2013-12-09 09:17:19.2
Eddie ended 2007 on a good note by finishing a fine second at Buckmore Park in a non-championship 1 hour Thunderkart race.
Despite having to change karts in qualifying due to severe handling problems in the first kart, Eddie lined up an impressive fourth on the grid out of the 35 kart field, mixing it with a number of the regular competitors.
A good start meant that he held position off the line and harried Lee Relf and James Read for second and third for the opening few laps before finally making his move and taking second. Once ahead, Eddie quickly pulled out a gap and set off after pole sitter Carl Matthews.
It wasn’t long before the leaders came up to the back markers, which always plays a part in an endurance race. Unfortunately, Matthews had managed to pull out a sizable lead in the early stages while Eddie was held up behind Relf and Read, and there was little Eddie could do to close the gap and finished 21 seconds behind at the flag.
With only the top 4 finishing on the lead lap, reliability and consistency were important and Eddie was pleased with his performance after the race.
“I really enjoyed myself. It was a close race at the front. Obviously in these non-championship events you get quite a large spread of ability and there were a few hairy moments while lapping some of the less experienced drivers, but overall there weren’t any real problems. I was very glad to see the chequered flag because at the end I could tell that some of the novices were starting to get tired because some people started making silly mistakes and driving a bit erratically and it would only have been a matter of time before somebody did something stupid.
“The top 3 were certainly quite close – I finished less than 6 seconds ahead of the third placed guy so it was important not to make any mistakes.
“I have to say congratulations to Carl on the win. He did a fantastic job and drove really well. I think if I hadn’t been held up in the opening laps it would have been much closer but, to be honest, I think he had the legs on me.”
Eddie will be in action again this Saturday in another non-championship race at Bayford Meadows for his swansong with IMSD Racing, partnering team mate Stephen Deuchar.
