I raced Liuzzi and Doornbos :)

[ArosaMike]

As a few of you would have seen in one of the other threads, I was in Cardiff on Monday as I got to the grand final of the Red Bull Track Attack. 13 of us made it through and got to race against the two drivers round a street circuit they set up in the bay area. There were some crazy accidents, and Myleene Klass (ex Hear'Say/PopStars winner) who was driving the same kart as me in the celebrity race crashed and injured her foot! I got caught in a few bad ones too with people trying silly overtaking maneuvers, but I managed to bring my rather bent kart home in 4th in the final of the day (and most importantly ahead of Doornbos who crashed out on lap 7 of 10! LOL).

Liuzzi raced in the two preceding heats, but after crashing into a barrier in Heat 2 he decided to call it a day as he was still injured from last weeks crash at Silverstone testing :p:

Overall it was a fantastic experience, and I hope to continue competing for my University at the moment and will then do some Caterham racing once I finish. Sadly I don't have the money to become and F1 driver, but it's comforting to know they're not untouchable :P My fastest lap in the final was only .3 of s second off Doornbos even though my kart was totally wrecked and I kept on Liuzzis tail during heat 1 until the session was red flagged! LOL.

Here are some pictures from the day:

My kart - before it got bent :(
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/Kart8.jpg

Waiting for a bit of PR stuff
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/RBTA2.jpg

Chatting to my lovely grid girl ;)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/RBTA3.jpg

Photo op with DC
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/RBTACoulthard.jpg

Trying a move (I'm no 8) on the eventual winner (an ex professional who was racing in an amateur karting competion!)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/RBTA1.jpg

Louise Goodman talking to Shane Lynch (ex Boyzone!)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/IMGP5048.jpg

The three F1 drivers

Christian Klien (who raced the celebs)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/IMGP5058.jpg

Tonio Liuzzi (who raced us)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/IMGP5055.jpg

Rob Doornbos (also raced us)
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/IMGP5061.jpg

An example of some of the damage!
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g43/ArosaMike/Red%20Bull%20Track%20Attack%20Grand%20Final/IMGP5072.jpg

[mr grady]

Well done!!

im so jealous............lol

:) :) :thumb: :thumb: :D

[ArosaMike]

Meant to say...you can watch it on ITV1 on June 3rd at 11:30am :P There's a picture of me racing in the new Autosport too ;)

[tristancliffe]

There's a picture of me racing in the new Autosport too ;) Where, I can't find it (after two flick throughs).

Anyway, congrats on a great day out with the stars. Is Doorknob as ugly in real life as he is in photos?

[ayrton senna 87]

it was so obvious hobzie was going to win, he was MBKC MAX champ like 2 years ago :S still very much invloved in the karting world, i bought an intrepid off him only a few months ago...

where did u finnish man?

[ArosaMike]

Yeah....he knew everyone who was organising the event! LOL It's shame for Red Bull in a way because it was being hailed as an amateur event, but then it's their own fault for not being more stringent on the entry limitations :p I guess it's fairly unusual that a really good karter doesn't renew his license, although from what I've heard Hobzie lost his for punching someone!

I finished 4th in the end. A bit of a shame I wasn't on the podium, but still very pleased. It was very much a test of skills as the track was so dangerous. As soon as someone crashed, it pretty much took the rest of us out! I'd caught the leaders by the last lap, but there was quite a gap between myself, the guy who eventually finished 3rd (due to Doornbos' crash) and the top two as we all got held up by one bloke for a couple of laps.

Haven't got a bad word to say about Doornbos. Spoke to him for a fair bit and he seemed really genuine. It was only his second time in a kart! LOL Liuzzi was a friendly bloke too, although you get the feeling he struggles to think of the right words sometimes! He was still hurting from his crash too. Hit the barriers at 160mph after bottoming out in the middle of Becketts!

[Mazz4200]

Is Christain Klien 3 feet tall, or has that woman just climbed down from a beanstalk ??

[ArosaMike]

He's tiny! LOL

[ayrton senna 87]

hey mike, i remember u posting on the karting forum that u came 4th

[ArosaMike]

Yeah. Posted there yesterday or Tuesday I think...can't remember ;)

[mrbogeyman]

ooooh, me jealous! :smileypul

looks like fun, and im glad you showed them what LFS racers are like :)

[bobvanvliet]

This is great and all...

but couldn't you have stuck at least one LFS-sticker on that kart?!

;)

[spsamsp]

Nice cart! :thumb:

[ArosaMike]

This is great and all...

but couldn't you have stuck at least one LFS-sticker on that kart?!

;)

Wasn't mine to stick things on :p

[Kajojek(PL)]

Eh I am so jealous too.:( Good that you had great time.:thumb: