Velocity Motorsport

News

2011

Harrison and Velocity finsh 6th in the World in Abu Dubai!- November

Velocity Motorsport  and driver Nathan Harrison made the long trip to the Al Ain Raceway in Abu Dahbi to  represent the UK at the Rotax World Finals in the Junior Rotax catergory. The event is special in that every driver has equal equipment handed out at the start of the week long event so its up to the driver and race engineer to work closely to achieve a good setup in order to out perform the competition. Renewing old relationships Nathan and mechanic 'Carbon' soon got back to their previous ways and were pacesetters in the very first practise session! . 

Rotax World finals kart hand out
Rotax World paddock and pits area is shared with everone!

Carbon acting as race engineer / mechanic / manager for this event and Nathan worked hard throughout the limited practise sessions focusing primarily on the race pace, going into qualifying the pair were in confident mood despite only being 22nd in the final practise. In true Velocity spirit however there had been a logical plan to testing and come qualifying all the pieces were put together. This strategy was taken due to the ease of which other competiors could copy your set up due to the shared paddock area! The event showed the experiance in depth of the Velocity team due to the event being run on the unfamiliar Birel kart, this did not pose a problem! The qualifying session was a 15 minute long session the strategy was therefore to wait as long as possible to save the tyres and go for the one off hot lap, the pair timed this to perfection and Nathan put in a stunning lap to qualify 3rd overall on only his third rolling lap, this put Nathan as top Brit!

Going into the heats there was a relaxed mood in the Velocity corner of the UK pit area, Ash from Evolution was on hand to help Nathan out with his race tactics and act as a 'spotter' on the other side of the 1.4km long Al Ain raceway. Unfortunately disaster struck as Nathan was muscled back to 5th at the start  of the first heat following a nervous first corner, Nathan was then hit hard again after colliding with another driver on the first lap and sending himself into a spin after getting onto the dirt and marbles. Nathan staged a fine recovery drive setting fastest lap along the way, coming from 32nd to finish 17th, unfortunately the stewards would later impose Nathan with a 10seconds penalty for his actions on the first lap. This incident made the team a little nervous however we knew we had the pace, Nathan therefore opted for a conservative route in the 2nd heat to finish 3rd. The following day Nathan knew he had to get a top ten finish in the third and final heat to be in with a shout of making the world final . The weather conditions were much cooler with the worry of rain on everyones mind (this being in the dessert) however this failed to come to fruition and Nathan made a super start and the Velocity Motorsport setup looked very strong a fine 2nd place finish being the result. A nervous wait followed as the team waited to find out if Nathan had automatically qualified for the World final, after an anxious few moments the team found out that Nathan had easily made the final despite his first race incident Qaulifying in 17th position for the pre final.

The finals were held in much hotter conditions, the tactics were simple stick tight to the inside on the chaotic first corner and make up as many places as possible in the pre final! The long pre final went much to plan with a fanatastic start putting Nathan from 17th to 13th on the first lap. Nathan then patiently worked his way through the field to come and eventual 9th the kart looking strong in the middle of the race.

Nathan on the grid preparing for the pre final

The final then came and it was great for a Velocity Motorsport driver to walk out onto the main straight of the driver and place the kart in 9th position in front of the 5000 strong crowd and many thousands more watching the race over the internet. The race was all or nothing, and knowing that the track would be much grippier following the other catergories pre finals changes were made to the chassis. Nathan and Carbon made a pact on the grid that whatever happened they were really proud of there achievements but there was only one place to finish in a race like this and thats first! Going into the race every one was nervous but quietly confident.

 

Nathan on the grid prior to the final

 

Nathan made a superb start, however the 4 rolling up laps in the 35 degree heat were making Carbon nervous, would the Kart stay onto the end of the race after the pair had made the decision to go for an aggressive strategy and be fast at the start to ensure the front row drivers did not escape. The teams strategy worked well on the opening lap of the race with the kart looking superb and Nathan making it to a fantastic second by the 3/4 distance point of the race, an aggresive move during this fantastic rise up the order saw Nathan hit a kerb hard, post race this event was found to have bent the kingpin putting the front geometry of the kart out of line. As the race went on towards the closing stages the circuits ever imrpoving grip and the four rolling up laps started to take its toll and Nathan started to drop back towards the pack a ambitious move by the Austialian driver forced Nathan wide onto the marbles meaning that NAthan lost futher momentum and slipped back to his eventual finishing position of 6th.

Initially Nathan and Carbon were gutted as they aimed to at least make the podium following the strong showing through out the week long event. However following time to reflect Carbon and Nathan grew happy in the knowledge that Velocity Motorsport and driver Nathan HArrison had just finished 6th in the World. Well done Nathan! This meanth that Velocity and Nathan had managed to beat 66 drivers at the event which in totalling up all the drivers from the 56 Nations present meant that had beat over 4000 of the Worlds best Junior Rotax competitiors!

Nathan and Velocity 6th in the World

 

Velocity now looks to further its relationship with Nathan in the 2012 season were pending further negotiations Nathan will be part of Velocity's attack on the CIK FIA under 18 World championship.

