We race in S1, we are with a team, we don't have unlimited funding.
The teams I know work exceptionally hard to help their drivers do the best they can in a fair manner. They are highly committed people who are running a business but are the lucky ones who have a business in an activity they love.
I have been with three very good teams and S1 drivers are not told to hit other karts, no one wants to pick up damage to their kit especially not at a club round a week before a S1 round. As someone said earlier when S1 races are on the races are usually very clean. It's not just down to marshalling in my opinion, it's down to that they know how to overtake and be overtaken, they know where the moves are likely and have excellent spatial awareness. They also know each other and can anticipate a move. At club rounds often the club drivers are at varying levels, some can be inclined to over defend a corner rather than letting the driver through, following and trying to overtake again if possible; this causes collisions. It's almost as if there's an attitude against the S1 drivers which is very undeserved as they are just young lads too.
Yes they make mistakes, they are very young still and they have much to learn but I think it is grossly unfair to judge S1 drivers this way.
I overheard one lad at Rissington with his dad moaning that the S1 drivers were there, it's what I always hear at the clubs but the best thing I heard was a little group of lads sitting outside the hut looking at lap times. They were quizzing why they had been going there for a couple of years every month and the S1 drivers just turned up were almost 2s a lap faster, one lad said something like "I don't know but next time I'm out I'd going to follow one for as long as I can and see what I can learn." I suspect that lad got far more out of his weekend than the lads who just moaned.
|
|
