16/01/2011 - DSG Becomes Official Agent for ARC Karts!

It's finally official! DSG has now signed a trader agreement with ARC to become an Agent for their karts and services. After a successful season working with them in 2010 as Dean drove for them in the national championships the decision was made very easy.

Dean had proven to himself that the kart is fantastic and now he will turn his efforts to persuading new customers that ARC is the chassis to be on. Again this won't be a difficult decision for drivers once they have tried the kart.

To DSG's and ARC's credit, every driver that has tested the kart within the DSG awning has had a fastest lap in their first time out on the kart which is a fantastic achievement. DSG now have karts available for testing and would like to welcome anyone who fancies a test in the TKM, Rotax and Cadet chassis' to get in contact asap and give it a go!

DSG will also be carrying and supplying spares to customers at the tracks. If you need any spares away from the track then no need to worry, just get in contact and the item will be posted out.

If you want to test an ARC then give Dean a call on 07875 589059 or drop him an email at dsg@deangolba.com.

 

16/01/2011 - Dean Goes Into National Retirement

After a pretty poor 2010 season and developing commitments with the DSG race team, Dean has taken the tough decision of putting his racing on hold in an effort for further develop what has been established over the past two years with DSG.

Dean will continue to drive a kart in testing and keep his hand in, with a few potential races to come later in the season. DSG has grown into something that requires more attention therefore the natural progression from club to national team is one that Dean is excited about.

"I am disappointed to have to stop racing at Super One but I have a young up-and-coming team that is chomping at the bit to try S1 with me, so it seems the right time to do it. I have been so lucky over the years to have worked with some brilliant people and I hope to team up them all again sometime in the future but for now DSG is my focus and I will be putting all of my efforts into it. Here's to the past, thanks to everyone for what the have given me and here's also to the future!"

07/04/2010 - Success At GYG S1 After A Tough Start

As mentioned previously, Dean has changed chassis'. Going into GYG S1 there was some optimism about the potential result as Whilton had proven the ARC kart was working very well. Friday was an odd day as the conditions proved very changeable but it gave Dean some chance to try and adapt to the kart in the wet. Friday went without any major problems.

Saturday was a completely different day and gave Dean the chance to use the kart in full dry conditions. After a few sessions it became obvious that he was struggling again for top end with the engines. Dave Klaassen gave Dean an engine to use which he had tried on Friday to see if that solved the issues but unfortunately that motor dropped a main bearing during the session and rendered it useless. The rest of the day was a battle to try and salvage some top end and sadly one that was lost. Come the first heat Dean made a good start and immediately found himself up at the front. Very quickly though it was obvious that the lack of top end was holding him back and slowing down his progress. Another issue with the brakes also came to head during the race and he was struggling to slow the kart down. This along with the lack of top end just amplified his problems and really meant that the heat turned into a damage limitation exercise. He managed to hold on to 11th place.

The brakes issue was sorted ready for Sundays first heat. In practice it was clear to see that Dean had good race pace so things were looking up for sure. In the second heat Dean started near the front but after a poor first lap he found himself way back in 11th. By the end he managed to claw his way back up to 6th place but again still struggling with top end problems. In the third heat he started at the back and made very good progress to finish 9th. After some damage limitation heat results a few changes were made for the first final to try and get some top end. To everyones suprise though Dean managed to qualify 5th on the grid and things were starting to look interesting! After a good start Dean managed to get in the breakaway lead group and stayed there for a while. It was clear though that the top end issue had been solved at the sacrifice of all his bottom end and although Dean was held up by the leading group, he was unable to pass Randal Lynn for fourth and very quickly a second pack of chasing drivers caught the leading group. From then on Dean was pushed further back and eventually dropped to 10th place. He got his head together however and fought his way back to 8th when he then pushed hard to chase down the leading group of 7 drivers. He did catch but it was just a little too late and he never managed to line up a clear move on Phil Smith 7th.

For the second final Dean lined up on grid 8 so had some work to do. Things didn't go to plan from the start though as when trying to get to the inside train going up the main straight, Dean ended up with a kart flying over the top of his at the back which dragged him onto the grass and dropped him down to last position going into the second corner. After a strong first few laps he caught the back of the pack and began to come through them when a red flag was thrown. At the restart the clerks never did their job properly and allowed the leaders to go flat out from the word go which prevented people at the back catching up. Already Dean was at a massive disadvantage, forever playing catch-up. Somehow he managed to finish the race in 12th which in the end turned out to be another good result, considering the start.

