jakefrench.com - results

2007 results

June 20-22 KART Nationals in Tulsa - Jake has been looking forward to this race because Tulsa is a fast fun track. We made the trip to Tulsa Wednesday to get some practice. The weather was rain/sun and rain again but staying dry for most of practice. Jake and I worked on a little setup and motor tuning and ended the day running close to his old track record. Thursday the rain stayed away and although the turn out was low the racing was close. Qualifying was a 5 minute session where Jake would lay down a RECORD setting run and taking the pole. Jake got a great start in the pre-final and never looked back running multiple laps close to his previous record setting time in qualifying. The 20 lap final started and Alec Udell kept pressure on Jake lap after lap. On lap 8 Jake's kart started coming in and the gap grew with Jake taking the win! This was Jake's 9th win of the season and 3rd track record in a different state! This win also means Jake earns his expert yellow plate! This was also a great confidence booster going into the summer and the highly anticipated Rotax Nationals. See a few pictures here.

June 2nd Summer 1 RMAX - Jake continued his roll with great driving taking the pole, pre-final and final for a clean sweep. This was a great night as Pe-pa and Me-ma showed up to watch Jake race. Jake and crew will take a few weeks of and get ready for the KART Nationals in Oklahoma.

May 18-20 RMAX in Colorado - That's right Colorado! The Track located in Centennial Colorado is sitting at 5700 feet which makes drivers and engines hard to tune. Knowing that the 2007 Rotax Grand Nationals will be held in Colorado Jake and I wanted to get a jump start on practicing there. Jake and I had some company with Ken and Jim Quigley making the trip with us. We left out Thursday evening and traveled all night getting to the track Friday morning just in time for them to open. We met Ed and Jim who gave us a warm Colorado welcome. Once we got parked we headed off to walk the track. From the first glance I could tell the track was going to be tough at 8/10 of a mile long and 18 turns! Once we got through Jake and I got a game plan together for the days practice. We got the kart warmed up and Jake took to the track. It didn't take long for him to learn the track running quicker every lap. Jake was able to give me some feed back on what he thought the kart needed and he was right going out the next session and bettering his times every lap. By the end of the afternoon is was time to call it quits! Me, Jake Jim and Ken were warn out and it was time for dinner, hot tub and a good night sleep. Saturday brought awesome weather and beautiful skies! Jake and I focused a little more on tuning and getting the kart to do the things he wanted and it was paying off running quicker every session. We continued to practice on and off through the day and finally closing it off early to get some work done on the kart. Sunday would bring awesome weather again plus a great turn out at Colorado's local kart event with 122 entries for the day. Their format was just a little different with qualifying being a 10 minute session, a 12 lap pre-final and 15 lap main. Jake barley took the pole with a 58.85 and Conner New at a 58.92! Jake and I were excited and knew we had our work cut out for us! Jake got a great start in the pre-final and never looked back running great consistent laps. Jake had me make a few change for the final and they would pay off. Jake rocketed off the start and put together almost 15 straight laps in the 58 second bracket! Jake took the checkered flag for his 7th win of the season!!!! I want to thank everyone we met in Colorado. Everyone was so nice and yes even you Doug Welch :-)...Thanks to Ken and Jim Quigley for helping out on the trip. A big thanks to Tammie and Tony Sear for getting Jake and I the wonderful room at La Quinta! Last but not least...Kart Shack for all your karting needs. Once again Jake showed his talent learning a new track, fighting with the altitude and over coming almost no sleep to win in another state! Way to go Jake...See some pictures here.

May 12th Spring 6 Rmax -Jake actually took a break and skipped Spring 5. This race would be the first night race for us and the debut of Jake's new graphics sponsored by Granmommie, Charlie's Batteries Wholesale and C&P Pump Service. Jake didn't miss a beat from RMAX 4 with a good qualifying effort, great pre-final and awesome final! Chalk up another win...

April 29th Spring 4 Rmax - Jake continues to show his smooth driving with a pole, win in the pre-final and a flawless final taking the win on his Erosion Solutions Margay.

