Zloober needed one qualifying session to show that his speed could survive the jump from D4 to D2. Finding a way to keep it through an entire race is the next job, and Singapore’s winner has given him a fairly clear account of where the difference came.
Zloober is the newer IMS racer, although neither driver has much league experience to fall back on. Before Singapore he had made three official starts, all in D4; Tom had made four, all in D0. There was only one race between them, but their experience came against very different opposition before they shared the D2 front row.
Our preseason dark-horses preview had three D4 podiums to work with and a much harder field to anticipate. Zloober’s 1:28.209 put that field behind him, beating Kartingtom by 0.138 seconds. Even the driver responsible had not been expecting it.
I was genuinely surprised to get pole in Singapore. Leading up to qualifying, I wasn’t getting anywhere near that lap time, so to pull it out when it mattered was definitely unexpected. Coming from D4 straight into D2, I wasn’t really sure where I’d stack up against everyone. My main goal was just to be competitive and hopefully be somewhere towards the front of the grid. Getting pole definitely gave me a bit more confidence and showed that the pace is there when everything comes together. I wouldn’t say it’s changed my expectations too much, though.
— ZlooberThe rain gave Tom the advantage Zloober lost
The rain divided the two front-row drivers. Zloober explains how it changed his race:
I felt like I had the pace to fight for the win during the first stint and into the beginning of the second. Unfortunately, once the rain came, things started getting a lot more difficult. Running lower wings definitely didn’t help in those conditions, and from there it became more about holding onto my position rather than pushing forward.
— ZlooberTom’s first D2 start brought thirty points and his first IMS victory. His four previous D0 appearances had produced twelve points between them.
Singapore definitely changed my expectations for what I could do at this level, The most important moment was the rain only then was i able to drive far enough away from them to win the race,
— Kartingtom141The revised result leaves Zloober fourth on sixteen points, after jhazztan’s penalty removal moved the Williams into third. Tom leads on thirty, with rbn on twenty-three and jhazztan on nineteen. One qualifying success has put Zloober in that company. It has not yet put him ahead of them on Sundays.
| Driver | Singapore grid | Revised finish | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kartingtom141 | 2 | 1 | 30 |
| Zloober | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| McBeth655 | 6 | 11 | 2 |
| OnlineGuy99 | 18 | 12 | 1 |
McBeth finds less room for a bad weekend
Audi’s two promoted drivers have a different opening result to address. McBeth qualified sixth but his fifteen seconds of penalties turned seventh into eleventh. Online started eighteenth and finished twelfth. Three points between them leave much more to recover than Red Bull’s sixteen from Zloober alone.
I say the difference between d4 and d2 is the speed of the field. In d4 there were some fast drivers there but if you had a bad quali and didn’t achieve your pb from practice sessions, there’s still a good chance that you would be high up the grid. Where in d2 you have to on the ball immediately in my opinion and experience, everyone here is fast and very consistent compared to d4. I feel like I have good pace in this division but when it comes to a bad track for me I will struggle pretty badly compared to d4.
— McBeth655My first race here didn’t go as well as I hoped but I felt like I had good pace until the tyres started to die. Felt like I achieved a good result but obviously the penalties ruined that. Looking back at the incident and how I raced. I raced very aggressively but overtaking around Singapore is quite difficult. Obviously I’ll be racing cleaner going forward, as Spain is quite an open track and overtaking should be easier than Singapore with the battery being more important here.
— McBeth655Online is also looking for more preparation before asking his new opposition for a bigger share of the points.
I knew coming in to D2 that some of the guys (and gals) would be faster than me, but damn. I didn’t put in enough effort and that’s what I’ll progress towards throughout the rest of the season, working hard and learning more of the ins and outs
— OnlineGuy99His target for Spain also gives McBeth a vote of confidence:
I think McBeth can definitely fight for podiums if he keeps up the pace he showed in Singapore, but for me, competing for a top 5 and taking part in some epic racing would be the main target right now
— OnlineGuy99Spain opens without its first winner
Tom has confirmed he will miss Barcelona-Catalunya for a real-life karting race:
Im not going to participate in spain because i have a real life karting race that day and its for a championship, My plan for the next races is to try and win or get podiums to try and win the championship with ferrari
— Kartingtom141Ferrari currently have kyotonic and Aban entered in D2. The winner’s absence gives rbn, jhazztan and Zloober an immediate chance to reduce the gap, while Ferrari must protect a division lead our preseason forecast had given to Williams.
Everyone at IMS wishes Tom the best of luck for his karting race.
For Zloober, Spain is about making the rest of the weekend live up to the lap that put him on pole:
Heading into Spain, I don’t think there’s too much that needs changing. The one-lap pace seems to be there, so it’s just about finding that consistency across the race and making sure we’re prepared for whatever gets thrown at us.
— Zloober
▶D2
