Ups & Downs for the Team

Monday, 31 March 2008 21:56

Since the successful Clay Pigeon test at the start of February, the team has raced twice, at the Club championship opener at Shenington, and at the 2nd round of the Whilton Mill club championship.

With the 2nd round of the British championship being held at Shenington, the weekend was used as a test for Danny. The emphasis was set on achieving a good balance with the equipment, and making the kart race able.

After Dominic’s impressive performance at Whilton, this weekend was to be used as yet another learning curve for him. It turned out to be a baptism of fire, with 10 of the top drivers in the country turning up with their mind set on testing for the British championship round.

Both drivers performed on Saturday, Danny being equal fastest, with Dominic around 2 tenths behind. However, with only 3 tenths covering the top 12 drivers, testing was fraught, and the race was going to be close!

A steady set of heats put Dominic on the inside of row 3 for the final in a 50 kart strong field. He was gridded amongst the finest that the UK has to offer, and this was seen as a huge success for the young driver. Danny on the other hand was involved in two 1st lap incidents in the heats, and would start the final from 24th on the grid, only just making the back of the final and missing the cut for the repecharge(B Final)!

Dominic settled well into the race until the closing laps where, attacking for 4th, he was involved in a tangle and ended up facing backwards, much to the teams’ disappointment and anguish. Dominic was annoyed in himself, and crossed the line just inside the top 15.

Danny, on the other hand stormed from grid 24 to be in 12th position after lap 2, and carved his way through the very experienced traffic to find himself in a 4 way battle for the lead just before Dominic’s downfall! With 3 laps to go Russell took the lead. It stayed that way until the final lap, where he got pushed out at the hairpin, and in the end had to settle for 4th. Many called it the best race that they had ever seen, and the team has certainly got a few drivers worried before the start of the British Championship!

Whilton Mill saw less fortune for the team. 3DR excelled in testing, and put the karts at the front of the grid once again for the final. Unfortunately the changeable weather conditions put pay to their race. The team opted for the slick tyre, which was definitely the right choice....until it rained on lap 1! The drivers were called in to avoid an accident on the wrong tyre, a tactic that all but the 10 drivers on wets should have played.

3DR Motorsport have continued to show good pace early season, with some extremely promising results. After the disappointment of Whilton Mill, they look forward to the opening round of the British championship (Super 1) at Clay Pigeon in 2 weeks.