Ash's Latest News
Ash's 2009 Karting awards at the Autosport International Show
Saturday, 16 January 2010 00:00

On Saturday 16th Jan Ash attended at the Autosport International Show, which is held each year at the NEC to collect his Awards for the 2009 Formula Kart Stars Series and also the Super 1 series. The show is well attended each year by both motorsport participants and enthusiasts.

 

An appreciative crowd of karters saw Ash recieve his Bernie Ecclestone Driver of the day Award from none other than the current reigning F1 World Champion Jenson Button. The prize he and a number of other recipients walked away with was a fantastic expenses paid trip to be the guests of none other than Bernie Ecclestone himself at the 2010 F1 Grand Prix being held at Moza in Italy.

 

Ash receives his Formula Kart Stars Award from Jenson Button
Ash receives his Driver of the day award from the reigning F1 World Champion Jenson Button

 

 

 

2009 Formula Kart Stars Celebrations
No champagne but giant party popper help the 2009 Formula Karts Stars Winners celebrate with a bang

 

Ash was also there to receive his award for an overall eleventh place finish in the 2009 Super One Championship.

 

2009 Super One Championship Winners
Line up of the 2009 Super One Championship Winners


During the day a number of other events were held, Ash was priviliged to be among a number of karters who attended a racing Workshop hosted by David Brabham a member of the 2009 Le Mans winning team and youngest son of Jack Brabham who in 1966 was the only person ever to win the motor racing world championship whilst driving one of his own cars the Brabham-Repco, which also took the constructors championship.

 

 

 


 
Formula Kart Stars - Round 9 - Whilton Mill
Sunday, 18 October 2009 15:22

Ash wins the final Round of Formula Kart Stars 2009

Ash started the Final of round 9 from P3. Behind the pole sitter Matt Parry and Ollie Varney, by the end of Lap 1 Ash had dropped a place to Lee Napolitano. Ollie Varney who started out on P2 suffered badly during the first lap dropping down to 7th place. By the start of Lap 2 it was Parry leading, Napolitano 2nd and Ash running in 3rd place. This is how the positions remained for the next 3 laps, on lap 5 Ash was able to take the opportunity to pass Napolitano and take 2nd. The race was now on to catch the Junior Karts Stars Championship winner Parry. The next 11 laps saw Ash slowly reigning Parry back in unitl Lap 17 when Ash was able to pass Parry who was allowed to run on his new race number of '1'. This was how the race positions remained until lap Lap 26 of the 27 lap race, a lunge by Parry put him briefly back into the lead, only to have it snatched back by Ash on the last lap. A sprint to the finish line saw Ash take the win by .03 of a second from the title holder Parry.

Ash said " Towards the end of the race it was a bit intense, but I was absolutley delighted to take the win. Matt had already won the championship and didn't need to race this last one, but without him on the track and going for it, it might have been seen as a hollow victory. Matt has however been superbly consistant throughout the championship - well done matey."


 
Shenington Super 1 - Round 5
Monday, 31 August 2009 09:42

The weekends racing at Round 5 of the Mobil Super 1 Championship at Shenington was filled with incident for the P1 Racing team.


Ash had a good day on the Saturday and was well up on the pace, however on Sunday things started to go wrong. In the first of Sundays heats Ash's kart was not performing as it should have despite starting at P7 he struggled to bring the kart across the finish line in 11th. A few adjustments to the kart set up and in the Pre Final Ash's kart is looking a lot more competitive.The poor result in the preceeding heat put Ash at P9 for the start. By lap 6 he had moved up into 6th and then a three or four way tussle on the start finish straight ends up with Ash's kart being launched into the air, and deposited on the infield of the track. By the time he got going again Ash had lost a lot of places making it impossible for him to recover his race position in the amount of time left. As a result of the crash one of the side pods was severley bent out of place and he was flagged for a technical. A quick stop off at the pits straightened it out, but by the time Ash rejoined the race he was at the back with all hope of a decent grid position for the grand final gone.

 

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Ash started the final near to the rear of the grid at P23 and soon started to make his way through the pack. Ash was fortunate in that he was able to avoid the mayhem in front of him resulting from the crash involving his team mate Elliott. A red flag brought the proceedings to a temporarye halt while Elliott recieved treatment and the track was cleared. The race was restarted and Ash went on an immediate charge relentlessly ploughing through the field to make up 14 places by the time the chequered flag went out.

 

On the up side however Ash had spent a fair bit of of Sunday with race champion Oliver Rowland who is currently preparing for the up coming KZ1 World Cup at Sarno this Saturday (6th October). Ash said " I was really pleased that he could spend time with me. I really learnt a lot by just talking with him. The tips he gave me did make a difference, It's just a shame I couldn't have put them into practice from somewhere near the front of the grid. I now know a little of what makes him the champion driver that he is and hope that all goes well for him this weekend."


 

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Ash with kart star Olver Rowland


 
Whilton Mill disappointment for Ash
Thursday, 27 August 2009 16:43

Whilton was not Ash's best weekend. The first of Sundays heat saw Ash involved in a collision with one of the other competitors. The impact was such that the steering arms had shattered, the steering colum was bent, a minor twist in the chassis and Ash had sustained a minor wrist injury as a result. A complete rebuild of the steering and a tweak to the chassis were required.

