PRESS RELEASE: 8th November

A Wet Weekend Hot and Cold

Robbie faced one of the most difficult weekends of his short career, at the Clay Pigeon track, near Dorchester in Dorset, where it all started for Robbie when he switched to outside tracks in May of this year, proved it doesn’t always go to plan.

After some intensive wet testing and practicing that was organized by Stuart Bliss, Robbie’s karting mentor, this definitely helped prepare Robbie for the weekend

Saturday’s free practice was in wet and cold conditions and as the track dried in between the showers it made it very difficult for the all important tyre choices that have to be made. Persevering Robbie was consistently in the top three times in only the four practice sessions he made. The practice session ended abruptly when Robbie scolded his right hand on boiling water from a kettle, after seeking the attention of the excellent medical team at the track, they advised Robbie not put his glove on the swollen hand and to rest it if he was to have any chance of racing on the Sunday.

Race day was another “character building day” Determined to Race on the Sunday and enduring a lot of pain, he showed yet again the “never give up spirit” that has so rewarded him in the last 6 months. In heat one saw Robbie finish 6th from a starting grid position of 13th a good start to the day and this was a good points scoring position towards for his grid positioning the final. The second heat was to be a disaster as there was a freak mechanical problem that meant that Robbie’s kart broke down on the formation lap, as he did not even start he scored no points towards the final. Heat three Robbie started 2nd and did not make the best of starts after the same driver that hit Robbie on his last visit to Clay, again used Robbie as his breaks pushing Robbie wide and then having to take avoiding action as there was spin in front of him dropped him back to 11th, Robbie obviously realizing he had it all to do after missing heat two just kept going and clawed his way back up to 4th.

With these qualifiers netting Robbie an unusually lowly grid position of 14th, undaunted and determined to do his best and still driving in pain from his scolded hand. he drove a superb race to finish 6th Honda and overtaking two fellow competitors in the Honda class on the penultimate lap. This was when the rain came down in buckets and had this happened just three laps earlier in the 10 lap final a podium would have been assured as Robbie showed his true talent in the treacherous conditions. Tthe team were pleased with this result. Robbie, never satisfied unless he wins, was disappointed not to finish on the podium but relieved that he made it through the weekend.

Robbie commented “Until Stuart had spent some time with me and a great weekend at Forest Edge and then at Clay in the half term, I never felt confident in the wet, now I feel I am ready for any conditions and hope some of my final races this year are wet as it is great practice before my championship year” Thanks Stu.

 

PRESS RELEASE: 27th October 2008

4th Consecutive Podium for Robbie

11 year old Robbie Gallier of Lympsham is writing his own record book, as he has competed in four races in the last five weeks and finished on the podium every time, an achievement not even Lewis Hamilton can claim in his first year in Karts.

Robbie having only started Karting in May of this year and on only his sixth visit to the Dunkeswell Circuit in Devon has had another tremendous weekends racing.

In free practice on Saturday Robbie was again delivering top three times in the hotly contested Cadet class, the conditions being cold and dry could not be more different to the conditions that he was to encounter on Sundays race day.

With the conditions being very wet Robbie went out in the initial free practice 16th and finished second at the end of just three laps, giving him confidence for the qualifiers which saw Robbie 17th in the first of the three, this was after starting 2nd when a fellow competitor used Robbie as his brakes causing him to spin and drop to 24th. Back to form in the second finishing 6th from 14th and 15th from 14th in the third heat as Robbie spun in the chicane.

Un daunted by is low final grid position, starting 10th he drove a superb race keeping on the dry line on slicks when some were still on wets to come in 3rd Honda Cadet and taking 3rd in the Championship, considering Robbie missed the first four races of the year a superb end to the years racing at Dunkeswell. Robbie is in action again next weekend at Forest Edge which will see him race there for the first time.

Support continues from; PIAA, Cheddar Karting, Talon, Demon Tweeks and Prokart Eng.

 

PRESS RELEASE: 21st October 2008

Robbie’s Second Win in Three Weeks

Robbie Gallier from Lympsham on his only second ever visit to the Welsh Circuit Llandow, added to his first years amazing results by dominating Saturdays open practice and Sunday’s heats and final.

Having attracted the attention of Neil Austin the father of 4th in the country cadet driver Macauley, it was Neil’s suggestion that Robbie was to visit the Welsh circuit. Neil assisted Robbie’s father with set up which helped Robbie adjust to the very demanding track.

Saturdays practice dogged with continually changing weather conditions did not daunt Robbie. He set fastest Honda Cadet times consistently through out the day, and the help of Neil and Macauley was invaluable in understanding the demanding track as all three tyre choices had to be called up on, full wets, intermediates and slicks. It was the slicks and the dry set up that was decided upon for the Sunday’s race as it was expected to be dry.

