Jacob and His New Kart!

Although Jacob has the Intrepid kart, we wanted another Project One so we sourced one and Jacob had a day testing it at Hooton Park!  Birthday and Christmas present all rolled into one!

He consistently knocked his times down over the day and managed to go 8.44 seconds quicker in his final session than he did at the start of the day!

And here he is with the kart:

Another Podium For Jacob!

It was Formula Bambino Round 7 last weekend at Daytona Manchester.  There were 7 drivers in total and Jacob set the second fastest time in his first heat with a time of 33.805 seconds.  In his second heat he went faster (the track was warming up as it was really hot outside!) with a 33.393 fastest lap.

Combining the two times together, this gave him an average of 33.6 seconds and good enough for second place and a podium finish!

He's can only compete in one more Formula Bambino before he turns 8, so hopefully, he will do just as well in that as he has been doing recently!

Teachers Strike = A Day Karting For Jacob!

Teachers strike = a day karting for Jacob!  This was his first time on the track at Hooton Park in the Intrepid, which is now his kart as Samuel has graduated to a Project One.

Fortunately, Jacob is a similar size to Samuel so his wet suit fitted - typical that it rained on his first time out on track!  And for a change, it was Samuel who just had to sit and watch!

He really enjoyed himself and can't wait to go again!

Jacob Makes It Three In A Row!

Jacob has managed to make it three in a row in the Formula Bambino Championship at Daytona Manchester!  And he now has a full set (1st, 2nd and 3rd) of the trophies!  A link to the Facebook post from Daytona Manchester is here.

He wasn't quite on top form but managed a 33.752 lap in the first heat and a 33.861 in the second heat.  The average of the two times meant that he'd completed in the third fastest time and therefore a podium finish!

He got changed after his race rather quickly as Samuel was itching to get out on track.  And there was a vacant spot...... more to follow!!

Jacob On The Podium Again!

Sunday 12 May was round 5 of the Formula Bambino Championship at Daytona Manchester.  Jacob was still the lap record holder!

He was in heats 2 and 4 along with other quick drivers and he just didn't look comfortable in his first heat and actually finished 4th out of the 5 drivers.

In his second heat he really looked a lot more confident and finished first.  However, we didn't know any of this until the announcements in reverse order following the race!  I didn't think Jacob had managed to secure a podium finish, but he actually managed to pull it all back in the second heat and completed in the second fastest time (average of the two heats) overall.

So here he is on the podium:

 And with his second place trophy which now has pride of place next to his first place trophy!

Samuel is back in action on Sunday 19 May at 3 Sisters in the IRK Championship.

Jacob Does The Double!

It's been such a long time coming that we didn't think it would ever happen! 

Round 4 of the Formula Bambino Championship took place on Sunday 14 April at Daytona Manchester and as Jacob had completed a rather good practice session the week before (he set a new lap record for the year!) and his football season is over, he wanted to enter it.

His first heat (two heats with the fastest average time of them determines where the driver finishes overall) he looked fast and managed to lap the other 3 drivers in the 15 minute session.  He looked not quite as quick in the second heat but still held his own.

Then its the announcement of the placings in reverse order once all heats have completed.  When the third place driver name was read out I knew Jacob had a podium finish but didn't know where!

Only first place!  AND he broke the lap record that he set the previous week by 1.3 seconds!!  Apologies for the blurry podium photo - I was shaking!

And here he is with his trophy:

And the new lap record:

It wasn't all good news for the day though.  Samuel had round 4 of the Indikart Championship at Hooton Park but didn't even get as far as qualifying due to some mechanical issues that could not be resolved.  Still, he has round 5 in May to look forward to and next weekend he's competing at Three Sisters at Wigan in their first IKR Championship for non MSA drivers.

Jacob's Fastest Session (So Far)

Jacob had his first race with Samuel on 16 October at Daytona Manchester - Samuel was already booked into the Tuesday evening session and as Jacob's football training was cancelled, we decided to take the risk of letting them both on the track at the same time!

There was no need to have worried as they were both fine - the last time they raced together was when Samuel was a Bambino over a year ago - so it was really nice to see them both on the track at the same time!

Out of 6 drivers (and some were quite a lot older than him) Jacob came 4th and knocked almost 0.2 seconds off his previous best time.

It was the first time he'd done a 30 minute session and he looked rather shattered when he came off track!

Bish, Bash, Bosh!

Jacob had another go in a cadet kart on Saturday at Daytona Manchester and managed to knock 0.5 seconds off his best lap from the week before, so he now has a 31.748 second lap.

He had a rather novel way of re-arranging the track:


Cold track + cold tyres = a spin!

Jacob's First Cadet Session!

A short video of Jacob's first time in a cadet kart at Daytona Manchester.


He's only just turned 7 but he's too big for the Bambino kart and the Manager, Nick, has agreed to let him and two other Bambino drivers who are nearly 8 have a taster.  Once they have enough experience and are competent, they can then drive with the other advanced cadet drivers.  One of which is Samuel.  Which would make interesting viewing!

Jacob's fastest time was 32.12 which is not bad for a first time out.  So next time, he should go faster!

Incidentally, Samuel went in the same kart immediately following and set his personal best!

Jacob Formula Bambino Power Lap

Jacob got on the powerlap board following Formula Bambino at the start of July.

He's saying 5th place and giving a thumbs up just in case you were thinking he can't count!

