Can't Win 'Em All...

Position !

First race I ever do outside of Singapore, and I got 6^th position. I’m frustrated, but do you reckon that’s normal?

After all the energy everyone invested for this race, we were all a little frustrated with a 6^th position I got on Sunday for the Final in Manila - Philippines.

Even if I had the second fastest time for both Qualifications Q1 and Q2, I did not manage to maintain this position at the start of the pre-final and for the final.

Reasons!

The kart itself had troubles on Sunday due to climatic changes from extremely hot to rainy and cold. So I had to get the mechanics to do as best they could. They DID! But the engine was not responding at all for the first 2 laps... so I had to work very hard to maintain my presence on the track.

My lack of racing experience certainly did not help either. I felt more stressed then I should have... but it’s all a learning experience. So I have to try and see the bright side!

(Post Manila) Driving in the rain!

Driving on water was something completely new to me. As if I needed more new experiences this weekend... Gosh! Then everyone started rushing around to get rain suits, umbrellas and capes.. In Singapore the race would have been canceled ... but not HERE!


How it feels?

Karting on water is probably a mix between Jet Skiing in the Bahamas and driving a car on a race track... quite a feeling!! I needed to drive fast enough to overtake the other racers but not too fast in order not to spin out! Staying on the track is mandatory!! :P

Sensei Said:

Dad explained to me that I need to take the curves a little bit larger and that I need to start slow and accelerate gradually until I feel I am losing control.

I managed to get the correct driving after a few laps and I have to say that it is finally quite fun... but I will need to practice this a little bit more...

Best Time!

I am still a lot faster on a dry track... hehe ... No way can I do 48.50 on a wet track!!


Cheers!

-Christian

(Post Manila) Experience comes at a price…

This weekend I learned several things...

Mechanics!

First off, kart racing requires some very good and experienced mechanics. Each kart can be tuned to go faster under certain conditions like temperature, humidity, the driver’s habits and preferences. Any adjustment then needs to be tested before we know if it actually enhanced the performance or if it makes the kart slower.

Synergy!

It is this comprehension between the driver and the mechanic which makes a successful team. This was my first race in the AKOC series, and we learnt to work together fast, but there are still many more tests to make before we reach perfection.

We will be trailing in the next weeks, probably in Indonesia! This should help our team get better results in the future!

Cheers!

-Christian

Saturday Qualifications in Manila

Saturday at the track was quite a day. Many things happen quite quickly...

Wipe Out!

There were a few wipe-outs on the track yesterday, and ONE ambulance rescue. There is a lot of hearsay about what actually happened but here is what I saw. A guy... on the ground with medics all around him! It was quite frightening! And then, they whisked him away to the hospital... only for him to reappear an hour later and race again!



Race Me!

So Christian got to race / practice / tweak his performance and learn new things over 7 periods of time on the track. I manage to get some good Kart shots, some racing shots and some stills. Here are a few!



Cheers!

-Melanie

Karting in Manila (practice)

Pictures from practice!

Enjoy..

-Melanie

Charles giving Christian instructions of some sort or another...

Our very own number 81!!

Leading the way... drumm roll!!

A happy dad (this is the .2368530 seconds where he wasn't nervous or stressed!)

More instructions from the Godfather!

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In the mean time..

Here are a few more pictures of Christian and Charles at Kart World while you wait for the Manila Race pictures!

Cheers

- Melanie

Christian telling Charles he can go on ahead.. what kind of race is this? haha.

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A Day at the Manila Track

Hey guys!

Wow! These guys here are fast! Some of them have been driving on this track their ENTIRE life!
It OK though, since I have made some good progress. I took the time to walk the whole track with the Race Manager and my Dad. I looked at every single meter while walking it and we analysed ever turn. Break here. Accelerate here. Ok ...LETS GO!

So I managed to reduce my lap time from 53 to 49.9! I think the best time on this track is 49 flat... so it’s NOT SO BAD! Hehhe...

I will be in the 4 best racers today I think. I will still work hard with dad and with the mechanics though.. I cannot get too confident.

It is a great experience. I LOVE it!

-Christian

Hey guys!

Karting as you may have noticed this far is an adrenaline pumping, gasoline gusseling, as-fast-as-you-can motor sport.. and it seems to run in the Villeneuve blood.

So here are more updates from our neck of the woods!

