The drive of my life
I rented a HPV kart from Moran raceway today. Mike came along with his friend Mark. Moran raceway is a 1.1 mile, 17 turn course that is known as one of the best circuits in the west coast. They were closing at the end of the year, so I figured I'd try this place out.
It was a bit pricy but it wasn't too much considering the investment I may make in buying a kart if I loved it. Well, all in all, I did.
First lap out, I'm overwhelmed by the acceleration when the clutch caught on. I felt the kart vibrate my foot loose as I pressed into the accelerator. It felt like I would never get used to the kart. I took it easy into turn two and moved the kart through the straight, into turn three. Turns four and five are blind downhill chicanes. I didn't think about them and didn't brake enough; I sent myself flying off the track and right back on as I did a full 360. OOPS! I gathered myself and started to really feel the kart out. I could have worried about how much I had to pay for the damage to the kart, I could have realized how dangerous this potentially could be. But it doesn't matter, nothing matters out there but one.
Four laps in, when the cornering forces and acceleration were still overwhelming, I realized this has been the excitement I had been looking for all my life. I had never been happier before! I thought I was going to tear up but I didn't have time to feel that way.
About at the end of the session I had figured out all of the flat-out sections and was working on finding proper entry speed at the trickiest sections. I knew I could go into turn one without braking but I never got the guts to try it out. Turn eight, which is a pretty tight hairpin that leads onto turn nine, was one of the trickiest sections for me. I tried harder each time I came up to it to get my braking and the exit correct. That was all it mattered to me. Each time I would see the reflection of my own eye from the visor. It was looking at me, as if it was asking me why it was important to me that I got it right. I would ignore its guilty stare as I pressed on. I knew damn well why, because I loved it. A question to myself was foolish.
Living on the ragged edge is the greatest feeling for me. Pitching your vehicle towards the apex at what you think is the appropriate slip angle, then gently powering out onto the straight as speed pushes your vehicle to the absolute ege of the track; it is all a great feeling. Better yet is coming back to it and trying to get closer to the appropriate limit.. Getting on the final straight while you know that you did better this lap..
