2013-12-09 09:17:19.2
Eddie and his IMSD Racing team-mates scored a brilliant second place in today’s Premier Clubman race and finished the day fifth overall.
On a day where the weather conditions would obviously play a major factor, strategy and good team-work were vital for a good result.
It was Eddie who qualified for the team today and did a good job, setting a banker lap at the start of the 10 minute session before going out for one hot flying lap in the dieing minutes to line up and impressive 6th out of the 27 teams.
"I was actually quite surprised we lined up where we did. I thought the lap was OK but I got held up in the last hairpin and up the hill, which I'm sure cost a few tenths. I was pretty amazed when Stephen said that we were third. We dropped down to sixth, but I'm convinced we could have been fourth or fifth."
Eddie lost one place at the start on the drying track but quickly got it back on lap 2. He then set about passing two more karts, including double champion, Rob Hart, over the next couple of laps. With the rest of the leaders making earlier pit stops, Eddie found himself leading, pulling out a good cushion over second before handing over to Stephen.
Stephen continued the good run of form, spending most of his first stint sandwiched between Essex TT and Steel London. Battling for position, he spent most of his stint running in fifth and sixth position and briefly re-took the lead again before handing over to Ian.
The team were definitely on form and their pit stops were proof of that. Slick work brought Ian out in the same position, sandwiched between the two top teams and ahead of Clubman championship leaders Tanked Up Racing. Again keeping pace with them, Ian was running comfortably in the overall top 5 before he was taken out at the top of the hill by Chris Simpson, the latter receiving a black flag for his efforts.
This unfortunate incident lost the team over a lap. Nevertheless, Ian proved that the pace was still there by racing in close company with SC Racing for the remainder of his stint.
Eddie then took over for his second stint. Knowing that the team had a mountain to climb to get from a lap down in 12th back to where they were, he pushed the kart to its limits, setting the second fastest time of the day. He pitted for the team’s fourth stop in 6th position.
Stephen then took over, rejoining in 7th. Continuing the good run of form, he established the team well in the top 6 overall – second in class.
It was then time for Ian’s last stint of the day. This was the point at which the rain came. Not feeling confident in the wet conditions, he graciously handed the stint over to Eddie. The track almost became a river over the last 15 laps. Nevertheless, Eddie managed to keep it pointing in a straight line (despite a small scare coming out of the pits), and crossed the line in fifth position – second in class!
After the event, Eddie was quick to praise the whole team for their best result of the championship.
“Today we proved what we really are capable of. We didn’t put a foot wrong all day and we came back from losing over a lap to finish right up there with the top Prem teams. Our pit stops were back to our 2005 best and our team-work was brilliant.”
Eddie was also quick to praise Ian for his sporting attitude in handing the last stint over to him.
“Ian proved what a great team player he is today. I know he’s not a big fan of driving in the wet and it was very gracious of him to offer to hand the stint over to me. Admittedly, I almost screwed it coming out of the pits when I didn’t make the hairpin and almost spun, but I think it was a good team decision and proved what a great team we are.”
This result pushes IMSD Racing much further up the championship table and puts them right back in the hunt with II2BI.
“We obviously shouldn’t get carried away with the result, but we proved what we are capable of when things are working for us. This is where we should be every race. I think that as long as we keep our focus and maintain this level of performance in the remaining races, we could be right up there at the end of the season.”
