Racing Indy Cars
Not real Indy Car Racing, but the karts were really fast - nothing like any of the go-karts you've tried before. The karts were advertised to go 90 km/h, but I think they went up to about 60-70 km/h. But the best part was that it was definitely racing and driving skill will differentiate racers.
I got to go because Kitty's company organized a company racing event at Cameron Motorsports. If you check out the website, they take Karting as a serious sport. First of all, the karts and track are NOT open to the general public. You have to be a member and membership for a season costs $100. Each time you go out and race, it'll cost $50, but they provide all the equipment and fuel. You have to wear clothing so that there is absolutely no exposed skin (think motorcycle gear) and wear an approved helmet & neck brace. These karts do no have roll cages, so if you flip, it's going to hurt. Because (light) weight can give you an advantage, they divide the field by weight.
The karts themselves have a brake and gas pedals on the left and right foot respectively. No power steering, and at times you have to strain to turn on fast corners. Like I mentioned before, there are no roll cages and you are really just sitting on a flat plate with a steering column and seatback rising from the mostly flat kart. You must use brakes on the corners or you'll flip/spin out. To record lap times, they have transponders on the karts. The course itself is fairly short, with 5 corners in a "B" shape.
When we got there, they handed out T-shirts and wristbands for lunch. They also had 2 "Indy Girls" there (not sure why). They explained the rules and the what was going to occur throughout the day. They first explained the different coloured flags and what each meant. It was confusing at first, but once you get on the track, you learn quickly. We went through a typical race day, which consisted of 3 practice runs (5-10 laps each), a time trial to determine starting position (best lap time) and finally a race. I was in the 9th out of 11 heaviest weight division. Yes, I'm light.
You get a feel for how the karts handle during the practice runs and even though at I started cautious, eventually you get more daring. This meant I spun out a few times pushing the kart to it's limits, but eventually I learned to drift around corners. Overall, it's really fun racing karts and taking those turns.
For the time trial run, I was lucky to have the first position. This meant I only had to pass the really slow people as I lapped them. I came in 3rd out of ten people.
For the actual race, the karts would be closer togther; therefore, having a greater chance for an accident. After a warm up lap were I ascertained that I had a very, very loose kart, I went into the first turn closely behind 1st and 2nd place. Coming out of the turn, the 2nd place driver rammed into 1st place in what seemed like an avoidable collision. I was following so closely behind that I slammed into both of them. Just before colliding, I was damn scared. We were going fast and I imagined my cart sliding underneath the kart in front of me, and then the other guy slicing my head off. Luckily only our wheels collided. All three of us were stopped completely and the whole field passed us. The 2nd place guy got a warning from the referee, but then we were pretty much completely out of the race. Since we were running late, the race was only about 5 laps (normally it's closer to 15). I managed to catch up to a few people, but I obviously didn't place.
Except for final result, it was a really fun day. I think it would be great fun to race against friends, but I don't think it's possible with the way the racing league is set up. :(
I got to go because Kitty's company organized a company racing event at Cameron Motorsports. If you check out the website, they take Karting as a serious sport. First of all, the karts and track are NOT open to the general public. You have to be a member and membership for a season costs $100. Each time you go out and race, it'll cost $50, but they provide all the equipment and fuel. You have to wear clothing so that there is absolutely no exposed skin (think motorcycle gear) and wear an approved helmet & neck brace. These karts do no have roll cages, so if you flip, it's going to hurt. Because (light) weight can give you an advantage, they divide the field by weight.
The karts themselves have a brake and gas pedals on the left and right foot respectively. No power steering, and at times you have to strain to turn on fast corners. Like I mentioned before, there are no roll cages and you are really just sitting on a flat plate with a steering column and seatback rising from the mostly flat kart. You must use brakes on the corners or you'll flip/spin out. To record lap times, they have transponders on the karts. The course itself is fairly short, with 5 corners in a "B" shape.
When we got there, they handed out T-shirts and wristbands for lunch. They also had 2 "Indy Girls" there (not sure why). They explained the rules and the what was going to occur throughout the day. They first explained the different coloured flags and what each meant. It was confusing at first, but once you get on the track, you learn quickly. We went through a typical race day, which consisted of 3 practice runs (5-10 laps each), a time trial to determine starting position (best lap time) and finally a race. I was in the 9th out of 11 heaviest weight division. Yes, I'm light.
You get a feel for how the karts handle during the practice runs and even though at I started cautious, eventually you get more daring. This meant I spun out a few times pushing the kart to it's limits, but eventually I learned to drift around corners. Overall, it's really fun racing karts and taking those turns.
For the time trial run, I was lucky to have the first position. This meant I only had to pass the really slow people as I lapped them. I came in 3rd out of ten people.
For the actual race, the karts would be closer togther; therefore, having a greater chance for an accident. After a warm up lap were I ascertained that I had a very, very loose kart, I went into the first turn closely behind 1st and 2nd place. Coming out of the turn, the 2nd place driver rammed into 1st place in what seemed like an avoidable collision. I was following so closely behind that I slammed into both of them. Just before colliding, I was damn scared. We were going fast and I imagined my cart sliding underneath the kart in front of me, and then the other guy slicing my head off. Luckily only our wheels collided. All three of us were stopped completely and the whole field passed us. The 2nd place guy got a warning from the referee, but then we were pretty much completely out of the race. Since we were running late, the race was only about 5 laps (normally it's closer to 15). I managed to catch up to a few people, but I obviously didn't place.
Except for final result, it was a really fun day. I think it would be great fun to race against friends, but I don't think it's possible with the way the racing league is set up. :(
posted by Nelson at 10:52 PM
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