2023 Club100 Senior Championships
The Club100 Novice LW Experience
Round 3
Rye House
 |
| Photography by @johnnyp5000 |
Overview
We're back at Rye House. We were here only a month ago for a rollercoaster of a sprint race. So notwithstanding a dominant victory at Planet Lydd in the previous Experience, I'd go into this round with limited expectations, especially given the unpredictable weather throughout the weekend.
Format
The Club100 Experience includes 15 minutes' practice which transitions into a 5-minute qualifying session. Qualifying determines the grid for Race 1. The fastest lap from Race 1 determines the grid for Race 2. Both races are 20 minutes long. The person with the most points across both races wins the event.
Practice and Qualifying
A few were convinced the rain would stop by the time we went out on track. It's England ... please don't predict the weather! By the time we're in the karts, it's wet again. So it's a cautious pit exit and opening few laps before competitive times start coming in, despite the treacherous conditions. We use the same slick tyres in hire karts, regardless of weather - makes for good practice, but on the edge of what limited adhesion is out there.
I'm 9th fastest as practice ends and qualifying begins. The intermittent rain means grip levels stay inconsistent, someone spinning off every lap to bring out the yellow flags. So I don't achieve a clean lap. To make things worse, avoiding a kart facing the wrong way at Hairpin 1, I force the kart into a spin under yellows. A 2-place grid penalty. So having qualified a provisional P5, I'm demoted to P7 for Race 1.
2023 XP Champs R3 Results - Practice and Qualifying
Race 1
We start on the inside line for Turn 1. Everyone will understeer towards the outside in the fight for ultimate traction. So by contrary, I'm the first to brave the inside line through Stadium. From this, I gain a position into P6 to complete the opening lap.
A spin up front means I'm up into P5 the next lap. Then P4 the next. Now I'm following championship leader Sam White through, who goes wide out of Stadium into a big puddle. I try to swoop around him towards Hairpin 1, but limited grip off line forces me to back out.
I'm gaining, so sit tight behind to find the right opportunity. However, by complete chance, I make the exact same error Sam made the very next lap. A big splash of water for my kart and race suit. Luckily, my wet suit made its debut here ... and served its purpose! Unfortunately, I've let Sam create some distance from my advances. And in this weather, I'd have to gradually chip away at the gap.
Instead, I spend the next 5 laps fending off Kart 36. The defence comes to an end on Lap 10, where they pass me into Hairpin 2. I'm back to P5. They have incredible pace to overtake Sam the very next lap. I join in on the action and eventually jump both of them into P3 on Lap 14. Negotiating traffic with the proficiency sought after last round, we complete the remaining 12 laps cleanly to cross the chequered flag in P3. And crucially clock the 3rd fastest lap time to secure P3 for Race 2.
2023 XP Champs R3 Results - Race 1
Race 2
Starting P3 on the inside line, the best approach is to bump-draft the leader into Turn 1 and leave P2 out wide. This is what I did. What I did not expect was the pole-man to then open their steering so generously. They're trying to secure a good exit. I take the invite and dive to the inside for the lead out of Stadium Bend.
I have breathing space to the kart behind. But the previous sessions suggest there are faster karts behind, at least on one-lap pace. Whether dry or wet, I'm not the fastest guy on track. I also know from the sprint series that Rye House is not my strongest. So all I can do is focus on improving my pace, while not overdriving it in the quest for the ultimate pace. As race leader, take control and minimise risk.
Then it starts raining again.
Lap 5. The tyres start to slip, drizzle soaking the grip away from the surface. Credit to the marshals, they respond very quickly with the orange-yellow flags to notify us the imminent wet track. I tread cautious, but second place Kart 36 has more to gain from pushing the limits. They edge closer until I have to go defensive. I make my kart as wide as possible within the wet racing line.
Thankfully, the track partially starts to grip up again around Lap 10. I respond quicker than the challenger so that the situation persists no longer, and generate a gap again to reassert my lead.
Next task. Clear the back markers. Pronto. This is paramount for the race win. Still 12 minutes of this race to go. This is a lot. But I start clearing back markers the next few laps. And come Lap 15, I finally start to feel on top of this race. I set the fastest lap, a 43.1, the fastest I've ever gone around Rye House. And continue to build on this pace, clearing traffic, generating a lead, becoming at one with kart and circuit for the first time today.
My fastest is set on the penultimate lap, a 43.0. A lap time matched by at least 10 others, showing you how competitive it was out there. Someone even did a 42.8. Even then, I could have done with this personal best in the sprints a month ago! Focus. We're onto the final lap. Lap 27. One more tour. Bring it home. With a lead of over 3 seconds to the next kart, I come out of the final corners to bring the kart across the line in P1!
A total of 95 points out of 100 earned. Overall result: P1. A SECOND VICTORY IN A ROW! YES!
 |
| Pumping all the adrenaline into the air. They made me work for this one man! |
2023 XP Champs R3 Results - Race 2
From demotion to P7 in quali, I climbed up to P3 and most importantly matched my race position with 3rd fastest lap for Race 2. Storming to P1 out of Turn 1, then holding the lead through multiple changes in condition - dry, to wet, and dry again, a challenge for the lead rejected. And finally, getting through the back-markers cleanly to seal the win. A performance worth celebrating!
 |
| Isaiah Egwuagu celebrates back-to-back victories in the 2023 Club100 Experience Championships. |
A result that puts me joint on points with the championship leader halfway into the race season. Only P2 by average finishing position, a disappointing first round at Buckmore Park to thank for that. But what a response ever since. We return to Lydd for the sprint series in a few weeks, then seek a new upward trend the following weekend as we return to the Blue Bell Hills for the XP Champs before the summer break.