Weekend 23-24th November will not be remembered for its weather. The three Practice runs were held under glowering skies that dumped rain at their leisure on the soggy karters below. Still, Orange 91 was undeterred, along with his fellow 35 competitors. This was another ‘Big Boys’ meeting with the movers & shakers from the British Karting Championship. It wasn’t just the weather that would be challenging.

Some solace for Nelson: he had at least some previous experience of a race weekend at Whilton Mill, although he’d never raced it in a Rotax in the wet, let alone in stormy conditions that require a very different set of driving techniques. However, he was soon getting a feel for where he could push harder and find more speed.

By Practice 3 he was 7th, right along with the ‘Big Boys’. Just a second covered the top seven drivers’ fastest lap. Akille, Nelson’s team mate, found himself uncharacteristically back in 22nd – although his fastest lap was barely a second off Nelson’s. It was clearly going to be a tight Quali.

13.58 hours Saturday afternoon. Rain and wind had not stopped play but were making track conditions difficult for Quali. Unfortunately, given the promise of Practice 3, Orange 91 was sucked into a slue of traffic, misjudging when to back-off and when to push to nail a good Quali time. The result ? A very disappointing 22nd. Better news arrived in the shape of team mate Akille who found himself in a much improved 10th spot. Ominously, our old friend Max Wheatley (who’d been so dominant at Rye House in early November) scored pole – with a fastest lap nearly 3 seconds ahead of Orange 91’s. Frustrating. Learning curves are steep at this level.

Next up was Heat 1 at 15.23. Conditions remained wet, bleak and thoroughly testing. Starting back in the chasing pack was going to pose problems. And so it came to be. By the end of Heat 1, Akille managed to hold station at 10th but Nelson fell back to 31st spot out of the 33 finishers. Orange 91 did have an excuse, however. For the first time, his trusted kart broke down after Lap 2. Mechanical problems have befallen many of the F1 greats, so it was a philosophical shrug of the shoulders, a hug from Dad and a warming cup of tea. We’ll re-group for tomorrow’s Heat 2.

Sunday decided to continue where Saturday had left off: wet and now very blustery. Heat 2 kicked off at 11.06 hours. Lessons from Saturday had sunk in as well as the rain. Nelson came out fighting, lapped consistently, kept his nose clean and clawed his way back to finish a very creditable 16th out of a 33-kart grid. His fastest lap was only a second and a half off Ben Lorne in spot 2. The imperious Mr Wheatley strolled to another first place in Heat 2. Of course, he did.

Still, Orange 91 had managed to overcome the deep disappointment of his Heat 1 breakdown on Saturday to come back 24-hours later to turn in a really encouraging performance, often out-driving competitors who’ve been in karts for donkey’s years. The trajectory was now in the right direction. Much heartened, all was to play for in Sunday afternoon’s big Final.

Except it wasn’t to be. Not satisfied with constant rain, the Heavens decided it was time for a deluge. It was so bad that parts of the track were ankle-deep in water. The race organisers had no choice and abandoned the race. Much disappointment all round, not least for Orange 91 who’d put Saturday’s break-down behind him and had really got the bit between his teeth after an excellent drive in Heat 2.

Ho hum. Time to go home. That’s racing for you, folks. And another lesson in the ups & downs of competitive Rotax Inter.

[*Just 389 days of karting under Nelson’s belt and still on the up].