It was great to finally get behind the wheel of the new Parolin kart which was put together just in time for the race. A great job done by the Parolin Kazakhstan Team and many thanks. A few minor adjustments like a front-end alignment were needed to be made during the Friday practice and we were all fairly confident that Alex would be making progress on his previous two good results.
Total weight was also going to be an issue with the new chassis being lighter than the old one and another couple of kilos of lead was going to have to be added, our poor mechanics would now need to life an even heavier kart!!
After making progress on Friday Unofficial Practice Saturday mornings warm-up was abruptly cut short after one lap due to the kart pulling heavily to the left under braking. We understood that the front end needed more work on the alignment, but it would have to wait until the end of the session in order for the team to understand the fuel consumption over a longer distance. Prior to qualifying we believed we had the front end where Alex wanted it. The team decided to send it's 4 drivers out for qualifying in 2 pairs in order to help each other get the best times possible. When the flag can out to end qualifying,
Alex had set a 1:05.3, his fastest lap ever at the circuit and yet another 3rd place on the starting grid for Sunday. Similarly, to the last race, he missed out on 2nd by a mere 4/100th of a second. That evening the team were busy working on our teammates karts to try to get a little more speed for race day.
They worked late into the night, a fantastic potato and chicken dinner was brought in and there was a real team spirit going on. Everyone was excited for the day ahead...
The sun rises early in the summer months over the Kazakh steppe and Alex was also up and ready for race day. No rain was visible, but the sunshine seemed to come and go, something that would come into play later in the day.
As Alex took to the track for the warmup session, it was obvious to him that something was again wrong with the front-end alignment of the new kart. A few minutes of contemplation, measurement and prayer then a controlled rush to get the problem sorted out for the start of the race. A good job that issue was picked up early as the ensuing 15 laps would be some of the best of his race series so far.
A great start was made by the Sodi teams driver, Ulugbek from Kyrgyzstan who took the lead immediately. Alex, also had a lightening start and had to avoid teammate Sergei ahead of him who was a little slower off the mark. Coming to the end of lap 1 Alex's Parolin teammate was battling with the fast-starting Sodi driver and as Sergie made the pass on the second to last corner, Alex took the initiative to go around the outside of the experienced Sodi and take 2nd place.
Sadly after 8 laps in second position, the Sodi drivers' strength and experience prevailed, he passed Alex and held on until the flag. Although Alex was disappointed with third, he knew it was one of the best drives of his life and was happy to have stayed within a second or so of a stronger and more experienced driver. As it turned out, Alex had a surprise when he learned that he had set his fastest time ever of a 1:04.994 on the very last lap... Something he, and everyone watching, were amazed at.
With the front left of the kart still playing up more work was needed. The wheel was starting to vibrate a bit and the mechanics were trying to work out where the problem was. Another issue was that the minimum weight at the end of the race must be 175kg and Alex came in at 175.2kg, a little too close for comfort. We added another 1kg of lead weight and a bit more fuel for race 2 to be on the safe side.
After the lunch break, it was time for race 2. Sadly, due to a couple of crashes in the Mini category, the start of the KZ2 race was delayed. During this time the clouds had come over and the temperature dropped considerably. Our tire pressure strategy then changed with moments to go before taking to the track.
As the lights went out, Alex made another good start and settled in behind the faster leading pair. The vibrations in the front left became worse and it was difficult to maintain grip while cornering. Alex was setting consistently good lap times and it was enough to keep him in third place for the entire 15 laps. As everyone knows in racing, it's not over until the flag falls, and there was to be some more drama in the final laps with the drivers ahead of him. With three laps to go, his Parolin team-mate Sergei and Sodi driver Ulugbek were beginning to have a battle for first place when suddenly Sergei simply lost power and was forced to retire with a gearbox issue. This left Alex to ride out the final couple of laps and take second place behind the Sodi.
As a race driver, you never want to take a podium place due to the misfortune of others, especially not your own team-mate and coach. Although a bit sad to take that position, it was still a great day of racing and in some way a deserved second place for the previous round and close qualifying results. We know Sergei will be back on top form in round 4 and look forward to racing against him and all the other drivers in July.
The event again was fantastic and was the first time in a few months that our whole family was together again at a race weekend, even Dad was honored with an award for his efforts bringing Alex to race the series, We look forward to Round 4 in late July.
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