New Track Layout at Daytona Manchester & Lap Record for Samuel!

The track at Daytona Manchester has been changed and today was the first time it was available.  Jacob had a Bambino practice session (its Formula Bambino tomorrow!) this evening so he could get a head start on the track.

Short video showing the new layout:



And a handout from reception:

Samuel had an Intermediate practice session straight after - only sessions available - and he set the lap record on the Intermediate 275 metre track - 17.418 seconds.  It was the first ever session of a Cadet so we are not sure how long he'll be the record holder for!

On the old track his fastest Intermediate time was 18.3 seconds and it was the same length and the lap record was around 17.3 seconds.  Not sure if this is a quicker track, or if he's greatly improved in the period between, or if he's adapted very quickly to the new layout!  We shall see on Sunday when he has a proper practice session (he's booked in for two) with other Cadets and Juniors on the Advanced 450m layout.

Formula Bambino Powerlap Board!

Jacob got on the Formula Bambino Powerlap board again following the June round at Daytona Manchester.  He's holding up four fingers as he is fourth on the board (and finished fourth).  The race report is available to view online on the Daytona website - the link is in the sidebar.

Round 7 is on 14 July.

Personal Best

Samuel managed to beat his previous fastest lap this morning at Daytona Manchester!  He set a 25.618 second lap and he had the fastest average of all 10 drivers.

It was a really good session with 9 out of the 10 drivers setting lap times of under 26 seconds.  Jordan and Andre also set their personal bests.

Click on the picture below for a larger image.

Jacob finished fourth again yesterday in round 6 of the Formula Bambino Championship - hopefully next month he will get to stand on the podium!

Jacob on the Bambino Power Lap Board Again!

Here I am again on the Formula Bambino Power Lap board after last Saturday's Round 5 with a 30.082 lap - my best yet!

Jacob

So Close!

Jacob finished joint third 5 round of Formula Bambino earlier today - his highest placed finish!  Over the two rounds the fastest time is added together from each and then divided by two which determines the overall finish standings.  He and Jonathan had identical average times but Jonathan had set a slightly faster time on his second round so he stepped onto the podium for third place.

So Jacob actually took points for fourth place.  He was really pleased with himself as he set his fastest ever time of 30.082 seconds!  Just got to wait now to see his name on the Formula Bambino Power Lap Board!

Power Lap Board for Jacob!

Here I am with my Formula Bambino Power Lap time from April's Formula Bambino Round - 30.636 seconds.  It's not my fastest ever time but it is my fastest in the Championship!

Jacob

Suits and Helmets

With suits and helmets at Daytona Manchester.  A rare picture of the boys together in their race suits!

So Wet and Windy!

Daytona Sandown Park on 4 March - the boys had a session each on the track.  Their first time outdoors and it was chucking it down, cold and windy!  I had a hard time trying to film and keep my brolly over me!

Both boys did quite well although Jacob didn't get any times.  Samuel managed to get the fastest time of the day for Cadets on the Indy track - 47.153 seconds (lap record is 30.062) and yes, the weather was that bad!

Samuel in full wet weather gear before going on track:

Video of Jacob staying on the track:

Bambino Modules and Beyond at Daytona Manchester

Following on from the holiday karting the boys enrolled mid June 2011 at Daytona Manchester to undertake the three Bambino Karting Modules.  Jacob was almost 6 and Samuel almost 8.  They passed all three modules during June and July and then progressed to the Novice track (still outdoors).

After one session on the Novice track they both moved indoors onto the Intermediate track (approx 3/4 of the full track).  Samuel got to grips with being indoors very quickly and soon progressed to the Advanced (full track) which is 450 metres long with a hairpin bend and a bridge section.

Samuel completed three sessions on the Advanced track before he moved to Cadets shortly after he turned 8 on 17 September.  He then completed the Novice section in 11.522 seconds (12.5 second minimum requirement) and progressed to the Intermediate section.  After 12 sessions on this track against some much older drivers (age range is 8 to 15) his fastest time was 18.336.

He was now promoted to the Advanced track and would race against older and more experienced drivers in both Cadet and Junior classes.  Samuel completed his first Advanced Cadet session on 13 November 2011 and set a time of 27.540 seconds, finishing in 7th place (and last!)

Steadily chipping away at his times and improving his skills he broke through the 26 second barrier on 8 January 2012 with a time of 26.997.

Jacob completed 4 sessions on the Intermediate track before promotion to the Advanced track on 24 September 2011.  And after some footwear issues we bought both boys some racing boots from Zip North which vastly improved Jacob's lap times.  Why we didn't buy them before is beyond us!!

Jacob's first Formula Bambino Race took place mid October 2011 and although he finished last, he really enjoyed it and also took part in the November and December Races (links to race reports where available in sidebar).

His fastest lap so far was set on 15 February 2012 with a time of 30.719 as we have realised that Jacob was actually keeping his foot to the floor all way around the track instead of easing off for some corners.  Jacob had interpreted 'keep your foot down' literally!!

This is the start of Samuel and Jacob's karting journey!

Where It All Started!

Here is where it all started!  Whilst on holiday in May 2011 we visited the North Devon Karting Centre in Barnstaple for something different to do.  Jacob's legs weren't big enough so he had to drive in a two seater kart with Dad:

But I was fine on my own!  Here I am in the pit lane waiting to get going:

And here I am on the track!

by Samuel