It was great to be back at Stretton on the standard anti-clockwise layout — the one I’ve done the most laps on, so it really feels like home to me.
I was quickest in warm-up and then took P1 in qualifying too, which meant I lined up at the front of the grid out of six drivers, all of them older than me. That felt pretty special, honestly.
Heat 1 didn’t quite go to plan though. I had a problem with my pedal during the race, and it cost me positions, dropping me back to third. We managed to fix it in time for Heat 2, but looking back, it played on my mind a little. Going into Heat 2 and then the final, I just didn’t have quite the same trust in the throttle as I did in quali. I think that held me back, and I finished P2 in both races.
It’s tough when you know you had the pace to win but something outside your control gets in the way. I’ve been thinking about it, and I suppose that’s just part of racing — things go wrong sometimes, and you have to deal with them and keep pushing. The good thing is I didn’t let it ruin my day. I kept my head, stayed consistent, and still brought home some strong results.
Winning first place in the MightE category and finishing second overall is something I’m happy about. I know there are things I could have done better, and I want to work on trusting the kart again even after a problem, but when I look at the whole weekend, I have to smile. I’m racing against older, more experienced drivers, and I’m up there fighting at the front. That’s a great feeling.