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Post by da_silva on Apr 11, 2002 16:44:45 GMT -5
yeah but they're a bit of a hike, about a 40 min drive from downtown. you don't have to wear the seatbelts, but you know what the insurance industry is like especially in north America. Doh. They look like crap but it's still quite fun.
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Post by Cine_Man on May 4, 2002 23:36:38 GMT -5
Just pared another 3/10's off my personal best! The S-seuence is beginning to feel like it "flows"... but still having trouble "carrrying" through hairpins.. But now going thru the trap at 52 kph, which means that I must be doing something right. Cine_...
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Post by Henrik on May 20, 2002 16:56:45 GMT -5
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Post by Henrik on Jun 3, 2002 2:34:00 GMT -5
I had a major karting race day yesterday, and feel like discussing it all a bit here now in the aftermath.
To put you up to date, our club is the organizers of the official regional championship since the beginning of the year. Previously, it was really just a club championship, with a group of friends going to the track to have some fun. Racing was fun, and everybody respected each other, not doing anything stupid or overly aggressive. The idea was that the better driver should win, and costs should be kept low.
Since the change to an official championship, the attitude has changed amongst a number of the drivers, and the field has grown considerably. Last year, we would have 10 to 15 drivers starting a race, and this year we are 30. Sure, this brings certain additional excitement, but it has totally changed the atmosphere of the races. A certain number of the drivers are aggressive, but in a bad way, and have no idea of fairness and the spirit that existed previously. Also, with the ever-growing starting field, the marshals are overwhelmed, and the flag errors are become more the rule than the exception.
In my two heats yesterday, I was involved in several incidents that demonstrates this evolution. I had a bad qualifying position as I was 23rd out of 29. At the start, I managed to quickly move up in the field, and soon found myself 15th. At this point I began to battle with a good friend, and we had great fun. This lasted for at least 10 laps, all clean and immensely enjoyable, the sort of thing that drives me to go to the track. Then I made a slight mistake and lost a bit of ground to this driver. At this point, the marshals began waiving a blue flag at me, and so I let the driver behind my past. Then another blue flag, and again I move aside. It has to be said that it is disturbing to your racing “rhythm” to be given a blue flag, but okay that’s part of racing. It turns out that both of these drivers were on the same lap as me, and I should not have let them through. Then on the last lap, on a corner that leads up to the finish line, a corner that is taken flat out, the idiot behind me simply pushes me of the track in order to get past. Going off at this point can be very dangerous due to a lack of space, and the fact that we take the corner at 120kmh. I just managed to save it, and get back on the track to finish 18th. Hmph!
The second heat, again started out fairly well as I had made my way to 7th (starting 10th). At this point I am about to overtake the next driver, he loses it a bit, and so to avoid pushing him off, I slow just a little bit. This is where another comes up next to me, and rams in to the rear corner of my kart, resulting in an instant spin, and end of race for me. Great! No serious damage to the kart or myself, but I was unable to get the kart started again.
I spoke to several buddies after the race, who feel exactly the same. They had been involved in similar incidents, some considerably more costly than mine. Well, I am disappointed by the way the atmosphere and the spirit has changed. The reason why I began racing was to have fun, and I’m not having fun anymore. I can understand in a professional racing series drivers are tough and aggressive, as they do that for a living. I have no desire to race in such a series, and am sad to say that given the current turn of events, I will not be entering anymore races for now. Perhaps if the spirit changes again, or if another friendly series is created, I’ll start again, but for now I’m hanging up my helmet.
As a side note, our club also organized a race for the Swiss National Championship on Sunday. We had the minis race in what is a very important championship. It was a lot of work to handle all that, but in the end everything worked out really well. What is interesting to note is that the racing for these kids was very clean, and very sportsmanlike. No rough stuff, just good clean and tight racing. Pity we’ve lost that in my category.
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Post by Cine_Man on Jun 3, 2002 22:52:24 GMT -5
sorry to hear that bullies are everywhere. It sounds like they pushed you right off the track, out of the pits, and right back into the trailer. its a bit like the "dads fun" hockey night at our neighborhood rink... its supposed to be glorified stickhandling in the name of aerobic exercise... but as soon as a few of the young turks that live nearby in the student dorm show up, its goon hockey time... and, thanks, I don't make my living taking the boards, so goodnight. We can decry the deterioration of sportsmanship... but the pervasive siren song of money/professional/winning is tainting the "love of the game"... there can be no passion when you are paid like a whore to win at any cost... however, that is the example provided at the highest levels.
