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