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23.10.07 »
Erik Storms to Victory at Nurburg Ring.
Team EMG Motorsport made their appearance at the last meeting of the Superkart Series. The venue for this event was at Nurburg Ring, and the meeting was scheduled for 20th and 21st of October. The Team arrived for Thursday testing. These sessions were useful and offered the Team an opportunity to collate a lot of much needed data.
Qualifying on Saturday saw the Driver, Erik Gjertsen put in another outstanding performance. This year Erik has developed an appetite for Pole Position. Nurburg Ring was no exception. The Bergen charger blasted the rest of the field with an outstanding qualifying time which was over two seconds quicker than his nearest rival.
This superior performance was carried on to the first race. The EMG Honda was at the sharp end of the field in the early part of the race. He was however headed by Jason Dredge on another Honda in the first two laps. Once tyre temperature was stabilised however, the Norwegian was able to build a substantial lead. This race was held in difficult conditions, with the drivers on slick tyres despite the fact that light rain was falling. At the mid point of the race, Erik lost concentration, and this lead to a spin in the difficult conditions. This was only a minor set back, as Erik had build up such a substantial lead that he was able to regain control without loosing his lead. He re-established a substantial gap and went on to take another well deserved win.
Race two was run in torrential rain and poor visibility. The Team made a wrong selection in terms of tyre compound. This presented the Driver with the unattractive task of driving at high speed in a Kart with reduced levels of grip. Newly crowned European Champion Gavin Bennett took the lead. He was closely followed by Erik, but this was with great difficulty. On lap three, the Norwegian lost control of the kart, and ended off the track. He managed to get the kart back onto the track, and restart the engine. This mistake however cost almost 40 seconds. Undeterred, Erik continued his charge, and at the end of the race managed to elevate himself up to fifth place. This race was eventually won by Gavin Bennett and was well deserved. The team did take some consolation from the fact that Erik posted the fasted lap of the race, which was a second faster than the race winner.
Erik later stated that he was well pleased with the pace of his Honda, and commented ‘Despite the poor grip in the last race, that is the best my engine has performed all year’. Discussions are already under way in relation to next year’s activity. A number of options are being explored. It is unlikely that any firm direction will be taken for a few months. In closing, Erik stated that he would like to thank all his sponsors, and other individuals who had supported him throughout the 07 Season.
01.08.07 »
EMG Motorsport goes to Anderstorp
Team EMG Motorsport travelled to Anderstorp, Sweden to participate in the third round of the World Series Superkart Championship. Action was planned for the weekend of 28th and 29th July. The Team had travelled to the venue one day early with the intention of getting some Free Practice prior to the event. Unfortunately the poor weather put paid to the plan. The Track was flooded and the Practice was cancelled.
The first Qualifying session was in wet conditions. This type of track presented no major hurdle to the man from Bergen. His driving style was equal to the challenge of the track. At the end of the session Erik has secured his now customary Pole Position.
The second session saw a changing track, and the Team were one lap too late at changing from Wet Tyres to Slicks. This give Erik only one flying lap to seek out the level of grip available. This saw a lap time which was a vast improvement to the first Session. The time however was beat by the flying German Guido Kleinemeyer, and Erik was relegated to Second.
After encountering some reliability problems at Hockenheim, some adjustments had been made to the Engine. This was a step in the right direction, and the motor ran without incident in the Qualifying and both Races. The reliability however did impact on performance, and this became evident at the early stages of the first Race. The EMG Motorsport Honda did not have the pace to run at the front of the pack. Despite the handicap, Erik managed to drive to third place.
Some adjustments were made for the second Race. This did not bring the performance gain anticipated. Notwithstanding, Erik still managed to put on a first class display for the spectators. An excellent race developed between four drivers for third place. This raged for the duration of the full eight laps. The position was swapped a number of times between Erik and Martin Reuck. On the last lap it was Erik who held the position. Unfortunately, the steely German managed to pass him at the end of the main straight, and the Norwegian had to accept a fourth place.
Commenting at the end of the Race, Erik said ‘I was a little disappointed at the pace we had. We have however moved forward in terms of reliability. What we need to do now is integrate the lessons learned in terms of pace and reliability ‘
14.07.07 »
Hockenheim High Speeds
The weekend of 7th and 8th of July saw the arrival of the World Superkart Teams at Hockenheim. This circuit is well known for its wide track and long straights. The Team at EMG Motorsport arrived in optimistic mood after a good performance at Nurburgring.
Friday practice was utilised in testing some new engine parts. As always, change brings risk, and there was some concern as to how the motor would perform in terms of speed and relialibility. Early indications were good and the EMG Kart showed potential.
Saturday saw the running of Timed Qualifying. The first session proved inconclusive as a number of new problems manifest themselves. The Team however made some changes for the second session. This run saw Erik produce some top rate driving. At the conclusion of the session Erik had again put the EMG Motorsport Honda on pole.
A delighted Erik stated ‘ It was so close, I have just a margin of 0.003 seconds over Guido‘
The first race on Sunday morning got off to the worst possible start with Erik having to retire the Kart on lap one with mechanical difficulties. This race was won by Guido Kleinemeyer with a fantasic drive. This saw him not only win his class, but he also finished first on the road ahead of all the twins.
In the second race Erik produced an excellend drive. He lead the race in the early stages of the race. By lap four he was chased down and passed by Martin Reuck and Guido Kleinemeyer. The three pushed hard for another number of laps with nothing in terms of lap time between the three drivers. Unfortunately for Team EMG Motorsport, misfortune struck again in the middle of the race. Erik was forced to retire with a broken chain.
A disappointed Erik stated that this had been a problem introduced by improvements in other areas of the package. On a brighter note he stated ‘ We have saw improvements introduced this week raise the top speed of the kart to levels previously not experienced’
The World Superkart Series moves on to Andersthorp on the weekend of 28th and 29th of July 2007
25.04.07 »
EMG Motorsport
EMG Motorsport, opened their racing account last weekend at Nurburgring. This was the opening meeting of the World Superkart Series.
The driver, Erik Gjertsen is campaigning a Honda/PVP Kart in this series. Some development work on the chassis and engine over the winter months had lead to a performance gain.
This was reflected in qualifying when Erik registered his first Pole Position.
This performance level was maintained in the first Race when there was a close battle with current Division 2 Champion, Guido Kylinemair. After close exchanges in the first part of the race, Erik had to settle for second place in the final results.
Some changes to the chassis and motor were made in an attempt to facilitate the increasing air and track temperature. All was set for a great spectacle in the final race.
From the off, Erik scorched to an early lead in the opening laps. He was however chased down by his main rival and friend Guido. An epic battle developed, and the lead was exchanged several times in what was developing into a spectator’s paradise.
Halfway through the race, and it became apparent that Erik had produced a better handling chassis for the second race than the German. Erik took the lead, and despite a great effort by Guido, the Norwegian was able to keep him at bay in the closing stages of the race.
A delighted Erik collected his first Winners Trophy. He commented that it had been a trouble free weekend, and he was delighted with the fast pace of his Kart. In closing he did caution against early optimism. He stated ‘Whilst very pleased with the weekend’s results, the overall level of performance will best be measured over the longer run’ The next round for this Championship is scheduled for the weekend of 26-27 of May, where Lausitz, Germany will be the venue.
THE 2007 Superkart.
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