Archive for September, 2008

08
Sep

Still a Kimi Raikkonen Fan, Always a Kimi Raikkonen Fan

By BernieR 1 Comment
Categories: Motorsports

After watching the 2008 Formula 1 race in Belgum, I have never been more upset with the Finn, Kimi Raikkonen.  However, I can’t say that I blame him for spinning out and crashing into the wall… we was trying to get his lead back.  I know that he was in a “win it or crash trying” but it almost seem like reverting back to what a rookie would do.  It just didn’t seem like Kimi was driving the car in the closing laps of the race.

As for Louis Hamilton, I’m not sure how to feel about the pass.  It was clear that he shorted the chicane and that he slowed down to let Kimi by.  It was also clear that he didn’t immediately give up the position, even though it was before the next corner.  He did slow down just barley enough to take the slipstream of Kimi’s car.  If it wasn’t for that move in itself, I believe that Kimi would have gone on to win the race.

That being said, I do think that there is a solution to this.  We’ve seen this in Grand Turismo 4 and Grand Turismo 5 Prologue.  The five-second penalty.  When a shortcut has occurred I believe that there should be a button installed that would allow for a five-second slowdown.  This means that the driver must hit the button, which will immediately prevent the revs from going over a specified RPM for five seconds.  The driver would be allowed to remain on the driving line though and a blue cluster of LEDs would be on the back of the car to inform other drivers that the five-second penalty has been initiated for that car.  I feel if something like this would have been in place, then Hamilton would have not as much time and could have had a shot for the lead or worst be placed in second, rather than the third place the stewards had penalized him with.  I feel that the stewards were right in their decision.  A penalty should have been assessed.  I’m just not sure if it was the right penalty.  If anything one should be assessed for the next race (Monza) for this next week.

As things have played out though, I’m still a Kimi fan and always will be!  Go-Kimi-Go!

06
Sep

I did it! Making Time for Nine-Horsepower.

By BernieR 0 Comments
Categories: Automotive Product Reviews and Motorsports

Friday, September 5th, 2008, I went into SyKart to try and qualify for the 9-hp karts.  The grip of the course was very slick and unlikely that I would be able to post a fast time, let alone qualify. I signed up for two stints anyway and thought I would “give it a go”.

I was there with Mike (www.smithracingdevelopment.com), my instructor from my karting class the Wednesday before.  I was also accompanied by Joshua, a 15-year old who happen to be a karting champion in his class earlier in the year and his father, Mike.  The four of us chatted for a while about Formula One and gave justification on why our favorite drivers were not doing well and who’s looking hot for next year. 

After about twenty minutes of chatting we headed out onto the track with Joshua in the lead.  I did my best to follow his line and to keep him in my sites throughout.  This was fine till our tires started to get sticky and he pulled away from me.  One thing that I noticed while following him was that I was paying attention to his driving rather than my own and the tips that I had learned from the class.  This is why I think I was slow and didn’t post a time that I needed for qualifying.  My time by the end of the session was 31.7-seconds.  The same time that I posted the Wednesday before.  Somewhat frustrated, I knew that track was slick and I felt that wasn’t really an excuse. 

After another short chat with the four of us, Joshua and I headed out again to try and get our lap-times down.  Mike instructed me to take the front kart and for Joshua to take the kart behind.  From the pits, I decided that I was going to let Joshua by because I didn’t want to hinder his lap times.  So as I pulled out onto the track I thought I would go wide and let him by… instead I put it directly into the wall and made a fool of myself.  Funny, but a little embarrassing… “I should be better than this,” I told myself.  In any case, Joshua waved me to go first so I did.  I decided that I would really concentrate on what I learned from the class before and even try a couple of new things to hit my lines right.  After about five or six laps Joshua passed me and again I was to watch his lines.  After a couple of laps after he passed me, Mike stepped out onto the track and started clapping.  I knew I had made my qualifying time.  I wanted to celebrate but I thought that this was also a great opportunity to really concentrate on what I was doing right and keep the momentum going.  I ended up hitting my qualifying time four times in that one session.  Looking back, I think that it was helpful that I lead in the beginning when our tires were cold.  As the track got better, I was able to watch the lines of Joshua and also keep the momentum going throughout the stint. 

As I got out of the kart, Mike asked me if I could guess my time.  I told him that I probably barley made the cut-off and guessed a 31.5 or 31.4-second lap.  To my surprise, Mike told me that I got a 31.1-second lap.  Then he asked me where I got all that speed?  To be honest… I really think it had to do with the class that night and the help of Mike.   I did take note of a couple of new breaking points that I tried out for helping with my slip-angle and also toyed with the “Esses” to get the smoothest line/transition throughout.

