Golden Power Series Round 1
Saturday 1st March - Sunday 2nd March 2008 (Gippsland Go Kart Club)
After some convincing by the guys at Melbourne Kart Centre Dylan made the decision to return to the scene of his best result by competing in Round 1 of the 2008 Golden Power Series. Treating the meet as a bit of fun and a chance to return to his favorite track, we did not attend the meeting with any real expectations.
Arriving on the Saturday morning and with just one practice session before the heats Dylan showed that he still remembered his way around the track by quickly getting on the pace. After Heats 1 & 2 Dylan much to our pleasant surprise found himself as one of the quickest on track and courtesy some good on track decisions that helped him navigate through some major incidents Dylan was able to find himself starting the Pre-Final in 3rd.
Continuing his welcome form on Sunday, Dylan pressed home is pace to have yet another outstanding race to finish in fourth. A post race debrief however identified a significant setup worry with the kart showing signs of 'gripping up' during the heat. With the sun out in force and the track temperature rapidly climbing, we made a number of setup changes to try and head off the problem for the final.
Starting the Final in third and with the pace to challenge for his second ever open trophy Dylan made a good start holding his position for the first two laps. However it rapidly became apparent that the changes made to solve the 'grip up' issue hand not been successful, with the kart starting to kangaroo through the back half of the track. Despite this significant disadvantage Dylan drove an outstanding defensive back end of the race to defend sixth place and finish the weekend in fourth on points. Although frustrated to have finished so close to the podium and yet have to walk away from the weekend with nothing due to setup problems, the weekend gave us yet another glimpse what Dylan could produce with the right support.
See Photo Gallery for photographs of the event