After telling Harry not to race and just get used to the new engine …………Harry decided by himself …….to race 
. And Harry takes the chequered flag in 9th place out of 25 in his first race in Junior Rotax class 15 . This was NATSKAs Round 1 of the 2022 / 23 season at Camberley Kart track . This took my heartbeat to a new level of adrenalin as Harry raced for the first time in Junior Rotax after moving up from Honda class 12. He had super pace all day and looked very comfortable going round the track .. Still so much to learn with setup and race craft but got off to a flying start. Even Mum got the chance to do Marshall duty for a session . He’ll start off from the back of the grid for the first 4 race meets on novice plates to get used to the high power class. Heat 1 Started 16th – finished 7th & fastest lap Heat 2 Started 17th – finished 11th Heat 3 Started 17th – finished 8th Heat 4 Started 15th – finished 3rd Finishing 9th Overall. A great days racing on well scrubbed in tyres in his New class but showed great pace so exciting times ahead. Roll on Fulbeck in 2 weeks time.
got the problem solved with an oiled up spark plug, and an eagle eyed observation from the barnwell team leader Tony noticing the throttle cable had got to tight so not closing properly flooding his engine. This was a problem i now could see happened in heat 4 at fulbeck 2 weeks ago. Fingers crossed problem solved..NATSKA ROUND 4 Whilton mill Class 15 Junior Rotax 29th oct 2022 And Harry takes the chequered flag Finishing 11th Place overall out of 27 drivers, his last race on Novice plates and the last race of the 2022/2023 season, starting from the back of the pack which means he will be grided for the first race of next year. NATSKA Round 4 was at Whilton Mill kart track Daventry and when we arrived at 6.40 the rain was Biblical so was not looking forward to it . Luckily by the time practice had been done and the start of Heat 1 came around it had stopped and alot of the surface water had disappeared . Heat 1 Being taken carefully in only his second time in the wet in this kart managed to make up 8 places and keep his kart on track to finish 10th place . Heat 2 With the track drying out over lunch time it was time to switch set up over to dry which i thought would have been easy ,but a trip to the shops and £30 later, learning alot about tyre choice , bumper distance and clearance regulations managed to get him to the grid on time and legal. We had been to this track many times in the past years but this would turn out to be the first time we had driven it in the dry so was looking forward to it as it had rained or been wet or icy every other time we had been there, And Harry got off to a great start ,from 27th place to move up only to overshoot turn one a little causing him to go wide and have to brake hard to avoid going off, which meant losing places and dropping back . but his pace in the dry was rapid gaining 10 places to finish 14th with 3rd fastest lap of that heat . Heat 3 Was much the same pace wise, starting 21st done some great overtakes to bring the kart home in 11th place and showing with his lap times he will be able to compete with the front runners when he is grided at the start of next year. There was no Heat 4 this race as we ran out of sunlight due to a Nasty crash on the final bend in one of the other Heats with Leo, Harrys cousin who was taken by ambulance to be checked over with a suspected fractured knee. Hopefully all will be well and it was just bruising & swelling so he can get back into the seat asap to get his confidence back up. Super brave young man with the Crash helmet doing exactly what it is supposed to do. Get well soon Leo 🏎🏎🏎🏎 So with Harry Heat 1 18th – 10th Heat 2 27th – 14th Heat 3 20th – 11th Finishing 11th Overall 🏎🏎🏎🏎 A great days racing and look forward to seeing the calender for the new years racing and remainder of the season . In the mean time it will be lots of winter testing with a chance to bring out the Kart republic chassis and see what it can do. Thanks to Keiran at msport Karting for the Tips and to Harrys sponsors Pure Balance Accounting Ltd Alroys Sheet Metals Ltd for the support shown throughout this season so far.🙏🏎
And Harry Takes the Chequered flag finishing 10th Place for the days racing at Fulbeck kart track . This was our first race day of the year in NATSKA round 5 . Freezing cold and cloudy but a great days racing with a few ups and downs. Being 6th fastest for the day out of 25 drivers was also a good sign. .This was Harrys first race without novices plates so had a grid position for the heats. This meant he did not have to start from the back of the grid . Heat 1 . started 15th Finished 10th keeping steady pace on a cold track . Heat 2 . Started 2nd Finished 14th . Unfortunately after a great start past the start line, up the long straight to turn 1 locked up and span onto the gravel trap at full speed. No damage done to driver and kart that we knew of , but by the time he had got his kart back to the edge of the track and going again he was left in p25. Foot down he did manage to catch the pack and get some overtakes done managing to finish P14. Heat 3. Starting in 10th Place had a solid heat and managed to finish in 7th place . Heat 4. Started in 7th place but got hit twice on turn 1 on the first lap , hit hard from the driver behind shunting him into another kart that had spun, and then hit side on from a driver from the back of the grid causing us damage to the front and back . This put him once again at the back of the pack ,this time only managing to get back up to P16 driving with a bent track rod, snapped bumper bolts and a slow puncture from a bent wheel rim and 2 sheared wheel rim beads. very pleased with him carrying on and bringing the kart to the finish line. We was not aware of that much damage until we got home and stripped the kart down . All in all a great day racing with a lot of experience gained for both of us with him in his rookie year starting in the grid, also managing to get into the top ten, with 25 drivers. Now time now to get the kart fixed and back together ready for Round 6 at GYG Wales in 2 weeks time .