April 1st Spring 3 – Jake and I decided to practice Saturday before the club race. Knowing the competition is tight we used this day to experiment with some different things. By the end of practice Jake and I have made some gains and thought we would try them in the club race the next day. Sunday warmed up to a beautiful day, but not so good for making horsepower. Jake still showed to be fast of the 9 racers and the changes we had made the day before were working. Jake took the pole with a 39.70. This is only a few tenths off his track record. Knowing that it was getting hotter Jake and I set the kart up to run it's best at the end of the pre-final. This paid off with Jake smashing his old track record of a 39.675 and running a career best of a 39.340 on the second to the last lap!! Jake went on to win the final and coming ever so close again to the record but lapped traffic would slow him up. Jake continues to hone his driving skills and shows great poise on the track. We are looking forward to the April 29th Rmax race! See a few pictures here.

March 4 Spring 1 Rmax – Sunday was the first of six Rotax Max Challenge races. You have to place in the top 4 of this series in order to qualify for the Rotax Grand Nationals in Colorado this summer. A Top 4 position is a must and the fact that we had to run Mojo tires put a little more pressure on Jake and I. Jake was focused and determined - it paid off, he qualified #1, won the pre-final and ran a flawless race in the final!! Jake also reset the track record during the final! What a great way to start off the new series! See pictures of Jake and his mini-max buddies here. Also special kudos to Clint Korte (sponsored Kart Shack driver) who also re-set the track record in Rotax Jr. WAY TO GO BOYS!!!

February – Polar Bear III (Mommy’s point of view) – “Grey” is the only word I can think of to describe today, its cold and devoid of even the faintest bit of sunlight, burrrr. Mark and Jake headed to the track at 7:30 this morning and by 12:30 had run 4 practice sessions. Jake was focused for his qualifying run, he drove hard took the pole position but by a slim margin. Competition has become fierce among the mini-maxers which makes for great racing. The pre-final got underway with Jake on pole and Alex Tartaglia in the #2 position. Jake held tight to his position, his line and his cool knowing Alex was breathing down his neck lap after lap. As we inched closer and closer to the final Jake knew he would have to give it everything he had. As the green flag waved Alex passed Jake as they entered turn 1 and was able to hold it for the remainder of the race despite Jake running the quickest laps of the day. Way to go, Alex! As the boys exited their karts I suddenly saw young men shaking hands, patting each other on the back and offering congratulation’s to today’s winner. So if you ever want to see a group of kid’s race hard and clean watch the mini-maxer’s at PB4. It’s sure to be a real heart-stopper. To be continued….

January 21 – Polar Bear II (Mommy’s point of view) – Brisk but sunny is how I would describe the day’s weather. The track conditions were another matter, the abundant rain had formed various ponds and even a lake or two in the infield and it would take most of the morning before the track got its some grip back. With each practice session Jake would come off less and less frustrated as the sun warmed the track surface and karts continued to put rubber down. Qualifying got underway for the 9 mini-max racers resulting in a very tight line-up with Jake sitting on pole. The pre-final turned out to be a real nail-biter; Jake got a great start and continued with very consistent lap times resulting in a win, but the real excitement was what followed Jake around the track. Close lap times caused a real battle between the karts running in the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th positions, “Great racing guys!” Mark and I stood at the fence with our hearts beating out of our chest as the 12-lap final began. Jake had another good start and ran consistent lap times. It does a Mom good to see her son excel at what he loves. Jake won Polar Bear II today. “We’re proud of you Hotrod!” To be continued...

January 7 – Polar Bear I (Mommy’s point of view)- By all appearances it looked like a warm, sunny day at NTK but as the kart exited the trailer you could feel the sting of a north wind that would undoubtedly last all day. We hunkered down inside the trailer while outside, practice was underway. Practice sessions 1 and 2 passed by as Mark waited for KAM Karting to arrive with new rear tires. We all felt anxiety about this first race and now our anxieties grew knowing Jake had one practice session to scuff in tires and drop his lap times. He came off the track energized and ready for the day’s challenges. Eleven mini-maxers lined up on the grid for qualifying. Jake claimed the pole position for the 8 lap pre-final which resulted in a win. The sun was disappearing and the wind cut through us like a knife as we waited on the grid for the 12 lap final. Jake sat in his kart shivering probably from a mixture of cold and adrenaline. As the eleven rounded turn 9 they began to accelerate in anticipation of seeing green. Alex Tartaglia in the #2 position hit the throttle and moved into the #1 spot as the pack entered turn 1. It would be another 2 laps before Jake would attempt a pass. As he came out of turn 3 Alex bobbled and Jake shot around Alex taking back first position, eight laps later Jake won the race, he owns Polar Bear I.