My next go will be on the 9-hp karts.  I don’t really know what to expect except I will need to just remember what I learned in the class and keep practicing.  I will keep you posted on how things turn out.

Lap 1- 33.115
Lap 2- 32.501
Lap 3- 32.259
Lap 4- 32.071
Lap 5- 31.854
Lap 6- 32.540
Lap 7- 31.652
Lap 8- 31.527
Lap 9- 31.576
Lap 10- 31.162 **
Lap 11- 31.661
Lap 12- 31.278 *
Lap 13- 31.888
Lap 14- 31.603
Lap 15- 31.789
Lap 16- 31.359 *
Lap 17- 31.324 *
Lap 18- 31.694
Average:  31.825

* Qualifying time for 9-hp Kart
** Fastest time for my stint

05
Sep

SyKart (Tigard, Oregon) Karting Class

By BernieR 0 Comments
Categories: Automotive Product Reviews and Motorsports

I took the SyKart Karting Class this last Wednesday.  I was surprised to learn that I was doing everything wrong when it comes to indoor karting.  I’m not going to give too much detail to what we learned in the class because I really think that it’s something that you should experience for yourself.  The reason why I took this class is to become a better racer and to get ready for an endurance karting event in the next couple of weeks.  The other reason is that I wanted to graduate from the 6.5-hp karts to the 9-hp karts.

During the class we went over the track itself, slip-angle, momentum, driving line and so much more.  We started off in the class room where our instructor Mike Smith (http://www.smithracingdevelopment.com) introduced himself and gave a brief history of his experiences.  Some may argue with me on this, but Mike actually knows what he’s talking about and genuinely wants to help you develop as a racer.  For that experience in itself is worth the cost of the class.

Our first Session out was to see how we normally drive and pick up on what mistakes we were making in general.  Each session is ten-minutes long, which is long enough for Mike to point out quickly where our improvements can easily be made.  My fastest time in that session was 32.5-seconds.  From there we headed to the classroom to discuss our good points and bad points.

Our next session was to concentrate on the few items that Mike picked out for us.  That in itself dropped my time down to 31.7 seconds.  The things that he told us to work on the most, was the most helpful and laid the foundation for the rest of the evening.  Again we headed back to the class room to work on technique and where we can still improve our times.

The third session brought all of out for several laps where we did a “follow the leader” session.  This is where each one of us followed Mike for four to five laps to see the ideal line and where our slip angle should be initiated.  This is actually much harder than it sounds.  Our speeds are much slower than what they normally would be but paying attention to the line and remember to work on other foundation work puts the brain in an overload.  However, the slower speeds allow for subtle mistakes here and there.  Once “follow the leader” was done, he peeled off and allowed us to continue to work on our fundamentals and work on the driving line.  At this point we continued to drive as Mike followed us and checked our lines and took mental notes for our classroom session.  Once again we headed off to the classroom to discuss our techniques and places to improve.

The fourth session was putting it all together.  This was where tried to qualify for our goal time.  My target was 31.5 seconds.  The kart felt good during this heat and I felt much more relaxed and fast at the same time.  Unfortunately, I hit 31.6 seconds… five times!  As frustrating as it was to not make the qualifying time, I knew where my mistakes were and where my slowest sections were.  When we were back in the class room, I discovered that I had been over driving the kart and not driving the ideal line through the “Esses”.  However, I felt much faster through the closing radius turns more than ever before.

Back out for the final session, I needed to experiment with different techniques that Mike told me to work on for the “Esses”.  This was good, but I found that I was thinking more about that one section of the track over the rest.  I believe this was my pitfall and my time dropped back down to a 31.7 second lap.  Back at the class, Mike gave us more things to work on and offered his assistance for future classes.

This class was worth it in every way to become a better kart driver.  I will definitely take these techniques that Mike taught us and bring them to any track I come across.  Spending a little bit of time on the track with someone who knows what they’re talking about and taking my time to learn them has made me almost a second faster.  Whereas before I would push the kart and myself every 10-minute session so I would make the most of my money spent.  Now, that I know what I need to do, I feel that I can go to each future session with better knowledge of how to hit my goal time.  I will hit my 31.5-second goal… I just don’t know when.  It will be soon though.

Class Evaluation:
10 / 10 (even though I didn’t hit my goal)

Cost:
$45.00 for 3-hour class

Instructor:
Mike Smith (www.smithracingdevelopment.com)
email:  m.smith@smithracingdevelopment.com 

Location: 
Sykart (www.sykart.com)
8205 SW Hunziker St
Tigard, OR 97223
Tel: 503-684-5060
Fax: 503-620-9481
E-mail: tigard@sykart.com