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After a disappointing start to the season, Seth took maximum points at Clay Pigeon Raceway on 22 July 2006 after winning two heats and a closely-fought final. Seth has missed several races this year due to personal matters, and felt ‘relatively out of practice’, so was ‘delighted’ to have performed so well.
It was a beautifully hot morning as the small IMSD Team arrived at the Clay Pigeon Circuit. After a very early start Seth needed to rest and the team wouldn’t allow us to speak to him, so we simply watched the tension build up before open practice. Many drivers had been testing the day before so the track was extremely grippy, and even in the three laps of practice it became clear that Seth was on the pace.
For the first heat Seth started on pole position alongside Jasmine Gunton. He made a very clean start and led into the first corner being followed by Ben Deacon. Seth tried to break away, but the heavy-weight modifications on Ben’s kart combined with some flawless driving meant he stayed glued to Deuchar’s bumper. Michael Gibbons soon joined the pack, and although the karts were very close, nobody changed positions meaning Seth led from the lights to the flag, final results: 1st:Deuchar 2nd:Deacon 3rd:Gibbons.
Just before the second heat the skies opened, and everyone decided to use wet tyres. However by the time everyone was on the grid the rain had ceased and the heat had started to dry the track, so teams debated whether to change back to slick tyres. Despite a delayed start no-one changed, and the pack rolled up with Seth starting 5th. This time however Seth made a poor start and accidentally got caught onto the back of Jasmine Gunton losing him 2 seconds to the rest of the pack. However after a good first corner and a brave move on Tom Hunniset through the chicane, he was up to 4th place. Seth soon caught up with the train of Deacon, Rosewell and Gibbons and after a few laps pulled off a good move on Gibbons at ‘Billy’s Blind’ to take P3. Seth ran in this chain for another 4 laps when Deacon tangled with Rosewell on the straight, causing Luke to slip back a place promoting Seth to second position. Everyone thought that Rosewell had lost his chance to win but the next lap while Seth was overtaking Deacon for the lead, Luke caught them both out and slipped up the inside going from 3rd to 1st in one move! This is how the positions stayed for the rest of the heat, final positions 1st: Rosewell, 2nd: Deuchar, 3rd: Deacon
The sun came out after heat 2 and dried the track completely however in true Clay Pigeon style, just before heat 3 there was a huge down-pour turning the track into a river. After a rapid change of tyres the pack set off with Seth starting 4th. He made a great start getting up to second position by the first corner but some rain had got into the air filter on Seth’s kart and as it repeatedly lost and then regained power Luke Rosewell managed to slip past and steal P2. Luke then went on to take the lead from Deacon and the pack stayed in this formation for almost half of the race. However on lap 6 Seth pressured Ben into a mistake at the hairpin, and slipped past on the following corner. With this new burst of confidence he pulled off yet another great move in the still soaking wet conditions at the end of the straight to seize the lead from Rosewell, and eventually the win. Final results: 1st: Deuchar, 2nd: Rosewell, 3rd: Deacon
By the time the final arrived the track was bone dry and looked set so stay that way. After some great heats Deuchar was on pole position with Rosewell accompanying him on the front row. Seth led through the first corner after a close encounter as Deacon ran off the track trying to pass him round the outside. Seth started to break away, but Rosewell soon found his feet and caught him unawares in the hairpin and took the lead. Seth then followed Luke for about six laps, to see where his weak spots were, and eventually passed him in a clean move at maximum speed at the end of the straight. However his success was short lived and the very next lap Seth slid wide in ‘Billy’s Blind’ allowing Luke to regain the lead. Seth tried the same move a few laps later but misjudged it and did well to avoid causing an accident. Although he managed to avoid spinning he lost about 3 seconds and it looked like all was lost. However in true Deuchar style he pumped in some of the quickest laps of the day and caught all of the time back. Seth was “thinking very hard of where to pass Luke and when we came up to lap Jasmine, I hoped that finally my experience would pay off.” Approaching the right-hander before the finish line Rosewell got flustered and tried to go round the outside of the backmarker - a bad move. Seth on contrast played it very cool and saw the perfect gap on the inside and slipped through to pass both of them in one clean move. From this point Seth started to pull away, set the fastest lap of the race and maintained his lead to the flag. Final results 1st: Deuchar, 2nd: Rosewell, 3rd: Gibbons
We managed to catch a few words with Seth after the race:
Web Editor: Well Seth, finally the win we all know you’ve deserved all season
Seth Deuchar: Yeah, I’m not sure about that, but I get so out of practice when I miss the amount of races that I do, I don’t really expect to be at the sharp end of the grid
WE: Surely that must make the win all the sweeter
SD: Yeah I suppose it does. I mean this year it’s always been close but no cigar which is frustrating. We’ve also had some problems getting the kart working well for us.
WE: Well, well done all the same
SD: Thanks
WE: Last time we spoke it seemed your days in Karting were numbered, but after the performance you’ve shown today have you changed your mind?
SD: Well I can’t reveal too much, but this isn’t the last time you’ll see me this year and I will be driving next year, I’m just not sure what!
WE: What about in the long run? You’ll be 16 the year after next. What then?
SD: Well I expect I’ll do some Club 100 stuff that year and depending on what happens I’m seriously considering going in to a new international class of racing called EasyKart.
WE: Well, good to catch up again and thanks for your time
SD: No probs
Watch out for special features on the site throughout the summer break and thanks for your all of your support so far.
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