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Greetings All,
The photo above is me with the 2007 Miller Motorsports Park "Hard Luck Award" that I received at the end of season banquet. We thought we should post an over all season re-cap of our results for the 2007 racing season.
Here are the results:
Number of Events Entered: 7
Heat Races: 14
Main Events: 7
Heat Race Results:
Top 5: 2
Top 10: 6
Main Event Results:
Top 5: 1
Top 10: 4
Did not Start: 1
Did not Finish 1
As you can see, we suffered only one Did Not Finish (DNF) which was due to the first lap melee described in an earlier post. We also had a single Did Not Start (DNS) which occured during the final race of the season. We suffered mechanical problems in practice and simply did not have time to get everything together to earn a qualifying position to race in the Heats or in the Final. Considering this was our Rookie Year... we are very proud of this record of consistency in finishing races.
Although our Team goal was a Top 10 in the final point standings, we are very happy with our Rookie Year performance. We did not make the Top 10, the DNS in the last race of the season took away our hopes for accomplishing that goal, yet we consistently improved our lap times and competitiveness as the season progressed.
With two Top 5's and Six Top 10's in the Heat Races we feel very good about our efforts to tune the Kart in preparation for the Final Event on each race day.
Our total of Four Top 10 finishes in the Main Events showed that all of the hard work that we did in tuning the Kart after each practice and heat race, in order to give Scott a chance to run competitively in the finals, paid off well for us. We would like to thank everyone on the team at SKR Rebel Racing for their efforts in making this happen.
To boil down the numbers a bit... we finshed just shy of a Top 10 finish in 50% of all Heat Races with 6 out of 14. However, we are very proud of our record of a better than 50% record in finishing the Main Events in the Top 10 with 4 out of 7 races ending in a Top 10 finish.
Over all... we had a tough rookie season. We are gladto have it behind us. With the Miller Motorsports Park High Performance Driving School just around the corner, it is our plan to give Scott and Amy every possible chance to gain both seat time and knowledge as we are preparing for the 2008 season.
Our goals are set high for 2008. At SKR Rebel Racing, WE BELIEVE that we will reach our 2nd year goals and we are doing all that we can, during the off-season, to ensure that we do reach our goals.
Team SKR Rebel Racing
Hello to All,
Below is our report on the end-of-season Awards Banquet for the 2007 Karting Season:
If you have been following SKR Rebel Racing, through the 2007 season, you are aware that our Rookie season was one filled with ups and downs. In fact, it seemed as if the "bad luck cloud" was hanging over our pit space all season long. From the pre-season injury that led to our Team Captain, Scott L Ritchie, not getting into the Kart until Race 4 of the Utah Championship Series (thus missing the entire Ice Breaker Series and the chance to qualify for Rotax Grand Nationals) to the final race of the year when we were informed that following a broken tie rod, which could not be replaced in time for the final race, that we would be awarded 87 points for the race day but instead came out of the day with a big fat 0 in points... nothing seemed to go our way.
It is fitting that Scott was awarded the 2007 Hard Luck Award Recipient from Miller Motorsports Park for the team's efforts during the racing season. It is definately not an award we wish to win again! The 87 points, which we were informed that we would be awarded, by Race Director Chuck Packard, would have placed us 38 points ahead of Rookie of the Year award winner Craig Whiting. We had set the goal of achieving the Rookie of the Year Award and but for the misinformation that occured on the final race day would have locked it up. Hard Luck!
However, we end the season on a positive note as we made significant progress in lowering lap times and in over-all driver improvement by our Team Captain. To further enhance these gains... Scott is participating in a day-long advanced racing school, at the Miller Motorsports Park High Performance Driving Center on Saturday November 10th. Joining Scott on the day of training will be our Driver in Development, Amy Woods. Amy will be participating in the day-long Beginning Racing Course at the High Performance Driving School and getting her feet wet in a brand spanking new Birel CR32 with a 125cc Parilla Leopard motor.
Following this day of training the team will evaluate Amy's performance and will make a final decision relating to her running a full season, under the SKR Rebel Racing banner, in 2008. Scott will return for his "Sophomore Season" for 2008 running all 18 races at Miller Motorsports Park as well as a variety of events in 7 western States.
One other decision that the team is considering is the purchase of a new First Kart Chassis, for Scott's #666 Rotax Masters Series entry, from Reaction Karting. The chassis is specifically designed to be run in the Rotax Max Challenge Series and we feel will allow Scott to take full advantage of the latest technology as we set out to reach the goals laid out for year 2 of our 5 year plan.
