Velocity Motorsport

News

2012

Alex does the laps-August

In his first season of Minmax, Velocity Driver Alex has been putting in the laps ahead of the next Super 1 race to be held at PFi. Alex is progressing nicely with the team and is hoping for a strong end to his 'learning year'. Recent testing at PFI in the hot weather has seen Alex consistently get down to very competive lap times which bodes well for the Super 1 race in September

Alex Sedgwick testing hard

 
FIA Under 18 World championship round 2-August

Following the promise of the first round the Velocity team travelled to France for the second round with great anticipation. A really good test prior to the event meant the Velocity team had found a great setup for the intrepid chassis with developments following the first round to ensure the chassis's pace stayed consistently fast throughout the race. Set up would be all important on the Angerville circuit which has many corners a track that Gus does not like despite his speed around it!

Gus Greensmith CIK FIA U18 World Champs round 2 Angerville

Practise went extremely well with Velocity topping the time sheets and never dropping out of the top 10, this despite a rain shower in the last practise session. Qualifying was held on a drying track Gus being unfortuante to be in the first session. By his own admission Gus did not get his positioning right in the qualifying session encountering traffic on a a lap where he was 4 tenths up on his previous best, Frustratingly Gus missed pole by just 3 tenths and the team where dissappointed with 8th in group in the knowledge that the pole time was there in the kart. The team however concentrated once more on the first objective which was to make the final. After a shaky start in the heats following a crash Gus went on to finish 15th, 8th and a great 4th the kart looking faster as the session went on, this meant for the second time in a row Gus made it to the final, Gus battled hard in the race to record a creditable 22nd position with competitive lap times.

Gus Greensmith CIK FIA U18 World Champs round 2 Angerville

Gus Greensmith and Velocity Motorsport Team Manager Race engineer and Mechanic 'Carbon' Prepare for action!

The next race will be a first for the team and in fact for everyone, Held in November at the Bahrain international GP track the event is set to be the first CIK FIA international Kart race to be held at night. Check back here to keep up to date how the team gets on.

Pictures are courtesey of Chris Walker Kartpix. For more great shots check out the Velocity Motorsport 2012 Gallery here

FIA Under 18 World championship round 1-July

Velocity Motorsport travelled to Braga Portugal to contest the 1st round of the CIK FIA Under 18 world championship representing the uk, driver Gus Greensmith was well prepared for what would be his first World championship race of his racing career. The preparation work on set up, fitness and feedback put the Velocity driver in a strong position recording top 10 lap times in all of the practise sessions and looked fabulously fast in the Sunday warm up taking 3rd fastest time. The objective of the weekend was to make the final, an achievement in itself with 82 of the Worlds best young drivers entered. Gus did well recording a 6th, 9th, 12th and 22nd (following a first lap crash) in the heats which put Velocity into the Grand final in 24th place a creditable achievement. Having made the final the team set their sights on moving up the field however it was not meant to be following a big startline crash which but Gus's kart out of the race damagaing the chassis beyond repair.

The team now set its sights on the second round in Angerville France hoping to continue with the same promise and speed.

Gus Greensmith CIK FIA Under 18 World championship Braga Portugal

Gus Greensmith CIK FIA Under 18 World championship Braga Portugal

 

Pictures are courtesey of Chris Walker Kartpix. For more great shots check out the Velocity Motorsport 2012 Gallery here

Braga testing-June

CIK FIA under 18 competitor Gus Greensmith has been putting in the laps in Braga Portugal prior to the first round of the championship. The team have been working tirelesly to improve Gus's fitness and feedback prior to the race, the testing has also enabled the team to find a very good setup for the intrepid chassis following several seat and positon changes. The team is now well prepared for the first race, check out the live timing on CIKFIA.com to follow Gus's progress.

