 Practice started at ten. Marilou was back in the seat and went out for a couple of short sessions. We were ready. Marty Woosley, another Kart Klinic sponsored driver had qualified on the pole. He was using a Margay Lynx chassis powered by a Yellow Fin Yamaha as we were, but he was using Dunlop tires as opposed to our Bridgestones. Starting next to him on the front row was Craig Rhodes. On the inside of the second row was Marty's brother Jason and then next to him was Marilou in fourth spot. After a couple of pace laps to line everyone up, the field came by for the start of the first of three heats. As the green flag fell, and the race started, Craig Rhodes in the Ultra Kart designed and built by his father Steve, was into the lead from the outside of the front row. Marty Woosley fell into second place and Marilou pulled ahead of Jason Woosley into third place. By the end of the first lap the first two had pulled out a small lead. On the second lap Craig went wide in corner five and Marty pulled to the inside. By the time they were exiting corner six he had taken over first place. Just behind, Dario Orlandi in kart number 6 had moved past Jason Woosley and was about to challenge Marilou.  Coming into the corner leading onto the straight on the fourth lap Orlandi tried to pass on the inside but he left his braking a fraction too late. The rear wheels locked, his kart spun around and slid off onto the grass on the outside of the corner. After this Orlandi dropped back and the race positions stabilized. During the last couple of laps Marilou gained some ground on Rhodes and she was three or four kart lengths behind at the finish in third place. I wheeled the kart back to our pit and it was time for the post race conference. Gerald, Marilou and I all agreed we needed a bit more. This was the easy part. Knowing what to do. That was more difficult. Making changes between heats was always a risk. Sometimes the changes work, sometimes they donŐt. However if you make the right change it is often the key ingredient that can give you victory. I felt we needed to put on a larger gear. This generally gives you more speed through the tight corners at the expense top speed on the straights. The key at any track was to find the right balance between these two factors. We were using a 68 tooth gear. Going up one tooth was usually not enough of a change to make much of a difference. I looked in the trailer on the gear storage rack for a 70. We did not have one. I went to Jim Arnold who was next to us in the pits but he did not have one. Next I went to Paul Smith's trailer. He looked through his gears. He didn't have one either. I persevered. Manel Fernandes was unloading his gear for in preparation to practice for his race on Sunday. I asked him if he had a gear we could use. He showed me the plastic container where he kept his gears and said I was welcome to use any of them. I dug through the container, and finally there it was. A 70 tooth gear. I took a close look at it. I knew right away that this would be a good one. I took the gear back to our pit and called Marilou over. "Take a look at the gear we are going to run" I said. At first I don''t think she quite understood what I meant. Then she saw it. Scratched in the side was the word, "SOMERVILLE' in capital letters. Then I remembered. Manel had bought all of Sarah's equipment when she left karting for the world of TQ Midgets. That's why he had it. Sarah had won the Amateur class herself at the 1988 Nationals at Goodwood. I put the gear on, lowered the tire pressures and checked everything possible on the kart to make sure nothing would go wrong in the second heat. Then I went back inside the trailer, sat on the bench next to Marilou and we waited. For the second heat, Marilou was starting on the inside of the second row right behind the winner of the first heat Marty Woosley. Rhodes was second again. Beside Marilou was Nick Kay who had finished fourth. As they all raced into the first corner on the first lap, Rhodes once again made a great start and was back in the lead, followed by Marty Woosley. Kay managed to get past Marilou on the outside in corner one to take over third place. She was fourth. Orlandi was fifth and Jason Woosley sixth followed by the rest of the field. By the second lap, the first two had pulled away. Kay seemed to be holding up those behind him as the karts were tightly packed together. For laps two and three the order remained the same. Coming out of the last corner onto the straight on lap four, Rhodes lost momentum coming up the hill towards the pit entrance and Woosley was able to pass him as they entered corner one at the end of the front straight. During the same lap Marilou tried to pass Nick Kay in the left-right switchback corner across from the pits. She did not get alongside far enough to complete the pass and their wheels touched. She bounced off the racing line and when the dust had cleared the blue, yellow and red kart 56 had dropped to sixth place. By lap