With an ideal set up, Robbie feeling confident as he went into the first heat 2nd on the grid to finish 1st in the 2nd heat. Starting 5th there was a spin involving three Karts and Robbie was launched in the air and when he landed he was at the back of the pack. He managed to claw his way back up to 4th, and in the final heat starting 3rd he finished 1st. With the heat two result effecting his qualifying Robbie was 3rd on the grid after just 6 laps of the 12 Robbie took the lead to WIN and to take the fastest lap times in every heat and the final, beating the Honda Cadet 2008 Champion and runner up.

Robbie commented “after my last visit to Llandow when I had engine problems and finished last in every race I wanted to come back and show what I could do a big thanks to my dad and the Austen’s as the Kart was awesome all weekend.

Support continues from PIAA, Talon, Cheddar Karting and Demon Tweeks.

 

PRESS RELEASE: 13th October 2008

Robbie’s First Pole

Robbie Gallier in only his 5th race at the Clay Pigeon Kart track, situated between Yeovil and Dorchester set a blistering pace from the outset of free practice on Saturday, to finish fastest Honda Cadet.

A totally different weekend evolved for Robbie compared to his last visit to the Dorset track, when a fellow Karter rejoined the track after an incident on a previous lap and went straight in the path of Robbie causing him to have a very serious accident, which threw him out of the Kart destroying his helmet the chassis and chances of a certain win.

Putting that behind him Robbie went into the Sundays qualifying heats with renewed confidence, reinforcing his “never give up” attitude and in the first of the three qualifying heats starting 9th and finishing 5th, in heat two starting 4th finishing 3rd and 2nd finishing 2nd. This qualified Robbie in pole for the first time in a final.

The final being 12 laps as apposed to the 8 lap qualifiers and as it turned out Robbie needed all 12 laps as after starting in pole and holding first position in to the first corner Robbie was hit hard from behind pushing him wide and dropping him to 4th. Robbie needed to call again on his “never give up” saying, as he made up the gap which was a quarter of a lap after the incident to take thrilling 2nd place on the last corner of the last lap, not only getting on the podium, also recording the fastest Honda Cadet lap of the day in heat 2.

Robbie continues to be supported by PIAA, Cheddar Karting, Talon, Demon Tweeks and Prokart Eng.

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: 28th September 2008

Robbie’s First Outright WIN

Lympsham Karter Robbie Gallier in his first season and only his 10th race stunned the opposition and current championship leaders by taking out right win in the hotly contested Honda Cadet class at the Dunkeswell Kart meeting, on the 28th of September.

A stark contrast to his previous visit to the Devon track when he was faced with engine and chassis problems; Robbie was immediately on the pace.

Driving in only his 4th race at the Devon track Robbie set his personal best times on Saturdays free practice sessions and continued with excellent qualifying times on the Sunday taking 7th 4th and 2nd combined with stunning lap times qualified Robbie 3rd in the final and then taking his first win in the final race. Robbie commented “It’s great to get my first win as I only started halfway through the season, Stuart Bliss who got me into Karting gave me an awesome set up for the weekend and with his help walking the track with me and ideas of the best lines in the corners helped me a lot”

Robbie can not wait until the next race which will be at Clay Pigeon Kart track on the 12th of October. Support continues from Demon Tweeks, Talon, PIAA and Cheddar Karting.

For further information or images please contact; Chris Hutchings

 

PRESS RELEASE: 1st Sepember 2008

Robbie Gallier Never Gives Up.

Racing at the biggest Kart meeting of his short career. This being just his 8th race. 11 year old Robbie Gallier from Lympsham. Racing at the two day South West Championships at Dunkeswell near Honiton in Devon, Robbie had a weekend beset with problems.

The first of these when it was discovered that the engine had a crack and had to be swiftly taken to Cheddar so that one of his sponsors Cheddar Karting could aluminum weld it, to ensure it would last the weekend.

Running on his spare engine in practice Robbie soon was back on the pace and out qualifying all the local club Honda Cadet drivers and was mixing it with the national champions paying a visit to the Devon track.

Then on Saturday evening it was discovered that the chassis of the Kart had been badly twisted from a previous accident and was out by 15mm making Robbie’s achievement of a provisional first days qualifying of 12th out of 34 even more commendable.

With the help of a fellow competitors farther the team managed to straighten the chassis enough to enable Robbie to continue on Sunday, driving some stunning qualifiers he managed to move up to 9th for the final which started dry, half way through the 12 lap race the rain came, Robbie on slicks managed to avoid all those spinning to finish fine 6th Honda and 11th overall.

Robbie continues to be supported by; PIAA, Cheddar Karting, Demon Tweeks and Talon.

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE: 23 June 2008

Robbie Heads For a Record

Eleven year old Robbie Gallier from Sandbay is heading for a record which even eluded such racing stars as Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. In only his 4th ever race Robbie made it four in a row trophies. Should Robbie be awarded a trophy in his 5th and last race on Novice plates he will be achieving something very special.