 
Drivers show well despite conditions- Rowrah Super 1

Velocity Motorsport drivers Alex Sedgwick (minmax) and Ben Walker (Senior 177) battled hard during the Super 1 race at Rowrah both showing extremely well in the heats. Alex had a superb race in the wet heat and showed promise in the dry to ensure he made it through to the final. Changes to the young drivers seating position by the team on the eve of the race appeared to have helped massively with the Kart now looking planted under braking, an area where Alex had been previously struggling. He used the changes to good effect bagging a 11th and 12th in the finals. The teams Senior driver Ben Walker should great speed and very nearly put it onto pole in qualifying, this despite having a minor fire due to brake cooling issues in practise. The Gillard driver was less fortunate in the finals however despite his pace which should have at leat bagged him a podium, after making a good start in the first final Ben unfortunately had a heavy crash at the circuits bottom hairpin due to sliding of on anti freeze dropped by backmarkers. This crash unfortunately damaged the steering geometry of the kart however Ben dragged the kart back onto the circuit out of the gravel and set about catching the field. Such was his pace that despite the damage he managed to get back to 13th prior to another unfortuante incident where the bolt holding the steering wheel on sheared (possibly due to the previous accident) at exactly the same place where he had crashed previously, surely his luck will change soon!

Ben Walker racing at the front at Rowrah Super 1

Alex Sedgwick Super 1 Rowrah

FIA Under 18 official test at Fruilli Venezia

Velocity Motorsport travelled to Italy for the official test of the Under 18 World Championship. The trip was combined with a visit to the Intrepid factory in Salzonne where Team manager 'Carbon' and Mechanic Martin where met with a warm welcome from the Intrepid Employees Luisa Tonelli and the factories technical department.

Velocity driver Gus Greensmith then spent a day shaking down the equipment in preparation for the first round setting a creddible 13th fastest time in the official classification. Gus had his first experience of real european grip, the humid conditions meaning the track at Fruilli Venezia was thick with rubber.

Open pits at Under 18 test Gus Greensmith Under 18 Test

Pictures courtesey of CIK FIA.

Alex Fastest man at PFI - May

Alex Sedgwick and Gus Greensmith were out representing Velocity Motorsport in the PFI club meeting. Both the drivers were sporting the teams new race suit!

The team came to a great set up for both drivers setting extremely competive times in the practice. Come race day Gus drove well to qualify 9th for the final, he made progress throughout the exciting race battling hard at the front throughout, unfortunately he got slighlty mispositioned in the race meaning the chance of a podium slipped him by.

Alex had a frought day in the Minimax class, his growing confidence had shown him to be one of the fastest on the track however everyone else appear intent on ruining his day, this culminated in him being punted of the track in excess of 4 times in the second heat and causing considerable damage. Unditerred the young driver knew what he had to do in the final starting a lowly 26th, with great attitude he set about putting in a stunning driver. Following the incidents in the heats the velocity team worked hard to straighten Alex's kart and elected to miss the 3rd heat in order to make sure the kart was in as good a condition as possible. Alex rewarded the teams efforts with a stunning drive to 8th position setting the fastest time along the way, to top things of however Alex was punted of for one last time on the very last lap through no fault of his own. The MIS sponsored driver has shown great promise in the last few meetings so it can only be a matter of time before his luck will change.

Alex Sedgwick Fastest Lap

Fergus Greensmith 6th

 

 
Super 1 a washout at Whilton - April

The first round of the Super 1 British championship saw Velocity Drivers Alex Sedgwick (Minimax), Gus Greensmith (Junior Rotax) and Ben Walker (177) line up to tackle the Whilton Mill circuit. Unfortunately the weather was to play against the team and lead to the eventual cancelation of the meeting.

Despite the appalling conditions all of the Velocity drivers shone through with good qualifying finishes, the team made the best of the horrible conditions. Ben Walker lined up a fantastic 4th following his first qualifying session in over 4 years! The heats were to see changeable conditions with both Gus and Alex showing strongly. In worsening conditions Alex drove excellently to finish 5th against some much more experianced drivers, his confidence growing markedly over the course of the meeting. Gus raced strongly in conditions where inconsistent aquaplaning where the norm with large puddles everywhere. The team left Whilton a little dissapointed that the finals where not run however glad to get home and dry! The team will now concentrate on the next round of S1 to be held at GYG in May.