And Harry takes the chequered flag in 3rd place for his first podium in high power junior Rotax. A lovely 4 hour drive for NATSKA’s Round 6 at GYG North Wales saw Harry have a great days racing . Conditions were were a mixture for the whole day with rain showers causing chaos . Heat 1. Starting on his first pole position in class 15 , in the wet and nervous as hell ,got a great start only losing 2 positions off the line and up the main straight. Superb smooth driving he managed to pull away from the pack and finish in P1 with fastest lap. SO much improvement in his wet racing. Heat 2. Starting in 18th on the grid this time . Another solid performance and some great overtakes saw him move up the grid and finish a nice 7th place on a near dried out track . Heat 3. Starting in 10th place on a damp track, it had just started raining with everyone on slicks , managed a 4th place finish with another solid heat and second fastest lap . Heat 4. Starting in 9th place, the track started off dry but after a red flag on the first lap the pack was made to wait at the start line to be re-grided, whilst the injured were seen to and karts cleared. Whilst waiting on the grid the heavens opened with a downpour, forcing the clerk to get all mechanics onto track to remove the karts and give 8 mins to swap over to a wet set up as everyone was on slicks. Definitely the most stressful part of the day , only just managing to get him out on half a wet set up. 7 drivers did not make it back to grid. Another great wet heat with Harry bringing the kart home in 4th place . This meant Harry finished the day in 3rd place with his first podium in Class 15 Junior Rotax . 🟢 Heat 1 P1 – P1 🟢 Heat 2 P18 – P7 🟢 Heat 3 P10 – P4 🟢 Heat 4 P9 – P4
And Harry takes the chequered flag in 5th place , for NATSKA Round 7 at Camberley Kart track , surrey . Great days racing. This was our first time racing at the track in the wet so a great learning curve for both. This is a very fast narrow track with few overtaking spots and quick lap times. Starting off the day raining and on a wet track ,and then ending up on a dry track with some run off water on 4 parts of the track , meant wet tyres were used for the whole day with lots of water and mud to clean off after each heat. Heat 1 Starting 8th on the grid kept consistent times and pace getting used to the wet track, finding the grip, manged to keep position and finish the heat in 8th place. Heat 2 Starting 7th on the grid had a great start managed to gain 3 places and maintain speed to finish 4th place and grab fastest lap for the heat, finish 4 seconds off the leader . Heat 3 Starting 14th place on the grid and by far his most challenging heat did manage to gain a few places but hit turn 1 to fast on a lap running wide onto the wet and very muddy grass, dropping a few places again. A good recovery managing not to spin out , saw him regain a few spots to claim 10th place and come off track with a newly designed mud cover engine, Harry and radiator which was completely blocked with mud . My time to shine…….again Heat 4 Starting on Pole saw him get a rocket start off the line and pull a two second lead after the second lap , due to the battling going on behind him . Solid racing managing to cross the line in first place winning by a clear 5.2 seconds missing out on fastest lap by 0.15 of a second. Outstanding as i didn’t think he would finish the heat with the amount of mud he took on in the last heat. 🟢Heat 1 P8 – P8 🟢Heat 2 P7 – P4 🟢Heat 3 P14 – P10 🟢Heat 4 P1 – P1 Finishing 5th place for the day out of 21 drivers
And Harry takes the chequered flag in 5th place for Saturday & 22nd place on the Sunday, With two completely different Days Racing . This was NATSKA’s rounds 8 & 9 double header at Whilton mill Kart track Daventry. SATURDAY : A great days racing with super pace , with the top 9 drivers being just .400 of a second between their lap times HEAT 1 : Starting 15th on the grid and some great overtakes saw Harry finish in 7th place missing out on 5th place due to an unsafe release back onto the track cutting straight in front , causing him to go onto the grass luckily avoiding smashing straight into them at full speed. HEAT 2 : Starting 5th on the grid again with great pace , making up 2 places to finish 3rd. HEAT 3 : Starting 15th again amongst a lot of traffic, managed to bring it home in 10th Place. HEAT 4 : Starting 5th place again gained 1 position to finish in 4th place. This meant Harry finished the day in 5th place overall out of 26 drivers and minimal damage for the day . SUNDAY : This was a very different day which started off great