The Tony Kart Trulli JT2 chassis, which Scott has been running during the 2007 season, will likely be parted out and put into Team Spares. If the deal with Reaction Karting does not go through we will run the Trulli chassis for one more season flying the SKR Rebel Racing #666 colors with Scott behind the wheel.
Hard Luck Award winner was not the trophy that we were shooting for in 2007. However, we are on track to meet our 2008 season goals and are using the added off-season seat time and Scott and Amy's attendance at the High Performance Driving Center to help us move forward towards reaching our goals.
Keep checking back with us. We will continue to update you, during the off-season, on the progress of SKR Rebel Racing. Please drop us an e-mail and let us know what you would like to see here on the web-site. We are always happy to hear from our fans and would like to thank those of you who have wished us your best during our trying 2007 campaign.
WE BELIEVE!
Team Statistician
Eva Collier
Well folks... we have wrapped up our rookie season in The Utah Karting Championship Series. We have spent a season learning the ins and outs of what is truly a very challenging sport. It is unfortunate when many people think of Go Karting, which they still relate to go carting with a "c," that they picture yard carts or the rediculous little two seater sand buggies with a 5 hp Briggs and Straton motor. The racing that we do, in real Karting, is REAL Racing!
We ended up having a typical rookie season filled with ups and downs. Unfortunately, it seemed that the downs were more common than the ups for us this season. That is OK, however. We needed to learn the good and the bad sooner or later. We feel that we are a better team and a more prepared team having gone through the trials and tribulations of our rookie season.
Now... to the final two races of the season. Saturday's race was run "in the wet." This was a great experience and we actually did quite well considering it was our first run on a course with standing and running water in various sections. We were certainly not alone in our inexperience as many, many other local racers were getting their first taste of running on Bridgestone YJP's. Of all that we had learned, probably most important of all that we had learned previously was to stay off of the regular racing line. Man I tell you... wet rubber on the normal race line turns to something between ice and a patch of oil as it relates to grip when you are racing a wet track.
We finished in the top 10 in both Heats and in the final on Saturday. Although I felt like a popsickle by the end of the day with temperatures in the low 40's and pouring rain... I did stop shivering after a nice hot shower and a few hours under a blanket catching a movie.
Sunday's race was a day filled with frustration. We arrived at the track to find two inches of slush on the track and the sun just beginning to peek through the clouds. Within 2 hours the track had begun to dry and we were ready to run and finish the season strong. WRONG!
Heat 1 began with a tire valve stem problem that prevented us from completing the shortened 7 lap heat. The Qualifying and Pre-Main were no different. During pre-race checks, while on the grid, we broke the ground wire connection to the Yuasa 6,5 battery and could not get it replaced in time to get a timed lap in with the shortened schedule. (Due to the weather we were running 7 lap Heats, Qualifying and the Pre-Main) By the time the Final rolled around we had not turned a single lap at speed on one of the most technical track set-ups which we run.
In the interest of safety and with the Championship still undecided, we made the decision to not make a run in the Final. I was so pissed off at how the day had gone from one minor problem to another that I felt I was a danger not only to myself but also I did not want my misplaced aggression to interfere with anyone else's Championship run. So we decided to call it a season.
I will fill you in on the final point standings and our place in them as soon as we are posted. We met many of our goals for the season and missed a few as well. Over all... we are happy to have our rookie season behind us. Now it is time to put in hours of seat time to improve and to become more consistent before our first race in the Ice Breaker Rotax Challenge Series in March of 2008. WE BELIEVE!
More updates to come as we are able to get the info we are waiting for.
We just received the official word that today's test and tune and tomorrow's race in The Utah Championship Karting Series has been postponed due to the high chance of snow in the area. At first... this came as a huge blow to us. We are only 163 points away from achieving our goal of a Top 10 finish in the point standings and would need both races in order to make up that margin.
Now for the good news! The Race Director, Mitch Wright at Miller Motorsports Park, has made the decision to do a "double header" on Saturday the 20th and Sunday the 21st of October! We will still have the opportunity to run both races and we still have a shot at reaching our main pre-season goal for the Team!
It will still take a hell-of-a-run in both races to make up the 163 point deficit that we are in due to Scott's pre=season injury. However, as we always state, at SKR Rebel Racing, WE BELIEVE!
Keep checking back as we are going to do some serious testing on the two layouts that we will be running. We will do all we can to provide Scott with a Kart that is capable of running in the top 10 and will work our butts off to make it a top 5 Kart, for him, to run our final two races of the season in.
Our set-up is getting closer and closer to perfect for Scott's driving style and current abilities. We all plan to make sure that we get it just right for these last two races and WE WILL achieve our goal!
Team SKR Rebel Racing