Once the championship points were published the biggest shock came. Dean has managed to get himself up to 7th place in the points which is a huge result and has really given everyone some confidfance and drive to do better next time out at Rowrah.

'I would like to thank ARC and Klaassen Motorsport for looking after me at the weekend. It would seem that already its made a huge impression on me after only two weekends with them and I hope for a lot more to come. Thanks to everyone from the DSG team as well that came down to watch, it was great to see support from you guys and finally thanks to my dad, nothing would be possible without having the support that you give me with the racing!'

31/03/2010 - New Kart & New Team for Dean

After a long winter the Super 1 season kicks off this coming weekend at Dean's home track of GYG where he became the club champion in 2009. Over the closed season Dean has taken time to test various karts on race weekends and test days and after a late decision just over a week ago he tried the new ARC kart from Klaassen Motorsport at Whilton Mill. After an extremely strong test day where Dean clicked with the kart immediately, things were looking great for the Sunday. In the heats a culmination of a few small issues didn't allow Dean to reflect his and the karts true potential and come the final when everything was solved, his steering boss bolt sheered and Dean had to retire from the race.

The decision has now been made to move across to Klaassen Motorsport and the ARC chassis for the 2010 season such was the success of the first test on the kart at Whilton. Everyone is now optimistic about the chances of a result at GYG due to the change.

07/12/2009 - GYG Club Champion

Finally at the November meeting Dean managed to secure his first club championship since starting karting. He had missed the August, September and October meeting due to finances and Super 1 which meant he had to return in November to secure the championship.

After finishing 3rd in the tough July meeting he was hoping for a return to form. One hurdle that he had to jump first was the fact his JKH chassis was damaged from Super 1 at Buckmore but luckily Flex Motorsport offered a chassis for Dean to use. This took a little getting used to as it reacted differently to Deans race kart. In the end though this didn't matter as Dean took pole position for the final and won the race.

In the end a cracking result for Dean and DSG. The team actually had further success with Jake Campbell-Mills in juniors who qualified on pole for the final and finished 2nd behind Rob Wallace who joined DSG for race day due to the weather conditions and the fact that Rowrah had destroyed his awning the previous weekend.

'I would like to thank all who were involved in what has been a really good year at GYG, I love racing at the track and a highlight of the season was qualifying on pole when the Super 1 lads turned up for the clubbie. I can't wait to return next season and although I possibly won't race in the club championship myself, DSG will be there running the team and visiting for Super 1 in April. Thanks to my dad Steve for sorting me out all year, we had a few tough times with bad tyre choices but its a good laugh and its the championship you wanted dad so thanks!'

30/8/2009 - 5/6 S1 Season Review

Here we are already at the end of August in what feels like a long long season already. There are still a few races to go before the end of the year and hopefully Dean will be able to turn around his Super 1 luck and really try to get that result that has eluded him all season. Currently Dean sits in 18th place which is not where he wants to be but its to be as expected considering the season he has had so far. The season began at Fulbeck where Dean managed a lot of testing at before the round. His dry pace was good and he had some fantastic heat results in the dry but coming into the final heat it rained and he went on brand new wets which hindered his performance. However he still managed to qualify around 9th on the grid but fell foul to the first corner and then threw a chain so DNF'd the race there.

Next on the S1 calendar was Glan-Y-Gors which has been Deans home circuit this year. After a good shakedown meeting the weekend prior to S1 where Dean managed the fastest time seen at the circuit all year and finished 2nd in the final having recovered from being 9th in a heat at one point, things were looking great. In the first heat he started 21st and managed to finish 5th also setting the 2nd fastest time. In the second heat he again started a lowly 21st but after a few laps into the race another driver came off and rejoined into Dean and fired him off the circuit into the tyres. Dean restarted but just tried to save the tyres and get a finish. In the third heat he started at the front and finished 2nd but only set the 5th fastest time. A solid result but had the pace been there it could have been his first win in a heat at S1. In the fourth heat he was fired off at the first corner and hit which bent the axle and made it impossible to restart the race. He started the final around 19th but a few laps in a driver behind couldn't control himself (as per usual) and fired another driver into Dean which all but ended his chances of any kind of result. The steering was all bent and although he restarted, the kart was not working at all. So from what was promising to be a great weekend for Dean turned into his worst result of the season.