Joe goes Senior - April

Velocity Motorsport driver Joe Byrne made the move up to Senior Rotax recently. He has had a number of good results in his first races in the catergory and recently finished a creditable 7th at the Shennington club meeting. JOe will join the team at Super1 later in the year following completion of his exams.

Joe Byrne Shennington

 

Gus on Pole for Super 1 Winter Series - March

Velocity driver Gus Greensmith took a fantastic pole position at the Super 1 Winter series. The Junior Rotax driver secured the front row of the grid with a superb lap against a quality field. Gus raced conservatiely in the heats after some excellent starts showing his recent promise to be no flash in the pan.

Unfortunately Gus's luck was not to hold out, a catastrophic axle failure caused the 15 year old driver to retire from the final whilst holding a strong second with the kart just gettng stronger in the long race. Gus's dissappointment was plain to see.

 

 

Good Start to 2012 For Gus and Alex - January

Gus Greensmith and Alex Sedgwick were out racing at PFI. The Velocity duo were on form with Gus starring in the Junior Max race.

The PFI club meeting was Gus's strongest showing to date in the Junior Rotax class, a quality field were present at the first PFI club meeting of 2012. Gus showed great form in the heats with a 5th and 7th finish, the 7th place after coming back from 26th in wet and tricky conditions. The Velocity team had given Gus a great set up for the heat where he gained fastest lap! Gus Started in 6th for the final, he quickly moved up in the opening laps with some decisive manoeuvres taking the lead at half race distance. Gus then led the race from the front pulling out a decent lead, unfortunately however a small mistake close to the end of the race let the pursuing pack pounce. Gus still managed to make the podium which was an excellent result for the ever improving driver.

Velocity Minimax driver Alex Sedwick was competing in his first ever minimax race and so there was never any expectations on the promising young driver. His results exceeded everyones expectations however by taking two top ten results in the heats and finishing tenth in the final. Unfortunately for Alex the final was held in drying conditions which meant the tyres he had available were not ideal (this being his first race), he showed determination to make his tyres last to the end with little hope of being as fast as the leaders who were on worn out wet tyres. The team is hoping Alex will now take a lot of positives out of this race after his unexpectedly good performances, he was so good in the heats he drove his Mum to tears!

The Team will be out again for more action at PF at the February club meeting.

 

Exciting times ahead in 2012 - January

Velocity Motorsport are proud announce the signing of two new drivers and an exciting new racing schedule.

Velocity maintains its current drivers into 2012. Gus, James and Joe will be carrying out selected Super 1 championship rounds (Exams mean that they unfortuantely will not be able to compete in every Race).

2012 is an exciting year for the team as it moves back to racing on the international stage. Gus Greensmith will be the teams representative in the CIK FIA under 18 world championships. This championship will be contested by the best  up and coming talent and is a great place for Gus and the team to show case their ever improving talent. The events, to be held in Portugal France and Bahrain, will hopefully see the Velocity Motorsport colours achieving further recognition on the international karting scene.

Gus Greensmith - Velocity Motorsport

Joe Byrne will move into Senior Rotax in the 2012 season. After a succesful winter testing session in Portimao Spain the team is confident that Joe will easily make the transition from Juniors.

James Biggs makes the step up from Mini max to Junior max for the 2012 season. Hopefully James will continue the progression seen towards the end of 2011, winning the Rookie cup at the last super 1 race of 2011. James will concentrate his season around the PFI club championship and take part in Super 1 events which do not clash with his GCSE exams.

Newly crowned WTP champion Alex Sedgwick joins the team to compete in the Super 1 Mini max championship. The signing of  12 year old Alex brings about the fourth generation of Velocity driver, a driver the team is very excited about regarding his potential for the future. The team hopes to have a long and succesful future with Alex who is hope fully on a long term plan to move through the Rotax classes with Velocity, Alex will be looking to race in Super 1 with future ambitions of moving into Euromax and CIK FIA World championship events in the future.

Alex Sedgwick - Velocity Motorsport

 

For 2012 Ben Walker returns to the team following 3 years sitting on the sidelines. Ben has been in the unfortunate position that he was to big to race in Junior rotax yet to young to race in Seniors. Ben turned old enough in the middle of 2011 to race in senior 177 and made the wait count in his first race taking 3rd in the Kartmasters GP. Velocity Motorsport is looking forward to working with Ben again in the 2012 season where he will be racing in the Super 1 Senior max 177 class.

