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 

It’s not very often that people go to a dealership and walk away without a car and say that they’ve had a great experience.  However, every once in a while it actually “does” happen.  When it does happen the impression that is left with you is that every dealership should be a professional as Grand Prix Imports. 

Now, we’ve all had our fair share of horror stories and dealerships.  There’s usually so much pressure to buy a car and that there usually involves some sort of belittlement or hassle.  I’ve even heard of brawls breaking loose on the sales floor.  I’ll admit that I used to work at a dealership myself and even though it was low key in comparison to other local dealerships, it could still be a pretty high pressure atmosphere.  That has never happened with Grand Prix Imports, even when they knew that my budget was tighter than most of the clientele that they are usually accustom too.

Joe Hermes (joe@gpimports.com or 800-763-1016) has been so easy to get along with and he’s so easy to talk to that you almost don’t mind paying a little bit extra for the car, just based on his customer service alone.  It’s time we say “thank you” for people like him and he has become the epitome of what a salesperson should be.  He knows his product(s) inside and out.  He’s familiar with how to drive the cars the way they should be driven and he won’t hesitate to take you out to show you (with respect to the traffic laws).  Yes, he did ask me to buy the Ferrari 348 but what good salesperson wouldn’t.  That was it… that was the only pressure that I ever felt from the dealership, “if” you’d call that pressure.  I didn’t buy the car only because personal circumstances prevented me from doing so.  Otherwise I would have bought it without question.

I do have a co-worker that has bought a car from Grand Prix Imports and we, to this day, still talk about the amazing service that they provide and he is looking for his next purchase from them.  Whatever car he chooses, he knows that it will be a great experience.

Joel Tandberg was a guy that I talked to about the performance parts for the Ferrari.  He can get anything from Wheels, tires, suspension, etc.  You name it he can get it.  I’ll be honest, I’ve known Joel for a couple of years now and he’s good at what he does.  So while you’re there be sure to talk to him.

When you’re around car manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Spyker, Panoz, Austin Martin, Porsche and more, you’d expect high class treatment and with Gran Prix Imports you do and more.  Stop by and check them out or look them up online.

Grand Prix Imports
25300 SW Parkway
Wilsonville, OR  97070
Toll Free:  800-763-4016
URL:  http://www.gpimports.com