KARTING
How can anyone not love karting? And how can I not do a page on it? :p
Tracks I've been to (and yeah, driven on obviously!)
Well I actually don't have that much experience in real life! I've had plenty of self-training on the WRC playstation games and suchlike, but here are all the tracks I've driven on:
Oakwood Theme Park Wales (Junior Track - 1991)
Indoor Karting in Clapham London somewhere (1993 - only got one go and was sick - GRRRRR)
Oakwood Senior Track (various, late 90's)
Porthcawl Funfair (Summer 1999 several times)
Pembrey Kart Track (2000, 4 visits)
Indoor Karting Swansea Leisure Centre (Temporary, 2 visits, 2002)
Thruxton Kart Track (1 Arrive and drive in 2004, 2 sets of 2 arrive and drives in 2005)
Premier Karting Reading, Indoor Track (12 Visits, 2005)
RETIRED
Oakwood Theme Park Wales (Junior Track - 1991)
Indoor Karting in Clapham London somewhere (1993 - only got one go and was sick - GRRRRR)
Oakwood Senior Track (various, late 90's)
Porthcawl Funfair (Summer 1999 several times)
Pembrey Kart Track (2000, 4 visits)
Indoor Karting Swansea Leisure Centre (Temporary, 2 visits, 2002)
Thruxton Kart Track (1 Arrive and drive in 2004, 2 sets of 2 arrive and drives in 2005)
Premier Karting Reading, Indoor Track (12 Visits, 2005)
RETIRED
THRUXTON KART TRACK
Visit 1 - May 2004 - Arrive and Drive (1 x 20 mins)
A strange one this, I got lost in Wiltshire, drove all round the Thruxton village area before somehow stumbling on the track in time, having driven from South Wales! Only to find that I wasn't booked in even though I had booked by phone and said they'd see me Tuesday! I think they kindly gave me extra time on track so I was happy.
Best Time: 56.507, 55.807 on extra time.
My self-Rating: 7/10 - It was actually a very conservative first effort, but I still don't blame myself for it.
For those of you that have been to Thruxton Kart Track, yes I KNOW that isn't a particularly good time, given the lap record was like 48.000(?) (the official one seems to be 49.11 now) :p
Visit 2 - April 2005 - Arrive and Drive (2 x 20 mins)
Now living in Reading, Thruxton was still 1:15 hrs away! Bombing down the A34 at 90mph to get there in time (yeah I know) it was an absolute MONSOON, like when the windscreen wipers are on full and it's still not enough! Thankfully it had stopped by the time I got there, but the track was soaked. There were 2 other guys, and we were allowed on track. YAY!
Trouble was, this was my first real go in the wet. I led away at the start, only to half-spin and let this guy Brian into the lead, where a litany of mistakes including a totally spectacular but ridiculouly unnecessary spin put me on the grass at the end of the curved back straight. It was so avoidable and massively lazy of me as I saw it coming but just sat and let it happen! Not my best day! So I came 2nd on track and in the times.
The other guy Brian said every time he's ever driven outdoors, it always managed to be changeable/wet conditions, and once again it was no different! I had only ever done 4 "installation" laps in the wet a few years earlier. He was saying afterwards how there's a totally different line you take into corners in the wet. I actually already knew this from F1, but in practice I just found it too hard to go against my instincts. I was amazed when I did go slightly wider into the big turns after the curved back straight; I thought I was doing really well modulating the traction with the throttle. But then Brian comes past me round the OUTSIDE like I'm standing still. It was astonishing. So on the final few laps, I tried going a little wider - I was still only halfway out (I found it too hard to go against my instincts), and yet I noticed I got massively more drive and speed - so the outside drier line really works, massively so!
The second half was more fun! Once again I led away at the start, only to again suffer a half-spin and let Brian through into the lead. More silly mistakes followed, keeping me well behind. But then everything started to change. The track was beginning to really dry out and now I was suddenly coming right back into the game! I had had experience of this track in the dry (only 20 mins the previous year though) and he had none, so now, using my extra knowledge I was suddenly catching him hand over fist! After a while of keeping my head down and trying to be consistent, I made up all the deficit and could see him right in front of me! He was making small mistakes here and there, but being close behind I repeated them all myself (what Martin Brundle calls going off in sympathy) so was unable to take advantage. The 20 minutes were coming to a close and the race was really on now! Although it was just a bit of fun, I did want to "win" and he surely did too! Because we all know it's not the taking part that counts - it's the winning (haha)!
