Elite Racing Team

WHAT. A. DAY.

Plenty of highs, a couple of pretty brutal lows … and two boys who probably never want to hear the word “final” again for a while.

Results aside, I reckon there was a LOT to be proud of this weekend.

CRUZ

Qualified P4 out of 20 karts.

Starting on the outside was always going to make things interesting, but Cruz was dialled in and ran with the front pack all day.

Heat 1: P4 -P4
Heat 2: P4 -P2
Heat 3: P3 -P2

That put him ON POLE for the final. 👏

He got his pre race work done, nailed the start and led the race for the first four laps.

Lap 5 saw him pushed back into P3, but he fought his way straight back into P2 and was looking very capable of having another crack at the lead.

And then… his tyre decided it had contributed enough to the weekend and would rather not be attached to the kart anymore.

Apparently you can’t drive a kart with only three wheels??

D.N.F.

That. one. hurt.

Especially after our last race at Sydney ended with engine trouble forcing him to pull in during the final as well.

So… third time lucky, right?!!

Either way, the speed is there. The race craft is there. And things are looking good for Cruz heading towards the States in October.

Could there be another blue plate added to the collection? 🤔🔵

Time will tell…

JONO

First time at this track (and only the THIRD track he has ever raced on) and he absolutely held his own.

Qualified P4 out of 11.

Heat 1: P4 - P3
Heat 2: P4 -P3
Heat 3: P3 -P3

That put Jono P2 for the final- The trophy for the office practically had a spot cleared…Unfortunately, turn 1 had other ideas.

He got taken off at the first corner and spent the remainder of the race hanging out in the gravel trap. (Definitely not the ending he deserved after such a strong weekend.)

As of tonight, Jono has officially quit racing forever.

We expect his retirement to last approximately until tomorrow.

Cruz and Jono had an awesome weekend together and isnt that what racing is all about? Having fun. Results are just an added bonus. 🏁

Next up - PUCKA….

And next weekend Zac is back with the team, racing with Energy… his first time at Pucka, should be exciting!

Cruz will dust himself off , bolt all four tyres on VERY securely and do his best.

Onwards and upwards.

Stay tuned for results from both boys next weekend.

FINALS = DISASTER.

Not the ending we wanted… and both boys are definitely feeling all the feels right now.

But that’s racing. Some days you’re the hero, some days you just want to throw the kart in the trailer and pretend it never happened.

So racing is done for today… time to go let the boys have some fun, reset and remember, as a team, there’s more to life than lap times.

Full update to come…….once the drivers have recovered.

Karts are dialled, drivers are ready… now it’s time to send it!

Next week we’re back racing at Australian level….

We’re not saying too much just yet…

But let’s just say Cruz hasn’t been mucking around.

Stay tuned to the page.

Things could get interesting….

WHAT A WEEKEND OF RACING

First stop…. Ballarat…. Beautiful place. Lovely track. Stunning weather…(Okay, one of those things is a lie)

Apparently, when we paid the entry fee, we accidentally selected the premium victorian weather package.

Rain. More rain. And then, just to keep things exciting…

Even more rain.

Wets ALL day meant Cruz had to temporarily deactivate missile mode and search for a setting we weren’t entirely sure had been installed……. patience. 🤣🤣

He drove smart, kept it clean, survived every race and finished the day P1.

Ballarat complete….Trophy acquired….
Everything we own is now damp. With no dryer in our room.

A sensible team probably would’ve called that a successful weekend and gone home.

But….. We are not a sensible team….

After a few late night drinks… we were straight back to Melbourne for Todd Road, where the weather was actually a treat.

Qualifying: P7.

Heat 1… racing incident. Cruz… back of the field.

Anyway…

Cruz put his head down, worked his way back through the field and earned himself a P4 start for the final.

Finals time……

Missile Mode: REACTIVATED.

The pace was seriously good. The racing was seriously close.

Cruz smashed his previous PB and crossed the line P5.

So, to summarise our relaxing little weekend away:

Won Ballarat
Got absolutely saturated
Raced Todd Road
Smashed a PB
Set fire to some more money
Personally supported several Victorian service stations
Slept occasionally
Built some more “character” that nobody ordered
Consumed enough caffeine/alcohol to qualify as a minor medical emergency

And naturally, after all that…

WE’RE DOING IT AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND.

Sydney, you’re up next…

Then it’s straight back to Victoria for the next round of AKC.

Stay tuned for results 🏎️🏎️

THIS is what going above and beyond looks like.

Yesterday, Cruz introduced Berthilda to the tyre wall.

Cruz was absolutely fine.

Berthilda… not so much.

Which sucks, because when Berthilda is straight, she is FAST.

Lincoln tried to find a straightening bench yesterday afternoon so he could work his magic on her, but there wasn’t one available anywhere nearby.

So what does he do?

Sets the alarm and gets on the road at 5AM this morning, drives two hours to get Berthilda onto a bench he can use himself, spends a couple of hours straightening her and getting her back exactly where she needs to be… Then jumps back in the car, drives another two hours back to the track, puts Cruz in her and gets the data he needs to make sure she’s back where she should be.

There aren’t many coaches out there who would do that for one of their students.

And for anyone who wants to think negatively about Lincoln, his methods or the way he works ….this is the side you probably don’t see.

He cares.

-About his drivers.
-About their equipment.
-About their development.
-And also…. doing the job properly.

You don’t drive four hours, spend hours on a straightening bench and then head straight back to the track to collect data because you have to.

You do it because you genuinely give a s**t.

As a team, we see the hours that nobody else sees.

We are off to Ballarat today to take on the locals before heading back to Melbourne to race Todd Road Sunday….

Watch this space… Berthilda is straight and she is ready to rumble!!!

Well… Mother Nature decided she didn’t want to play nice today.

We woke up to rain, so off went Lincoln and Justin to the track early to change the kart setup while Cruz took the far more important job of getting some extra beauty sleep. 😂

After Heat 3, we decided maybe he should’ve just stayed in bed.

Somewhere along the way, Cruz’s confidence in the rain has been left behind at a racetrack… we’re just not sure which one.

He spun on lap 2 but thankfully managed to keep it on the track and eventually crossed the line in P19.

Luckily his strong results yesterday meant it didn’t hurt his starting position for the final too much.

FINAL -STARTING P6

Not the best start, but he settled in, got to work and brought it home in P5 out of 30 karts.

And with the talent in the field, we are absolutely not complaining about that one. 👏

But probably the part we’re most proud of happened before we even got here.

There were a few different tracks we could have raced at this weekend. Cruz chose Newcastle- the track he hates the most.

Not because it was the easiest option, not because he thought he’d get the best result.

He chose it because he knew it was the smartest option for his racing and his development.

That decision alone showed us just how much he’s maturing as a racer.

And what a good decision it turned out to be.

He arrived here with a completely different mindset. No whinging about the track, no convincing himself he hated it before he even rolled out of the pits. He came here positive, ready to learn and ready to have a crack.

And he is leaving with a P5 in a 30 kart field at a track he previously couldn’t stand.

Funny how quickly a track can move up the favourites list. 😂

Plenty learnt and confidence gained….Another step forward.

Turns out sometimes the track you don’t want to race at is exactly the track you need to race at.

Proud of you Cruz. Trust the process.