Keep checking back to this page to see how the teams driver fare throughout the 2012 season.

2012 Winter testing update - January

Velocity Motorsport team drivers have been hard at work preparing for the 2012 season. Gus, James and new signing Alex have been honing their talent in the wet and slippery conditions whilst fellow team member Joe Byrne has been carrying out carb development work for the team in Spain, Portamiao. Joe has had a good few days in slightly better weather than the other drivers are experiancing in Britain!

Below are a few shots of the drivers at work!

Gus Greensmith - Velocity MotorsportJames Biggs - Velocity Motorsport
Alex Sedgwick - Velocity Motorsport
Joe Byrne - Velocity Motorsport
Gus Greensmith Alex Sedgwick - Velocity Motorsport
2012 Driver line up  announced - January

Velocity Motorsport are proud to announce its driver line up for 2012

Mini Max: Alex Sedgwick

Junior Rotax: Fergus Greensmith, James Biggs

Senior Max: Joe Byrne

Senior 177 Max: Ben Walker

 

Harrison and Velocity finsh 6th in the World in Abu Dubai!- November

Velocity Motorsport  and driver Nathan Harrison made the long trip to the Al Ain Raceway in Abu Dahbi to  represent the UK at the Rotax World Finals in the Junior Rotax catergory. The event is special in that every driver has equal equipment handed out at the start of the week long event so its up to the driver and race engineer to work closely to achieve a good setup in order to out perform the competition. Renewing old relationships Nathan and mechanic 'Carbon' soon got back to their previous ways and were pacesetters in the very first practise session! . 

Rotax World finals kart hand out
Rotax World paddock and pits area is shared with everone!

Carbon acting as race engineer / mechanic / manager for this event and Nathan worked hard throughout the limited practise sessions focusing primarily on the race pace, going into qualifying the pair were in confident mood despite only being 22nd in the final practise. In true Velocity spirit however there had been a logical plan to testing and come qualifying all the pieces were put together. This strategy was taken due to the ease of which other competiors could copy your set up due to the shared paddock area! The event showed the experiance in depth of the Velocity team due to the event being run on the unfamiliar Birel kart, this did not pose a problem! The qualifying session was a 15 minute long session the strategy was therefore to wait as long as possible to save the tyres and go for the one off hot lap, the pair timed this to perfection and Nathan put in a stunning lap to qualify 3rd overall on only his third rolling lap, this put Nathan as top Brit!

Going into the heats there was a relaxed mood in the Velocity corner of the UK pit area, Ash from Evolution was on hand to help Nathan out with his race tactics and act as a 'spotter' on the other side of the 1.4km long Al Ain raceway. Unfortunately disaster struck as Nathan was muscled back to 5th at the start  of the first heat following a nervous first corner, Nathan was then hit hard again after colliding with another driver on the first lap and sending himself into a spin after getting onto the dirt and marbles. Nathan staged a fine recovery drive setting fastest lap along the way, coming from 32nd to finish 17th, unfortunately the stewards would later impose Nathan with a 10seconds penalty for his actions on the first lap. This incident made the team a little nervous however we knew we had the pace, Nathan therefore opted for a conservative route in the 2nd heat to finish 3rd. The following day Nathan knew he had to get a top ten finish in the third and final heat to be in with a shout of making the world final . The weather conditions were much cooler with the worry of rain on everyones mind (this being in the dessert) however this failed to come to fruition and Nathan made a super start and the Velocity Motorsport setup looked very strong a fine 2nd place finish being the result. A nervous wait followed as the team waited to find out if Nathan had automatically qualified for the World final, after an anxious few moments the team found out that Nathan had easily made the final despite his first race incident Qaulifying in 17th position for the pre final.

The finals were held in much hotter conditions, the tactics were simple stick tight to the inside on the chaotic first corner and make up as many places as possible in the pre final! The long pre final went much to plan with a fanatastic start putting Nathan from 17th to 13th on the first lap. Nathan then patiently worked his way through the field to come and eventual 9th the kart looking strong in the middle of the race.

