Qualified 21st, finished 19th; things got a little sketchy near the end, but I was still happy with my result...these guys are fast! 😄


https://youtu.be/QWT0csGTlkU

When I'm not at an actual race track or motorsport event, I've found a quite suitable substitute...virtual racing! These simulations are very realistic. All that's missing is the natural effects of weather and gforces on your body, risk of bodily harm, and costly repairs, lol. I might also add it's far cheaper than real-world racing also!

There's tons of cars to race; from street stock to GT Prototype to F1, you name it, you can probably drive it here. I'm a member of a couple racing leagues, which I will make individual topics for. The cool thing is many racing events are "broadcast" live on the internet via YouTube and Facebook; these events are covered with all the realism of any NASCAR or F1 race you would watch on T.V. Look for the League threads I'll post soon!

What an awesome end to my son's summer race series! My baby boy, Tyrel, finished his race weekend on a very positive note! After starting the final in 22nd, he managed to make up some ground he lost at the start and raced his way up to a 12th Place finish! I'm so happy for him!

https://youtu.be/IBNFAvab-SY

Well it's turned out to be an interesting weekend for sure; Tyrel did well in 1st practice, was all set to go out for practice 2 and his motor seized up, so we had to swap motors off of my kart...and then after that, mother nature decided to step in and call it a day for us all, lol.

Tyrel ended the weekend with a strong performance. The pre-final was his first time on track after the engine change, so we weren't 100% sure of what we had, but we got things together for the final race. Tyrel was having some nice battles for 9th and 10th position before finally finishing 10th for his first race back here in the Briggs Sr Division at GoPro Motorplex this year.

Here's the footage from the Final;

https://youtu.be/oO55OAuW12s

A pretty uneventful weekend for me; we struggled to find pace all day, so no video upload for this round. I guess the best news of the weekend was that there was another bad flip, but the driver walked away with minor injuries. It's back to the drawing board to find more speed...not to mention I also have to get my other chassis ready for my son who's visiting for the summer!

Here are the videos from the Pre Final and Final heats.

PreFinal  https://youtu.be/HGdOgaDo3Ig

Final https://youtu.be/v9BaytvNEdE

Here's a new karting adventure I've joined! This league runs monthly, weather permitting, at Dominion Raceway in Thornburg, Va. We just completed our 1st Round of competition, here's the results!

Here's some nice pics from this past weekend's events, Rounds 4 and 5.

Well, it was a very fun and challenging weekend! With my primary chassis in the shop for repairs, we expected to unload a bit off our best pace...and it took half the weekend to get some of it back. It's the first round we've attended that I didn't improve my personal best lap time.

We did manage to stay out of trouble for the most part (lost a wheel in 1st practice on Saturday and a spin in the Pre Final that day) to claim top 20 finishing positions in both Finals and Championship Points at the end of the weekend. Hopefully we can find some more pace in this chassis at Round 6!

https://youtu.be/JoxoxL5mwlI

Well, I survived another crash and managed to bring it home in one piece. I believe the pace the other driver and I had in the video afterwards would've kept up running with some of the pack had we not gotten separated. Other than the broken chassis in the Final, so much was accomplished this weekend!

https://youtu.be/n5YKzw_-vFM

It's been a while since I messed with online racing. This site is pretty good


https://youtu.be/WazUs-cVO0M

Santa Clause is coming early this year

https://youtu.be/Rx_IO0eRvQs

Well, I thought I was ready to have a breakthrough weekend, but Mother Nature had other ideas, lol.
I had the most fun during Friday practice. Saturday was almost an entire wash-out; It rained through both morning practice sessions, then when everyone thought it was going to rain for Qualifying...the rain stopped.

Unfortunately, most of the field was on rain tires (myself included), so that made for a wild qualifying session.
The same was true for the pre-final and final heats. I pretty much eased my way through each session (I hate spinning off track and getting a DNF). The most frustrating part was it felt like I had the best balance on the setup of the entire weekend during the final heat...just didn't push hard at all, as it started to rain AGAIN during the final with slick tires on.

All in all, I still felt I made some progress, if only in baby steps. I did manage to hold onto 22nd position. Next, I need to get the kart scaled properly for optimum balance. I've come a long way, considering this is only my fourth race here at GoPro Motorplex. We'll see what Round 3 brings!

Well, this past weekend's testing at GoPro ended well. I set a new personal best lap time, as well as continuing to get a better feel to the setup. There are a couple more things I need to get done before the next race...it should make things get interesting for sure!

https://youtu.be/akUesKf7ldg

Man, what a rough weekend! I struggled the whole time to find speed; I was 3-4 seconds off my best time from last year (ouch). We tried everything from setup changes to clutch settings to gear ratios to no avail. In the end, I discovered I had a blown head gasket...that explains alot! I had to settle for just getting some seat time and 22nd position in the points standings. I'll be going back down there again in a couple weeks...taking it from the drawing board, to try to get back on track. I'm confident I can get back to where I left off from 2016. I did manage to find a nice balance in the setup on Friday as far as handling was concerned, so I'm hoping that will translate to more good things next time around

Hey Gunny, I just checked the VMSC schedule...and there is not one conflict with the Karting Challenge Schedule!!! 

I'm trying to do the whole season this year...but I just can't give up autocross, lol.

Here's the 2017 schedule!

2017 Event Schedule (12-Round Series):
Round 1: Saturday, February 18
Round 2: Saturday, March 18
Round 3: Saturday, April 15
Round 4: Friday, May 26 - Double-Header, Night Race
Round 5: Saturday, May 27 - Double-Header, Night Race
Round 6: Saturday, June 10
Round 7: Saturday, July 8
Round 8: Saturday, August 5
Round 9: Saturday, September 2
Round 10: Saturday, September 30
Round 11: Saturday, October 28
Round 12 & Championship Banquet: Saturday, December 2

What a way to end the season...with my first career victory at GoPro Motorplex!

The season finale was a wild race; there were a few crashes...I managed to slip by a couple, stay out of trouble to hold on for the win in my division!

The morning started out a little rough; popped a chain during morning practice, and had to miss qualifying. I started the pre-final dead last, had a chance to advance, but spun out avoiding another driver who had also spun. I guess like they say, it isn't over 'till it's over!

I love this song...and the video isn't bad either, lol

https://youtu.be/3LdP-1WLVrs

This was by far my best outing yet! I was getting pretty close to the 2nd place driver in my division, but there were 1 or 2 karts in between us most of the race and I never quite got an opportunity to get to him!

I learned a lot this weekend on how to setup the kart as well as learning the track more. It's a shame the season is almost at an end!


https://youtu.be/oCJoY25rmwE

This was one of my first times out on this course with this kart; as you can see, there's a lot of room for improvement, lol. I need to get used to everything too; finding the proper lines, get rid of the oversteer in the set up, and of course gear ratios that will work best for me. This is a very fun track to drive!

https://youtu.be/0RgmhP-kA4k

My first race weekend report;

Wow, what a weekend! It all started with a late night engine change, followed by two chilly, slippery practice sessions, With practically no track time on Friday practice, I struggled most of the morning, but managed to make it through ok. My 3rd place finish slotted me into the 7th position in the standings...I'll be trying to get at least one more position before the season ends!

Man, what a fun day at Meadow Event Park! Thanks to VMSC for putting on another great event! Good weather, good food, and good company!

Here's a little video

https://youtu.be/Af_lQLxCmHM

Anyone have any pics from this event?