but ended with a lot of “WHAT IF’S” and a lot of damage to fix. HEAT 1 : Starting in 5th Place had a storming race to gain 2 places to finish in 3rd place . So far so good. HEAT 2 : Starting 18th Place was having a blinding race managing to get up to 9th position when disaster struck with half a lap to go to the finish, his rear axle snapped bringing the kart to a slow stop on to grass. He only knew it had snapped when the marshal picked it up and the sprocket carrier, wheel, and a piece of axle fell off at the bearing carrier. Not good. HEAT 3 : DNS (did not start) This was due to the fact that we were not allowed to collect the kart until another 2 heats had gone by ?????? wasting to much time to get it fixed which in my opinion was a bit out of order considering the amount of damage that was done and needed fixing. We got it all fixed and ran down but were 2 mins late to grid as they had started their formation lap and just coming onto the straight to the start line . So it was back up to base camp feeling gutted. Massive shout out to 2 of Barclays team leaders and Pete Atmore who rushed over to help get the kart stripped down and the rear end rebuilt in record time, but just short of the start. So if we had been able to collect the kart straight away we would have got out for the heat . HEAT 4 : DNS . Rookie error on my part. Got down to the grid all ready to go and the ignition would not start the engine. So we watched again as the rest of the grid went out and started the race. Back at the tent changed battery but still no ignition so head scratching time . Then I noticed during all the commotion getting it ready and cleaning I had left the clutch locking tool still in the engine which would not allow it to tick over. MY BAD . Took it out and it started fine . I think then it was time to go pack up and go home lol . Great weekends racing anyway with a lot still to learn, and a lot learnt. Many thanks to all who jumped in to help it was very much appreciated . Saturday : Heat 1 🟢P15 – 🟢P7 Heat 2 🟢P5 – 🟢P3 Heat 3 🟢P15 – 🟢P10 Heat 4 🟢P5 – 🟢P4 Sunday : Heat 1 🟢P5 – 🟢P3 Heat 2 🟢P18 – 🔴DNF Heat 3 🔴 DNS Heat 4 🔴 DNS Onwards now to Fulbeck in 2 weeks time and a trip to the kart shop. harryhurstracing.com/
And Harry takes the chequered flag in 9th Place , NATSKA Round 10 , FULBECK Kart track .13th May 2023 A damage free day’s racing today and some good lessons learnt . Tried out different tyres and sprocket sizes. Heat 1 – Started P8 finished P10 . Trying a lower sprocket just didn’t have the speed off the corners but was rapid at the end’s, just a shame the straights weren’t that little bit longer. Heat 2 – Started P16 Finished P12 . Tried same set up again lowering the pressure a bit , tyres just took to long to heat up being half a second off the pace. Heat 3 – Started P6 – Finished P5 . Upped the pressure and changed the sprocket and boom pace way up with the front runners . Great racing even though 16 drivers took a penalty for cutting the chicane on the batternburg flag due to a crash . Heat 4 – Started P18 – Finished P9. Great pace for this heat Making up a lot places. Tyres were still not getting to temperature for about 2 laps. They may do better on a hotter track but didn’t work handling wise. Heat 1 P8 🟢 – P10 🔴 Heat 2 P16 🟢 – P12 🟢 Heat 3 P6 🟢 – P5 🟢 Heat 4 P18 🟢 – P9 🟢 harryhurstracing.com/
And Harry Takes the chequered flag in this weekends Double header at Shennington Kart track Banbury. This was NATSKA’s Round 11 & 12 held over the weekend in what was a lovely sunny Saturday & Sunday. SATURDAY Heat 1 Starting 5th on the grid and setting second fastest lap time saw him gain 2 places to finish 3rd . So a great start to the weekend. Heat 2 Starting 15th on the grid and only 6 laps being completed due to red flags , managed to finish the heat in 4th Place Heat 3 Starting 5th Place again on the grid saw harry move up to second before the race was stopped again due to an accident, on the restart was he was pushing hard only to lock up on the far hairpin, spinning and evidently ending up at the back of the pack . After 13 laps he did manage to get some overtakes in to finish the race in 15th . Heat 4 Starting 15th on the grid again saw him in a lot of traffic but managing to push through and finish 9th place . This meant Harry finished in 5th place for the first days racing. SUNDAY Heat 1 Starting in 2nd Place on the grid saw Harry have an absolute heart pumping race, moving into first on the first bend the eventual 1st 2nd & 3rd would battle it out for the last 6 laps changing positions through various bends right up until the last corner when