Ardley Motorsport

16/10/2023

Another podium!

Ashton competed in the October Club Day at Eastern Lions Kart Club over the weekend, in the KA3 Junior Heavy category.

After the average result at the 41st Junior Sprint Classic a couple of weeks ago, we were keen to hit the track again and continue to iron out the issues with the kart and setup, and further familiarise ourselves with the competitive landscape.

The format of the weekend's racing was qualifying (6 minutes), three heat races (6 laps each) and a final race (8 laps).

Ashton set the fourth fastest time in qualifying, but we felt there was more pace left to unlock. We worked hard through the event and had consistent improvements, all the way through to the final. The weather was very cold and overcast, and there was the threat of a wet final with a light rain within the hour prior to the race, but thankfully the downpour held off for another hour or so (which meant a very wet pack up and drive home)!

We continued to experiment and refine the kart setup throughout the event, resulting in improving lap times -- even on a cooling and partly damp track.

Thankfully the overall performance worked in our favour and Ashton was able to finish third in every heat, and the final. This meant that Ashton finished 3rd in points and picked up another podium -- his second in the last two club day events.

Ashton's results for the weekend were as follows:

Qualifying: P4 of 10 (fastest lap = 45.884 s)
Heat 1: P4-P3 [of 10] (fastest lap = 46.118 s)
Heat 2: P4-P3 [of 10] (fastest lap = 45.995 s)
Heat 3: P3-P3 [of 10] (fastest lap = 45.829 s)
Final: P3-P3 [of 10] (fastest lap = 45.775 s)

Thanks to Eastern Lions Kart Club for the event, Formula K kart Australia for the great kart and Prokarting for the engine.

04/10/2023

We're back!

After an extended hiatus due to work commitments, Ashton competed in the 41st Junior Sprint Classic at Eastern Lions Kart Club on Saturday and Sunday, in the KA3 Junior Heavy category.

After not having driven since the March club event at Eastern Lions Kart Club, we visited Eastern Lions Kart Club track on the 24th September to get a feel for Ashton's performance and thankfully he (and the kart) were still on the pace. We therefore decided to commit to the Junior Sprint Classic event (Ashton's first since 2019, where he scored a 4th place) as it may be Ashton's last opportunity to compete, since he'll be progressing to the senior category at some point in the near future.

Ashton has grown considerably since his last outing in March, so we had to do quite a lot of work on the kart to get it adjusted to his increased height and weight, including fitting a new seat. Thankfully all of the adjustments and changes went well and we were hopeful we'd have a good weekend of racing, though our expectations were modest.

The format of the weekend's racing was 2x practice sessions (6 minutes), qualifying (6 minutes), four heat races (8 laps each) and a final race (15 laps).

The weekend started off poorly with Ashton setting the the second-slowest fastest lap time, but we persevered and improved every single session up to the final, eventually getting close to realising our performance potential. There was a lot to remember and reacquaint ourselves with as not only was the pit crew out of practice, but the rest of the competition had significantly more experience with the LeCont LH03 tyres and tailoring the kart setup to suit. The weather was also quite hot, so that threw some additional challenges into the mix.

Ashton's results for the weekend were as follows:

Practice 1: P17 of 18 (fastest lap = 46.631 s)
Practice 2: P17 of 18 (fastest lap = 46.434 s)
Qualifying: P10 of 15 (fastest lap = 45.830 s)
Heat 1: P10-P9 [of 15] (fastest lap = 45.808 s)
Heat 2: P10-P10 [of 15] (fastest lap = 45.742 s)
Heat 3: P9-P8 [of 16] (fastest lap = 45.474 s)
Heat 4: P10-P11* [of 16] (fastest lap = 45.312 s)
Final: P10-P11 [of 16] (fastest lap = 46.003 s)

*P6 until penultimate lap

Ashton's pace in Heat 4 should have resulted in a P6 finish, but he was pushed off-track on the penultimate lap and did very well to keep his kart out of a tyre wall, driving cross-country doing so, but losing four positions as a result.

Since the event was a 'final only counts' event, the final race was the only one that mattered. Unfortunately the pace in earlier heats was missing due to an early on-track altercation that resulted in the chassis being bent by 5.5 mm. Ashton did his best with a struggling kart but was only able to hold on to 11th place in the long 15-lap race.