five, the halfway point, the order was Marty Woosley, Rhodes, a gap to Kay, then Orlandi, Jason Woosley and Whaling. Through lap six the order remained the same. Time was quickly running out. I don't think there was another race this season when Marilou was this low in the order this late in the race. I was starting to wonder if the changes we made had been the right ones. Had we gambled and lost? At the start of lap seven Marilou passed Jason Woosley and was back to fifth place. Later on lap seven when Rhodes got back to the switchback across from the pits, he ran over the curb on the left hand side of the track. The kart jumped in the air a few inches and when it landed the gear hit the pavement and his chain came off. He pulled off onto the grass out of the race. Marilou was now fourth with two laps to go. Going onto the straight on lap eight, Orlandi had tried to move past Kay and failed. Marilou seized the opportunity and went past Orlandi up the hill on the inside, just past he pit entrance. She had an advantage up the hill last week and it appeared to be back. The gear was helping. She was now in third place with only lap nine and ten remaining. Kay was a small distance ahead. She closed the gap very quickly. Coming up the hill again on the ninth lap, Marilou pulled to the inside and passed Kay in the same place she had passed Orlandi. She took the white flag indicating the last lap in second place. With a clear track ahead for the first time in the race she pulled away from Kay fairly easily. Woosley was too far ahead to be caught and he won again. Those last couple of laps had convinced me that we had the correct setup. We would leave it as it was for the third and final heat. It was time for another team conference. Not about the kart this time, but about driving techniques. Marilou would be starting outside of Marty Woosley on the front row. On both starts in the first and second heats, Rhodes had beaten him into the first corner from the outside. I told Marilou that when they come up for the start to just put her foot down and go for it. The field came by for the start. Marliou put her boot into it. She must have pulled out ahead of Woosley by perhaps three lengths, and the green flag did not drop. She was just a little too far in front for a fair start. The next time by she did the same thing. She was ahead, not by as much this time, the flag dropped and they were racing. Marilou took the lead. Marty followed her in second place. Rhodes had to start at the back of the starting grid because of his non-finish in heat two. He had pulled out all the stops and made a few passes himself. He was in fourth place by the end of lap one. The order then at the end of the first lap was Whaling, Marty Woosley, Jason Woosley, Rhodes, Kay and the rest. It had not yet been a year since Marilou's first test drive at Peterborough, and she was leading the Canadian Nationals. The whole field was much closer this time. On lap two Marilou had pulled out a slight lead. She would gain up the hill towards the pits and down the straight, and lose some ground in the corners. She was driving her line and if the race continued this way she should not have too much trouble holding on to first place. The driver on the move this time was Rhodes. By lap three he was third and ready to challenge Marty Woosley for second. Rhodes tried to pass him on lap six going into corner one, but Woosley held his line and kept his second place. On lap seven Rhodes tried it again in the same place. This time he was successful. Marilou's lead on Rhodes was about 1.5 seconds. Rhodes was still moving up. By the end of lap eight he was right on Marilou's bumper. On lap 9 Rhodes went for the inside line in corner one. On the exit from the corner they were side by side, wheel to wheel. They were fast approaching the essess where there is only enough track for one kart at full racing speed. We all strained for a better look. Entering the essess Marilou was just a few inches ahead of Rhodes. They did not touch, and Marilou pulled ahead. She finished the rest of lap nine, and lap ten unchallenged as Woosley was right behind making Rhodes work to hold onto second position. Woosley stayed in third but had enough points when you totalled all three heats to take the overall win for the day. Marilou had made her point. It was an outstanding drive. She finished second overall in her first Nationals in her rookie year. Gerald, Francis and myself waited to congratulate her as she finished the cool down lap. Then it was onto the scale and off to the impound area with the kart. Tech inspection was completed much later in the evening and the 'old reliable' Yamaha came through with flying colours. It was time to celebrate. Unfortunately I had to let Marilou do the serious partying this time. Tomorrow it was my turn behind the wheel. I thought it better to go home and get some rest. I would have to wait until tomorrow night to celebrate. |
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