Going into Larkhall Dean was not expecting to even race due to university commitments but it turned out that his exams were infact finishing on the Friday testing of Larkhall. Sadly by missing Friday he was completely on the back foot. He hadn't clicked with the circuit last time there and it seemed like things were going the same way on Saturday. On old tyres Dean struggled for pace and it was agreed not to use new rubber to test with. Come the heats though with new rubber things were expected to be different. In the first heat Dean again fell foul to the first lap incidents and had to restart but he managed to chase down Randal Lynn and learn a lot from him. Deans pace was much improved and although he finished a lowly 24th, he set the 6th quickest time which was a real suprise. After that though his pace was never as good and he struggled in the remaining heats finishing 11th, 11th and 13th. He started the final around 20th but came off on the first lap heavily and bent the steering. He restarted but decided to pull into the pits as the kart was completely shot and had no pace at all.

Round 4 was held at Clay Pigeon. Last year Dean had shown some real pace there and had some good results so was excited to be visiting a circuit he enjoyed so much last year. In the first heat he started 17th and finished 12th setting the 7th fastest time of the race. A steady start but somewhere to work from. In the second and third heats he was fired off and had to restart in one but wasn't allowed to restart in the other. In the 4th heat he started 10th and managed to finish 4th. Come the final he started 20th but a red flag stopped the race early and demoted Dean to 16th. When the race was stopped he was up to 12th and was coming through at a rapid rate. This was a disaster as he was turning around the poor heats he had earlier and the lap of the red flag he was very much on the pace setting a time to match the leading group.

Bringing the review up-to-date, Round 5 at Ellough Park happened a few weeks ago. Last season Dean visited Ellough for the first round of S1 but sadly the round was abandoned due to bad weather. His pace then in the dry was not great although his wet pace was blistering. No suprise though that his wet pace counted for nothing as this year the round was calendared for the summer and for once the British summer made an appearance for the weekend! Friday testing put Dean right up there on times against other drivers on old tyres but a few went on new rubber and instantly found 5 tenths if not more. Come Saturday with new rubber Dean started to struggle in testing due to bending numerous axles. A new section of kerbs for this year was playing havoc and Dean seemed to really suffer through this section. For the first heat Dean started 4th and managed to finish 3rd pretty much pushing round the front two but never having quiet enough to make a move. He did catch Renwick in 2nd on two occasions but the first time he caught he made a mistake and dropped back slightly so had to do it all again. He did but the move wasn't there and it wasn't worth the risk of lunging plus the pack Dean was in had pulled well clear of the main field.

 

 

24/3/2009 - Fulbeck Final Disaster

Finally the opening round of Super 1. Dean has managed to fit in two club rounds at the Lincolnshire circuit due to when the Super 1 circus visited the track last year, Dean struggled to get to grips with the track then and for the '09 season Fulbeck was identified as his boggie venue. His performances at the club rounds had been acceptable and improvements were made each time he got on the circuit. Also for the Super 1 round Dean was back in the Flex awning for the first time since the final Super 1 event last season at Buckmore. Due to university commitments Dean decided to miss the Friday practice which wasn't the best situation.

Saturday morning and Dean went out for the first session. During the session he came together heavily with another driver which ended up with Dean getting 3 points and a £25 fine, which was a completely justifiable punishment for a very silly mistake and error of judgement.

For the second session Dean went out and was lapping very quickly but then when he braked into a corner the kart went straight on and he ended up on the grass. He rejoined and completed the session. Upon inspection in park ferme a crack was found on the chassis which caused Dean off the circuit. The kart was completely unusable now but luckily he was in the Flex Motorsport awning and they had a spare chassis for Dean to transfer his kit across onto. This caused Dean to miss a session though of a weekend already much shorter than the rest of his competitions. Dean made the final two sessions on the new chassis, which differed to his usual frame. He got used to the kart very quickly and ended up lapping very quickly yet again.

Due to time the race report can be found in the news piece above.

