My name is George Partridge and I hope this website will give you an insight into how I began racing and keep you updated on any racing I do in the future so here we go.
Back in May 2019 I got a Go-Kart race for my 11th birthday at the indoor track at TeamSport Leicester. This was my very first time, I was in a cadet kart and posted a time of 54.063s. Not particularly impressive but it was brilliant fun and I couldn't wait to go again.
The lap record for the cadet kart at that time was 43.479s!
We'll get back to that later!
For Christmas that year I got a helmet, gloves and 6 sessions in the cadet academy. This is where I really began to understand how to drive a kart properly and how to significantly reduce my lap times.
When I reached my 12th birthday I was allowed to get into an adult kart for the first time. This was something I was really looking forward to and I progressed quickly. In October 2020 I qualified for the regional BIKC finals. This was held at Leeds where I came 3rd in the B final. I came home with a trophy though didn't progress to the nationals. I came back to Leicester and continued racing in social events until December 2020 when Covid closed the track. I won my last race of the year, my best lap time was 37.397s.
Luckily, Daytona Tamworth were still operating outdoor racing and so I completed a 1 to 1 assessment in the Sodi RT8 kart and entered their Inkart series. I missed the first race but finished the year in 5th place overall which was the top rookie position.
I returned to TeamSport when it reopened in May 2021 full of excitement to start racing there again but didn't win anything until July that year. I can't put my finger on it but something just clicked during a grid unlimited race where I got a 36.165s. The lap record by Shayne Jones of 35.859s was finally in sight. Me and Shayne were trading wins most races.
It was when a professional racer called Bradley Philpot turned up two weeks later that I thought, hey I can do this. He only just beat me in a race with a 36.141s to my 36.156s. I think this gave me the drive and belief that I could do even better.
Throughout the rest of 2021 I raced twice a week and began to win most of the time.
I entered the BIKC competition and won the local final.
I went to Manchester Trafford twice to practice for the regional finals and ended up against some great drivers who pushed me to get a 33.331s time. This is still the 8th fastest social members time ever as I write this.
In the Regional final I met up with Archie Johnson who I had been racing at Tamworth and whilst he won, I came in 3rd. Good enough to get to the National finals in Warrington!
This was a really exciting time for me as I continued to race indoor and outdoor in the build up to the final. I went to Warrington twice for practice, once with Hayden Fletcher who has really helped with my racing at Leicester.
December 4th 2021: Race day at Warrington started badly. I felt so far behind in the practice session that I thought I was out of my depth.
After the first heat however I started to get the kart underneath me and got faster and faster, eventually joining the 58 club as the commentators called it.
Out of 32 entrants I qualified for the final 13/16 and got a great start putting me up to 10th place which is where I finished. Top 10 in the country!!!!! I was over the moon but absolutely broken as you can see as I cross the line in kart 22 in the gallery section.
Back to Leicester with a spring in my step, new found confidence and the lap record (35.859s) on my mind. I got my first close encounter on my 100th podium race in November with 35.964s then again at Santa karts with a 35.909s just 50ms away.
Finally on the 20th January 2022 in Kart 10 I got 35.809s!!!
Everyone wanted a go in Kart 10 after that but couldn't get close to this time.
Fortunately, to prove it was not just the Kart that got me the time I did it again in kart 20 then most recently in kart 14 which is now the official lap record of 35.781s.
The only sub 35.8s lap by anyone ever!!
I am, for now anyway, the fastest driver in every single adult category.
Oh, nearly forgot about the cadet kart time. After a standard race session and for a laugh I asked for a drive in a cadet kart to see what I could do. I hadn't driven one since early 2020. That time in just a 15min session was 43.388s which stands as the 2nd fastest time ever! Maybe one day I will try and get the record for that too.
This year I have two championships at Tamworth which I will be posting progress on in the section above. The races so far have been in wet and windy conditions which I am still getting to grips with so hopefully I will improve as the season goes on.
In March I will be competing in the Super Lightweight junior category of Club100 which I am really looking forward to. This is at some of the best tracks in the country. Some of these races will be televised on You Tube so watch this space.
No doubt there will be another BIKC championship to take part in so hopefully it won't clash with any other races and I can improve on 10th place this year.
As usual I will be taking part in most member races at TeamSport Leicester and trying out some other tracks later in the year.
After that I don't know but as long as I continue to enjoy this sport I will just keep going.
Having competed in my first Club100 round at Bayford Meadows I can say this is by far the most competitive racing I have been involved in.
I have a very steep learning curve in the Rotax karts, though I got up to 7th position in the B final before 5th and 6th karts collided in front of me and caused me to stop, losing 7 positions down to 14th. Final scoring was 12th out of 30 in the Pre B final and 14th out of 28 in the B final scoring 186 points out of a possible 260. 38th out of 52 drivers.
After a 1hr practice session at Teamsport Leicester in the Adult karts I was offered a 15min session in a Junior kart. Completing 20 laps, I averaged 43.165s and beat the previous lap record of 42.882s with a 42.792s lap!
I am for now the lap record holder in every category!
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