With my confidence coming back and my focus finally switching on a bit, I searched for a place to overtake. Coming onto the pit straight one time, he went all wide over the grass and kerbs. I saw him raise his hand expressing his frustration with himself for his mistake. Following a second or so behind, I saw the whole thing. I thought "yeah I know exactly how you feel!" I almost got past into turn 1 but failed to capitalise as I was too conservative. The flag came out and that was that. I backed off. But I failed to realise we can still race, we just have to slow right down into the pitlane. I would surely have had him if I hadn't slowed down. He said so himself when we got out at the end. It was great to hear his side of the story, having been enjoying a huge lead, then being shocked as it dried out and when looking behind, saw me coming into the distance having got some sort of rocket boost! Then the next lap he looked again and I was RIGHT behind him haha!! Good times.
He might have "won" the race (by the skin of his teeth), but I got the fastest time of the day (to the tune of about 1.5sec) - so there!
Best Time: 1:05 (1st half) 0:57 (2nd half)
My Self-Rating: 5/10 - a mediocre effort really, as I was capable of better by now. 13 spins not good enough. Promising ending though.
Visit 3 - May 2005
By now I had been visiting my local indoor track on an almost weekly basis for a few months since moving to Reading. So now my instincts were much more honed and I was interested to see how I would now go after my conservative 2004 effort (which I knew I was capable of much better than). Without telling anyone, I got in some sneaky practice at the local track before then going to Thruxton for my 2 arrive-and-drives! Truth be told, it was a dulled effort. I wasn't sharp, though I still feel I was driving well, just not anything special.
It was just one of those days as I could still feel I was blunt at Thruxton. One of the staff went out on track with me, caught me and overtook me. This gave me the chance to see first-hand how things are done around here! And the truth which I had believed was confirmed: I was losing a stack of time in the slow stuff - just the 4 or 5 corners from the turn 3 (?) hairpin down to the bridge, then the uphill left hairpin on the other side. On just those few corners, he was making up at least a whole second on me! Interestingly, on the entire remaining length of the track - that's coming out of the hairpin after the bridge, thru the fast chicane onto the back straight, into the fast flowing corners, a chicane, the final square corner onto the pit straight, the connected turns 1 and 2, down to the turn 3 hairpin. Through all that track (like 80% or more of the track) I was only losing less than 0.5sec to him, so I was very happy. My time was
For the second half, I was joined by a group of guys. I went out with the first 5. I had no idea how good they would be, so I had the prudent attitude that they could be freaking fast. I led away from the pit lane, and you know what, I didn't look back. Knowing they would need to acclimatise, I made full use of the fact I'd already had a session (and one before that in Reading!) and wasted no time. From the first second, I drove like I was driving for my life. I drove like I stole it and didn't dare look back. I fully expected they would soon catch and surpass me. After a while, I lapped one of the strugglers. That made me more confident. Then I lapped another, then another. I soon realised that I was the fastest guy by some margin, cos it was like an arcade game, overtaking computer cars on every lap! It turns out that I didn't need to worry.
Best Time - 52.42 (1st half), 51.21 (2nd half)
My Self-Rating: 8/10 - Finally, a representative lap time. Still some way off the record but there was more to come at this point.
A strange one this, I got lost in Wiltshire, drove all round the Thruxton village area before somehow stumbling on the track in time, having driven from South Wales! Only to find that I wasn't booked in even though I had booked by phone and said they'd see me Tuesday! I think they kindly gave me extra time on track so I was happy.
Best Time: 56.507, 55.807 on extra time.
My self-Rating: 7/10 - It was actually a very conservative first effort, but I still don't blame myself for it.
For those of you that have been to Thruxton Kart Track, yes I KNOW that isn't a particularly good time, given the lap record was like 48.000(?) (the official one seems to be 49.11 now) :p
Visit 2 - April 2005 - Arrive and Drive (2 x 20 mins)
Now living in Reading, Thruxton was still 1:15 hrs away! Bombing down the A34 at 90mph to get there in time (yeah I know) it was an absolute MONSOON, like when the windscreen wipers are on full and it's still not enough! Thankfully it had stopped by the time I got there, but the track was soaked. There were 2 other guys, and we were allowed on track. YAY!
Trouble was, this was my first real go in the wet. I led away at the start, only to half-spin and let this guy Brian into the lead, where a litany of mistakes including a totally spectacular but ridiculouly unnecessary spin put me on the grass at the end of the curved back straight. It was so avoidable and massively lazy of me as I saw it coming but just sat and let it happen! Not my best day! So I came 2nd on track and in the times.