New Helmet!

Yesterday I got an E-mail from Maria ( the graphic designer we work with ) and she sent us an attachment of Christian's soon to be helmet! I have to say that, as always, Maria has done a WONDERFUL job in representing us.

As you can see, our sponsors are beautifully represented and it all works in harmonious way. I really dont know how she does it but she pulls it off every time.

Cheers!

- Melanie

Karting Race In Manila - Philippines

Today we are Tuesday and tomorrow we are leaving for Manila – Philippines for the weekend kart race. We are leaving this early because Christian needs to train for a while before the actual race!

The race is on Sunday, and the qualifications on Saturday... hopefully I will have some good shots for you when I come back.

Hopefully some of the Singapore racers will qualify and place well in the races! Break a leg!!

We posted the event on our Facebook Group!

Cheers!

- Melanie

ps. image supplied by google maps!

Nervous for Manila Race

Hey Guys!

I hope everything goes well for me in the Manila race!

I also hope nothing bad happens to the Kart I am using, like it happened to Liam’s in Europe. His engine seized, can you imagine? I would have felt really ANGRY!

There are things you don’t want to be doing, especially on your first race and crashing is one of them! My goal for that race is to try my best and I will be happy even if I don’t win.

So guys… wish me good luck!


-Christian

Last Week's Practice

Last week’s practice went very well!

A new record time!

It went well because I got my new personal record at Kart World. YESS!!! I was SOOO happy with my record. I managed to do 25.38 seconds!

Maybe one day I will beat Opai's record of 24.70...

Let's RACE!

So in any case, the practice went well and I had fun with my friends. They held a mini race at Kart World that day although I couldn’t take part in it because it was a robin engine race only and I was using a Junior Rok. Too bad!

Even if I couldn’t take part in the race it was a very good day for me.

That's it for now!

-Christian

Kart News

Looks like we are getting some new t-shirts!

The man came by yesterday to meet with Uncle Charles in order to discuss the new layouts for the new karting t-shirts. We are slightly changing the disposition and the logos used.

The new t-shirts will include RBS, MF Global as well as the Singapore Racing Team Logos. We are glad to have these sponsors on board for this seasons racing, since without them it would obviously be much more difficult. Thanks you guys!

So the new T-Shirts should be here on Monday, in time for us to use them for the Manila Race! It’s coming up fast and I think our very own racer (Christian) is getting jittery!

The Kart

Christian’s Kart is also getting a makeover. Since RBS came on, they have added their logo to the kart decals! It should be quite nice!

We have to put these stickers on once we get to Manila. It’s going to involve water and dishwashing soap. Why? Because you need to be able to move them around a bit after the stickers have been put on the kart. So the soap allows us some slippery time before the glue sets.

That’s it for now!

Cheers!

-Melanie


Thanks to:

Saturday’s Karting Experience

Hey Guys!

I am Christian's cousin and I will also keep you up to date on some of the Kart Racing extravaganza!

Photos on Saturday

Here are a couple of pictures I managed to take while Christian and Uncle Charles were practicing at Kart World last weekend. It was the first time I went with them to the Singapore track and I have to say I was quite impressed with the young racing talent and the not so young as well!

The Track

There is a form of respect that you no longer see on the racing track. Everyone understands that they are part of a community and all are friendly. I showed up there with my cousin and my uncle and no one asked any questions because they had never seen me before. Everyone is serious yet everyone is smiling. I think more people should know about the Karting community in Singapore.

The C. Villeneuves Racers

The Father & Son bond seems to be quite strong on the track! It was really nice to see the friendly competition between both racers.

The rest of the photos can be seen in my Flickr Photostreem!!


- Melanie

Lost A Wheel At Kart World

Last Saturday, while practice racing at Kart World my wheel became super hungry. So I am halfway through a lap and my wheel decides to fly off and goes in the direction of McDonalds! I guess it wanted a cheese burger or something.

So my kart started skidding and spinning. After that we checked my kart to see why it flew off in the first place and it was because the bolts were loose. Next we realized that the sprocket was bent and the chain was worn from spinning after losing my wheel. Jeese! What else can go wrong!!

This was the first time it happened to me and it was quite scary to think I was going to flip! But in the end no one got hurt, so it was funny!

You can also see this picture on a facebook group I am part of called Singapore Racing Team. Go check it out!


- Christian