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Post by Henrik on Jun 11, 2002 14:43:07 GMT -5
Since my last post regarding my racing, I have had some really good news!!
:Bounce:
We have decided to create two categories in my class. One elite, with all the hot-heads, and one fun for the guys like me!
So, as of Sunday, it will back to racing again, but this time in a way that I want to!
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Post by Senninha on Jun 11, 2002 15:32:24 GMT -5
Great news Henrik! Nice to see that you've got that sorted ;D
Good luck for Sunday - and have fun this time around!
:Bounce:
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Post by Henrik on Jun 11, 2002 15:56:42 GMT -5
You bet I will!!
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Post by Cine_Man on Jun 11, 2002 21:43:43 GMT -5
Wish I was there!
Cine_...
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Post by OT on Jun 14, 2002 2:11:16 GMT -5
Yeah - go for it Henrik - push a few of those bastards off the track!!
....hehehe ....enjoy mate
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Post by Henrik on Jun 14, 2002 4:51:21 GMT -5
OT, Thanks for the encouragement!! You bet I'll go get 'em! I think my first podium finish is not far away now.....
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Post by Henrik on Jun 17, 2002 3:21:07 GMT -5
Following on the previous post, I had my first race day in with the “new championship yesterday, and what a race day it was!!
The venue was at a track we had never been to before, and was a bit too far away. Had to get up at 4:45 in the morning to get there, having slept some 2 hours in all. The day looked to be hot, with a possibility of a thunderstorm.
The track itself proved to be very nice. Probably the longest I have raced on, with lap times around the minute. Very technical, and with few good places to pass, physical condition seemed to be an important factor to do well.
Following the changes to the categories, the atmosphere in the paddock was very calm, almost serene. Everybody was friendly and helpful, non of the aggressiveness we had seen in the previous weekends. So, on with the qualifying, and the discovery of the track.
Qualifying was difficult, primarily as it was a new circuits, and some of the trickiest corners were hard to work out. I never managed to get a really good lap, making a mistake in one or to places each lap. Still, the time was good enough to qualify 6th out of ten, and so I wouldn’t be at the back of the grid.
With the weather having looked menacing for a while, by the time we got to the first race, the skies had cleared totally, and it was hot, damn hot! The race kicked off, and so we were basically three groups on the track, either fighting for 1st, 4th or 7th. I was in a group of three karts fighting for 4th, and what a fight it was! We would go lap after lap, very closely together, and being in 5th, I kept putting the pressure on the guy in front to get by. He did some very small mistakes, but not enough for me to get by. Then my engine began having some trouble at the exit of a hairpin, and the guy behind jumped on the occasion to pass. So, I began really putting the pressure on him to regain my position, as I was faster throughout a lap, except for the exit of that hairpin. It paid off, and I regained 5th and again began fighting for 4th. On the last lap, I almost got by, as the guy in front went a bit wide, but instead, at the hairpin, the one behind again managed to pass, and so I finished like I started 6th.
The second race saw me starting from 4th, as we inverse the start grid from the positions of race one. Making a good start, I was up in 2nd right away. I was determined to keep this position, and so I tried to drive as cleanly as possible, in spite of my tires giving me some trouble in the intense heat. The fastest guy of our group managed to get by, but soon the young leader made a mistake and went of the track. For the rest of the race, I managed not to make the slightest mistake, and partly thanks to my physical training, I was able to hold on to 2nd until the end.
We were all ecstatic in the end, as both races had been amazing. Clean, yet intense battles, exactly what we are all looking for. I couldn’t be happier for the result, as I thoroughly enjoyed racing again. The fact that I ended with 1 point from 3rd overall (and as a consequence just missed out on my first podium), was annoying, the enjoyment I got from the racing far out-weighed that.
Looking forward to the next one…..
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Post by OT on Jun 17, 2002 6:08:25 GMT -5
Good stuff Henrik - Well done!!
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Post by Henrik on Jun 17, 2002 6:27:02 GMT -5
OT!
Thanks!!
Now, if only I could get that engine tuned....
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Post by OT on Jun 17, 2002 7:36:07 GMT -5
sorry henrik - i've forgotten all my formulas from the old days - there again, you probably wouldn't want them - i melted a couple of heads....
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