I was really looking forward to this first race since we kind of knew rain was in the forecast for a few weeks so I had spent lots of time practicing in the rain. Plus, with all the experience I gained from running 4 Challenge of the Americas races, I felt pretty confident I would find myself closer to the front of the pack in Sanzaru this year.

Practice

The weather was actually really good on Saturday for practice. It was almost too good and I found myself wishing for rain since I had put so much time into getting ready for a wet race.

Although the conditions were dry, I had a really good day of practice. I could tell I was much faster than my first year, and I was right there with the fast drivers. 

During one of my practice sessions, I got a little surprise right before Tic Tac Toe:

Thanks to the great crew at Cameron Karting, we were able to fix it and get me back on the field for the next session. I finished the day feeling really good about my chances in the race on Sunday.

Qualifying

I was surprised to find out that there were only 4 drivers in the Senior class for this first race. There were two of the fastest guys from last year, Enzo Prevost and Zach Pettinicchi, plus a newcomer, Brandon Fabular. The weather was very erratic so it wasn't ever clear whether we should run rain tires or slicks. However, it started to rain just before our qualifying session, so the decision was made to run rain tires. Since the lifespan of rain tires shortens drastically when the track isn't wet, I decided to just run 2 hot laps (instead of the 5 allowed), so I could save my tires for the races. Plus, with only 4 drivers on the field, the difference between first and fourth was not too huge. Since I only ran 2 laps, I didn't really get a good fast time in and ended up qualifying P4.

Heat Race

The rain started really dumping down during our heat race and I couldn't see a thing. I knew the start was important, given the conditions and my position. Since I was already in the back, I purposefully hung back a little to make sure I could get a good run out of the first turn. This worked out great and I found myself in P3 right after turn 1. A few laps later, I moved up to P2 but I had no idea that had even happened since I could barely see anything. My visor was fogging up and the rain was coming down hard. My dad told me after the race that Fabular had gone into a spin at the esses, which gave me the window to move up. I literally could not see anything and pretty much relied on my knowledge of the track and all the practice I had done the weeks leading up to this race. I didn't even know the race was over, since I couldn't see the checkered flag. Fortunately a marshall was standing by the exit to let us know it was time to come off the track. The whole time during the race I thought I was in P3, but I was so happy when I heard that I got P2!  

Main Race

With the P2 finish in the heat, I was able to start the main in the first row and on the outside. I think this is the best starting position for this track in these conditions so I was eager to take advantage of it. The start didn't work out exactly as I planned though, since Enzo (P3) snuck in between me and Pettinicchi (P1) so I found myself losing a position at the first turn. Although it wasn't raining as hard during the main, the track was still pretty wet so it was not easy to keep the karts stable. Enzo went into the grass, which gave me the opening to move into P2 by the third lap.

I could see Zach in my sights and was making up some ground on some turns while he pulled away in others. I was holding onto 2nd pretty well, and then this happened in lap 8:

You can imagine my frustration when this happened. I had not made any major mistakes and was within striking distance of P1. The thought of getting on the podium was exciting, but to be in contention against Enzo and Zach – two drivers I could not catch last year – was really something I was not expecting. All my hard work was finally beginning to pay off...but someone else’s mistake shut my chances down on making it to my first potential podium. There were only 4 laps left, and given the conditions, I could not make up enough ground in time, even though I was running my fastest times in those last few laps.

I was pretty upset for the rest of the day, but thinking back, it was a really good race. 

Full Results:

• Warm-Up
• Qualifying
• Heat Race
• Main Race

Current Standings:

Read about the other races from 2016 Sanzaru Games Karting Championship