Ashton drove with great focus and determination through the two days of racing and worked his way through the field. Unfortunately kart setup, over-ambitious overtake attempts by competitors, and on-track altercations compromised the potential performance, but in the end Ashton's pace was in the top 6 competitors, with lap times within 0.3 seconds of the fastest kart.

Ashton again showed that he has good pace when the kart performs well and he is looking forward to our next race!

Thanks to Eastern Lions Kart Club for the event, Formula K kart Australia for the great kart and Prokarting for the engine.

06/03/2023

Podium!

Ashton competed in the March Club day at Eastern Lions Kart Club on Sunday, in the KA3 Junior Heavy category.

After injuring his leg at school the week prior (suspected ACL and MCL tear) we didn’t expect to be able to race again for quite a while. Fortunately MRI results showed that Ashton *only* had bruised bones, so he was able to get back in the kart and see how his knee held up.

With no time in the seat or possibility of practice since the end of the Golden Power round a couple of weeks prior we set the kart up as best we could and hoped for the best.

The day started off on the wrong foot with Ashton qualifying poorly in P7 of 9 karts. Due to the continued poor performance we’d experienced over the past few events we decided to return to a more neutral setup for the first heat.

Throughout the heats and final race Ashton drove with renewed focus and determination and made good ground as we continued to further refine the kart setup. Ashton’s pace throughout the day was in the top 2-3 competitors.

Ashton worked his way up to the second row for the third heat and final and managed to secure a P3 in heat 2, heat 3 and the final - almost netting P2 in the the final race.

On total points Ashton finished the day in P3, resulting in his first podium finish since February 2020!!! [COVID lockdowns in 2020/2021 and injury in 2022 costing a lot of momentum].

Qualifying: P7 of 9
Heat 1: P7 to P5
Heat 2: P7 to P3
Heat 3: P4 to P3
Final: P4 to P3
Total result (points): P3 (of 9)

Ashton showed he had good pace when the kart performs well and is looking forward to the next race!

Thanks to ELKC for the event, Formula K kart Australia for the great kart and Prokarting for the engine.

19/02/2023

It was another hot and busy day of racing today to finish off Round 1 of the Golden Power Series at Eastern Lions Kart Club.

Ashton completed heat 2, heat 3 and the final today. Points were awarded for the series based on individual race results, but trophies were awarded based on the final race only.

The pace started off better (perhaps due to the colder track temperature), but we continued to chase a stable setup for day two, as the lap times continued to increase. For the remainder of the races we were still a good 0.2-0.3 seconds/lap off our normal pace (shown in practice 1), and around 0.5 seconds/lap off the required pace to be really competitive. The hot weather created a moving target for the setup, with the track getting increasingly grippy throughout the day and weekend.

Ashton started heat 2 from P12 and worked his way up to P9.

Heat 3 saw Ashton starting from P11, but he was able to gain some considerable ground (including a double overtake in one corner) and finished in P6.

For the final race Ashton started from P8, but he was squeezed into the first corner and dropped back to P12. Although Ashton pushed hard for the 12 lap final, he unfortunately didn’t have the pace to close the gap to the larger pack of karts in front, finishing in P11 in the end.

Heat 2: P12 to P9 (of 23 karts).
Heat 3: P11 to P6 (of 23 karts).
Final: P8 to P11 (of 22 karts).

All-in-all this wasn’t a terrible weekend, but things certainly didn’t go to plan. We had glimpses of the potential of the kart, but we still have more work to do to familiarise ourselves fully with the setup characteristics. This was still only our third event (and first major event) in a senior kart chassis, so we have a lot to learn. Ashton performed admirably and demonstrated that even though he had missed a year of racing (and honestly a lot of momentum since the end of 2019, due to COVID lockdowns etc.) he still has the hunger for competition.

Ashton moves into 9th place in the championship with five rounds to go!

Thanks to ELKC for the event, Formula K kart Australia for the great kart and Prokarting for the engine and ongoing support.

GOLDEN POWER SERIES 2022

18/02/2023

Round 1 of the Golden Power Series kicked off today at Eastern Lions Kart Club.

Ashton entered in KA3 Junior Heavy and completed practice 1, practice 2, qualifying and heat 1 today.

The pace started off well, but we were chasing setup for the rest of the day as the lap times continued to increase. By the first heat we had a fairly stable setup, but we were still a good 0.2-0.3 seconds/lap off our normal pace (shown in practice 1).

