Matt Lambert - Karting

Kimbolton - The first race of the Formula Kart Stars championship was at the brilliant track at Kimbolton. My opening race in Stars was a lot harder than expected, as the standard of driving is so much higher than I have been used to. I found the track very challenging and enjoyable. After the first test day found that I was only 4 tenths of the pace but when it came to race day the level of driving improved and my driving did too.

Glan Y Gors - I now realised that I had to step up my game if I was to be a serious challenger for a top five result. So we prepared for the Stars race by competing in the GYG Club meeting at the start of May. I found it an amazingly tricky track to master with the hills, fast straights and slow twisty sections. We are hitting around 70 mph by the end of the uphill straight, which is seriously quick! For the Stars meeting I was lucky enough to have a new Tonykart, which was a big improvement on my old Kosmic. I was able to go quicker and put in more consistent lap times. The racing was challenging due to the changing weather but I put in some good times, finishing 5th and 6th in the heats. In qualifying we had the wrong gearing and I qualified 10th in my group which resulted in 20th place for the A-Final. I had a good start and made my way up to 14th but then was pushed wide and dropped back to 25th. I fought back and managed to get into 20th place by the end. It was a frustrating finish as I am sure I could have made it into the top 10.

PF International - PFI is not an easy track to master but I was fast in the dry in practice but the English whether had yet again let me down. In qualifying it was wet and only managed to claim 20th out of 28. Not great but the pre-final I really had to push after rounding the first corner I was in 14th but then I got sandwiched going into the second hairpin and dropped back to 27th. I managed to crawl back up the grid to finish 18th. For the final it had rained and my team manager (Rob Hanscomb) had told me that if I just stay on track that I would move forwards. So that’s what I did and finished a respectable 11th just missing a top ten finish.

Genk - Genk... where do I start. Genk was an amazing experience for me and I really enjoyed it. The racing was really mixed and I tried my hardest in every race but found it difficult on the strange tarmac surface. My results at Genk were really varied, I showed good promise in practice but lost out in the racing after being involved in a few accidents. Overall I felt satisfied knowing that I had just raced at an international track. - but it will be a great experience to race in Europe.

Whilton Mill - Whilton was a really mixed meeting. I had a great time racing at Whilton and the abrasive surface and bumpy corners really gave me as a driver a battering. I managed to hold my strength and qualify around mid-pack for the pre final. Unfortunately I was wiped out on the Christmas corner (a tight hairpin after the long straight at Whilton Mill) and this forced me straight to the back. I pushed hard to catch the drivers in-front and managed to take a couple of people. For the final I was starting near the back and had to do a lot of work, I managed to finish around the middle but was pleased with my overall performance.