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12.09.09 »
Final Race Produces Good Result.
The EMG Team had their final outing of the 2009 season at Assen. This was during the weekend of 5/6 of September. Team EMG had completed some testing from the previous outing, and believed they had made some progress.
The signs in the first Qualifying session were encouraging. At the end of the session, Erik has posted the 3rd quickest time. Some adjustments were made for the second session. This yielded some improvements, and the EMG Team registered the second quickest time in this Session.
Erik had a poor start in the first Race, and at the second lap the safety car was realised after a first lap incident at the back of the field. When the safety car pulled-in Erik fought his way up to 5th place were he joined battle with the German Martin Knader. This lasted for most of the race. With one lap to go Erik made his move, and on the final lap he made it through to 4th.
The winner of the first race was Guido Kleinemeyer, second Daniel Hentschel and third was Michal Bartak.
The second Race produced the best race of the year for Erik. The EMG Kart was in 6th place after the first lap. Erik quickly moved into 3rd place on the second lap, and set about chasing down the second place driver. After two more laps Erik caught and passed Michal Bartak.
An intense battle followed for the remaining 5 laps. The second place position was swapped a number of times during these laps. In the end, Erik tried to pass Michal Bartak on the run to the line on the last lap. He failed, and had to settle for 3rd place, having been beaten by 0.097 of a second.
The winner of the second race was Guido Kleinemeyer, second Michal Bartak and third was Erik.
Erik paid tribute to all his sponsors, stating ‘Without all their help it would not be possible to compete in these races’ Plans have already begun in terms of how the 2010 season should be approached.
12.08.09 »
Positive Progress from Assen
Europe’s best Karters headed for Assen on Friday 7th August 2009. This was the venue for the final Round of the European Championship. Two drivers from Australia were also in attendance. Team EMG Motorsport formed part of the pageant.
Previous to arrival, the Team had conducted some testing in July in an attempt to resolve some previous problems. Erik was confident that these problems had been sorted, and was optimistic that the Team could produce a good performance.
Free Practice on Friday indicated that Erik’s confidence had been well placed. The motor ran well, and the data indicated that improvements had been made. During the same session however, a serious of problems had been identified with the chassis.
Much work was completed on the chassis on Friday night, and this was rewarded with some competitive times during Qualifying on Saturday morning. Erik qualified 10th in this session. A second motor was fitted for the second session on Saturday afternoon as part of an ongoing development programme. Results from this session were disappointing, and the original engine was re-fitted.
Sunday morning saw a grid of 51 Superkarts form up in front of a crowed of 60,000 spectators. From the off, it was clear that Gavin Bennett from England had the pace, and he quickly moved well ahead of the pack. Erik was stuck in 20th place in the middle of an intense battle. As the race progressed, Erik picked off a number of drivers lap after lap. On completion of the Race, Erik had moved up to 15th place. The competition was so intense that a 1 second improvement in his lap times would have moved him up to 2nd position. In the end, the race was won by Gavin Bennett. The points from this result were sufficient to ensure that he would be the new European Champion.
Sunday afternoon played host to the final race of the 2009 European Championship. Again, Bennett moved ahead of the rest of the grid. Close encounters were developing all the way down the grid. Again, Erik was jousting with a group of five drivers. This contest raged for the duration of the Race. In the end, Erik made it through to 13th place. Whilst the position in the event did not sound impressive, the Team have moved closer to the front end of the Grid. A pleased Erik stated ‘I raced here at the end of last year and finished 10th. I have gone 2 seconds quicker this weekend, and find myself in 13th. This is indicative of the level of competition in this series.’
Now that the European series has concluded, Erik is contemplating competing in the few remaining races in the German Championships. Erik passes on his congratulations to the new Champion, Gavin. He also paid tribute to the rest of the competitors in the series.
16.06.09 »
Disappointment at Most
The Norwegian Team made their way to Most for the weekend of 6/7th June 2009.
This was the venue for the second round of the European Championship. Free practice took place at the track on Friday. Whilst the opening session got off to a good start, performance thereafter was on a downward spiral. The motor failed to perform, and this resulted in a poor qualifying position for Erik.
New cranks were fitted to the PVP motor on Friday evening in an attempt to maximise preventative maintenance. These efforts however were to no avail, as on lap 1 of the first race on Saturday the big end on the rear crank failed. The motor was rebuild for race two on the Sunday. The motor was warmed up and all appeared fine. Erik took the lights, but it was obvious from the outset that there was a problem. The motor developed a mis-fire thus restricting performance. Erik battled on for a further two laps in an attempt to clear the motor. This did not however happen, and on lap four he was forced to retire with the problem. Later investigation revealed that the source of the problem was with a new battery which had been fitted for the Ignition.