 

24/3/2009 - 2nd at GYG RND2

This season sees Deans favourite track GYG hold a Super 1 event for the first time in its history which has enabled Dean to race at the circuit again in preparation for the event. He does however intend to carry on the season there as both him and his girlfriend Gem will race there along with DSG team member Elliot.

At the opening round of the season Dean managed to get the win and put him in the lead of the championship. It was hoped a few Super 1 drivers would turn up for this event but sadly only Tom Oliphant put in an entry. Last year Tom and Dean both raced at the Dragon Masters which saw Tom take the win and Dean finish second but there was nothing to separate their times at all. This weekend all were hoping for a battle between the two as it has yet to happen. The heats never allowed for this battle though as Oliphant won them all with Dean finishing second. Problems with the starts had forced Dean to battle with traffic even though he started second everytime. The pace between the two drivers was however very close and there was hardly anything between them at all.

Come the final Oliphant was on pole and Dean on second. This time Dean made a cracking start and got into second after the first corner. Going up the hill and over the crest into the spoon Oliphant made a mistake and went wide on the brakes allowing Dean to take the lead. For the next 4 laps Dean lead the race and managed to pull a gap on Tom but then the gap was closed down and Oliphant made his move. From then Tom and Dean were never separated by much at all and it looked like they were pretty evenly matched. Dean made a slight mistake on about the 9th lap which made the gap open up but he chased hard and caught Oliphant up again. The race finished this way and the two were separated by only 3 tenths.

The result keeps Dean in the lead of the championship. Next weekend he will attend Fulbeck for the first round of the Super 1 British Championships.

24/3/2009 - Strong Weekend At Fulbeck

Dean was back at Fulbeck in Lincolnshire last weekend for his final clubbie there before Super One in just under two weeks time. Last time out he made the best of old tyres and finished 5th in the final but didn't quite show enough pace to be front running. The plan going into last weekend was to make the most of new tyres on Sunday. Such were the condition of his Saturday practice tyres the team decided to bolt on the new rubber for the final two sessions to see how things went. With old tyres Deans best was a 47.6 which was only a few tenths off but with new tyres he struggled to get clear laps and only at best got a 47.9!

Come Sunday morning the setup was tweeked slightly and things seemed to be working well. In the first heat Dean was gridded near the back. He made a good start and ended up in 11th which was a good result. His time wasn't too bad but he did struggled for any clear air on the circuit. By heat 2 the setup was changed a little yet again and this seemed to work very well in the end. Dean gridded near the front for this heat but due to a first corner incident he was forced off the circuit and rejoined somewhere near the back. He then got his head down and really pushed, managing to get up to 14th in the end. His pace was much better in this heat also and in fact Dean was defending heavily to Chris Renwick when they both did their fastest laps on the last lap so this proved that the pace was there and that the setup was working superbly. Heat 3 and Dean started in the middle. He made a good start and came through a few drivers. He then found himself behind Renwick where he ended the heat in 5th place with a best time only 0.17 off the fastest.

The heat results gave Dean a final grid of 6th alongside Ryan Cole and behind Chris Renwick. At the start Dean was loaded into the first corner and came off, thus damaging the kart. The race was however red flagged and a full restart given. At the restart Dean made a good start but suprisingly this start was also red flagged. The drivers were then asked to go into the pits where they were told they would get another chance time permitting. Time did permit however this start was also red flagged due to loading and pushing so the final was abandoned. This gave Dean the result of 6th as where he qualified. This was not a great end to the day as he was really looking forward to seeing what he could do in the final against the seeded drivers in front of him. Never-the-less Fulbeck has now become a strong circuit for Dean which is a much welcomed suprise and now the team are looking forward to the first round there in just under two weeks. Obviously it will be another weekend with new conditions but its good to see Dean has a grasp for the circuit finally.

Next weekend Dean is off to GYG for a clubbie there, again in preparations for S1 there in April.

4/2/2009 - First Win Of The Season Albeit Controversial

At the beginning of 2009 Dean decided to race at GYG as much as possible in preparation for the Super One round there in April with views to continuing the season there after S1 has been and gone. This weekend was the first round of the Dragon Kart Club Championship. An entry of 15 was a good start for the season opener with a few S1 drivers turning up. During Saturday practice Dean was quickest all morning and early afternoon until the final two sessions when carb troubles hampered his pace. For Sunday the carbs were sorted although Dean decided not to use his best motor for the day in order to save it for S1 and thus he used his third best motor and tyres that did Super One practice at Buckmore in October last year.