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 Ash checks out his steering following a collision in heat 1

 

 

Subsequent checks after the event found the repair to the twist in the chassis following heat 1 had sprung back and was the cause of the handling problems. Brendan Ash's dad said " Of course Ash was disappionted at the result, both he and we know that he is capable of a much better result than that obtained. The Chassis has been jigged up and is now spot on for the next round of Super 1 at Shenington.

 


 
Ash Hand crowned British Grand Prix Junior Rotax Champion 2009
Sunday, 02 August 2009 00:00

gp-logovsm TVKC Website


Ash, congratulations to on your well deserved success, a brilliant drive and an even more brilliant win. A big 'Well Done' from all your family and friends, and we all look forward to seeing that 'GP' plate on the circuit in the coming weeks.
 

 

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Image : Chris Manison - P1r.co.uk

 

 

The Kart Masters GP is held every year at the PFI circuit in Lincolnshire and is the UK's most prestigous karting event attracting the best drivers in the major classes.

 

Ash started the grand final from row three of the grind in 6th position, his kart was sporting the number 36 which incidentally was the number he had in his rookie MiniMax year.

 

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Ash in one of the heats - Image Graham Smith 

 

The start saw pole sitter Matt Parry relegated to fourth place behind Andy King who took the early lead followed by Ollie Varney and Ash. King was unable to maintain his grasp on the lead when he was passed by Ollie Varney and then by Ash who was close on his exhaust.

 

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Ash wasn't having any part of being the support act to Ollie Varney to and when the opportunity presented itself Varney found himself looking at the back of No. 36 pushing away into the distance ahead of him.

 

Webster took the race to Varney and it was Webster that emerged victorious in taking the second place spot.

 

Ash drove a more or less faultless race to finish 2.07 seconds ahead of nearest rival Josh Webster, with Varney coming in third.

 

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 Ash taking the chequered flag - Image Graham Smith

 


 Above images : Alan Dove - Karting.co.uk

 

Team principal Richard Amos said " Ash put in a spectacular performance, and didn't put a foot wrong, combine that with the set up of the kart which was spot on; it's a winning combination that will make a few sit up and take notice. Everyone connected with the team are absolutley thrilled at the result - Only one word for it 'BRILLIANT'."

 

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Ash with the coveted GP Plate - Image Graham Smith

 

Listen to Ash's post race comments 
interview conducted by www.karting1.co.uk

For a more comprehensive read on Ash's success click here

 

 


 
Formula Stars
Saturday, 18 July 2009 09:55

Ash Hand - Formula Kart Stars Round 5 - PF International

 

Following the disappointment of Ash's weekend at Larkhall his outing at PF International in round 5 of the Formula Kart Stars Championship continued to beset with problems.

 

The pre final was delayed by several hours due to an ongoing racing incident. During the delay the weather closed in and rain hit the circuit. The kart was changed over to wet tyres, however because of a ruptured tyre bag he ended up having  to go out on a set of unscrubbed rubber. The grip just wasn't there ans Ash struggled with the kart to simply keep it between the white lines. Despite going off on P2 by lap 5 he had lost 9 places, eventually crossing the finish line in 12th.

 

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The Final started with Ash on P10 by the end of lap 1 he had made 5 places into 5th position where he remained for the majority of the race. Lap 14 and a cat and mouse tussle with Will Hunter eventually pushed Ash across the finish line in 6th place.

 

On the back of last weekend it wasn't the result that we had hoped for. But as it's only about halfway through Ash is still hopeful for a good finish in the Championship come October.


 
Red light spoils Super 1 championship for Ash
Friday, 17 July 2009 00:00

Ash Hand - Super 1 - Larkhall - Round 4

 

Following the long haul up to Larkhall for round 4 of the Mobil Super 1 championship, the return journey was tainted by the bitter taste of a penalty being imposed during the first of the two finals.

 

 

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The team has always advocated the use of the Unilogger to help level out the playing field and prevent infringement of the rules. The Unilogger is a device which basically monitors the axle speed over the engine speed, and is therefore able to collect data in respect of clutch slip. Should a clutch slip past the prescribed limit it is signified by displaying a red light.

 

Ash had good qualifying rounds and was well on the pace recording the fastest lap in heat 2 , as a result he went into the the first of the two finals from fifth on the grid. All was going well and he took the chequered flag set for a convincing second place. That is until he came off the track and the Unilogger was showing a red light. This rightly resulted with the intervention of the Clerk of the Course. Early indications from the collected data showed the clutch had started to slip some eleven minutes into the fifteen minute race,  the clutch slip was occurring right at the top end of the rev range, this was further supported by the Alfano which showed Ash's pace to be dropping away. The decision of the Clerk of the Course was to give Ash zero points for the first of the finals and resulting in him going off in the final right from the very back of the thirty strong grid for the second final.

