, which consisted of 10 drivers. Eddie did not turn up in his regular, all black, karting gear but instead dicided to to incognito.
"It was funny on the journey up because one of the other competitors asked if I'd been karting before. I replied 'yes once or twice'. He asked what sort of karting I'd done and I told him 100cc. He smirked and said 'Well these things are 240!!'. I had to supress a smile because I didn't want to tell him that it was 240cc of lawn mower...
"I was told by Peter (Banks, Director of Data Partners), that it was best not to let on that I am a racing driver, so I kept quiet."
There was a four lap qualifying session with the grids in reverse order. Eddie was not the fastest in qualifying due to traffic but was third quickest, lining up 8th on the grid. Making a great start, Eddie was up to 4th by the first corner and then picked off the rest one by one, to take the lead on lap 5 - A lead he held for the rest of the 50 lap race.
His only scare was right near the end, when a driver who didn't appreciate being lapped, deliberately pushed Eddie into a spin (a driver who shall remain nameless!!). Eddie nevertheless managed to retain his lead and still won by over 22 seconds, putting in fasteat lap as well, over half a second quicker then the second fastest.
When asked what he thought about the event, Eddie replied "It was fantastic. It's the first trophy I have picked up this year and it was nice to be the quickest in the field for a change. I'd never been to the track before but I must say I quite liked it. I don't know what it would be like in a 100cc kart, though...
Eddie's next official event is the sprint race at Rye House.
