Qualifying – We made a strong start to the weekend by qualifying 7th in our group and 13th overall. The kart felt good despite a few issues and this allowed me to gain a strong position on the grid for the qualifying heats.

Heat 1 – Starting on P7 for the first heat and I decided I would take it easy and make sure I finished the race. I had a good battle with Piccini and Pex and finished in 13th place. The main importance of the first race of the year was to finish and we did this which gave me good confidence going into the next heat where I would be more aggressive and take more risks.

Heat 2 – Starting on grid 7 again for this heat and I got a good start and managed to get into 5th off the line the rain started to fall on the third lap which made it very slippery on the slick tires. I lost a few places into the hairpin and went back to 7th before Thonon managed to get past me into the right hander at the bottom of the back straight which put me back to 8th. A big crash meant that the nex 4 laps of the race were run under safety car conditions. The race restarted again with 2 laps to go and I managed to get past Thonon out of the second corner on the 12th lap. I managed to hold on to the position for the remaining 2 laps and claim 7th.

Heat 3 – Once again started 7th on the grid for the final qualifying heat. Everyone was on slicks but there were wet patches on the circuit which made it hard to overtake. I got a great start and was up to third after the first lap behind Tonennlli and Ardigo. On lap two I managed to get the run on them out of the second corner and take the lead. The next six laps I was able to pull away rapidly as the two behind battled. I opened up a 2.6 second lead by the last four laps. By this time Ardigo was a tenth quicker but I had enough of a gap to stay ahead till the end. Unfortunately some one had brought water on to the track through the chiance and I understeered off the circuit and Ardigo was able to catch up and come past as did Tonennlli. I was now down to third but on the final lap Tonennlli ran wide at the same piece of track I had gone off at and I was able to come back through to 2nd.

Final 1 – After some strong heat results I started the first final from 7th on the grid and with the track full dry it was going to be an interesting race. I made a good start and held my position. Some good battles were to follow and the chassis was working very well in this race. Piccini overtook me on lap 7 but I managed to get back past on the following corner. This lost me a bit of time to the front group. I managed to push hard and catch them back up but by this time it was too late and I had to settle for 7th and 4 points which was a superb result in the full dry conditions and showed the potential that the kart has this year.

Final 2 – After the good result in the first final I was aiming to keep it at the sharp end in the second final. Things didn’t quite go to plan at the start though as I was nudged out at the first corner and bent my axle. I lost a few places and fell back to 15th I managed to work my way back through to eventually finish 11th after a few good dices with Piccini and my team mate Renauldi.

Altogether this was a strong weekend and great way to kick off our campaign I now lie 9th in the championship and with some new bits to test we will be faster at the next round. Thanks to PDB Racing team, AFR Racing, Gillard Racing karts for a strong package and My Dad for mechanicing.

Cheers guys.