In 3 lap practice it was clear that the tyres were not great at all, they had done a lot already and then been left for such a long time too so Dean decided to change the setup for timed qualifying. His result of 6th in quali clearly showed that the setup did not work as Dean failed to make the impact that he expected. Changes were made for the first heat. Luckily they paid off and Dean managed to finish 2nd with the joint fastest time. In the second heat Dean went one better and won, again setting the fastest time. This secured pole position for the final, a good start to the season at GYG.

Dean lined up pole with Will Redman on 2nd, Paul Monks on 3rd and Alexander Laurie on 4th. After exiting the pits Dean slowed down on the main straight to collect and group the pack together, Will Redman failed to slow down and drove off on his own. What happened next was simply unreal. Dean kept the pack together but Redman never held back to re-take his position. Leading up to the start line Dean, as did everyone else, expected a restart but the starter let them go with Redman 1.2 seconds ahead of Dean on pole! Utter confusion followed as drivers and spectators were not sure what was happening but the race had begun and Dean could be forgiven for not going at the line. Drivers behind Dean were also confused but they managed to push him nicely wide at the first corner to drop him down to 5th! Very quickly Dean got his act together and started to chase down the drivers in front. Soon he found himself in 2nd but Redman had opened up a huge gap due to his jumped start however Dean pushed hard and caught him up, he then tried to find a way past but Redman was utilizing well a very fast motor although the more Dean followed Redman the more he realised he did not need to pass him as he had jumped the start and he would be dealt with by the clerks after the race.

After the race ended both drivers were called up, along with Laurie who also happened to jump the start however his offence was deemed to be accidental and was not reprimanded for this. Redman was given a one place penalty and 3 points on his licence for jumping the start, which was suprising as he did jump the whole grid and not just Dean on pole. It was a pretty confusing situation for all and to be fair the drivers could not be blamed, the clerks did not do their jobs properly at the time and this really spoiled what could have been a good race by all parties. It tainted Deans win, which he could not celebrate fully on the track like he would have liked to have done so. Hopefully errors like this shall not be made in the future by the clerks and things at GYG will be back to normal next meeting where Dean will continue his preparations for S1 there in April.

Dean leads the championship at GYG now, the first time ever he has led a championship at any time. Next weekend he will be at Hooton Park with DSG running Elliot and Eve for the first time there.

26/1/2009 - Preparations for S1 Begin at Fulbeck Clubbie

Finally Dean got back in a kart for a race weekend. The last time he was racing was back in October for the final round of Super 1 at Buckmore Park. Due to poor results at Fulbeck last season in S1 and Fulbeck being the first round this year, it was decided to take the opportunity to use the club race as a learning weekend to improve Deans pace at the circuit. Early on Saturday Dean had to run in his freshly rebuilt best motor. After three sessions this was done, using wet tyres for two sessions and then slicks for the final one. After this he bolted on his third engine and had two sessions to find some pace in the dry with old tyres. He did this ok and managed to get within a few tenths of the pace but obviously this was still work in progress.

Saturday night was a rough night weather wise, very windy and wet. Luckily the morning brought slightly better conditions, althought still raining. In three lap practice Dean went out and actually found some real pace in the wet and the kart handled perfectly. Going into heat 1 the team decided the conditions were significantly dryer and lowered only tyre pressures, sadly they read the conditions wrong and the track was still very wet, the kart simply never came on and Dean finished in 6th. In the second heat he had a pole position and after some confusion on the first rolling lap regarding the lights he got a great start and pulled a huge lead within the first 2 laps. By this point though it was clear the setup had peaked and Dean just struggled with the kart gripping up too much and jus chewed the rear tyres. The track was all but dry, and even though it looked wet it wasn't. Some drivers had chosen slicks and they soon came through. Dean managed to hang on for 4th even though the setup was completely wrong! For the third heat he started last. This was the first race on slicks, which most drivers had put new tyres on for. Dean had chosen to use his practice tyres though which had completed 3 days already. His pace was good and he managed a good finish, even though the laps were reduced to 6! He gridded 6th for the final which wasn't bad. After a bad start where he was loaded at the first corner he began to chase down the pack in front. He caught it by the end of the race just but couldnt quite make a move on the drivers in front. He finished the final 5th, would have been higher had the final been longer than 8 laps but was only 4 tenths off the pace which was not too bad considering the old tyres he was using and his 3rd engine which is rapid but not as quick as his race motor. All in all a very convincing weekend considering how poor he did at Fulbeck at S1 in 2008. Dean will visit the track again next month to try and build upon his pace, hopefully with new tyres and better understanding of the conditions the track kicks out!

