Glan-Y-Gorr, Wales
Its always nice to get one over an Architect! (Ross leads Mark of TSH Architects)
G R Mullender & Associates have for four years entered a team in the Club 100 Premier Clubman Endurance Championship. The championship consist of eleven 2.5 hour races and visits circuits around the country racing 115 cc Two stroke Karts. The competition is close, with 34 karts on the grid, the fastest and slowest karts usually qualify less than a second apart. The racing is close, there is little opportunity to relax during the race, the smallest of mistakes cost places.
As all Karts use the same sealed engines, weight is critical, so it is important to keep off the pies!
This year, 2011, the team is again made up of Graham Mullender, Andy Lydon and Ross Thompson. All fighting fit (and struggling to reach the minimum weight limit, well Andy and Graham are!)
Its November, its Buckmore Park, it must be the last race of the season. The season has not been our best, to many mechanical issues causing us to loose point scoring positions. As always at Buckmore at this time of the year the track remains damp and therefore slippery for most of the day even if the sun was shining. Graham drew the short straw and did the qualifying. In such conditions, straying just inches of line will cause the back to come round. Graham found a line where grip could be found and looked to be pushing on. Having made the most of the conditions, to the surprise to the team, especially Graham, it was announced that Mullender Associates were on pole position. Wow, now we had to make the most of the good grid and make good start. A full grid of karts position themselves for the final rolling start of the year. The flag dropped and we entered the first slippery bend,side by side, each kart looking for the optimum balance and speed. It was a credit to all the teams that the majority of karts completed the first lap on the tarmac.Despite the conditions, all the front running teams held there positions for the first session. After 18 minutes, we entered Buckmore Parks notorious pit lane entrance in second place, having been out braked (or out-slid) into the top bend thereby relinquishing the lead. The pit stop went well and Ross set about retaining our good position, this he did, handing over to Andy twenty five minutes later. As we entered the second half of the race, the track began to dry and our weight disadvantage began to tell. Our final three pitstops all went well, and as a team we drove a good consistent race, finishing after 2.25 hours in ninth place. After the season that we had had, it was good to finish in the top ten! Looking forward to the 2012 season already.
