A cracking time

Kate had a cracking time at Kimbolton for Round 2 of the Ultimate Karting Championship. Not just because she smashed her PB by almost half a second during the Friday practice, but also because she smashed a rib whilst racing. She was a bit over-enthusiastic with one of the kerbs, and heard and felt her rib snap as she launched the kart over the concrete.

X-rays from today’s trip to A&E confirmed it. Yes, she had a broken rib. There’s not a lot you can do for a broken rib. Take strong painkillers and rest for a bit.

So, it was surprising to see Kate at Snetterton two days after Kimbolton, testing in a Global Lights GT2. A handful of painkillers and anti-inflammatories, and she was squeezing herself into the GT2’s cockpit.

Racing cars are very different from karts though. And no-one would dream of wearing a rib protector in a car. The forces are completely different, and nothing like the body pounding you get from Senior Rotax karting.

Once Kate was back in Stoke for university (having driven from Norwich to Stoke via Grimsby to collect a motorbike she’d bought on eBay, as you do), she popped into A&E to be told yes, her rib was broken.

She’s on some proper painkillers now, and hopefully that will give the rib time to heal enough before she heads north on Sunday evening to do some testing the following day at Croft Circuit. The car will be a BMW M2 Sport, so perhaps the red leather seats will be a little more comfortable that the rock solid Tillett Manetti seat in her kart.

And Kate's looking forward to a fantastic time at Croft, but maybe not a cracking time.