After a first race filled with drama, Macie showed her true pace on her return to Whilton Mill with an impressive 12th place in a full Junior X30 field. In just her second race with the Praga Kart UK team, Macie displayed her fast adaption to the chassis charging through from 18th on the grid in the final to finish in 12th.
After two good days of testing Macie arrived at Whilton Mill confident and eager to make up for the disappointment of Kimbolton. Everything that could have gone wrong in her debut with the Praga team, did, but Macie did not let that knock her confidence and arrived at Whilton with a positive approach.
However, her confidence and determination would be tested in the opening heat. Starting in the middle of the pack, Macie found herself getting caught up in all the typical first race dramas. As such she could never quite get herself going and settled down and would come across the line in 16th.
Things went from bad to worse in heat two with the engine gremlins that haunted Macie at Kimbolton coming back again. After her engine cut out on the sighting lap she was forced down from 4th to 11th leading her to get caught up in an incident a few laps later dropping her out of the top twenty. Macie would recover a few places back in the closing laps, but a front fairing penalty from the incident left her down in 22nd place.
It was beginning to feel like Kimbolton all over again, but Macie would dig deep and come out fighting in the final heat. From 18th on the grid Macie was charging through the field setting some of the fastest laps in the race! In the process she would climb up to 8th in just twelve laps lapping just 0.1 seconds off the fastest drier. However, she would pick up another front fairing penalty on her journey through the field dropping her to 15th post-race.
Overall a tough set of heats, but Macie’s pace helped her make the best of a bad situation putting her 18th on the grid out of 33 drivers for the final. Not bad going, given the circumstances.
Macie knew the start of the final was going to be crucial. Starting right in the middle of the pack, she could make a big gain at the start, but could also make a big loss! Using her experience from racing in Honda Cadets, Macie managed to get a great start and calved her way through the midfield to get straight up to 14th place on the opening lap.
The progress didn’t stop there with more great moves putting Macie into 11th after just four laps. With a big gap to the driver ahead, Macie was now the one punching the hole in the air and that led her to have to get her elbows out as she fought for position. In a great three way dice that saw places changing almost every lap, Macie did not give up and in the closing stages of the race she got herself back into 12th to come across the line and take a very respectable result.
The result made Macie one of the biggest movers in the field and her pace matched those fighting for the podium positions. There was certainly an element of what could have been for Macie as she left Whilton, but overall she and the team was very satisfied with the progress she had made in just two races!