A disappointed team was left to regroup and take stock of the weekend’s events which had delivered nothing in terms of results. A pragmatic Erik was to reflect on the poor performance, and stated ‘Some of the problems we encountered this weekend were due to the fact that we had failed to understand a number of issues with the motor. In terms of the crank and faulty battery, we could not have anticipated or prevented these problems.’
A number of tests have been planed for July in an attempt to get ready for the next race. This will be at Assen during August, and will be the final two rounds of the European Championship.
Best Regards
EMG Motorsport
23.04.09 »
Magney Cours Debut.
Team EMG Motorsport travelled to Magney Cours in France for the first round of the European Championship. This event took place on the 18th/19th April 2009. Erik availed of the opportunity of Free Practice on Friday 17th. This event did not go according to plan, and a technical problem resulted in the driver only getting an opportunity to complete 4 laps. This was unfortunate, as Erik had not driven at this venue before, and knowledge of the Track is vital.
The first qualifying round was run in damp conditions. The early part of the session was used to prepare new tyres for both Races, and give Erik an opportunity to get much needed Track time. In the latter part of the session, Erik got down to trying to get some competitive laps in. As the track began to get quicker, lap times began to fall. Unfortunately, towards the end of the session fuel level became an issue, and Erik had to forfeit the final 5 minutes. This is when the quick laps were completed.
When the lap times were printed it disclosed that the Team EMG had qualified a disappointing 18th.
In the second qualifying session Erik presented his kart with Wet Tyres. He was only one of a small number of competitors to do this. After the first lap, it became apparent that any one on Slick Tyres was in real trouble, with most of the grid having to return to fit Wet Tyres. During the session, the track was drying. For most of the session Erik was in 3rd position. With ten minutes to go, Erik returned to the Pits. Due to the damp conditions, it was obvious that the first Qualifying time was the only one that would be relevant. Consequently, there was no point in going back out. At the end of the session, Erik was 7th fastest.
In Race 1, Erik managed to keep out of trouble and avoid several first lap incidents. As the race began to unfold, it became obvious that there was a problem with the Kart. It transpired that on the 3rd lap the brake fluid began to boil. This had a major impact on lap times. Erik completed the Race, but only finished in 14th place. After a fantastic race at the front between current European Champion Peter Elkman, Gavin Bennett, and Lee Harpan, it was Gavin who took the chequered flag.
Race two brought no better fortune to the Norwegian driver. On lap 1 the motor developed a miss-fire. This failed to clear, and on the 3rs lap Erik was forced to retire. Again, at the front the same 3 protagonists duelled with much interesting driving. After 12 laps of superb driving between all three, it was Gavin Bennett who took the win, and with it the lap record at just over 1minute and 39 seconds.
It is the intention of the Team to complete some more testing before the second round of the Championship in Moest during the first weekend in June.
Best Regards
EMG Motorsport
28.10.08 »
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Assen Finale
The EMG Motorsport Team had their last outing of the 08 season at Assen. This was during the weekend of 25/26th of October. In essence, it was Erik’s second race in a DIV 1 Superkart.
This was the final round of the German Superkart series. Incorporated in this event was also the final round of the British Superkart Championship. Consequently, the best Teams in Europe were present, and the scene was set for a big farewell to the 2008 Season. The Saturday schedule was poor at best, with two short Qualifying sessions stacked close together. This was compounded by the fact that the first Race was to follow a short time later.
Some development work had been conducted on the motor during the intervening period between July and October. This included testing with a new ignition system, and exhausts. First Qualifying got off to the worst possible start. As the motor was being warmed up, a misfire developed with the new ignition system. As a result, the Kart never made it to the Grid. Frantic work was conducted on the ignition system in an attempt to isolate the problem. In the end there was insufficient time. The old system was hastily fitted. Despite good work by the team, half of the second Qualifying had elapsed before Erik made it onto the track. Insufficient time was allowed to properly warm up the engine, and Erik was forced to try and salvage something from a very undesirable situation. Disaster struck, and the motor came to a sudden halt with a cold seizure on the first lap. This left the Team with no data, and a failure to qualify. After a report was submitted to Officials, permission was granted to permit Erik to start both races at the back of the Grid.