 

Velocity Represent Team GB and World Champs - November

Velocity Motorsport will be representing team GB at the Rotax World Finals. Former driver Nathan Harrison will renew his links with the team for the event to be held in Dubai at the Al Ain raceway. Team manager Andrew Dawson, aka Carbon, will act as Nathan's Race engineer/ mechanic /Driver manager at the prestigious event.

The choice of Nathan yet again shows the strength of the Velocity team and singling it out as one of 'the' teams to be with.

Check back soon for updates on the progress of the race.

 

First Minimax trophy for Jack and James impresses in Juniors- November

Velocity Motorsport aided Jack leese to his first ever Minimax trophy at the recent PFI club meeting. Jack, trialling Velocity with a view towards 2012, some became accustomed to the routines and practises employed by the velocity team and went on to be one of the fastest drivers at the meeting following numerous set up tweeks. The trophy marked Jack's most succesful outing in Minimax to date and the Team hopes that it can develop a good relationship with the talented young driver in the future.

 

Current Velocity driver James Biggs adapted extremely quickly to his step up to the Junior Rotax class. James showed extremely good pace in the S1 standard field and moved from 26th to finish 19th out of the Super 1 field. James now enters into a Winter testing program with the velocity team to prepare him for the 2012 season.

James win's rookie trophy at Super 1 Wigan - October

Velocity Motorsports Minimax driver saved the best till last at the last Super 1 Rotax round of 2011 held at Wigan. James raced well and had serious pace thanks to Velocities carb preparation techniques on the long straights of the three sisters track. An 8th place finish in the final was the best of the year for James and earned himself the Rookie cup given to the driver placed highest who is in the first year of competion in the Super 1 championship.

The result was a relief to the team following a tough year just going to prove that Velocity's technique have been a massive help in moving on developing drivers.

 

Gus is fast but Joe gets the heat result! - September

Velocity Junior driver Gus Greensmith showed excellent pace in the PFI Super 1 round 6. Gus qualified a excellent season best of 7th overall and 5th in group managing to get a time in which was under the lap record! The pace was not just confined to the dry conditions in extreme wet conditions Gus was brilliantly fast running as high as 3rd in the heats however a last lap incident saw him drop to 9th. In conditions absolutely the opposite Velocity's other Junior driver Joe byrne faired better making up for a dissapointing qualifying to finish 2nd in his heat race (from 18th on the grid) in probably the most exciting race of the decade!

Progress in Denmark - July

Velocity drivers Joe Byrne and Gus Greensmith entered the 3rd round of the Euromax championship held in Thy, Denmark. In uncharacteristically hot Danish weather the 2 drivers acquited themselves well and made major strides with their driving both enjoying the long flowing circuit. The team came to a good setup so good in fact that Gus was fastest in session prior to qualifying. Unfortunately disaster struck in the race as both drivers were involved in crashes, Joes was so bad it destroyed his kart meaning he had to enter a 2nd chassis and start from the back. Joe worked his way through the 72 strong field utilising the strong consistent setup that the Velocity team had arrived at, he managed to get onto the back row of the A final and then consistently worked his way up to 13th position by the end of the second final his tyres by now starting to show their age. Joe was beeming with the result having overtaken the 2010 Rotax Junior World champion on the last lap of the race! The result seeds Joe 42nd in Europe having only done 1 of the 4 rounds!

 

PLease contact us if you would like more information about racing with the team in the Euromax series.

Velocity set to go international - July

Velocity Motorsports drivers Joe Byrne and Gus Greensmith are set to take part in the 3rd round of the Euromax championships to be held at Thy Karting in Denmark. The team is using this race to further the experience of its junior drivers allowing them to improve their skills on a large track with some of europes best junior drivers as their competitiors. The race will see the team travel straight from Buckmore following the Super 1 race through Europe and into Denmark.

check out www.rgmmc.com to follow Joe (#105) and Gus's (#107) progress.

 

Improved form at Super 1 Larkhall - June

Velocity Motorsport's drivers showed improved form at the latest round of Super 1 with the team showing its strength in changeable conditions.

Gus Greensmith was fast throughout testing and Qualified a season best 17th just 0.18seconds from the pole. He was unfortunate in the first heat after being driven into the barrier whilst in 12th place, this left Gus a little on the back foot, he finished well in the 2nd heat however and moved up through the field whilst on wets on an almost dry track to finish 7th. Unfortunately this did not mean that Gus automatically got into the A final, he raced well to finish 2nd in the repercharge from where he fought hard in the A final to finish 22nd his lap times just 1tenth of the winners. Joe Byrne had a tough weekend but made it through to the A final and finished 17th after a race long battle, Joe is steadily improving in what is British kartings most competitive class, the team has extensive testing planned in the future to try and find the last tenth.

Following his first ever podium the week before Velocity Minimax driver James Biggs showed further improvement to record his best ever Super1 finish, James was at one point up as high as 7th in the race but was a little unfortunate to be knocked back to 13th however he still scored a really good haul of points in his quest to win the rookie cup a championship which is now closing up. James has been working closely with Velocities driver coach over the last month and appears to be making large amounts of progress. James will be hoping to continue this form into the next round of Super 1 at Buckmore park in late July.

