It was never the plan to race during the summer holidays, but while visiting Alex's mother's family in Almaty, we discovered Parolin Racing Kazakhstan and decided to give Alex a test. They use OK-J engines and, having never driven a direct drive (no clutch) before, we thought it would be good experience for Alex.
After a day of testing, the team said there would be a round of the Championship of Kazakhstan at the weekend and that Alex was quick enough to enter the OK-J class. Alex didn’t take much persuading!
Friday was official practice and with the Parolin kart set up to full race weight, Alex set about the 1,650m long, 24 turn Sokol kart track, in search of racing lines. By the time the afternoon sessions came around he was already within a few tenths of what was a good pole position lap. At the end of the day, the team was happy that all was going well and that Alex was well set for qualifying.
The only variable was that the weather forecast showed a chance of rain, but the team woke up to a beautiful sunny morning on the Kazak Steppes as they prepared the kart for qualifying.
Alex put in a flawless effort to take pole position on a track that wasn’t at its best early in the morning and although we didn’t reach the target time of 1.05.8, a 1.06.3 was good enough for his first ever pole position. He was ready for the first of two long races.
Adapting very quickly to the TM OK-J powered Parolin kart, Alex led the field from the start of race one, bringing the kart home to his first ever win.
With the final race delayed due to some timing issues, all the drivers were kept waiting nervously on the grid. Alex kept his cool and once the technical issues were finally resolved, the whole grid started the formation lap.
Alex led the field through turn one and, after a couple of laps of bringing the tyres up to temperature, he set about pushing towards getting below the 1.06 lap time goal.
By lap five he was down to 1.05.8, maintaining that pace for the next five laps to take the chequered flag and complete a faultless day of racing. A grand slam of pole position, fastest lap and two wins.
The weekend was a fantastic experience of driving a new track, new equipment and competing against new competitors. Many friends were made and respect was shown by everyone at the event.
We would very much like to express our gratitude to:
The Team Principle of Parolin Racing Kazakhstan, Erzhan Chaldenbayev, whose guidance and advice throughout the event was invaluable.
The Kazakhstan Karting Association for helping us to get our admin together at such short notice. It was a well organised event and we were honoured to be part of it.
The Sokol Race Track & Hotel for providing a first class facility for drivers to race. We were impressed to find such a great facility there and wish you all the best in the future.
A special mention goes to the other drivers and teams on the grid. It was a pleasure to race with you. Thank you for accepting us and making us feel part of your race event.
We look forward to coming back one day!
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