Robbie captures Honda title

KARTING - ROBBIE Gallier (12) of Lympsham had the most important race of his short career, still in his first year of karting.

Robbie had qualified for the National Kart Racing Association's final by winning five of the six qualifying rounds. The final was held at the Glany-Y-Gors circuit, in North Wales.

The three-day event was going to be a real test for Robbie as all the finalists from the other regions making up one of the best grids in the country of the Honda Cadet class.

In free practice Robbie set faster and faster times, this certainly helped his confidence as he went into one official practice posting the fastest time and starting from fourth in the first heat and sixth in the second and winning both the second by an amazing nine seconds.

Robbie went into the final still a little nervous, at least knowing he could compete with the best in the country. Pressure was also on dad Julien who mechanics and sets the kart up, this was made difficult as the weather conditions were changing by the minute.

For first of the two heats the tyres and set-up had to be changed three times before going to the grid and starting pole, he won comfortably. The final heat was going to be the toughest as he started eighth, but by the fifth corner on the first lap Robbie went into the lead and won comfortably.

It was an amazing feet to have won all the heats and taken fastest lap in each of them. So it was all down to the final, starting on pole, and the weather changed yet again, so there was no time to change the set-up, so the tyres were set as this would be key as Robbie's kart was on wets and with a drying track, nothing could be taken for granted and with 14 laps on a drying track, it was going to be difficult.

The lead changed five times in the final, Robbie came through victorious and won by just a tenth of a second to become the NKRA Honda Cadet Champion 2009.

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