 

The officials had the clutch stripped and cleaned, and the kart held in parc ferme until the final. Despite all the whispers and inevitable finger pointing that went on around the paddock, Ash showed a maturity well beyond his years and unbowed started the second of the finals from rear most on the grid and determination to prove a point. It has to be said he drove like a man possessed to make up eighteen positions to take 12th, and again record the fastest lap. Having come off the track one of the officials commented "Well I think that has just proven a point".

 

Brendan reflected " It's a bitter pill to swallow, and realistically it's cost Ash a shot at winning the championship, I think the best we can look at now is third place. I know Ash is bitterly disappointed. The points he would have picked up would have put him third in the championship table. The data showed the clutch starting to slip well into the race is something that the team or Ash couldn't have any influence over, more than that it also showed a disadvantage us. This could have happened to any of the drivers out there and is likely to happen again at some point in the future. Uniloggers are good but the rules say it's an infringement regardless of the data. I think the Clerk of the Course used as much latitude as he could by zero pointing Ash and putting him at the back of the grid for the second final. I'm sure if it had been shown that we had gained any advantage Ash would have been excluded from the meeting. I feel the rule needs to be looked at and the Clerk of the Course allowed to view each instance on the available data and if considered appropriate to let the actual race result stand despite Uniloggers red light. I know this is a serious concern as a number of other teams and engine builders have already beein touch to find out what happened; they now realise, it could quite easily have been themselves affected. I'm proud of the way Ash dealt with this. His drive in the second final was outstanding and had he started from where he should have, he could have quite easily won. The kart having been in parc ferme between the two finals, it's performance in the final demonstrating you do not have to bend the rules to be quick. You just need the kart set up to be spot on and the driver to be focused and we had both in spades".

 

Ash was upbeat about the whole thing saying "Of course I'm disappointed to see the top step of the podium slipping away because of this. Come the end of the championship I will be up there; maybe not the top step this year though. Look what's happened to Lewis Hamilton this season; I've taken a lesson from him - I might be down but I'm certainly not out yet, it's not over until that last chequered flag drops in the last race of the championship - anything could happen yet"

 

There were no indications during the 10 minute test sessions that there was likely to be a problem, however we believe that the longer duration of the race it'self may have a had bearing on the tempreature / viscosity of the chain lube used, and that it's this, that's could be at the root of the problem. P1 Racing will continue to work with the officials to ensure that we all get to the root cause as we don't want for ourselves or anyone else to fall foul of this issue again.

 

In conclusion the Unilogger data MUST be used or what is the point of having Unilogger in the first place and then to compound it further with the rules; because the Unilogger is showing  RED it must be an infringement, never mind what the collected data says. We all understand the officials have a difficult job to do, so the sooner the data is correctly analysed to determine if there was a benefit/advantage gain or not the sooner we will all see the real benefit of the Unilogger


 
Ash celebrates his birthday on the top step of the Podium
Monday, 27 April 2009 00:00

As we predicted the action would be taking place at Rowrah in round 2 of the Mobil Super 1 series, and what an action packed weekend's racing it turned out to be.

 

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Click here to see what the Formula Kart Stars Website has to say

 


Read more...
 
Top slot at Shenington eludes Ash
Tuesday, 21 April 2009 09:34

As was out at the weekend in Round 4 of the Shenington Championship. His driving and the setup of the kart was spot on throughout Saturday's practice, he proved to awsomely quick.

 

Sunday's heats was a repeat of Saturday's practice - quick. Ash took a 4th, 3rd and 1st and recorded the fastest lap time in all three heats.  It was enough for him to qualify on P1 in the final. Ash had a good start pulling some 5 or 6 kart lengths clear of the chasing pack. The decision to run on used rubber was to cost Ash the win, the tyres went off and Ash had difficulty getting the kart to handle in the corners. By lap 10 he was running in third place and by the time of the chequered flag went out Ash had managed to get past James Hassall coming across the line second to Lewis Seville.

 

Brendan Ash's dad said "We had scrubbed a new set of tyres for the Rowrah meet next weekend, but decided to race on the tyres he had been on in practice as he was going so quick on them. It's surprising how quick they can go off, which they did around lap 9. You could just see the performance dropping away. Ash pushed as hard as he could and did well to take second but it was our questionable decision that cost him. One thing's for sure we won't be making the same mistake next week.


 
Formula Kart Stars - Rounds 1 and 2 - Ash
Wednesday, 15 April 2009 12:45

The newlook and newly named Formula Kart Stars saw it's opening two rounds at Kimbolton (11-12/04/09) in this double headed meeting. (Also See Ash's report at FormulaKartStars.com)

 

Saturday saw a miserably wet day, with persistant light rain for most of the day. Round 1 was a bit of learning curve for all the drivers concerned. In main the qualifying heats were gone, replaced by a qualifying session more in keeping with that of F1 in so much as it was against the clock. Parc Ferme was another concept which all the teams had to come to terms with, fuel and tyres not being available until the karts were on the dummy grid.

 


Read more...
 
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2009 Championship Positions

  • British Grand Prix 2009 (Junior Rotax) Champion
  • Formula Kart Stars 2009 - 4th
  • Mobil Super 1 Series 2009 - 11th

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