Next weekend he travels to GYG to begin preparations for Super 1 Round 2 there in April. He will be joined by Elliot as well in the DSG awning. The weekend after DSG will be running drivers at Hooton Park.

4/1/2009 - Test Day At GYG

Dean had his first test in the kart since last October when he completed the final round of Super One at Buckmore. Due to university commitments he has been unable to test so everyone was looking forward to getting on the track again. After getting the chassis back at the kart show after being straightened it was important to test the new frame and see how it performed. Sadly the day that was picked to test on wasn't the best. Turned out to be pretty cold and it ended up snowing. On arrival the track was frozen. Dean had no trouble with the conditions at all and even had a few plays on slicks to give him the chance to find grip and really prepare for any conditions that they many come across at GYG for Super One in April.

The next time Dean will be out is at the end of January when he goes to Fulbeck for a clubbie in preparation for the first round of Super One there in March. He will also be at Hooton Park for a test with another driver before then.

28/12/2008 - New Partner For '09 Season Announced - 4Kam sports cameras

A new partner has been announced for the 2009 season. The new sponsor 4Kam are the suppliers of professional onboard camera and helmet cam equipment to the UK and abroad.

Yes you've seen them in F1, Moto GP, BBC Grandstand and even the World Rally Championship on Dave! Onboard cameras are now used in most sports on TV including the XGames and the Grand National, but there are thousands of people like you who want to film their own piece of onboard action, that's where 4Kam come in!

Although 4Kam was first established to supply mini camera equipment to the TV industry, the bulk of their sales are now to sports enthusiasts who want a ready to use bullet camera kit without it costing the earth. 4Kam uses their vast experience in the industry to design and produce the ultimate camera packages to meet your needs. Whether you're a biker, racing driver or extreme sports enthusiast you can be sure to find the kit for you. If you need any help or advice feel free to get in touch where 4Kam can often taylor specific kits to your needs.

Dean would like to thank 4Kam for their support for the 2009 campaign. Visit www.4kam.com for more information on packages. Information shall appear on this site regarding special deals and prices.

22/11/2008 - Exciting News About Next Season

Check out the news section soon to find out what this logo is all about... Its not Deans initials neither!!!

For the record Dean will be entering Super One next season again with high hopes of gaining his first seed.

13/10/2008 - S1 Finale at Buckmore Park

At last after a very long season it was the finale of the Super 1 championships. Again, as has been so much the case this year, Dean had not visited Buckmore before so had to learn the circuit on Friday. One thing that struck us quickly was the way the circuit was surrounded by trees which stopped the top end of the circuit getting and sun exposure or wind. After the first few sessions the track dried out and this gave everyone to get some real testing in. Later in the day Dean put on new tyres and he managed to get within a few tenths of the pace, as set by his team mate Ryan Cole. The other strong point was Dean was on a new chassis for the weekend and took to it very quickly. The new JKH seemed to suit his style very well.

Saturday started the same as Friday with having some damp patches at the top end but these failed to dry out all day. A lack of wind meant that times were never close to slick times until qualifing in the early evening. Deans pace wasn't bad during the day but he didn't feel too confidant going into qualifying. Due to numbers there was only one qualifying session for the 28 drivers. Dean managed to qualify a suprising 12th and set a very respectable time.

