Take three. Lights, camera, action.

When I mentioned to a wise old Bayford karter that we were taking two karts to the Super One championship weekend at Fulbeck, he said "take three". He wasn't joking. "Take three" he said. "The kerbs are brutal".

Running since 1983, Super One is described by Alpha Live as the premier karting championship in the UK, producing professional drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and David Coulthard. Super One describe themselves as a stepping stone to Formula One. And seriously, it's a different league from the club championships Kate's been doing to date.

David Griffiths, Team Owner of GMS, told Kate to drive over the Fulbeck kerbs to get good lap times. And that's what she did. No worries about kart damage. She just fired it over the kerbs without hesitation, aiming for those optimum racing lines. And the chicanes are massive too. So massive, the locals call them bus stops.

Super One race weekends are double-headers. That means a round of racing on the Saturday and a round of racing on the Sunday, plus a practice on the preceding Friday. Three days of racing. Three days of kart pounding. No wonder the wise old Bayford karter told us to take three karts.

When Kate hit the first-round final at the end of the Saturday, she managed two laps before the sprocket protector disintegrated, the rear sprocket buckled, the chain snapped, and the rear axle bent. She also bent a track rod and the steering column after someone drove into her on the starting lap. So a Did Not Finish (DNF) for her first Super One final, a big bill for replacement parts, and a late evening for me whilst I patched up the kart.

Heat 1 on the Sunday wasn't much better. Kate managed seven laps before an engine-mount bolt sheared and the chain came off. She ground to a halt in the grass and dirt just past the second bus stop.

The thing about these championships though, is that they're filmed with commentary. From a PR perspective we'd hoped that Kate would get some air time. Maybe a bit of a mention. Most of the time Kate was battling in the middle of the pack, which is pretty impressive for a Super One Rookie, but the cameras tended to focus on the leaders. Kate would occasionally appear at the back of the shot, lightening pink helmet contrasted against the blue of the LN kart. Her ungainly finish in heat 1 did get some air time, and a big mention, but it probably wasn't the footage Kate was hoping for.

She was disqualified (DSQ) in the Sunday qualifying for failing scrutineering because her rear bumper was too wide. In championships at this level, everything is carefully managed and controlled. Wheels and tyres are kept locked away by the stewards, and only made available minutes before the race start. I'd set the rear bumper width for slicks, and we made a wet-tyre choice (wets are narrower than slicks) and so the bumper width was too wide. So, completely my fault. Kate did a good qualifier, but had to start at the back of the grid for Heat 1 and Heat 2 because of her DSQ.

Despite starting P28 in Heat 2 though, she fought through the pack to finish P17. Heat 1's DNF and Heat 2's P17 meant she started P22 in the Sunday final.

And what a final it was. Loads of action. Kate admitted she didn't enjoy it. It was a scarey experience for her, and an even scarier experience for me. I watched her avoid other karts with millimetre precision and split-second timing. She kept up with the field, and avoided collisions. I'd tightened the three remaining engine bolts as much as possible. (We were on the spare engine because the race engine lasted about 20 seconds in Friday's practice. The rear-end shunt at Bayford had obviously damaged more that just Kate's exhaust.) And every lap I was just willing the engine to stay fixed to the chassis as Kate launched the kart over the kerbs. Suddenly Kate was up into P18 and chasing the pack. The race clock said zero, and then thankfully, last lap. A kart was closing up on Kate though, and I found myself urging her to keep going. I've never been so relieved to see the chequered flag. Kate finished P13. A truly outstanding result for her first Super One final.

Lots of action. We took two karts and thankfully only needed one.

This week we'll be taking both engines to GMS for some tlc, and the chassis to ASR fabrication for straightening again. Hopefully engines and chassis will be ready for the race at Buckmore this coming weekend.

And Super One? Kate can't wait to do her next Super One race weekend at Shennington at the end of August, when it will be 'Take two. Lights, camera, action!'.