Mechanical fault frustrates karting star Gray
RUISLIP racer Thomas Gray was cursing his luck after a frustrating weekend at Donington Park.
The 18-year-old saw his challenge for the British Superkart Championship hampered by a mechanical fault that prevented him from building on his previous outing at Snetterton. Qualifying in fifth for the first race of the weekend gave him a chance to move up the field and he did just that with a flying start that pushed him up to third.
After such an impressive start the team felt he had the pace to compete for the top step on the podium.
It was not to be though and after he missed a gear change on the last lap, he eventually dropped down to finish fourth.
The second race did not bring about as much good fortune as the first, with Gray more than two seconds off the pace within the first three laps.
But several minutes later, Gray was out after a mechanical problem with his exhaust brought his challenge to an abrupt halt.
It was a busy few days for the karter as the weekend’s main attraction, alongside the ongoing championship, was the British Superkart Grand Prix.
Gray qualified in sixth position but both he and the team knew they had the race pace to challenge at the front for the Grand Prix.
Despite a promising start, in which he gained a couple of positions, he eventually returned to the pits after an issue with his engine, which ended his involvement.