After qualifying the scrutineers decided to check front rim widths and requested that all senior drivers remove one wheel and then tyre and present this to be checked. After the checks four drivers were found to be outside the maximum width as stated in the rules. The scrutineers decided to let them get away with this irregularity which in many peoples opinions was wrong. A rule is a rule, why check and then let them get away with something that was found to be outside of the rules. It put a very sour taste in the mouths of people and to make matters worse the MSA rules require a £320 appeal fee to be put down to have a hearing which may or may not have the outcome changed. The thing is the scruts are happy to throw out drivers running a slightly illegal engine timing, giving an advantage or not yet something that is again a rule but they haven't got the presence to stand up against gets let through. Thats a true kick in the teeth to the guys who have been punished for small irregularities with engines and timing earlier in the season.

Come Sunday Dean was looking forward to his heats. In the first heat it was very damp in places and Dean had guessed on a setup for the conditions. It turned out that the guess was spot on as he went on to set the third fastest time and finish 8th. He was however gutted as he was a little higher up when he was forced wide at a corner by his team mate and two to three karts passed him. Still it was a steady result. In the second heat he started at the back and really struggled to make an impression. A saftey kart single file period during the race hampered his progress and meant he finished a lowly 20th. In the 3rd heat he started 3rd. He quickly found himself scrapping with Ryan Magennis for third during the early stages only to be caught by Randal Lynn. Randal passed Dean and dropped him to 5th. This gave Ryan Cole a chance to try and pass Dean within the remaining two laps. He tried a move after the start finish line which wasn't really there and again rubbed sidepods with Dean. A bit of a lunge but it happens. At least Dean wasn't easy to pass all weekend. He finished 6th and set again a time only few tenths off the pace.

For the final he was gridded 9th. This was his best qualification for a final ever. He got a good start and got into 6th very quickly. By the second lap he then got into 3rd which was pretty amasing but then the safety kart flag came out which quickly turned to a red flag. Two karts had gone off into the wall and by the time we came round to them again they had moved which really didn't justify the red flag as they both seemed fine. At the restart Dean was gridded 8th. This time going into the first hairpin he got fired and ended up off the track. He tried to get restarted quickly but failed and ended up two laps down before getting going again. He finished in a lowly 14th. We were all gutted for Dean as he was going really well to get into third and was looking like he was on for a great final result, his best to date. Sadly it was not meant to be and thats racing.

Thanks to Flex for the brilliant season and to my family for helping me and supporting me all year. My dad has been great and sadly there was no seed this year but things are looking better ad my pace overall has definately improved since the summer break. All I can say is bring on next season and S1 at GYG!

 

5/10/2008 - TKM 0 Plate at PFI Cut Short

Bang on in the middle of the busy three week period Dean was at PFI for the annual TKM 0 Plate. He had never been to PFI before so had to learn the circuit on Friday practice. We arrived on Thursday night to be met by a locked gate which wasn't impressive at all but anyway Friday morning gave us a chance to view the facilities and I have to say they are very impressive! The dummy grid area is very efficient and the multiple viewing facilities make it a pleasure for mechanics and spectators. As for the circuit its not liked by many but Dean really enjoyed it and commented that the surface was like no other he had driven on before. It made the tyres squeel like indoor kart tyres.

On Friday Dean began the first few sessions gently, trying to learn the layout and lines. There was a few damp sessions which provided entertainment but no more shall be mentioned of those, only that some of Deans lines were very comical! Anyway by the end of the day he was within a few tenths of the fastest time set that day which wasn't bad going at all.

Saturday was much of the same but for some reason Dean seemed to struggle to find his pace again and just couldn't find a balance with the kart. Then later in the day he discovered that the chassis had snapped and was cracking elsewhere too. The 06 JKH had done a lot of racing and taken some battering so it was expected to snap at some point but it was a shame it had to be this weekend. After testing finished the kart was welded up by John Mills kart shop and it was prepped for the following race day. While chatting in the evening it was discovered that Dean had used a set of tyres from the previous weekend at super one Clay Pigeon which he tested with there and had problems with them there as well. It gave a more positive feeling to the day as it really had been one event after another.

Deans dad Steve had to leave that night to fly to Turkey on business so Gems dad Brian came down to help out and take the van and caravan back. On Sunday morning it was wet and it meant that Dean had to learn the circuit again due to the lines required to get basically complete a lap. It is a very odd track as you have to take every corner offline in the wet and have to be very patient with it. In three lapper Dean fell foul of the conditions so only managed one lap but it wasn't such a bad time he achieved. In the first heat he struggled with two corners and although on other corners he had the pace he lost so much time in these particular sectors and this halted his progress through the field. While in the awning getting ready for the next heat Gems dad popped his head into the awning to announce that his mum had died suddendly. At that point everyone in the Flex awning chipped in and helped Dean get packed up as soon as possible.

