Senna Podiums in His First Outdoor Kart Race
On the weekend of April 23rd and 24th, Senna participated in the second round of the OSKCS race. This would be Senna’s first race, as 2021 was still under quarantine from a majority of the races and for safety reasons we opted out of racing for that year. This year has started off well for us and this is how the weekend went.
Saturday Practice
We arrived to the track around 10 am and found that practice sessions had already started for the day. We teamed up with the Filipanko family, who we’ve been racing indoors with for years. Their daughter, Olivia, along with Senna would race in the same class, so it makes it easy for all of us to help each other and be ready for the track as the weekend goes on. Senna’s very first time on the track, with a kart that had 45-lbs of additional lead (minimum weight for the LO206 Junior II class is 320-lbs including driver and gear), he posted a 0:53.32 second lap. His competitors were already in the 49 and 48 second laps. We knew we had a lot of work to do. Fortunately, we had our neighbor, Gary Baldes, with us who has had decades of karting experience, not only on his own but for his three boys as well. So he knows how to talk to Senna to get him to drive fast. Fortunately, he also see’s the potential that Senna has with racing. Senna continued to participate in practice sessions all throughout the afternoon, as we continued to make modifications to his kart to make the kart pass tech (safety requirements). We also had to add another 12.5-lbs of lead weight to get him around the 322-lbs mark, including fuel. Lastly, I had to buy tires and get them mounted, to get him within the league standards to avoid disqualification. Out of the six practice sessions of the day he ended up improving his time to 0:50.09 seconds. Better but we still had work to do for sure.
Sunday Practice
Sunday morning we arrived at the race track at 8 am to finish getting the kart ready and to pass tech. I also had to pay for the membership fees to get him on the track. The good news is that we have a spot for the remainder of the year that is reserved for us and we can now go out anytime we want during the week! After the driver’s meeting we progressed in prepping the kart and checking tire pressures, all the while, Senna and Olivia relaxed and focused on the day ahead. Eventually, they started their practice and immediately he improved to get into the 49s with a 0:49.88. There’s something to be said about a driver when they take off their helmet and you see a smile. We were improving and he knew where to improve even more.
Sunday Qualifying
As we approached lunch, the scheduled called for qualifying to start. During qualifying, the fastest times are collected during the short five-lap session, which determines the starting grid for Heat-1. Senna improved once again and got a 0:48.36! He made a HUGE jump and now was only 0.3 seconds off pole position and 0.1 seconds off the second place, putting Senna in third position for Heat-1.
Sunday Heat Races
As the drivers lined up for Heat-1, we found out it was going to be a standing start. Gary Baldes pulled Senna aside and explained to him how to do a standing start. This turned out to be a huge talking point amongst the racers and parents alike. Although Senna started in third position, by the time the green flag dropped and got to turn one, Senna had jumped into the lead of the race. He really started to distance himself from the other racers and led for the first lap of eight total laps. However; after turn five, he made a pivotal mistake and drifted too wide on the exit and spun out in the grass. We could tell he was dejected by his slouching shoulders and visor looking down at the ground as the other drivers passed by him. After the session was over the recovery vehicle went to pick him and his kart up. Fortunately there was no damage to the kart but only a bruised ego. Looking over the kart, we did noticed an issue with his exhaust but we were able to fix the issue with a new bolt and some Lock-Tite. This would come into play later on in the day.
