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19.06.2011
Heat frustrates in Czech.
Erik and Team travelled to the Czech Republic for the second round of the European Championship at Most. This event was run over the weekend of 11th and 12th of June 2011.
The team had a few minor issues during Qualifying. This ranged from a dislodged plug cap, to tyre blistering.
In qualifying 1 Erik retained 6th place for the most of the session. He was however unable to make a final run at the end of the session due to tyre blistering on the front left side. The consequences of this issue meant that at the end of the session, Erik had slipped to 10th position.
In the 2nd Session Erik again displayed some good form, but the session was frustrated when the plug cap and HT lead were dislodged from the rear cylinder. At the end of the session, Erik had recorded the 7th quickest lap.
In Race 1 Erik got off to a good start, and the motor was running strong. The ambient temperature however was 29 degrees, and there was a cooling issue with the motor. After the 3rd lap the water temp. in the motor had escalated to 80degrees, and the engine lost power. This meant that the engine was no longer competitive, and he slipped down the order. At the end of the Race he finished 10th.
In Race 2, despite attempts at remedial action, the motor continued to over-heat. This hampered progress. On lap 3 a problem developed with the power valve in the rear cylinder. A quick trip into the pits had the matter resolved; this however meant that Erik had dropped a lap to the Race leaders. At the end of the Race Erik finished 21th.
A frustrated Erik said ‘This was disappointing. My lap times would indicate that I could have finished 7th in the second Race’
The next round of the Championship will be held at Assen in August.
Slow Progress at Assen.
05.06.2011
EMG Motorsport made their second appearance this year at the International Superkart Series at Assen on 4th and 5th of June 2011. The event was treated as an opportunity to do some testing, and an attempt to identify some engine issues which had caused problems at Magney Cours the previous month.
The weekend events passed off without any major issues. In Race 1 the motor temp escalated to levels which caused some concern. Erik managed to nurse the kart home in 5th place, with the driver in front only 0.1 seconds ahead, but the lap times were not impressive.
Some adjustments were made for the second Race, and Erik lead on the first lap. The track was damp and all drivers had opted for slick tyres. Erik’s reign at the front was short lived when he under steered off the track on lap 1. When he rejoined, he had slipped to 7th place. He fought back up the order. On the last lap he missed out on a podium place by 0.5 seconds.
The first Race was won by AdamKout on a VM motor. The second Race was won by Pricilla Speelman on a VM engine. Speaking after the event, Erik stated ‘ Our chassis set-up is now pretty good, but we are still some way off last years pace in respect of the motor’
Team EMG Motorsport will be contesting Round 2 of the European Championship. The venue for this event is Most in the Cz republic. This event takes place this weekend, 11th and 12th June 2011.
23.05.2011
Failure in Magney Cours
The Team made their opening sortie into racing in the 2011 Season at the European Championship opener at Magney Cours. This event was on 14/15 May 2011. Testing on Thursday and Friday passed off without incident.
On Saturday morning, Erik set off for his 1st Qualifying session. This was a short travel, for the motor seized without warning before he got to turn two after leaving the pit lane. The team were unable to identify any obvious reason. A number of changes were made to the engine, and Erik made his way onto the Track for Qualifying 2. The motor ran for the full session, but was short of pace. He qualified 25rd.
On Sunday Morning 45 Karts set off for the first Race. Erik’s opportunity to make progress was ended at the completion of lap one, when the motor seized again. The cause of the problem was not identified, and consequently the complete motor was changed. The Team made the decision to participate in the second Race, but this was in an attempt to do some testing. The motor finished the 12 lap Race, but it was way short of the pace of the front runners. Erik finished 22th. The first Race was won by defending Champion Gavin Bennett. The second Race was won by Emmanuel Vinuales.
This was a very disappointing start to the championship. On reflection, Erik stated ‘This was not what we had envisioned, and it has a major impact on any expectations we had for this years Championship’
31.10.2010
Pictures from EM Le Mans 2010
30.10.2010
Race 1 EM Le Mans
29.10.2010
Le Mans onbord
![]() | 27.10.2010
Disappointment at Le Mans
The final round of the European Championship was run at Le Mans on the weekend of 23rd to 25th of October 2010. Fifty four Superkarts took part in this event. Gavin Bennett from England went to this event as clear favorite, although he still remained under threat from Damian Pyart of France.
Friday Practice went well for Team EMG Motorsport. Whilst there were several problems with the Brakes, the rest of the package appeared to work well. The Times achieved were competitive, despite the fact that the Team were using old tyres.
