Following on from the great result from the X30 IAME World Finals Alfie headed across the world again to Las Vegas for the 23rd annual SuperNats race.
Sunny Las Vegas wasn’t so sunny for the practice as torrential rain hit the desert! This was a change for Alfie, but that didn’t stop him from giving it his all, Alfie was fastest in the first session in the wet and from then on, was in the top five throughout practice.
After being at the top for practice Alfie was confident for qualifying, hoping for another top five. The green flag went, and all were chasing for a good track position for a perfect lap, but unfortunately Alfie got caught in traffic and some engine trouble which then made qualifying hard and he ended up 18th.
After a disappointing qualifier, Alfie was on p18 for the first heat. Only hoping to get top 10 results, he was ready and focused. With a few changes to the kart, a top 10 result was very possible. As the race started Alfie was up in the inside for the first corner and gained a few places but then the second corner was caught on the outside and unfortunately got hit from behind causing him to lose a lot of time. After the first lap he had dropped down to 22nd and drove his way back to 18th where he started.
The second heat was a lot better. At the start as he gained places and continuously made his way forward through the pack. After 3 laps Alfie went from 18th all the way up to 6thposition driving amazingly but as the race went on, the engine issues were still there and unfortunately started to lose places as he couldn’t keep the fast lap times in, additionally his straight-line speed was not good at all. Alfie ended up dropping down to 11th position but clearly had an engine issue.
For the 3rd heat Alfie was allowed to change engine as his mechanic and team noticed a problem with it and this was the heat to be able to try and get a solid top 10 result. As Alfie was refocused and ready for the next heat hoping his mechanical issues were over. He unfortunately got caught in a crash at the start of the race and was on the back of another kart by the second corner and was dead last. Alfie’s engine issues seemed to have gone but was too far back to get anywhere, he gained places at the end but was still 37th position.
It was now time for the main final and with the disappointing heats Alfie was starting 18th. With a lot of work to do to get near the front, Alfie was still confident and all he needed was a good start and he could race his way to the front. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case as he got caught on the outside at the start and dropped down to 20th place after the first lap. Alfie still had speed but with a big gap in front of him, it was very hard to chase the next pack down. He managed to get there with a few laps left and chipped away at the pack and drove fantastically through the traffic working his way up to 13th. Setting the same pace as the leading pack, there just was enough time to get into the top 10.
A very disappointing race for Alfie considering he had very strong results in the micro class in the pro tour. Alfie is more than ready for the next races that lie ahead, and ready to give it his best to get some great results.