For the start of Heat-2, Senna started in fourth position. Due to his lap times he was still able to start high up the field even with a reverse grid (fastest drivers at the back). Fortunately, his main rivals were both in front of him (who also crashed out during the race) and one right behind him. The second highlight of the day though was when the green flag dropped again for the second time, he was able to weave around the other three drivers ahead of him to take the lead into turn one. His starts were perfect up to this point. The gearing on his kart did play a role on his acceleration into turn one but it hurt him by the end of the long straight in completion of the lap. He led the lap until turn one again where the taller gears of the other drivers eventually passing him and leaving him in third place by lap-two of turn one. A couple of corners later he would get passed again, putting him into fourth place. Then disaster, as second and third rubbed tires in a high-speed section causing third place to spin out directly in front of Senna. Senna had no place to go and he got collected by the third place driver causing both of them to retire for the session. We all watched as they both got up to check on each other and from a distance, we saw them fist bump each other and they were both safe and un-injured. After the Heat-2 race was over, they were able to start up their karts and drive around to the pits. Then Senna started to yell at me, “I HAVE NO BRAKES!!! I CAN’T STOP!!!” I immediately ran down the pit lane to let everyone know that he can’t stop and the marshals were able to assist him in getting him slowed down in the weighing area (we have to weigh in after each session to ensure that we meet the minimum weight requirements). After getting weighed in we immediately saw the damage to the front bumper but couldn’t understand why the brakes failed. Then I noticed that the two brake rods that push into the master cylinder were in a position that they were not supposed to be in. Then, when we pushed on the brakes, those rods popped back out. As it turned out the whole pedal assembly had twisted in the chassis of the kart! I was able to bend it back but when applying the brakes, it would twist back out. To solve the problem we had to take the whole underside of the kart apart only to discover that no mater what we did the brakes were going to fail. Senna asked, “am I going to be able to race in the final?” Before Gary had to leave, he said that if there was a crash, to not give up and make it work. Well, those words rang in my ears and decided right then and there that I was going to do whatever it takes. So looking at the problem, I discovered that if I put a couple of washers in the strut-bar joint/bolt, I was able to prevent the pedals from rotating. So we immediately started working on that solution. Thanks to the Filipanko family, and a couple other karting friends we got the kart back together and in working order with just a few minutes to spare for the final race!
Sunday Final
In a less than perfect kart and with duct tape covering the gaping hole in the front bumper, I told him that everything was safe and to race on. However, as he drove off out of pit-exit, I could clearly hear his front bumper scraping. Since Senna was not able to finish both Heat-1 and Heat-2, this put him with a starting position of sixth on the grid with only a couple of drivers behind him who also ran into issues. For the final time, Senna had an epic start and was able to overcome four drivers to get into second position! Holding his own for a couple of laps, he got overtaken for third place and then got passed by kart number 11 in the high speed curves running to the top of the hill. In a laps of concentration from the pressure of Senna, kart number 11, spun himself out into the infield as he ran wide on the exit. The driver was unable to move and the race got red-flagged and all drivers were forced to stop all engines, so the medical crew could go help the young driver. After several minutes, the remainder drivers were told to push their karts to the pit entrance and then push their karts up to the weighing station. To be honest, this was somewhat entertaining as these little kids had to push their karts all on their own, as no outside assistance was allowed. Us parents made light of the situation poking fun at all of them, but knowing the seriousness of the number 11 driver still on the track getting medical attention. As it turns out the young driver was ok but had bruised or broken ribs from the accident. At this time we don’t know the condition of that driver. After weigh-ins, we all went to the tech area where the race director pulled all the drivers from that final race and their parents. He asked us if we would like to continue to race the remainder six-lap race to finish the final or if they would be okay with ending the race as it stood. It had to be unanimous decision for the race to be over. Senna wanted to race but everyone else had voted not to race and he gave into peer pressure. It was a long, hot day and everyone didn’t want to stay any longer because they were so far behind schedule. With the decision being made to no longer continue, the race officials stated that they would go by the results of the end of lap three but excluding driver 11. This moved Senna from fourth place into third place! Senna made the podium on his first outdoor racing event.
Oh and that exhaust issue I mentioned earlier? That one bolt ended up holding the entire system together and if tech would have seen that, he could have been disqualified. We got lucky and now we have a lot of repairs to do to get him ready for the next race. We are still deciding if we will race in McMinnville in a couple weeks time or if we will race in the Beaver Cup at Pat’s Acres on the same weekend. Either way we will be racing!
Lastly, we cannot thank all of you enough for your support of Senna and his racing. We have a lot to learn but we are improving and moving in the right direction. Soon enough we hope to be on the top step!