Saturday morning Free Practice went well, with Erik reporting that the Kart was running very well. At 1330 hrs Erick set off on the 1st Qualifying Session. The Track was wet, with the arrival of rain threatening. On his 2nd flying lap, the big end on the rear cylinder failed, and the session was terminated. At the end of proceedings it left him at the back of a 54 strong grid. With the second Qualifying Session following one and a half hours later, it was impossible to get the motor stripped and rebuild for that session. Consequently, Erik was at the rear of the grid for both Races on the Sunday.
The first Kart Race on Sunday was second on the Bill. Erik made a energetic start, and cut his way through the field. He made his way up to 13th. On lap 9, with four drivers just in front of him, the gear change pawl malfunctioned, thus forcing him out of the Race.
This was fixed for the second Race, and again Erik had to start the Race from the back of the Grid. From the first lap, a misfire curtailed his pace, and although he made progress through the field, his lap times were poor. He failed to match the performance in the first Race, and had to drive a slow Kart to the end of the race.
Both Races were won by Gavin Bennett, although Damien Pyart did push him hard in both Races. With these results, it ensured that Gavin Bennett has retained his title, and again is the European Champion.
At the end of the event, Erik reflected ‘ This has been a very disappointing weekend for us. Although we had good pace with the package, component failures ensured that we were unable to deliver.’
12.08.2010
European Championship.
Rounds 3 and 4 at Assen
The weekend of 7th and 8th of August saw drivers from all over Europe descend on the Assen TT Circuit for rounds 3 and 4 of the European Championship. This comprised of a Grid of 57 Drivers.
Team EMG Motorsport had not had the opportunity to race or test from the first rounds, which were back in April at Silverstone. Whilst some changes had been made to the chassis, there had been no way of confirming if these were a move in the right direction.
There was 2 practice session on Friday, unfortunately Erik only did 1 lap in the first one and 2 laps in the second practice session. This left Erik with little track time. The technical difficulties were fixed during Friday evening.
The weather was changeable for the weekend with frequent heavy showers. This did play a role in the first Qualifying. The Track was wet, and most of the field decided to fit Wet Tyres. During this stage of Qualifying, Erik was 3rd quickest. However as the Track dried Erik fell down the order to 12th by the end of the session.
The second Qualifying session was dry from beginning to end. Erik did 5 laps on old tyres in an effort to fine tune the chassis. He then fitted new tyres and set out the middle third of the session. With 10 minutes to go, Erik took to the Track on his PVP powered Kart. After 1 flying lap Erik had climbed the grid to a very satisfying 4th place. He was headed by only Gavin Bennett, Rob Chilcott, and John Riely.
In the first Race, Erik made a super start and rocketed into 2nd place before the first corner. The drivers with the Track time however had the confidence, and soon Erik was relegated to 4th by the second corner. Erik held this position for 4 laps before former European Champion Peter Elkmann found a way through. On lap 6, another former champion Damien Payart made his way past Erik. At this stage of the Race things settled and Erik looked like he would pick up good points in a solid 6th place. This was not to be however, and at the beginning of lap8 the gear linkage failed, thus preventing any further part in the Race. Race 1 winner was Gavin Bennett , second Payart, third Riley.
The second Race did not bring any good fortune for the EMG Motorsport Team. When the start went Erik missed a gear and went from 4 to 20 place before the first corner. With a malfunction in the Quick-shifter, and a motor hitting the Rev-Limiter in top gear, Erik quickly regressed through the field. The Norwegian driver struggled on, and a frantic battle developed between 10 drivers. In the end, Erik finished 17th.
Race 2 winner was Gavin Bennett , second Payart, third Roberts.
The weekend was a disappointment from the position that not a single point was added to Erik’s score. Notwithstanding, Erik was upbeat with respect to some of the issues during the weekend. Speaking after the event, Erik said ‘Setting the weekend in context, it is encouraging to leave here in the knowledge that we have a very competitive package. With some more refinements, I think we can assume a position within the top ten front runners.’ Erik again wanted to place on record his appreciation to all those people who had helped him on the run up to the event. He also paid tribute to the Organisers and other competitors.
Best Regards
EMGMotorsport
06.04.10»
Progress at Silverstone
Team EMG Motorsport had their first outing of the 2010 Season at Silverstone over the Easter weekend. This was the first round of the European Championship. There was much trepidation, as rumours were rife that some of the other Factory Teams had made big steps forward over the winter period.
