Intro:
On the weekend of October 8th and 9th, we hit the McMinnville track in participation in the shortest track layout on the calendar. Running this track configuration is one of the more frustrating and dangerous configurations done throughout the year. With only one passing zone, we knew it would come down to drafting and luck. As you will read throughout the race recap, we had neither.
Saturday Practices:
We arrived somewhat casually late to the track as other teams were already set up and ready to run practices when we arrived. I quickly unpacked the trailer and got Senna’s kart ready for the practices throughout the day. With the kart changes I made in the previous weeks, we were hoping to see an improvement in stability as designed. Senna put on his gear to get ready and prepare for practices while I continued unloading the trailer and organizing the area.
We missed the first practice but would be ready by the second. Initially, we were way off the pace of the front runners and even racers who he’s been faster than in the past were outperforming him. This day would be a big wake-up call for both driver and pit crew. We continued to make minor adjustments throughout the day with the help of other teams. However, Senna’s feedback was that it wasn’t the kart but it was that he was making mistakes causing his lap times to be slower than others.
Throughout the day, we continued to participate in the practice sessions but improvements were only a couple of tenths of a second, and still not able to improve and make time on his competitors. Frustrated we decided to solely focus on Senna’s driving and less on the chassis and engine.
Saturday Post Practice Review:
Frustrated with the day, I contacted my neighbor Gary, who has several years of karting experience. He looked over the video footage of Senna’s practice sessions and he immediately saw a couple of issues. One is that Senna’s tires were shot. We had been running the same racing tires for practices and races since the beginning of the season! I found out that tires are generally replaced after two races or so. It was well beyond the time to have them replaced. We also found that Senna’s kart was also sliding out of turn three and losing some momentum exiting the corner. Therefore, we decided that we needed to narrow the front end and get new tires. Happy with that, we had a plan for the races tomorrow.
Sunday Practice 1:
We arrived at the track as soon as possible to purchase tires from CMC and get the new tires installs. Fortunately, our pit neighbor and friend, Joe Filipanko, helped us with swapping those tires out. During that time, I also set out to remove the front spacers and bring “in” or “narrow” the front end. After the drivers meeting and we were excited to hit the track to see how the new changes would help. Senna’s time had improved, which brought smiles but we both still expressed concern as he was still getting dropped by his competitors.
Sunday Practice 2:
Still frustrated that his competitors were faster than him and pulling away, we knew that there was still more work to be done. Senna’s times were improving though and the track was starting to come alive compared to the earlier session. It was getting warmer outside and this helped with the overall grip.
Sunday Qualifying:
Qualifying started as a struggle much like the practices. However, lap times were still improving and losing less ground than before. We were definitely headed in the correct direction but something was still off. Senna ended the session in the fifth position but now we are only a tenth or two off compared to being several tenths to a second or more off. His weight was on the high side of 326 lbs. I had added fuel to allow the burn-off and get him to the right weight for the heat races and possibly the final.
Note: The image has the placements incorrect and Senna was 5th.
Sunday Heat 1:
The long lunch break that separated qualifying and the first heat race, allowed us to make some analysis of what was going on with our troubles. By this time Gary had shown up and I had the most experienced guy in our pit area. We took video footage from the GoPro and reviewed what was going on. We found that his carburetor was not allowing the engine to idle as normal and needed to be adjusted. With assistance from Danny Hill (the dad of Cameron Hill and one of Senna’s fellow competitors), he helped us tune the carburetor to idle and run properly. With this new setup, we had our fingers crossed that his times would improve and be more competitive. It was noted that in the video review, Senna was driving very well and that he was taking the driving line correctly. This pointed to the chassis and the engine being the main problem.
For the heat races, the Junior 2 and the Senior classes would run together. The Junior 2 class would be the faster of the two as they would be running less weight on the kart by comparison. With the carburetor changes, Senna immediately found a difference in power and was able to quickly notice a difference from the start. He had a great start and was able to make up a position starting from fifth and moving up to fourth by turn one. The racing was much closer now, between 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th places. Senna was finally in the mix and able to compete while maintaining less of a gap to the racers ahead. The position would hold by the end of the race, while carnage and lapped traffic would bring Senna’s other competitors with larger gaps.
Sunday Heat 2:
Before the start of the second heat, we were able to get the snipers out (a front-end laser alignment tool that can precisely allow you to see and adjust the camber, caster, and toe) and find that his settings were off. So we cleaned up his camber and toe. This adjustment would help him with his cornering speed and straight-line speed.
Along with these adjustments we looked at the video to do more analysis. We discovered that we have an engine problem. Unfortunately, this engine problem may not be fixable without an engine replacement or diving more into the settings of the engine without compromising the engine bottom-end seal. We found on the most important and troublesome corner, turn three, that his engine was bogging down mid-corner. The low-end and high-end performance was fine but the mid-range seemed to be having problems. Resolving this issue would take time, which we didn’t have. He was just going to have to drive the best he could.
The start of Heat 2 would put Senna starting in the second position. The one thing that Senna is known for, is his starts and today was no exception. He started second but by turn one, he had taken the lead and was able to hold it till turn three where he lost his momentum, due to that mid-range engine problem. From then on he would be a sitting duck and being passed would only be a matter of time. However, things were still looking up as he was able to defend and hold the fourth-place position with excellent driving skills, even with a limping kart. The gap was coming down, just not fast enough. Still smiling though, knowing that he’s in the mix for the final. The weight would be at 323-lbs.
Sunday Final:
Senna, Gary, and I decided to not make any changes going into the final. We did all that we could do and, making any changes now could hurt his chances of being in the mix, if anyone were to make a mistake, then he would be there to take advantage.
The starting grid would utilize the times from qualifying and therefore he would start in fifth place again. Again, with his famous start, he would move up two spots to take third place! He held the place for two laps where Marcus would eventually pass him as he had a better run out of turn three and have an overall better pace going into turn one after the long straight. One lap later though, Senna would be fighting for that place back but backed out of it earlier than Marcus, maintaining the fourth position and that’s how it would end from there as the gap would continue to grow. Eventually 5th place, Beatrix would challenge Senna for fourth place a couple of times but Senna was able to defend and keep his fourth place position till the checkered flag.
Conclusion:
The race weekend had many successes, despite not finishing on the podium. The changes that we made from the week before settled the kart and made it more drivable and also more stable throughout the entire corner. Chassis setups seem to be dialed in now but our engine work needs to be improved. Gary brought it to my attention the following combination is going to be what it takes to win an event: Senna, the driver, which is great and can drive a bad kart very fast as we saw in the OSKCS #8; the chassis, which we now have mostly dialed in and any changes will be very small; and the engine, which is where we still need to learn and tune better. Once we have all of those in line and Senna can communicate to us what issues he’s having on the track as well as what’s working, only then we will have a winning combination.
After Race Report:
The next race, OSKCS #10 will be the final race of the season and Senna is currently in 3rd place but in a tight battle between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th places. Senna will need to podium to maintain 3rd or move up to 2nd. If he doesn’t get on the podium then he will have to remain within 20-points of Cameron to keep 3rd place.
As of the time of writing this race recap, the next race looks like it could be a wet one. This throws a new factor into the race and it could be anyone’s race to be won. We look forward to the new challenge and hope that it will be a story of success!
Bernie and Senna Russnogle