Kart racing has its ups and downs and this weekend, the IAME Asia Series at Sepang International Circuit certainly had its fair share for Alex. After weeks of uncertainty over passports and Covid restrictions we finally made it over to KL.
It took a bit of additional red tape to get into Malaysia, but we were soon off to the track for a seat-fitting with the team from RL Karting, some engine running-in and a few laps to get used to the track. By Saturday afternoon, things were looking positive, Alex was relaxed and had a good feeling for everything.
Although Sunday morning was beautiful sunshine, the forecast was for rain and Sepang is well known for throwing a spanner in the works. It certainly lived up to its reputation! A good warm up session on old tyres and things were looking good, but the plot was soon to change.
Driving out of pit lane for Qualifying, Alex had a momentary lapse of concentration and hit the tyre wall, damaging not only the front end of the kart but also spraining his left wrist and leaving him out of the session and into the medical room. The staff there were fantastic and took good care of him checking for any other issues. 30 minutes later they released him and he decided to race on… From the back!
Starting stone last in Heat 1, Alex took advantage of an incident at turn one involving the midfield and promptly began his way through the pack. Some good overtakes and consistent lap times placed him P5 at the chequered flag. Heat 2, starting again from P11, was more difficult but again, with some good wheel to wheel racing, he came in P9. Penalties for a couple of drivers ahead gifted him an official P7 finish.
Pre-final position was calculated at P6 and shortly before the start, the famous Sepang rain arrived and the race was delayed until the downpour had subsided. Rain tyres fitted and set-up changed and Alex, first time in the rain on this circuit, made a decent start, but lost a couple of places. A fight back brought him to P7 for the session and, with the weather now clearing, it was going to be an interesting final.
New tyres were allowed for the final race of the day so things were going to be tight for us. Starting from P7, Alex dropped 3 places by the exit of turn 2, but that wasn’t to last for long. By turn 4 he had started his run through the pack. Good passing through turns 1 and 2 helped him to close the gap on the leaders during the middle of the race. On lap 8 he passed to take 4th place which he held until the flag. A great result and a fitting finish to the day.
For his first race at Sepang, it was a fantastic result and a great experience. Not only was it a good finish in the final, there were so many different lessons learnt both on and off the track. Alex learned that when things start to go wrong, you need to think clearly and keep focused on the things you have control over. For us, the winners were the father & son and the family experience of a race weekend air and road trip. Something that will live with us forever.
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