Round 1 at Club100 South at Whilton Mill was my first round, and it looked like the weather was finally going to be sunny all day, which was nice!

We started with a practice session and the track was still cold, but I was putting in some good lap times and feeling quite confident. Going into qualifying, I thought I had a good chance of making the A Final, which would have been a massive achievement for my first round.

But qualifying didn’t go the way I hoped. I kept getting stuck in traffic and battling with other karts. At one point a cadet behind me spun me around while I was on a really good lap, and when I rejoined the track I ended up back in more traffic.

There was also another cadet who I kept catching during qualifying. He was battling and slowing things down, so I backed off a few times to try and get a clear lap. But every time I caught him before the line. When I tried to overtake twice, he pushed into the side of me which cost me time. I eventually got past him, but by then it was too late to set a better lap.

The funny thing is that he was actually someone I had lent my spare helmet to earlier because he forgot his! He said sorry afterwards and said he didn’t realise it was me trying to pass. But I still don’t understand why you would fight so much in qualifying!

I was a bit upset at the time, but it’s all part of learning.

In the Pre B Final, I found my speed again and made some really good overtakes. I moved up from P17 to P9, which I was really happy with.

That meant I started the B Final in P9, and I finished P4, with lap times similar to some of the drivers in the A Final.

Overall, I’m really happy with how the day went and I learnt a lot. Hopefully in Round 2 in the North I can use what I learnt and get myself into the A Final! 🏁