All the Teams had the opportunity to avail of free practice on the Thursday and Friday prior to the commencement of the event. Erik had several outings during this period, and most of the time was spend on motor and chassis set-up. It was difficult to gauge performance, as there was no live timing for these runs.
Saturday morning saw all the competitors take to the circuit for the first Qualifying Session. Pole position was swapped a number of times between the usual favorites. Erik initially did a number of sighting laps on Wet Tyres. He then pitted and waited for a lengthy period before electing to fit slick tyres. With 8 minutes remaining, Erik launched a bit for a quick time. On his first lap he registered 5th quickest lap. On the next lap and with only seconds remaining, the Norwegian posted a time which elevated him to Pole Position for the first session. A delighted Erik commented ‘ I am so pleased to have posted the quickest time for this Session. I knew we had made progress during the off-season, but I was not expecting this. We still have a lot to understand in relation to the chassis set-up.
The early part of the second Qualifying was set-out by Erik. This however did not last long. After 4 laps, Trevor Robeats beat Erik’s Time. A few laps later, Gavin Bennett reduced the time by a further 1.6 seconds. Consequently, Erik was forced to take to the Track. On his first flying lap he registered the fasted time of the session. A lap later he pitted, but was disappointed to learn that his time had again been reduced by a number of Drivers. Another attempt was made to steal pole, but this was not to be, and he slipped to a disappointing 13th place.
Race one on Sunday morning made for an exciting spectacle. The Track was damp, and the big decision was Tyre selection. Erik elected to fit ‘Wet Tyres. Some of the front runners fitted Slick tyres. In less than a lap it was obvious that those competitors on Slicks had made the wrong decision. By the end of the first lap, Erik had forced his way from 13th to 3rd position behind Tony Algren, from Sweden and Trevor Roberts. By lap 3, Erik had moved into 2nd, and began to apply the pressure to Roberts. On Lap 4, Erik made his way into 1st. Trevor Roberts was denied the opportunity to respond, as his motor expired on the following lap. Erik began to move away from the Swedish driver, and things were under control for the middle section of the Race. Lurking in the background however was the ex-European Champion in the form of Damien Payart. Damien stalked Erik, and with just two laps to go, Damien took the lead, and remained in that position until the end of the Race. Erik ran out the first Race in second position. ‘ For sure I am so delighted with this result. I appreciate there were mitigating circumstances in the form of Tyre selection. I picked the correct tyres, and now I have a good result. This is my first podium in this class, and I am happy’
Race two did not present the same difficulty for tyre selection, and it was slicks for everyone. After the first lap Erik moved from 13th to 12th. By lap 3 he had made his way up to 10th. On lap 7 Erik became aware that there was a problem with the Temp. of the engine. This was rising to dangerous levels. With one lap to go, and with 5 Points available, Erik decided to take on the challenge of the last lap. Good fortune however refused to shine, and with ¾ of a lap to complete, the motor expired. The race win was taken by a very fast Trevor Roberts. He was followed home by Gavin Bennett, with Malcom Crow seizing the last position on the podium.
On commenting after the Race, Erik said ‘ The reality is that in the dry with my chassis set-up, I did not have the pace of the first 6 drivers. It is disappointing to have come so close to getting good points in the second race, and yet fail in the end. If I could have finished the last lap, I would now be second in the Championship. As it stands I am now 3rd.’
The second venue of the championship is at Assen in Holland. This event is in August. The Team plan to compete in some of the other events in Europe over the coming months. This may include the UK Cup Meeting at Bishopscourt in Northern Ireland.
11.03.10»
Winter Developments.
The EMG Motorsport Team have been conducting a lot of work over the winter period
This has involved both work on the motor and chassis. This work was completed at the end of February 2010. The program was conducted in Northern Ireland under the watchful eye of Colin Wilson, who kindly let the Team use his facilities.
Erik made his way to Northern Ireland at the beginning of March for some testing.
This was conducted at Kirkistown Race Circuit. Whilst the weather was dry, the Track was very dusty. Consequently, grip levels were low and lap times were slow. The motor ran all day without any problems, and the chassis did show signs of improvement. Despite collating high levels of data, this in the main was inconclusive due to the poor condition of the Track.
The first round of the European Championship is scheduled for the Easter weekend at Silverstone. This will be a great opportunity for the Karting fraternity to experience the new Silverstone layout. Further update will follow in due course.
Best Regards
EMG Motorsport |