The other guy Brian said every time he's ever driven outdoors, it always managed to be changeable/wet conditions, and once again it was no different! I had only ever done 4 "installation" laps in the wet a few years earlier. He was saying afterwards how there's a totally different line you take into corners in the wet. I actually already knew this from F1, but in practice I just found it too hard to go against my instincts. I was amazed when I did go slightly wider into the big turns after the curved back straight; I thought I was doing really well modulating the traction with the throttle. But then Brian comes past me round the OUTSIDE like I'm standing still. It was astonishing. So on the final few laps, I tried going a little wider - I was still only halfway out (I found it too hard to go against my instincts), and yet I noticed I got massively more drive and speed - so the outside drier line really works, massively so!
The second half was more fun! Once again I led away at the start, only to again suffer a half-spin and let Brian through into the lead. More silly mistakes followed, keeping me well behind. But then everything started to change. The track was beginning to really dry out and now I was suddenly coming right back into the game! I had had experience of this track in the dry (only 20 mins the previous year though) and he had none, so now, using my extra knowledge I was suddenly catching him hand over fist! After a while of keeping my head down and trying to be consistent, I made up all the deficit and could see him right in front of me! He was making small mistakes here and there, but being close behind I repeated them all myself (what Martin Brundle calls going off in sympathy) so was unable to take advantage. The 20 minutes were coming to a close and the race was really on now! Although it was just a bit of fun, I did want to "win" and he surely did too! Because we all know it's not the taking part that counts - it's the winning (haha)!
With my confidence coming back and my focus finally switching on a bit, I searched for a place to overtake. Coming onto the pit straight one time, he went all wide over the grass and kerbs. I saw him raise his hand expressing his frustration with himself for his mistake. Following a second or so behind, I saw the whole thing. I thought "yeah I know exactly how you feel!" I almost got past into turn 1 but failed to capitalise as I was too conservative. The flag came out and that was that. I backed off. But I failed to realise we can still race, we just have to slow right down into the pitlane. I would surely have had him if I hadn't slowed down. He said so himself when we got out at the end. It was great to hear his side of the story, having been enjoying a huge lead, then being shocked as it dried out and when looking behind, saw me coming into the distance having got some sort of rocket boost! Then the next lap he looked again and I was RIGHT behind him haha!! Good times.
He might have "won" the race (by the skin of his teeth), but I got the fastest time of the day (to the tune of about 1.5sec) - so there!
Best Time: 1:05 (1st half) 0:57 (2nd half)
My Self-Rating: 5/10 - a mediocre effort really, as I was capable of better by now. 13 spins not good enough. Promising ending though.
Visit 3 - May 2005
By now I had been visiting my local indoor track on an almost weekly basis for a few months since moving to Reading. So now my instincts were much more honed and I was interested to see how I would now go after my conservative 2004 effort (which I knew I was capable of much better than). Without telling anyone, I got in some sneaky practice at the local track before then going to Thruxton for my 2 arrive-and-drives! Truth be told, it was a dulled effort. I wasn't sharp, though I still feel I was driving well, just not anything special.
It was just one of those days as I could still feel I was blunt at Thruxton. One of the staff went out on track with me, caught me and overtook me. This gave me the chance to see first-hand how things are done around here! And the truth which I had believed was confirmed: I was losing a stack of time in the slow stuff - just the 4 or 5 corners from the turn 3 (?) hairpin down to the bridge, then the uphill left hairpin on the other side. On just those few corners, he was making up at least a whole second on me! Interestingly, on the entire remaining length of the track - that's coming out of the hairpin after the bridge, thru the fast chicane onto the back straight, into the fast flowing corners, a chicane, the final square corner onto the pit straight, the connected turns 1 and 2, down to the turn 3 hairpin. Through all that track (like 80% or more of the track) I was only losing less than 0.5sec to him, so I was very happy. My time was
For the second half, I was joined by a group of guys. I went out with the first 5. I had no idea how good they would be, so I had the prudent attitude that they could be freaking fast. I led away from the pit lane, and you know what, I didn't look back. Knowing they would need to acclimatise, I made full use of the fact I'd already had a session (and one before that in Reading!) and wasted no time. From the first second, I drove like I was driving for my life. I drove like I stole it and didn't dare look back. I fully expected they would soon catch and surpass me. After a while, I lapped one of the strugglers. That made me more confident. Then I lapped another, then another. I soon realised that I was the fastest guy by some margin, cos it was like an arcade game, overtaking computer cars on every lap! It turns out that I didn't need to worry.
Best Time - 52.42 (1st half), 51.21 (2nd half)
My Self-Rating: 8/10 - Finally, a representative lap time. Still some way off the record but there was more to come at this point.