the leader made a mistake and ran wide leaving a gap for Harry and 3rd place to speed past and Harry to take the win . Superb clean racing by the front three which was a sight to watch . Heat 2 Starting 22nd on the grid saw a lot of great overtakes to finish the Heat in 7th Place . Heat 3 Starting in 10th Place, again great racing to finish the heat in 3rd Place . Heat 4 Starting in 14th place saw a strange heat take place when the batternberg flags appeared because someone had crashed into the pit lane up to parc ferme , and although everyone was in a train awaiting the green flag to race again 17 of the 22 drivers including harry got 10 second penalties for driving to fast under flags ? The race did restart only to be chequered flagged straight after leaving harry finishing in 8th place which meant he finished the again in 5th place. Some great pro photos from Dale Baldwin photography Saturday Heat 1 Started P5🟢 – Finished P3🟢 Heat 2 Started P15🟢 – Finished P4🟢 Heat 3 Started P5🟢 – Finished P15🔴 Heat 4 Started P15🟢 – Finished P9🟢 5th Place finish for Day 1 Sunday Heat 1 Started P1🟢 – Finished P1🟢 Heat 2 Started P21🟢 – Finished P7🟢 Heat 3 Started P10🟢 – Finished P3🟢 Heat 4 Started P14🟢 – Finished P8🟢 5th Place finish for day 2🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎🏎 harryhurstracing.com/
And Harry takes the chequered flag in 3rd place , for the NATSKA National Championship Finals at ROWRAH Kart track, and finishing in 6th place the seasons Championship. What a superb weekends racing, showing good pace, a lot of great overtakes on a mainly dry track . We were unable to make the test day on the Friday due to Holly dancing in her show but that did not seem to dent his confidence. This was also out first time on the track in High power so we went into the weekend a bit blind with only 3 practice laps to race on . The weekends sprint race consisted of 6 heats with your worst heat being written off. Saturdays Racing : Heat 1 – Starting in P5 place showed good pace keeping up with the front pack manging to gain a position to finish in 4th place , 2 seconds of the leader. Heat 2 – Starting in P22 took full advantage of a crash to gain 17 places making some great overtakes and bring it home in 5th place , 6 seconds off the leader. Heat 3 – Starting in P9 again saw him showing rapid pace making up 6 positions to finish in 3rd place, 1.83 seconds off the leader and have second fastest lap . Heat 4 – Starting 18th on the grid, this heat had completely different weather , with a downpour just before going to grid , racing was postponed so everyone could change set up who was on the grid as well as who was waiting . The rain continued heavy when Harrys class went out only for the race to be stopped after 6 laps because lightning struck the track at the start/finish line knocking out the power. It was decided that this heat would be continued on the next day due to the storm that continued so the race day was over. Sundays racing : Continuing from yesterday Heat 4 went ahead with the sun out and a dry track , with harry making up 14 positions to finish in 4th place. Heat 5 – Starting at the back of the grid in 26th place saw Harry take off like a rocket making up a stunning 19 places to finish this heat in 6th place , clocking up fastest lap for this heat . Heat 6 – Starting the heat on pole for the first time this weekend we was hoping for a heat win but had to retire on lap 4 as he had brake failure and had to retire in to parc ferme so as not to cause damage to him or anyone else. All was not lost as this heat would be put down as his dropped Heat . Heat 1 – Started P5 🟢 – Finished P4 🟢 Heat 2 – Started P22🟢 – Finished P5 🟢 Heat 3 – Started P9 🟢 – Finished P3 🟢 Heat 4 – Started P18 🟢 – Finished P4 🟢 Heat 5 – Started P26 🟢 – Finished P6 🟢 Heat 6 – Started P1 🟢 – DNF 🔴 This meant Harry finished the Finals weekend in 3rd place overall out of 26 drivers which is a great result in our rookie year, also finished a stonking 6th place for the NATSKA 2022/2023 championship which is beyond what we were hoping for . A great weekends racing with the weather being very kind to us on track apart from the one storm, but unforgiving at night time due to the force 10 gales that ripped through for 2 nights destroying our tent which needed to be binned, and quite a few others tents and awnings that got ripped apart. Whoever said motorsport was glamourous lolol . Once again I’d like to thank our partners for this seasons help and support and look forward to the next NATSKA season starting in August time , starting off the season at Camberley. harryhurstracing.com/