62 Karts were entered for this event, and having been placed at the rear left Erik with no choice but to drive with great car on the first lap in an attempt to keep out of trouble. This he managed to do, and then set about trying to put some race laps together. In the end the Team could not match the pace of the front runners, and Erik finished a creditable 15th, but a long way off the top drivers. The first race was won by some distance by Lee Harpen, although he was subsequently given a 30 second penalty for passing under Yellow Flag conditions.
Much needed data and experience was collated from the first Race, and the team set about making changes to the chassis and motor for the second Race on Sunday. Again Erik was placed at the rear of the grid. This was to prove even more difficult than Saturday, as the Race on Sunday was held during very wet conditions. As the race developed, it was obvious that Erik had found some pace, and was making excellent progress through the field. The records will show that he passed 35 Karts on the first lap. Performance was hamstrung on every lap with having to negotiate his way past other drivers. Despite the deteriorating conditions, Erik pressed on at a good pace. When the chequered flag was displayed, Erik had worked his way up to 7th place. When lap times were compared, it was worthy of note that Erik had produced the 4th quickest time out of the top 7 drivers. 4th, 5th, and 6th place drivers were only 2, 4, and 7 seconds respectively ahead of him. The race was won by John Reily. Second was taken by Peter Elkman, closely followed home by Trevor Roberts.
Whilst it is results that count and 7th was short of expectations, some comfort was taken from the weekends events. A reserved Erik commented, ‘You cannot afford to miss both Qualifying Sessions, start from the rear of a 60 strong grid, and expect to be near the front at the end of the Race. Any chance we had of a result this weekend, slipped through our fingers during the Qualifying Sessions’
Discussions are ongoing with respect to Championships that are to be contended next year. When arrangements have been finalised, the plans will be posted.
05.08.08 »
Superkart Racing at CadwellPark.
After the unfortunate outings at the first round of the European Championship, Team EMG Motorsport was looking forward to their second outing at the British GP at Cadwell. This event was scheduled for the 19/20th July 2008. Erik and the rest of the Team arrived for free practice on the Friday.
The weekend got off to a flying start, with the PVP/PVP making some good lap times on Friday morning. On Erik’s second outing, with old tyres he managed to set lap times in the low 1. 24s. Two of the Friday sessions were is the wet. Again, the driver and Kart looked good, with some of the quickest time in these sessions being posted.
Qualifying on Saturday morning was in the wet. The team were optimistic that Erik could post a time which would have placed him in the top 6. This however did not happen, due to the large grid and the difficulty in achieving a ‘Clean Run’. The eventual qualifying time was 5 seconds slower than the time achieved the previous day. This placed Erik in 10th place.
When the first race commenced, it became apparent that Erik was still suffering some effects from the two crashes in Germany. A nervous driver quickly slipped backwards into the middle of the pack. This is were he stayed for both races on Saturday.
Some adjustment was made to the engine set-up for the Sunday races. This helped the motor, and whilst Erik was well off the pace, he did manage to finish 9th in the first race on Sunday. In the second race the EMG Motorsport PVP had made its way up to 8th place. This however was not to last. During the course of the weekend, the motor had been subjected to some high Piston Speeds, and the outworking of this activity lead to a big end failure in the rear crank on the 10th lap.
A disappointed Erik stated ‘Racing in the premier class is proving difficult. The package is not yet good enough, and I need to focus on the quality of driving.’ In closing, Erik did want to recognise the high standard of driving of the front runners, and the fact that the lap record had been broken several times during the course of the weekend. In terms of the future, Team EMG intends to conduct some more development work on both chassis and motor. Venue and time for the next race is still unclear.
22.05.08 »
Bitter/Sweet Germany.
Team EMG arrived at Euro speedway, Germany on Thursday 15 May 2008. Camp was erected, and the driver waited with some apprehension for Free Practice on Friday. The Kart was placed on the track on Friday, and Erik set off for his first experience in Superkart Racing Division 1. To much surprise, for the first half of the session he was second fastest. It was obvious from the outset that the PVP Motor had some pace. This did not last however, as some of the front teams fitted new tyres, and by the end of the session Erik was registered as finishing 13th fastest. Notwithstanding, the team was delighted with the pace of the motor. A surprised Erik stated ‘The package is good and I am delighted with the pace we have.’
Friday morning saw 60 superkarts take to the track for the first session of qualifying. For a long time Erik was registered as 4th, circulating over 2 seconds quicker than his Friday best. During the last 5 minutes however, a few of the seasoned campaigners posted excellent times, and Erik was relegated to 7th. A satisfied driver commented ‘I am delighted, whilst we need nine tenths to match provisional pole, I think we can find more time.’
