Greenbank kart racers test skills at Cooloola

Hayden, 11 and Jordan, 9, raced at the Cooloola Coast Kart Club for two days from April 21 to 22.

The boys produced their own race reports which captures the thrilling nature of the sport covering practice, qualifying race, Heat one and two, pre-final and a race overview.

Their next go kart race will be at Warwick on Mother’s Day.

 I was quick in practice with a few personal best times and was feeling confident that I had a good chance at the podium. 

My times were among the top and I felt good about the performance.

It was decided not to use new tyres for racing because last time I went slower on this track with new tyres.

I am trying out for the C and D grade titles in May.

The Cooloola track is one we don’t race at a lot.

The hills make it hard to work out how to set up my kart. It is very different to my home track which is flat.

I did not feel like I was going very fast during practice and changes had to be made as we learned the track.

I was sliding around on the track a lot and was struggling for grip. I qualified at a much slower than in practice, hurting my grid position.

I qualified sixth which meant I would start heat one and two from the back.

The result was disappointing and a couple of changes were adopted to help my grip.

I ran used tyres during the qualifer as a test to see what we could do for the C and D grade titles.

I qualified seventh out of 11 with a time that was the closest I had been to my personal best all weekend.

I started the race in sixth place which was on the wrong side on the track for corner one.

I got off to a great start, ducking across the track into fourth place. I was really happy about that.

Grip issues persisted and my lap time  was still off pace.

A racer overtook me which left me holding on at fifth with another kart directly behind on the tail.

I started in seventh and was lucky to dodge a kart spinning right in front of me during the opening lap.

This allowed me to improve my position and I finished the race in sixth place.

Another strong start enabled me to duck across the track and advance from sixth to fifth quickly.

Another racer was over taken as I approached the fifth corner.

A little rub caused my kart to become wobbly, putting me down to fifth place.

I started the heat in seventh place and finished the race with an unchanged position.

I struggled to pick up pace and couldn’t make up ground on the front pack but was sucessful in keeping my distance from the karts trailing behind.

I started the race in fifth place.

My grip issues were resolved and the kart was nice and stable on the track.

However, the speed I had during practice was still missing and I finished in fifth place.

I started the pre-final in sixth.

I fell behind one spot to seventh early in the race and worked hard to recover.

Despite struggling for pace I finished the race in sixth place and decided to adopt a couple of changes leading up to the final.

I started the final in fifth place and momentum was building in my favour.

The kart felt quicker and I had a great drive, but I still struggled to make enough ground against the front four karts.

I pushed harder in the last lap and accidentally drove a wheel onto the wet grass, causing the kart to spin and slide into the barrier.

My rib hurt badly and I was unable to complete the race.

The ambulance checked me out but I came out of the accident in good condition with some minor bruises.

Jordan said there were lessons he would take on board next time he raced on the track.

“I think we have some more ideas for our next trip to Cooloola and i think I can find a little bit more speed,” he said.

“It was an unlucky weekend for me and the team but we still had a great time with our karting friends.”

I got off to the best possible start I could remember having in ages.

I advanced to fifth place before getting to the first corner and was hot on the tail on the top four.

As the end of lap one approached, I went too wide on the corner and slid sideways causing me to lose three positions dragging me down to eighth place.

A few laps later I made up ground for seventh place and was close behind sixth and fifth placed karts.

If there were a couple more laps I might have overtaken them.

I was disappointed with the mistake on lap one but was still happy with the speed and strong start.

Hayden said he identified areas of improvement for the next race.

“I felt like I was a bit off the pace but I think I have my setup sorted out for the C and D grade titles,” he said.

“I need to try and improve my mid corner speed and I think my engine might be just about due for a freshen up.”