Racing at the Dunkeswell race circuit in Devon. In the Saturdays un official practice Robbie set some fastest times in atrocious weather conditions with fog and rain. In conditions that Robbie has become comfortable in he led one of the practice sessions by a complete lap and recording the fastest time of the day in the Honda Cadet Class.

The race day on Sunday made all the set up work on Saturday irrelevant as the conditions were so different as the circuit was bathed in sunshine.

Being a novice and having to start at the back of the grid in each of the qualifying heats each of just 6 laps. In the first of these Robbie started 15th and finished 10th the second starting 17th finishing a stunning 6th was amazing, in the last heat starting 18th again in just six laps finishing 10th.

These stunning qualifying heats earned Robbie his highest race final grid position of 8th, seeded amongst many more experienced drivers Robbie finished a stunning 5th overall and second Honda Cadet also highest placed Honda Cadet Novice.

Robbie is now looking forward to his next race which is at Clay pigeon in July and will be the last time he has to compete on novice plates; this will enable him to qualify instantly a lot higher up the grid.

Robbie continues to be supported by WSM Fasteners, Talon and PIAA.

 

PRESS RELEASE: 27 May 2008

Robbie’s Second Race & Second Trophy

In only his second race and first at the Dunkeswell Circuit in Devon Robbie again impresses with a stunning final race.

Testing on the Saturday for the racing on Sunday Robbie at his first time racing at the Dunkeswell Circuit was again impressing by being on the pace of the front runners. The Kart was completely changed from the settings that secured Robbie third in his previous race at Clay Pigeon by Terry Bliss, Robbie’s race engineer. This was to enable the Kart to be set up for the expected wet conditions for the early Sunday qualifiers.

Robbie being a novice having to start at the back of the grid on each qualifying race of which there are three, added to this were the wet conditions which were a first time experience for Robbie. In the first race he started 13th and finished 9th despite dropping to 14th as he was knocked from behind causing him to spin being hit from behind, in the second race he started from 11th finishing 9th and in the final qualifier he started 13th and finished 7th.

This qualified Robbie 9th and highest place novice for his final race that was in the dry. After the start Robbie made up places in the first two laps to take him to 4th when he was involved in a high speed crash when another driver shut the door on his racing lin. This sent Robbie down to 15th but in last 10 laps he mirrored the performance of his idol Lewis Hamilton to claw his way back to 6th winning him first novice.

Robbie is supported by PIAA, Talon, PSYCHO Racing, WSM Fasteners & Demon Tweeks.

For further information please contact Chris Hutchings 01934 818430

PRESS RELEASE: 13 May 2008

Robbie Gallier’s Blistering Debut

In only his first ever Kart Race, Lympsham’s Robbie Gallier backed by Psycho Racing Cheddar Kart Track was the talk of the Race meeting at Clay Pigeon near Yeovil, Somerset.

As with all beginners he had to start at the back of the 3 qualifying heats, the first of these he started 9th finishing 5th this was despite having to take to the grass to avoid a high speed pile up that happened just in front of him. The second heat starting 5th finishing 4th, then again starting 5th finishing 3rd which then meant he qualified 3rd for the final.

Starting from 3rd Robbie then went into second place on the second lap and holding this until the last corner of the race when he lost the place on the last corner.

To finish the first Honda Cadet Novice and 3rd overall in the race was a tremendous achievement said Stuart Bliss who has been guiding Robbie from day one, he added that Robbie with a little more experience and attention the lines through the corners will be in a position to challenge for the overall honors. He has tremendous natural talent and our belief in Robbie was vindicated by the tremendous interest shown in Robbie. It is to soon to say Robbie is the next Lewis Hamilton however I think he is well worth watching.

Robbie test and Dunkeswell on the 17th of May and races there for the first time on the 25th of May. For any further information please contact Chris Hutchings on either 01934 818433 or 07836 701578.

PIAA UK Ltd has always supported young drivers, Robbie Gallier is the youngest yet, at only 10 years old this budding Karting sensation has bee addicted to four wheels since he was only 4 years old when he had an electric Jeep for Christmas, when he was 8 he progressed to a Quad which he instantly adapted to.

Chris Hutchings the MD of PIAA UK Ltd seeing this potential arranged for Robbie to be introduced to Karting by Stuart Bliss a Karting sensation himself when he was in his early teens. They visited Psycho Karting in Cheddar Somerset and instantly his talent was recognized by James and Matt Cox who run this family business. They immediately offered free track time to Robbie on a weekly basis James and Matt have also been at hand as Stuart has to offer help and tuition.

Chris Hutchings commented

" I always saw a talent from the first day he drove his Jeep and on a Quad he was amazing, this is so nice that some others can also see the talent in Robbie and who knows we may see the next Lewis Hamilton, personally I hope it is the next Colin McRae as I do enjoy Rallying so. I would like to thank Stuart and James and Matt of Psycho Karting for making it all possible and delighted that new associate sponsors have already come forward these being Psycho racing, Demon Tweeks, and Talon Engineering synonymous with Karting sprockets and components..”