2025 The Kart Championship Round 3

Round 3 of The Kart Championship sees a return to Glan-y-Gors in North Wales. A track that sits in a very picturesque area. We haven’t been back to GYG since our first visit in 2024. Following on from the Shenington race, we had a fair bit of work to do to the kart, and a quick check using a flat surface indicated the kart was not bent. GYG would go some way to prove or disprove this fact. It’s been a while since getting a sun tan when in North Wales but the weather this weekend was glorious.

Friday

Friday’s practice day would be a tough one. We spent the day chasing the kart not handling correctly, pulling to one side, understeer and difficulty turning in. Throughout the day the alignment was checked and re-checked with nothing being found. We altered the set up of the kart and nothing seemed to improve things. Last session of the day though and disaster struck with the axle snapping sending the right hand wheel off on a journey of it’s own and Riley heading backwards towards a tyre wall. We thought this would have been the answer we were looking for. In the clip below you can see where the wheel/sprocket/axle were heading straight to Riley as he bats them away.

Saturday

With just one session to warm up, check the kart over and make sure the transponder is working, Riley headed out and set a time of 43.28 which was good enough for 22nd. Things were looking up. All was not good in the kart though and steering troubles persisted. A trip to the jig showed the belly was up a little, and after a robust straightening session the kart was back to where it should be.

Qualifying

Qualifying is the first chance we get to see where everyone is at. Everyone has new slicks fitted, their preferred engine and it’s a straight fight to set the fastest time. After the morning practice, we were feeling good. And on lap 4 Riley set his fastest time of 42.65 which at the time saw him up to 8th, however as the tyres dropped off, and Riley not improving his final finishing position was 18th overall. Think that’s his best qualifying in this championship, at this level. The kart still wasn’t handling the way that Riley wanted though.

Heat 1

Heat one saw panic and heartbreak. Front nosecones were being inspected for splits and holes. Ours had a hole from a previous incident where the pedal mounting bolt had punctured it. It’s been like this for quite a while, dad had previously been told it was OK, however by the letter of the MSUK rule book, we were not allowed to take part with that bumper. We weren’t the only ones pulled for this, and very quickly nosecones became gold in the paddock. A frantic hunt around the paddock turned up one last bumper but too late to take part, so we picked up a DNS. A thank you must go to the parent from Junior Primo who loaned us a bumper for the remainder of the weekend, allowing us to continue.

Heat 2

Heat 2 was a chance to at least try and maintain our excellent 18th position, however the DNS from heat 1 would really hamper us. A first corner incident saw Riley taking avoiding action and dropping a few places to 22nd. All was going well until lap 6 when Riley was loaded up in to the first hairpin which in turn let 4 karts through. Riley kept going through and managed to pick a couple of places up again. On lap 12 Riley was loaded once again in to the first hairpin with more karts following through the newly opened gap. Riley crossed the line 28th setting a best time of 43.33. Post race penalties (including the second loading) saw Riley promoted to 27th.

Sunday

For the Super Heats, the grids were redone using the results from the heats. Riley would line up 30th for both Super heats, at least he can’t go backwards.

Super Heat 1

Riley avoided the first corner first lap drama and found himself up to 23rd. On lap 4 Riley’s pace dropped off and he dropped down to 27th. A couple of laps later and his pace returned. Along the way Riley set his best time of 43.65 on lap 8, picked up a few positions and crossed the line 25th. Post race penalties for drop downs saw him drop to 27th.

Super Heat 2

At this point, we were still fighting the handling of the kart, we were also struggling with the tyres maintaining consistency throughout the heats. We borrowed a set of OTK MXC wheels which are magnesium based and manage the temperatures better. Super Heat 2 basically sold these ‘posh wheels’ to dad. Tyre pressures and temperatures seemed more stable and so did Riley’s pace. In this Super Heat, Riley maintained his position at the start, and throughout the race picked up places every few laps. Crossing the line in 25th and setting his best time of 43.29 on lap 9. Post race penalties saw Riley bumped up to 22nd.

Final

For the final, Riley lined up 30th again, the DNS from Saturday still hurting us in terms of points. Another clean start saw Riley gain a couple of places. On lap 2 he managed to gain another place. On lap 5 he managed to gain another couple of places, up to 25th where he would finish the final. His lap times were consistently mid to low 43 seconds, with a best of 43.40 on lap 14. Post race penalties handed him another position meaning he finished 24th overall.

Conclusion

The third round of The Kart Championship was tough, with the kart not handling how it should. Riley did well to get the times he was and it was good to see him making overtakes. The engine was looking strong.

It was also a harsh lesson for us, the inherent understeer we were facing through the weekend, the sagging of the frame showing it’s age, the hole in the bumper, the axle snapping, a lot went wrong. This has prompted a rather large spares package to be ordered, including not one but 2 front nosecones, and a new Stone One Man trolley as twice dad has burned his arm picking up the kart. After the successful borrowing of some OTK MXC wheels, these have also been ordered. The kart should have a slightly different look with the new front end.

Huge thanks must go to Joe and Paul Weaver along with Paul Janes. Joe spent time coaching Riley, and Paul W really helped Dad out with getting the kart set up, running well, and ensuring the kart was right all weekend and Paul J helping with parts, coaching and all round support. Everyone in the Ambition Motorsport team is incredibly supportive, and all the parents help out where they can.

It’s another short turn around before we visit another new track, PF International on the 14/15th June. The kart needs a whole lot of work before this weekend arrives, we are just awaiting the delivery of parts.