~Alvis Ang: 2nd Round - Centre-Poitou Regional Race

The 2nd round of the Centre-Poitou regional race was held in Cap Karting, Mer. We arrived on Friday at noon; it was warm compared to the last round at Salbris. Around 13-17°C. Alvis got geared up and was ready to go out.

Aurélien giving Alvis a few tips before his 1st session

The practice was very chaotic, as every category from the 8HP Micromax to the monstrous 40HP KZ 125, making it difficult to get a clean lap. At the end of the day, Alvis got familiarized with the track.

Saturday morning, the temperature dropped, average 10-14°C. The practices were now by category, making it more organized. So the team focused on the setup. Alvis had a few chassis problems pretty much the whole day, but the setup was about right. At the end of the day, with fresh new tyres, Alvis managed to clock a 1:03.9, which was about 2 tenths away from the leader's pace.

Sunday, the sun was shining, 15-19°C. Alvis head to the pregrid with all his rivals.

Kart being scrutineered before the chronos

Most of the time, Alvis heads out late in the session, but Aurélien gave him the instruction to go when he told him to do so. Unfortunately, the marshall ordered all mechanics to the back of the pregrid, so Alvis didn't know when to head out. Alvis made the right decision to go out early, as later seen in the session, he had all the free air, and could do a cleap lap, though struggling with the worn out tyres from Salbris.

Alvis running wide out of turn 9

Crossing the finish line

Results of the chronos

Alvis was 8 tenths of the pace and sat in 8th. But there is still an improvement, last time he was 10th. Now Alvis had to try to improve in the heat. Down into turn 1, Alvis got a little squeezed to the outside, but he managed to dive in to the inside to protect his position, keeping 8th. Towards the 4th lap, Alvis managed to outbrake one of the front runners, and moved up to 7th. The rest of the pack was a little too far to catch, and so Alvis defended till the end of the race, and defended his 7th position.

Alvis being presented the chequered flag in 7th

Results of the heats

Alvis knew if he didn't change anything, he would never catch the front 6, most of them being 3 to 7 tenths faster. So Alvis said he would try to push a little harder in the prefinal. For the start, Alvis struggled a little more, being pushed a bit wide on the 2nd corner, Alvis dropped 2 places. He managed to climb back to 8th, but then got stuck behind the 7th throughout the rest of the race. The tyres were falling apart too. He just drove as well as the tyres could handle till the end of the race, and had to settle with 8th.

Alvis queuing to get weighed

Results of the prefinal

Alvis was pretty straightforward for the final; objective: cross the chequered flag in 8th or better.

Pregrid for the final

Once again, Alvis got pushed a little wide, losing another 2 places at the start and dropped to 10th. But this time, the tyres were DEAD. Alvis couldn't catch the front 8, and could only see them slowly pulling away from him. He tried everything to try and keep up with them, but in every way possible, the kart slided. The 11th and 12th caught up with Alvis, and became a 3 way battle. Alvis defended his position well and managed to create a distance between them, and it turned into a 2 way battle as Alvis drove by himself.