2013-12-09 09:17:19.2
The first Club100 race at Shenington not only proved to be a popular venue for all the drivers but it was the race where IMSD Racing finally kick-started their championship campaign.
The team were competing for the first time without either of the co-founders present. Ian Miller was again taking a sabbatical and Stephen Deuchar was resting, having just returned from an IMSD sponsorship and PR function in China. Instead, their junior protégé, Seth Scott-Deuchar, was promoted to a race drive after his impressive performances in the Rookie Endurance and the sprint series. IMSD’s answer to Lewis Hamilton showed great pace and impressed the team greatly.
For once the team managed to get their kart sorted in practice. As all but a small handful of drivers were racing on this circuit for the very first time it made the lap times very close, so getting the kart set up right was imperative.
Once again it was Eddie who qualified and put in the team’s best grid position of the year with 13th out of the full grid of 33 teams. Eddie also had the first stint and made a good start to move up to ninth before losing out at the first hairpin. He nevertheless recovered to move up the order and was running well inside the top 10 and right up there with the leaders when he came in for the first driver change.
So Seth made his IMSD Racing race debut. He was immediately on the pace, mixing it with some of the top teams. Keeping a cool head under pressure, he didn’t put a wheel wrong on the trace track and drove sensibly before handing over to Ian Wilson. There was a small delay in the pits because he forgot to take the fuel cap off but the team lost minimal time.
Ian Wilson took over for the third stint and continued the great run of form. Enjoying a close battle with former Sprint Champion and Club100 lord of the pit lane, Steve Dart, Ian established the team near the front.
The second half of the race went equally as smoothly. Eddie took over and was really on the pace, making short work of the traffic and got up to fourth before once again handing over to Seth.
Seth continued to impress on the track on his Premier debut, racing hard and showing a great turn of speed that marks him out as one to watch in the coming seasons. There was another pit lane drama as he missed the fuel bay and had to wait for what seemed like an eternity as the kart was pushed back into the second pay behind another kart.
Nevertheless, the team were still well inside the top 10 and Ian Wilson’s last stint just demonstrated the true potential of the team. He was really on the pace, making short work of the karts in front and brought the kart home in a solid 8th position.
The whole team were delighted with the result. “We all did a fantastic job today. We worked much better in practice and got the kart sorted. We all drove really well and none of us put a foot wrong on the track. I know 8th isn’t exactly setting the world on fire but we know that this is the least we should expect from every race. We are a top 6 team and I think, without the pit lane dramas, we would have finished 6th.
Eddie is hopeful that Club100 will return to Shenington in the future. “I hope so. It really is a great track. It’s fast, it’s got some good corners and some good overtaking places. It’s quite an easy circuit but it’s great fun. It seemed popular with everybody as well.”
Eddie was also quick to praise Seth on his solid debut. “I think Seth did a great job today. He drove really well and was holding his own against some big names in the Club and that is quite something.
“There were a couple of cock-ups in his pit stops but nothing to really worry about. Mistakes were almost inevitable and, to be honest, I think we all expected more mistakes but he didn’t throw it off once. He was quick, consistent and didn’t at all look out of his depth in the Prems. Having only done four rookie races and two sprints, it’s quite a big jump so I think that says something. He’s definitely got a bright future and I don’t think it’ll be long before we see him winning sprint races.”