Nathan on the grid preparing for the pre final

The final then came and it was great for a Velocity Motorsport driver to walk out onto the main straight of the driver and place the kart in 9th position in front of the 5000 strong crowd and many thousands more watching the race over the internet. The race was all or nothing, and knowing that the track would be much grippier following the other catergories pre finals changes were made to the chassis. Nathan and Carbon made a pact on the grid that whatever happened they were really proud of there achievements but there was only one place to finish in a race like this and thats first! Going into the race every one was nervous but quietly confident.

 

Nathan on the grid prior to the final

 

Nathan made a superb start, however the 4 rolling up laps in the 35 degree heat were making Carbon nervous, would the Kart stay onto the end of the race after the pair had made the decision to go for an aggressive strategy and be fast at the start to ensure the front row drivers did not escape. The teams strategy worked well on the opening lap of the race with the kart looking superb and Nathan making it to a fantastic second by the 3/4 distance point of the race, an aggresive move during this fantastic rise up the order saw Nathan hit a kerb hard, post race this event was found to have bent the kingpin putting the front geometry of the kart out of line. As the race went on towards the closing stages the circuits ever imrpoving grip and the four rolling up laps started to take its toll and Nathan started to drop back towards the pack a ambitious move by the Austialian driver forced Nathan wide onto the marbles meaning that Nathan lost futher momentum and slipped back to his eventual finishing position of 6th.

Initially Nathan and Carbon were gutted as they aimed to at least make the podium following the strong showing through out the week long event. However following time to reflect Carbon and Nathan grew happy in the knowledge that Velocity Motorsport and driver Nathan HArrison had just finished 6th in the World. Well done Nathan! This meanth that Velocity and Nathan had managed to beat 66 drivers at the event which in totalling up all the drivers from the 56 Nations present meant that had beat over 4000 of the Worlds best Junior Rotax competitiors!

Nathan and Velocity 6th in the World

 

Velocity now looks to further its relationship with Nathan in the 2012 season were pending further negotiations Nathan will be part of Velocity's attack on the CIK FIA under 18 World championship.

 

 

Recent News

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Alex does the laps

MIS sponsored Velocity Minimax driver prepares for PFI

Velocity on form at World championships

Team top of the timesheets!

Preparation pays of in Braga

Gus makes FIA Under 18 World Championship round 1 final

Velocity Prepares for Braga

Gus puts the laps in ahead of FIA Under 18 World Championship

Velocity Motorsport battle conditions at Rowrah

Promising showing for drivers Ben and Alex

Under 18 Test in Italy

Gus shows progress in CIK FIA Official Test at Fruilli Venezia (Jesslo) Italy

Velocity Motorsport Flying at PFI

Velocity Motorsport Driver Alex Sedgwick takes Fastest lap whilst Gus has a strong race to finish 6th

Super 1 a Whilton washout

Velocity drivers show promise in appaling conditions at Super 1 opening round

Velocity Motorsport on Pole at PFI

Velocity Motorsport Driver Gus Greensmith takes a stunning Pole position at PFI in the Winter Series

Joe moves to Seniors

Velocity Motorsport Driver Joe Byrne moves into Senior Rotax and finishes a fine 7th on his debut

Velocity goes testing

Two pronged testing schedule pays divedends, Alex laps Whilton Mill whilst Gus goes to Braga

Gus on the podium at PFI

Velocity Motorsport team showing strong form with Gus 3rd and Alex having excellent Minimax debut race

Velocity Motorsport announce exciting driver line up for 2012

New Team members Alex Sedgwick and Ben Walker to contest in 2012 Super 1 championship along with last years team of James Biggs, Joe Byrne and Fergus Greensmith

Velocity Motorsport to enter CIK World Chapionship in 2012

Velocity Driver Fergus Greensmith will take part in 2012 Under 18 CIK World Champs

Velocity Motorsport 6th in Rotax World Finals!

Nathan Harrison finishes 6th in Abu Dhabi

To find out more about these stories click here

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