My watch for today's kart race

A vendor treated us out for a free outing at an indoor GoKart racing venue this afternoon and with lunch being provided I thought it was too good a thing to pass up. I drive by this place pretty often since it's situated right next to the 101 freeway that runs from San Francisco down to Silicon Valley but never had the chance to step inside till today. Now having gone thru about 50 laps on the course in one of their racing karts going wheel to wheel thru hairpins and sweepers and chicanes, I have an even higher amount of respect for the professional racers out there. Anyone interested in racing GoKarts already know this but it was first time trying it out. I certainly was not as fast as I thought I was - in fact I got my butt handed to me by my co-worker even, someone who wasn't even a racing aficionado. The whole scene puts you right there in thinking you're a real racer if for just a few minutes, from prepping by switching into jumpsuits, learning how what the different flags indicate out on the course, to getting strapped into a 4-point racing harness and donning a DOT-approved helmet, wrapping on the neck support, etc.

After a few practice laps and we all warmed up to how the course ran, after the break a breakout session determined the running order on the grid. There were two tracks available and we were on the more technical 'Monza' track. Their fleet of Sodi RX7 European racing karts pictured with me as taken by my co-worker via iPhone. Game on!



Some ballast weight is added to all of the karts to eliminate any advantage that could be gained by lighter racers, to be sure that racing skill is the only advantage. Believe it or not, these machines can pull a 2G plus turn no problem and can get up to about 40 mph which is quite a bit considering you're racing indoors. My arms were aching after even a few 'gentle' laps and the 20 minute race had us doing about 30 of them. Towards the end of the session I was pretty beat up as I think most of us were. Pretty sure I could have done better but for the first time I was ok running in the middle of the pack. Vettel and Webber and Schumi got nothing to worry about, that's for damn sure. Witness the mediocrity...



What I was wearing which I thought was appropriate, a Tissot PRS 516 chrono re-edition. Didn't look at it once after the green flag, but it put me in the right frame of mind at least. And yes you need a GoKart Racer License before you're allowed onto the course. Try it for yourself, it's a HOOT.





In case you want to know more about the place.
http://www.gokartracer.com/index.php

Now that looks, and looked like FUN Waruilewi ! It's great how they basically give you
the feel of being a race car driver like this. All of the preparation, laps, equipment, and of
course cool cars sound very impressive. ..Those tracks look pretty intimidating as well,
and it's neat to see your times there. Who knows this could be a brand new hobby for
you now because it REALLY looks like alot of fun. Thanks for the pictures of everything.
By the way, your Tissot definitely looks right at home at the track. Beautiful watch !