|
|
|
In an exciting championship opener at the Bayford Meadows circuit on 18th March Seth was cruelly robbed of 3rd position, when like a replay of last year his chain flew off in the closing stages of the race.
It was a freezing cold morning as the IMSD team arrived at Bayford Meadows. Everyone was cold and miserable but silently excited about the day that lay before them. By drivers briefing the sun was shining, but there was a strong, bitter wind sweeping across the circuit.
The grids for Royale were about the same as last year and Seth knew that he was up against some really hot competition. As he sat in the back of the trailer, thinking about the race ahead, we managed to catch a word with him find out what he really thought of his new competitors.
Web editor: Time for a quick word Seth?
Seth Scott Deuchar: Yeah go for it!
WE: Thanks – So a new season, new competitors what are your feelings about how it’s going to pan out?
SSD: Well I can’t say too much, but I think we have a really strong package for this year. I’ve been quick in testing and the whole team has learnt a lot so we’ll see how it goes!
WE: So you think that you can take the championship for the second year in a row?
SSD: Well I don’t want to tempt fate, and no-one has ever won it twice in Royale, but I’m always up for a challenge. I’ve got new people to race against, but if I can win it once I can do it again!
WE: Well I’m glad to hear that you’re up for it! So that leads us in nicely to talk about you’re competitors. What are they like?
SSD: Well I know a couple from last year, so who do you want to know about?
WE: (Shuffles through notes) Ben Deacon. He did pro-kart last year didn’t he?
SSD: Yeah I believe so. Well I tested with him at Buckmore, and he’s quick. From what I’ve seen of him he’s pretty racey and I’m sure he’ll can go out and win races this year.
WE: Ok. What about Luke
SSD: Yeah Luke’s in the same situation as I was last year, just taking the step up from cadet. It’s going to be a good year for him, I’m sure he might find it quite tough at first but he’s got speed and experience, so he’s definitely one to watch!
WE: Great. Another bit of young blood in Royale! Jasmine Gunton?
SSD: Well it’s great to see another girl in Royale. She’s got good speed and I’m sure she’ll learn a lot this year. It’s quite a big step up from pro-kart.
WE: Yeah it is. So finally, your thoughts on Dylan and Michael
SSD: Well I raced with them last year and they’re both really quick. Dylan is a really great guy. He has loads of experience behind him and I know he’s really going to want the championship this year. Michael’s another great driver. He improved loads last season, and he’s being doing Rotax over the winter so that will have helped him a lot.
WE: Well thanks for that Seth. I’ll try and catch up with you later.
SSD: Yeah, Thanks.
So Seth thinks that the year will be tough but as they set out for practice, Seth looked pretty quick even though he was scrubbing in new tyres. Thinks were looking hopeful but when Seth came in he was complaining of a lack power. Stephen took the kart to Trevor Taylor, who had made some modifications to the carb since Seth last tested, but he didn’t know what was wrong.
Seth always runs well in timed qualifying at Bayford and every time he raced there last year, he took pole position. Seth was confident as he went out but he once again felt that he had a huge lack of power. When he came in the team found that he was revving far too low, and were really concerned about Seth’s lack of power. The only thing that they had changed since testing was the carburettor on the engine. This should have given the kart a performance upgrade but it had the reverse effect! Seth was running over a second slower than he had when testing with the old carb 2 weeks earlier! The team didn’t have a spare carburettor so he was told that there was nothing that could be done. They changed the sprocket on the kart, to try and increase the amount of revs and by that time, it was time for the first heat.
Seth got a great start and managed to go in to the first corner in second position. However Dylan Ip Ting Wah ran wide and when he rejoined the circuit, he banged wheels with Seth allowing Luke to slip past in the next corner. Ben Deacon drove off in to the distance, but despite his engine trouble Seth just managed to keep up with Luke. However as time got on, Seth’s engine got worse and Luke started to pull away. Michael managed to slip past him a couple of times, but being the more experienced driver Seth managed to pass him back immediately. However Michael finally managed to make a move stick, and he picked up the pace to catch Luke. Seth managed to tail Michael on to the back of Luke, but he got thumped by a pro-kart as the pack approached lapped traffic, so that is where Seth stayed for the rest of the heat. Ben Deacon took heavy weight victory. In the lights it was Gibbons, closely followed by Luke Rosewell with Seth taking third.
For the second and final heat Seth was slow off the line and dropped back down to fifth. However, going in to the first hairpin Seth pulled of the passing move of the day as he went up the inside of three drivers to grab second place. He drove incredibly well but his kart was so down on power after many laps Luke pulled off a passing move. Just as in the previous heat, Seth ruthlessly took it back; but on the next lap Seth had a huge power deficit at maximum revs, and Luke drove straight past him. Seth realised he couldn’t catch Luke so he turned all of his attention to keeping Dylan him. He did this incredibly well and even managed to open up a little gap by the end of the race. So the end results in the lights were: Roswell, Deuchar and Ip Ting Wah. Ben Deacon took the heavy weight victory again.
For the Final Seth was on third place for the start; a good result considering the problems that he had. He had Luke and Ben in front of him on the grid, and he was hoping to get a good start, just as he had done in the heats. Seth was slow off the line again so didn’t manage to gain any places in the first corner. He managed to get a couple of looks up the inside of Luke in the first couple of laps, but Seth once again got left behind, due to his engine problems. Seth drove hard, determined to stay on the podium and he made light work of getting through lapped traffic. Dylan and Michael however could not find a way through and Seth opened up a huge gap, so that he had third easily in the bag. However another problem opened up and just 5 laps from the end, Seth’s chain flew off. At the front there was a great battle between Deacon and Rosewell. In the end Ben came out on top and took the win by 0.03 seconds! Michael took third (second in the lightweights) and Dylan came fourth.
I stayed out of the way whilst Seth slowly walked back with his kart, expecting to see him fuming, like he was when this happened last year. However he walked back completely calm and collected. I asked him what he thought of the result. He replied “Well I can’t complain. I drove a great race and well, you win some, you lose some. That’s just the way it is.” So Seth is now back in training and the IMSD team are going to try to sort out the problem with the engine. Seth “can’t wait for Buckmore” and is “confident that if we can fix things then we’re very much in with a chance to win.” |
| |
|