 
James gets first podium - June

Velocity Minimax driver James Biggs secured his first ever podium finish at the recent Larkhall club meeting. The team had travelled to Scotland in preparation for the up coming British championship race. James progressed well throughout practise, this being his first vist to the Larkhall circuit. The team coped well with the typical Scottish changeable weather to give James a great setup, the rest was down to James after securing fastest lap in the heats he was determined to make up for  slightly dissapointing starting position. James raced well battling his way through to second to take a fantastic podium his comment after the race summed up James's enthusiasm " another lap and I would have had the win!"

Congratulations on your first podium James from all at Velocity Motorsport.

 

James achieves first podium

Improvement in form for Gus - June

Gus Greensmith, one of Velocity Motorsports Junior Rotax drivers showed much improved form at the recent Larkhall club meeting. Gus had fastest lap in the first heat and then stunned the paddock with a fantastic drive from seventh on the grid taking a 4 second victory, the race held in drying conditions allowed the team to utilise knoweldge gained in testing regarding wet weather set up to gain an advantage, Gus drove exceptionally well looking after his tyres in the latter stages of the race and pulling some awesome moves working his way through a quality field of Super 1 drivers all at the track practising in preparation for the next British championship race. Gus will hope to maintain this form going into the British championship race.

 

Seb continues awesome Ginetta form - June

Former Velocity Motorsport driver Seb Morris recently continued his awesome form in the Ginetta Junior championship. The Liberty Properties supported driver is dominating the championship with 7 wins from 8 races, his most recent victory taken by a massive 23 seconds from his nearest rival at the Oulton Park circuit.

What made the victory even more special was that the Hillspeed driver remembered his roots by flying the Velocity colours!

All the team at Velocity Motorsport would like to wish Seb well for the future.

Keep up to date with Seb's results at www.sebmorris.com

Seb Morris still flying the Velocity colours

Seb Morris still flying the Velocity colours

 

Improvement in form at Buckmore - May

Both Junior Rotax drivers showed much improved form at the recent Buckmore park club meeting. Gus Greensmith made his return to racing following his accident at Shennington earlier in the year to finsh a respectable 5th in the race after showing some good form in the heats. Both Gus and Joe Byrne were using the race testing in advance of the Buckmore park Super1 race later in the year.

 

Joe Byrne chased hard by Gus at Buckmore May 2011

 

 

 
Gus injured in Shennington Practise accident - March

 

Velocity Motorsport and all its members would like to wish Gus a speedy recovery following his testing shunt at Shennington. Gus had an unfortunate incident which resulted in him breaking his arm after Cartwheeling the Kart. Gus aims to be back racing in time for the Rowrah Super 1 race in June.

 

 

Tough Start to seson at Super 1 but team and drivers showing Promise - March

The Velocity team drivers had a tough start to the season at the Whilton Mil Super 1 British championship opener.

The Junior Rotax drivers Joe Byrne and Fergus Greensmith found the going tough in the 57 strong field of top Junior Rotax drivers. After a lowly qualifying where both drivers missed 1tenth of a second they began the race weekend on the back foot, Joe and Gus however showed great pace in the wet heat with Joe putting in a fantastic drive to finish 7th after starting 21st! Gus was less fortunate although set 4th fastest time, the Velocity team had definitely found the correct settings for these conditions. Unfortunately Gus did not make the A final after being knocked of in the B final, his times did however show promise. Joe Started in 28th for the 2nd final after a mechanical problem meant that he did not compete in the first final. He drove excellently to come from 28th to finish 15th, his lap times being very competitive. Although not the start the team had hoped for both drivers showed promise, the team is looking to get stronger as the year goes on as the 2 drivers learn the new class they have just stepped into.

Minimax Rookie James Biggs showed great promise after a great drive in the second final to finish 16th and 2nd in the rookie cup, throughout the weekend his lap times and consistency were improving all the time and he pulled of some really good overtaking to finish where he did. Hopefully he can keep up the rate of learning through the rest of the year and keep on improving his positions. James was beeming after the race having thoroughly enjoyed himself! The Velocity team had provided James with a good set up for the race with lap times peaking when others where slowing allowing james to get himself to 16th from his lowly starting position. This was a good recovry following trouble in one of the heats where James was involved in a heavy accident bending his track rod so badly that by the end of the race he had worn through his brake pipe! The fact that he finished was testimont to his grit and determination.

Driver line up  announced - February

Velocity team drivers for the 2011 season will be as follows:

Junior Rotax

Joe Byrne (#27)

Fergus Greensmith (#21)

MiniMax

James Biggs (#66)

These drivers will contest the Super 1 Rotax championship and carry out a dedicated test and race preparation program. Joe and Gus will also contest the Euromax round 3 in Denmark in July.

Driver line up to be announced soon - January

Velocity team drivers for the 2011 season will be announced soon

Recent News

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