Changes were made to the set-up in an attempt to carry more corner speed in the slow ‘in-field’ sections. The second qualifying was 2 tenths slower however, and top speed reduced by 5 KPH due to the changes. Despite making no progress in the second session, his first time placed him 10th on the grid, beside some drivers of renown.
The first race on Sunday morning was declared a ‘Wet Race’ due to the falling rain. Most of the drivers elected to run on slicks, and this included Erik. The conditions were difficult, and an unfortunate Erik was placed in an impossible position on lap one when a driver spun in front of him. Both karts impacted, and as a result Team EMG had to retire with a seriously damaged Kart. Fortunately, neither driver was injured. A lot of frantic work was carried out back at the Pits. A new front stub, new disc, and a complete new set of body work were fitted. All was then set for race two.
The second race got off to the worst possible start for the complete grid. Just after taking the start lights, an incident at the front of the grid, sparked off a chain reaction. There then followed on of the most destructive accidents witnessed in kart racing. Almost half of the grid was caught up in the incident, and the track was completely blocked with damaged karts, and a number of injured drivers. The race was ‘Red Flagged’, and when the dust settled it was clear that Erik was one of the drivers which had been caught up in the incident. He received bruising to his legs and back. After check ups, he was declared OK. The kart was again the subject of serious accident damage. A number of other drivers however were not so lucky. Some sustained broken limbs. Erik commented ‘I was so concerned on what the outcome was going to be. I have been fortunate, I want to pass on my best wishes to all the other competitors injured, and wish them a full and speedy recovery.’
The team now intend to take some time out and take stalk of what the next move should be.
Best Regards
EMG Motorsport
13.05.08 »
Countdown to Germany.
Team EMG Motorsport returned to Kirkistown for a second test on Thursday 8th May 2008. This was subsequent to some dyno testing. The engine performance has improved, but falls far short of the power levels boasted by many other teams.
The track was bathed in sunshine, although there was a strong wind. A number of laps revealed that some progress had been made. Further work was conducted on the chassis, and additional laps completed. Again, small progress was evidenced. After a protracted test session, the Team packed up and left Kirkistown having completed a number of laps which reflected race pace.
The Team returned to base, and additional time was spent on checking motor and chassis components. Interrogation on a lot of recorded data give the members much needed assistance in a number of problem areas. After much deliberation, a change of direction was made in terms of chassis and motor set up. Erik has stated ‘the Rubicon has now been crossed. I have sold off much of my Honda kit, and there is now no way back. I am a little sad, as this is the only CR250 motor that has beat all the GasGas motors in Europe on a number of occasions last year. ’ One of these Honda engines has been forwarded to a competitor in Ireland.
All the kit has now been packed up, and Erik and mechanic will set off for the trip to Germany on Wednesday 15 May. Erik has stated that the whole team is now embarking on a new experience, and at a different level in the sport. ‘I shall be very happy if we achieve a trouble free weekend in Germany. Results at the close of play on Sunday evening will be a good indication of our pace in this class’
Best Regards
EMG Motorsport
11.04.08 »
NEW CHALLENGES FOR 2008
  
The 2008 season has arrived, and with it a massive new challenge for all the team at EMG Motorsport. The Honda project has been placed on ice, and a new 250 twin PVP motor has been acquired.
The initial plan was to challenge in the European Championship. Unfortunately, due to the late arrival of some motor components, the development plan had to be postponed. After discussion within the team, it was decided that to compete in the first round in April was too ambitious. Consequently, no entry was submitted.
The engine has been delivered, and the learning curve has begun. All the components were packed up in early April, and Erik set sail for Northern Ireland. The engine was assembled, and fitted to the upgraded PVP chassis. Dyno testing has begun. Early results have fallen short of expectations, but remedial action is already under way. The project has been moved forward, and Track Testing was scheduled for early in April.
On Monday 7th April Team EMG Motorsport pushed the kart fitted with a new PVP Motor onto the track at Kirkistown in Northern Ireland. The weather was dry but a strong wind was present. After a few ‘shake down’ laps, the serious business of carburetion began. The test went well, and after a few hours testing, a reasonable platform was established.
The kit has been returned to the workshop for some more development. Erik has stated that ‘ We are not yet up to speed, and we have a lot to learn in terms of motor and chassis set up ‘ Another two weeks tuning is planned, and this will then be validated with some more dyno testing. If the package can be progressed, another Track Test will be scheduled for early May.
Best Regards
EMG Motorsport |
