2006 Opener in the books

I have to start off by saying, it has been quite some time since I have seen so much rain at a race. The Pits were a mess and tempers were beginning to run short. The organizers did an excellent job and actually stayed on schedule through out the entire weekend. Few notables to mention, my hats off to fellow Canadian Eric Gerrits for his podium finish. Eric led for half the main until something began to go, he was overtaken for first and then second, but held on for a most impressive third in his inaugural Stars race. Another one to watch was Britain's Alexander Simms, the man could definitely drive - especially in the rain. He won the prefinal and the final in a walk. As far as my driver, Victor Cabrera, he was quite impressive and showed a tremendous amount of speed, but bad luck had his number in turn one. Both in the prefinal and last chance race, he was knocked off the track and had to battle back from deep in the pack; in the end, a disappointing result was all we could muster. Again, well done to the Stars event organizers, you did a tremendous job!

Industry News

Aim Sports unveiled their latest unit in Data Acquisition - the MyChron4. After doing some research I can't help but be a little excited about this product. A few of the changes are purely cosmetic, such as the yellow backlight and the chaffered corners. But the major enhancements are what really appeal to me; a larger memory capacity, on screen data analysis, and especially the USB download key. Gone are the days of lugging around my notebook or having it balance on one of my side pods. The USB key is compact and acts as a storage unit. When myself or someone whom I am working for comes off the track, all I have to do is plug the connector end into the unit and all the data gets stored on the key. Then plug it into the USB port on my laptop and presto, all the information is downloaded onto my machine for viewing. It's basically a 'jump drive', the concept may be old news in IT terms, but new in the racing world. The MyChron4 won't be available until late spring, but when it is, Ranta Racing will definitely have one on a machine.

Deal finalized

I am happy to announce that late last night I finalized a deal with the J3Competition.com race team based out of Erie, PA. The deal consists of me tuning for Puerto Rican, Victor Cabrera in the very competitive JICA class at all the Stars of karting races sponsored by IRL and Snap on Tools. From North Carolina to California, all eight races in the Eastern and Western series are on the docket with the first leg only three weeks away in Norman, Oklahoma. The deal came together fairly quickly, however, having known two of the partners in the J3Competition.com team for over 20 years made the decision an easy one. I will give daily updates on race weekends, so watch for them beginning March 17 - 19th.

A perfect fit

Back at the beginning of February, the Mosport kart club held their annual Expo. I went with my daughter Mackenzie, father, and good friend Gary Grant to see what was new and exciting. What we walked away with was a kid kart for my daughter, and she just loves it. Now, I was eight and a half when I first stepped in a kart and raced - she will be five this summer! Some might say that she is too young, but under the right conditions and all the proper safety steps taken, she will be just fine to run some laps. Watch for updates all summer long on Miss Mackenzie and her Ranta Racing, BouRan Data Services prepared CMP/Kohler kart.

Busy weekends ahead!

Ranta Racing has decided to throw there hat in the F1K ring. After many discussions over the winter on what our 2006 season was going to look like, we decided to add a second class to the books. Already a senior Rotax competitor, the addition of F1K will make for really busy weekends. However, the idea of running more than one class is not out of the ordinary for us. There were times when I would run up to three classes on any given race weekend south of the border. The idea behind the F1K class fits our mould perfectly, an all spec class. It is now a matter of setting up the chassis and letting drivers dual it out, which takes the money aspect completely out! This will separate the men from the boys and give the teams with a limited budget a shot at a podium any given weekend.

Answering the call for data!

A month ago I was contacted by a gentleman by the name of Terence Dove. He has two karting websites in the UK, and he had asked me to write an article on data acquisition. I was surprised to find out after speaking with him, that quite a few of the racers he comes into contact with have pretty much given up on trying to use it. When asked why, he simply said " they have no idea what they are looking at".
Now, writing an article on data acquisition in general is just too much. So, I asked Terence to supply me with some FAQ's and that way I could at least try and get down to the root of the problem. Without divulging too much information, let's just say I had to go back to the basics and math class 101 made an appearance aswell. You will find the first of a series of articles on www.karting1.co.uk and www.evenflow.co.uk starting next week.
To find out more about what BouRan Data Services is all about, go visit my website at www.bourandataservices.com. The data never lies!

Ranta Racing enters 27th year...

It's been a long road, a lot of races, travel, and a tremendous amount of highs and lows. However, I feel that there is one more championship left in this 33 year old body. I remember what it was like coming out of the junior ranks and wanting to go after the proven seniors. It's tough to compete against the adrenaline and desire of those half your age. I know that 33 is still young, but for racing... your on the slippery side of the mountain at this point.
So, on this site you will find everything from 1979 to now - my run at a 2006 miracle. There will also be articles and stories from the BouRan Data Services side of racing, which encompasses karts to cars and everything in between.