2013-12-09 09:17:19.2
Spa Francorchamps in Belgium is notorious for its unpredictable weather. This year was no different as intermittent rain fell on both days.
For the second year running Eddie raced with les Coupe d’herbe with Paul Williams and Lee Kemp. This year they were joined by Super 1 hotshot Charlie Bruce-White in what was a very strong line-up.
Saturday
Eddie’s weekend got off to an inauspicious start after he was spotted emptying his guts into a wheelie bin after one too many drinks the night before. Nevertheless, he was sent out first to get the kart tested and ultimately changed karts prior to the race.
Lee Kemp was nominated to do the first sprint race and drove a fine race to get from his allotted 19th place grid position to finish second. Charlie Bruce-White showed his credentials with a win from sixth on the grid and Paul Williams finished 5th in class from a starting position of 30th.
By the time Eddie went out he was fully recovered and drove a good race from 16th on the grid. He lead for a few laps before being passed by quicker premier teams and ultimately finished fourth – losing third on the very last lap.
To the team’s surprise, they found themselves in first position after round 1. This put them on pole position for the first race of round 2.
Charlie started and maintained his lead for several laps before being hounded by Team Red Steel. Battling hard, he made a mistake and spun off. He compounded this error later in the race with a black flag for crossing the cones marking the pit lane.
The team ultimately finished 8th in class but solid top 6 finishes in the next two endurance races meant they ended the first day in third position.
Sunday
The second day was comprised of a knock-out qualifying session and two 2.5 hour endurance races.
Eddie went out for Q1 and comfortably got the team through. Lee Kemp went out in Q2 and got them through to the top 10 shoot-out. Charlie Bruce-White then managed to qualify an impressive sixth despite not having the pedals set up correctly.
The races themselves were rather unspectacular. Charlie spun again in the first race and then Eddie Hall got a black flag for the same pit lane infringement that befell Charlie the previous day.
The team drove steadily in the second race and made no mistakes. The only drama came when Charlie Bruce-White refused to come in for his first pit stop and the team nearly missed the pit window.
Two solid top 8 finishes secured 5th overall. The team were delighted with the result and Eddie gave his views after the race.
“It was a great team effort this weekend. We made all the right calls on and off the track and we got the kart sorted before the first race, which is so important in this event. Paul made some great calls and Derek did a great job of keeping us all in order so I want to say a big thanks to him for his help this weekend. We all drove well and, despite a couple of silly mistakes, worked very well as a team. I’m really happy.”
When asked about the mistakes, Eddie was nonchalant.
“Had it not been for the spins and black flags we would easily have been fourth and probably very close to third as well. As Paul pointed out, it’s almost impossible to go through this weekend and not make a mistake or have a mechanical failure. Our kart worked perfectly this weekend so it was inevitable that something would go wrong. I think all the top teams had problems as well so it all works out. We came here hoping for a top five or six finish and this is what we came away with so I’m happy.”
