Sam Brabham continued his faultless Formula Kart Stars (FKS) finishing record despite enduring a challenging penultimate double-header race weekend of the premier national karting series on 3&4 September at Whilton Mill.
Returning to race in the UK after his first international meeting last month, Sam’s hopes were high to repeat the form that delivered his first top 10 FKS finish in Belgium. But changeable weather conditions didn’t help Sam’s struggle to find a consistent set-up and gearing to suit the undulating Northamptonshire circuit.
Regardless, the 17 year-old did well to race around the issues and deliver consistent results in the fiercely competitive Junior Max class while tackling the challenging Whilton Mill track for the first time.
Although the gearing problem became apparent early on, Sam proved his pace by equalling his season best qualifying performance before finishing 17th in Heat 1, while an improved set-up helped him to break into the top 15 with a strong drive in Heat 2.
Starting 17th for the round nine Final, Sam’s start was compromised thanks to a tussle in to turn one. Although lacking straight line speed he put in an impressive performance to regain lost ground, setting his fastest lap time of the weekend on his way to finishing 16th.
Saturday’s overcast conditions turned to rain on Sunday and Sam sensibly took time to learn the drastically different racing lines required to master Whilton Mill in the wet during practice, qualifying and Heat 1, but bounced back in Heat 2 with another 15th place finish.
Fully focused for the round 10 Final, Sam fought his way up to 12th and was battling for 11th place when he was hit from behind. Pushed wide, the contact cost him dear as a train of karts piled past forcing the Project One driver to repeat his charge only for another competitor to mount the rear of his kart in the closing stages.
Although his steering was damaged, the Henley-on-Thames racer refused to ruin his race-finishing record and gave one final push to battle back to 17th place. Sam commented: “It’s been a bit of a challenging weekend at Whilton Mill but I can honestly say that I’ve learned a lot, which is my aim in my first Formula Kart Stars season and at least I’ve finished every race.
“We struggled with the set up all weekend. We would go one way with the gearing to get more momentum out of the corners but then find we lacked speed down the straights. I adapted my driving to race around the problem and instead of relying on my straight-line speed I took places by out-braking people into the turns and keeping the revs high out of the corners.
“I’m disappointed that we couldn’t quite find the right balance but the set-up improved as the weekend progressed. It was certainly a valuable experience and I’d like to thank my mum, Henry, the Project One team and my sponsors for their support.
“I’d really like to finish my first Stars season with another top 10 finish, so I’ll be heading to Ellough Park more determined than ever to do well in the final series rounds.”
