DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 41&t=43265

So first practice event this evening at Buckmore. A measly 3 hours. But our two teams finished really well 10th and 14th out of 35. Much more news to come, but what a blast, I really enjoyed it! And great to meet the team, fabulous bunch of guys apart from Feroz. Well I'm sure he's a fab guy, just wasn't able to join us. I think I was the slow guy on the team, but it just takes me a while to get going!

This one is really worth putting donations towards.

Over to you James for pics and tales of derring do!

Graham

"Gentlemen start your engines!"

For those who don't know about it yet, as part of the 10 for 10 initiative, DDK are entering a team in the Buckmore Park 24 Hours in October.
We will be running one kart, with 7 drivers: gridgway, moggy, yoda, Rhdracer, 23eHeure, Will Puttock and Phillip Gaywood.

Now please pay attention, as this is for charity: We plan to raise a minimum of £1,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
And we are looking for your support to achieve that goal.

The 24 Hours is not till October, so we wanted to wait until everything was in place before we starting asking for donations.

With our first race as a team under our belts, our request for donations is going live today. Please follow this link for the details:

http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 26#p365826

In preparation for the 24 Hours we are running karts in 2 endurance races - a 3 Hours this month and a 6 Hours on August 25th.

At yesterday's 3 Hrs we entered 2 karts.

Kart A, race# 5 - Moggy, Carsten (reserve), Phillip
Kart B, race# 29 - Graham (gridgway), Paul (reserve) and myself.

And on stopwatch duties while he gets himself race fit for the 24 was my brother Will.

If any of the guys had thought this was going to be easy, boy were they in for a shock!
The weather was hot and sticky, and there was a capacity field of 35 390cc 4 stroke karts.

Experience on track ranged from the professional teams up front - you know the type: radios in their helmets, no smiling, and 2 secs a lap quicker than everyone else.
Down to the hen do at the back of the grid - too busy adjusting their rib protectors to clock that their weaving across the track at half pace was causing carnage, quick karts spinning out left right and center behind them.

With a very competitive mid field, we reckoned that if one of our karts finished in the Top 10 we would be happy.

Nestling in Kentish woodland, with its combination of fast sweepers, multiple rise and falls, and even an uphill hairpin, Buckmore feels just like a mini Brands Hatch.
And it is genuinely quick: Over 1500m in length with the 390cc 4 stroke karts peaking at up to 60mph on the downhill section, the front runners would be looking for consistent low 50sec laps.



Phillip headed out for qually with his fingers crossed, and I was taking the whole thing a bit seriously.





When the 30 mins qually session was done, I landed 8th and Moggy 14th, which we were pretty pleased with.

The race itself:

The lights go green, and Moggy immediately gets stuck in with our A kart (#5). Half way through his first stint he moves up to 7th:




Graham (Gridgway) starts for us in the B kart (#29), and needs the first laps to get to grips with how differently a kart behaves to his usual steed - a Radical.
It's a busy field, and you have to pick your moment to thread past the slower drivers. "Aha" says Graham, "Here by this familiar green car should do"




Endurance karting is no different to endurance car racing: You have to plan for driver changes.
In the 24 Hours in October we will swapping drivers out nearly 30 times - although not all changes will look like break dancing:




There are also regular fuel stops to plan for. We'll need to stop for about 14 of these in the 24 hour race.

In the 3hrs our Kart B provides us with the opportunity to learn how NOT to do it - timing the fuel stop when there was a queue at the pumps lost us almost 2 laps:



As we approach the midpoint of the race, some bad luck in traffic for Carsten has moved Kart A down to 11th, and some quick times from Paul have moved Kart B behind in 12th.
I'm feeling pleased: Ideal team order really, running together, and with that top 10 goal in easy sight...

And then tragedy strikes. Phillip comes flying down the start finish straight and neatly turns into the very fast double apex named Conways
As he turns in he comes upon the hen do kart. Another backmarker - stunned by the sight of a pretty girl at the wheel - has slowed to check her out- the two are quite literally abreast .

Phillip has no choice but to take avoiding action, and learns the hard way that you cannot go round the outside here...
He piles into the tyre wall, demolishes that, then rides the bank and deflects off the advertising hoarding:




The race is under full waved yellows for 5 long laps while they extricate Phillip and rebuild the wall.
He gets back he's shaken - he has taken quite a knock, and the helmet bears the scuff marks to prove it

Kart A has now dropped to 15th. We send Moggy back out in #5, and he gets stuck in once again:




Meanwhile Kart B is still running strong in 12th and is gaining all the time on those ahead:




As dusk starts to fall and they put the floodlights on, we enter the final 20 minutes and Paul in Kart B is 20 secs adrift of the kart in 10th place.
Our adrenaline is pumping on the pit wall, shouting Paul on as he gains 1.5 secs a lap:




You couldn't script it any better, on the penultimate lap Paul catches and passes the guy ahead, and gets us where we wanted to be - the top 10. Phew:




Here's how we ended up when the flag fell. Kart A a respectable 14th despite the crash, and Kart B 10th






If you read to the end of this report, then well done: you may be made of the Right Stuff, able to amply show your support of an endurance team.

Did I mention this was for charity??? Please click here and remember to give generously :

http://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 26#p365826


You'll be hearing more from us as we build up to the main event.
Here are 5 of the 7 who will be racing for DDK's honour and chosen charity.
For 24 Hours. In the cold. In the dark. In the wet. In October...

(Left to right: Will, 23eHeure, Gridgway, Moggy, Phillip)

Great day guys. Sorry I was running on 2/3's due to.... ahem... un-forseen circumstances

Tell Will we'll make a pact - he gets down to racing snake physique and I (plus Phil, tell him!) promise not to have a rave up the night before

Awesome race report James!

Any DDK'ers up for a bit of spectating and support for the next event in Aug? Who wants to put on some lycra and hold a brolly over me next time on the start grid

23e Heure wrote:although not all changes will look like break dancing

Yes they will, it's in the rules