Ashton started heat 1 from P14, avoided a first-corner incident which pushed him back to P18, and worked hard to get up to P12, gaining two positions from his starting point.

Practice 1: P3 (of 24)
Practice 2: P10 (of 24)
Qualifying: P14 (of 24)
Heat 1: P14 to P12 (of 24)

Heats 2, 3 and final are up tomorrow.

Thanks to ELKC for the event, Formula K kart Australia for the great kart and Prokarting for the engine and ongoing support.

GOLDEN POWER SERIES 2022

14/02/2023

Here’s a blast from the past!

2019 Formula 1 Grand Prix at Albert Park.

Ashton is on the far right — with a young rookie named George Russell!

Auto Action
Australian Grand Prix Corporation
F1
George Russell
Karting Australia

13/02/2023

On Sunday Ashton competed in his first race in almost 13 months -- since January 2022 -- at the February Club day for Eastern Lions Kart Club, in the KA3 Junior Heavy category.

After missing almost all of 2022 due to a persistent rib injury, Ashton was keen to get back on track for the start of a new year. Practice over the preceding few weeks had shown that Ashton still had a lot of pace and we were all very excited about getting back into racing for 2023.

The day started off well with Ashton displaying good consistent pace in qualifying, but unfortunately his transponder was not working and no official times were set. On review of lap time data (from the on-board Aim Mychron 5 data logger) Ashton's fastest lap would have been good enough for a P4 start (in a field of 17 karts).

The remainder of the day was destined to be a lot of hard work to make up positions, but Ashton drove with determination and made up quite a lot of spots throughout the heats, putting him in a more realistic position for the final. Unfortunately a few race incidents throughout the day cost Ashton what still could have been a 2nd row start for the final race. Ashton’s pace in the heats was sufficient to place him in the top 2-4 lap times for each heat.

Starting the final from 6th place, Ashton started well but was tagged going into the first corner and ended up in the gravel, prematurely bringing an end to the day's racing.

Qualifying: P17 (of 17) (4th fastest on pace)
Heat 1: P17 to P12
Heat 2: P17 to P5
Heat 3: P7 to P7
Final: P6 to DNF (pushed into gravel on first lap)
Total result (points): P10 (of 17)

Ashton showed he had good pace, and great potential for a good result. Considering this was Ashton’s first race in over 12 months and he’d only had four practice days in the kart since late 2021 he performed admirably.

Thanks to ELKC for the event, Formula K kart Australia for the great kart and Prokarting for the engine and ongoing support.

11/02/2023

We've been waiting for this day for a long time!

Imogen tried karting for the first time!

Junior Sprockets
Karting Australia
Karting Victoria
Go Kart Club of Victoria

04/02/2023

Ashton cut some laps today in preparation for the Eastern Lions Kart Club February Club day next Sunday (12/2/23), and Round 1 of the Golden Power Series (also at Eastern Lions Kart Club) the following week (18th-19th February).

This wil be Ashton’s first race in over a year, since he missed out on last year’s racing due a rib injury.

Due to some national class restructuring (new 22 mm restrictor) and Ashton continuing to grow, he will be competing this year in KA3 Junior Heavy.

Prokarting
Formula K kart Australia

21/08/2022

Ashton has not been able to drive since January, due to a rib injury that wasn’t healing well.

We visited Eastern Lions Kart Club yesterday for some practice to see how Ashton felt, and we’re glad to say that he seems to have fared well!

Looking forward to getting more practice and working towards a return to racing at the Junior Sprint Classic in October!

Eastern Lions Kart Club
Formula K
Formula K kart Australia
Prokarting

29/07/2022

Farewell Seb! Thank you for being the inspiration for Ashton to get into racing and for taking the time to encourage him when we’ve had the opportunity to meet you in person over the years.

*Ashton pictured with Seb in the paddock during the 2019 Melbourne F1 GP, when Ashton was a grid kid.

20/04/2022

Round 1 of the IPRA NSW - Improved Production Racing Association NSW eSeries kicks off tonight from the Hockenheinring.

The link to the YouTube stream is below.

Broadcast commences at 8:25pm (AEST).

Melbourne Performance Centre
K I N T S U G I . F M
Virtual Racing School

S01R01 | IPRANSW | Hockenheimring Welcome to the 2022 Improved Production Racing Association eSeries. Real drivers compete against each other on iRacing for ...