Velocity Karting

Race Report

PAK Race #2 (2-26-17)

 

Velocity Karting hit the track under cloudy conditions last Sunday for Round 2 of the Pacific Association of Karters racing season.  With over night rain and showers expected throughout the day, the conditions were not ideal for racing.  With this as the backdrop, Velocity believed they could achieve great results as long as they stayed in front of the weather with their kart setups.

 

 

Ahkil Bhakta was the star for Velocity as he took home the first win of the season for Velocity in the Mini Swift class.  Bhakta entered the Main event starting outside of the always fast Steven Grafton who had won the Heat race.  As the checkered flew, Sofia Merrit jumped into the lead from the 3^rd place starting position followed by Bhakta and Grafton.  Bhakta stalked Merrit like a shark chasing prey for the first few laps of the race.  On lap 4 Bhakta entered the long straightaway with a burst of speed, drafted behind Merrit for 1/3 of the straightaway before pulling to the low side and making a high speed pace into turn 1.  A lap later Grafton would do the same maneuver and end up chasing Bhakta.  Grafton would eventually pass Bhakta as sprinkles began to fall on the track.  2 laps later Grafton would misjudge the amount of rain that had fallen and over drive a corner and put him in the dirt.  This would again put Bhakta in the lead where he would stay for the remainder of the race.  Merrit would put pressure on Bhakta, but to no avail as Bhakta in just his 2^nd start in this class would take home the checkered.  Congrats to you Ahkil!

 

In Jr1 Comer A, Hayden Huelsman had high hopes to get his first premier class podium.  In the heat race he had raced from 3^rd spot to a dominating win over almost 3 seconds.  No kart in his class could match his speed, but Mother Nature had her own plans.  As the class sat on the grid prior to starting their engines, a heavy rain cloud opened up above the track.  The subsequent rain made the track very slick for the Main.  Entering turn number 1, Max Saga starting outside poll entered the turn with too much speed and collided with Huelsman.  This pushed Huelsman into the dirt and gave the Saga brothers an insurmountable lead.  Huelsman would finish the race in third for his 1^st Podium in this class but everyone knows he could have won on this day. 

 

 

Jr1 Comer B was one of the largest fields of the day and Velocity’s own Brett Revetta had a eye on his first career podium.  A month earlier he had the speed to be a podium finisher but bad luck in the Heat and the Main cost him that opportunity.  This day was to be different.  Revetta showed his speed throughout the day and found himself starting 4th in the Main Event behind the very fast Jacob Peter, Aidan Hayner and last months winner Kayla Gibson.  As the flag would drop, Peter and Hayner would make contact and they would drop to the rear of the field.  This left Gibson in the lead and Revetta on her bumper.  They would race nose to tail the entire race being separated by just 6/100ths of a second.  Revetta piloted his kart with the skill of a veteran, in just his 2^nd race, and made many attempts to pass the veteran Gibson.  With just a lap to go, slower karts got between Gibson and Revetta which helped propel Gibson to her 2^nd victory of the year, but Revetta had his career best finish of 2^nd and his first Podium.

 

 

That left just the big boys to finish the day as the Sr’s would race in the 100cc Main.  Drivers Brian Smith, Stephen Huelsman and Phillip Ramirez represented Velocity on this day.  As always Robert Melzer was the Pole sitter in the Main, but Brian Smith actually had a faster time coming in to the Main and he started outside Pole.  Phillip Ramirez who is still a rookie was trying to improve on his career best 3^rd place finish.  As the karts hit the track, Smith threw a chain and was out of the race before it got started.  Huelsman would take his place on the outside Pole.  As the green flew, Melzer jumped to the lead with Huelsman tightly on his bumper.  On lap 3 Huelsman had a mechanical problem that forced him to exit the track.  This all but handed the victory for Melzer, but Ramirez wanted to prove that he has put the work in to stand on a podium and he did.  Ramirez fast lap the previous month was a 48.6 in perfect conditions.  On this day he ran a 47 flat in moist conditions and bested his previous record by getting a 2^nd place.  He has proven that he is a podium contender and with the next race just two week away, he is primed for a climb to the top of the standings.