DRS Round 7 – Hooton Park Race Report

What started as a weekend full of promise at one of my favourite tracks sadly turned into a frustrating one.

Testing & Warm Up
The pace was there from the start:

Pre-Event 1: P3 – 44.84s

Pre-Event 2: P3 – 44.52s

Final Warm Up: P2 – 44.43s in my qualifying group.

Everything felt strong heading into qualifying and I was confident I could carry that pace through.

Qualifying
Unfortunately, disaster struck. The kart I drew just didn’t perform, and the best I could manage was a 45.28s – nearly a full second slower than my practice pace. With P1 on a 45.03s, I knew I had the speed to fight for pole, but instead I was left in P13.

Heat 1
I got off the line well and made good progress, climbing to P7. But when another driver spun ahead, I had to take avoiding action which cost me all my places. I crossed the line back in P13.

Pre-Final (Wet)
The rain arrived and conditions turned tricky, but I thrived. With some confident overtakes I charged through the field and finished a strong P3.

B Final
Because of my Quali and Heat 1 results, I started P2 in the B Final – my first time not making the A Final. The track was still damp and I got away well, playing the long game knowing the top two could move up. Mid-race, I took the lead and pulled a gap, but it was wiped out when I caught backmarkers. With no blue flags shown, I lost my advantage. On the final lap, P2 lunged, oversteered into me, and spun me round. I got going again but crossed the line P3 after penalties, missing my chance to transfer into the A Final.

I did come away with the B Final winner’s trophy, but honestly, I’d have traded that in a heartbeat for a place in the A Final.

Shoutouts
Massive congrats to my mate @zacbellracing for taking the A Final win after a brilliant battle with @jamesvracing , and well done to Will for P3. Always great hanging out with @hh_racinguk , @omaruracing , and Will this weekend.

Final round of the DRS coming up in a few weeks – time to reset and go again!