I would like to thank Brian Cole and the rest of the Flex boys for their understanding. Thank you to everybody who sent their best wishes to Gem and family. It really helped them get through the hard time. The funeral takes place a week on Tuesday.

 

29/9/2008 - Clay Pigeon S1 Rnd 5

After a long break Dean was due back at Super 1 last weekend. He had travelled to Clay Pigeon two weeks prior to this event in an effort to try and learn the circuit. He had used old tyres in that event but still managed to get reasonably close to the pace.

On Friday the Flex team worked on setups trying to optimise the karts. The conditions were fair and the hot weather seemed to suit the JKH chassis' more than the competing Tony Karts. Ryan Cole the other senior Flex driver managed to secure fastest times in the majority of sessions. Saturday was pretty much the same and again Dean and Ryan spent the day trying to find as much time as possible. Going into quali both were confidant they could top the times in each of their sessions. In the first session Dean ended up struggling a little and only qualified 7th in session. Ryan managed to qualify 4th in his session but both were disappointed with the results. The karts seemed to lack rear grip and after the sessions had finished it was obvious that the air temperature had decreased significantly and the track was not offering as much grip as previous sessions.

Going into Sunday the Flex team had discussed a few setup ideas to help the karts in the slightly cooler conditions and it was obvious early on that these worked. In the first heat Dean started on grid 11. After a few laps he soon found himself in 4th and chasing down the current GP plate champion Randal Lynn. It took a while to line up a pass but eventually Dean went for it and moved into 3rd. A gap was created which sealed the result and gave him his best heat result in S1 to date. In heat 2 Dean lined up 22nd. Again pretty quickly he moved up the order and by the 2nd or 3rd lap he had reached 11th. Disaster then struck when the throttle cable snapped coming up to the start finish line. Luckily Dean saw the problem pretty quickly and continued to drive the heat one handed while controlling the throttle. He was only 1 second off the pace driving like this although by the end of the race his thumb was pretty tired!!! He finished way back in 18th. Things weren't looking too great as the bad heat would force Dean to start further back in the final although he had one more heat to pull back a good result. In the 3rd heat Dean was gridded 4th. This heat was looking good and the team were hoping that he could push for the win as his pace had been good back in the first heat. At the start Deans row was forced wide and this backed up the karts going into the left kink. A kart then speared into the tyre wall at full speed and the race was red flagged immediately to deal with the situation. The driver seemed ok and a full restart was ordered. At the second start again Deans row was forced wide and this pushed Dean back down to 5th. The next lap he tried to chase down Bruce-White in 4th. Dean lined up a pass going into the first right hander and got alongside. Going into the corner the two touched wheels which sent Dean over Bruce-Whites sidepod and they both slid off. A mistake by Dean completely. He restarted and had to let the field through. He then got about getting his head down and catching Bruce-White again to pass him as they were both now a lap down. He did so and actually showed very good pace. It was looking like Dean could have finished in the top 4 in this heat which was very frustrating. Two bad heats and one 3rd and 7th in quali managed to put Dean 16th on the grid for the final. If the two bad heats had gone well then possibly he could have been looking at a grid of around 3rd to 5th which would have been an amasing achievement!

Anyway thats racing. At the start of the final Dean was on the outside but after the left kink it turned into the inside. He managed to miss the carnage at the first corner although ended up not making many places. He then struggled for a few laps while he waited for the kart to come on. It was a similar situation to the previous day in quali when the air temp had dropped a little and the tyres were taking longer to come on. Gradually the kart came on and Dean began to show some real pace. He managed to get up to ninth at best but ended up tenth after switching places with Ryan Magennis a few times in the closing stages. The result sealed a great weekend for Dean and actually gave him his best Super 1 finish ever.

Thanks must go to Flex Motorsport for their support and efforts. Since the summer break from the British champs Dean has really tried to improve his pace and work on his race craft and it seems to have paid off.