A Tale of 8 years...

[marcus]

8 years ago I ended my karting career backwards in a sandtrap , at the time I didnt know it would be my last race but due to money concerns and the ever increasing cost of running a kart soon after I sold all my equipment.

Yesterday however I got back in the saddle , after such a long time out of the seat I was really looking forward to having a blast in one.

I used to race an Arrow AX6 chassis with a Yamaha 100cc clubman engine on it and it was a blast.

Yesterday I stepped into an Arrow AX8 Chassis with a 125cc Rotax engine on it and it was superb

A friend of mine has recently purchased the kart (he hasnt raced for about 5 years) and offered me the chance to step in and have a crack at my local track.

I must say as Im typing this the next day my arms and shoulders are pretty sore LOL

I completed about 30 laps for the day and didnt spin once
but the buzz it gave me was awesome.

My first run was very messy as I wasnt getting lines and apexes correct and was just sideways everywhere but by the end of the day I was hitting things perfectly and keeping the kart as straight as possible and got down to some very impressive times (apparently within half a second of the current race pace of the club champion)

Not bad I thought after 8 years of not driving anything competitive.

The thump in the back it gives you is great , the sound of the Rotax engine at full noise is like music to the ears , the chirping of the tires looking for grip is at first daunting but you find the limit of adhesion quickly and know that it will hold.

The biggest thing I learnt was comitment , to go fast you have to know that its going to stick , using all the road running it out to the kerbs but not overstepping the limit is such a buzz and one that I surely miss.

It has certainly reignited my fire for racing and would dearly love to buy a kart and get back into it full time again but of course 8 years down the tack I know have a wife , a child and a mortgage and little room to manoeuver a kart into the family budget at this point in time , but one can dream

So if you havent been in a kart for a long time , try and get in one if you can you wont be dissapointed , it brings everything flooding back and even more.

It surely is one of the purest forms of racing on the planet and one that I would almost sell a kidney for LOL

This story doesnt really mean much but just thought I would share it with you guys while its still fresh in my memory

CHEERS
Marcus

[marcus]

Got some pictures back from my outing the other day and they look pretty good so thought I would share 2 of them with you.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...G/IMG_3575.jpg

Looks good


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...G/IMG_3590.jpg

Just a hint of opposite lock exiting a turn

[ghinzani]

good stuff Marcus, the Rotax's are certainly user friendly - saying that mines been in a box since December whilst I concentrate on the 4 strokes. I must build it up again soon, in a newer chassis, however Im tempted more by a clutched 100 I have sat around, for my money the lighter engine and power delivery of a clutched 100 beats the Rotax - its just finding somewhere to rave it of course as the MSA tracks over here wont let you run. Oh and that Arrow looks nice but it couldnt race with that bodywork in MSA events over here any more - dumb isnt it?

Glad to see you are back in the saddle - hope you find a way of getting back out there.

[marcus]

Cheers Ghinzani

Im a little confused though about the bodywork comment ?

What you see in the picture is what we race with here in Australia , are you saying you are not allowed to run with nosecones and sidepods where you are ?

Mind you I have no idea what MSA is either , I guess I really am at the arse end of the earth LOL

[ghinzani]

Far from it Marcus, the MSA deemed, I guess under pressure from the not-yet-rich-enough manufacturers that square pods, non-full width nosecones and rearward facing front pod bars werent safe enough (they were previously deemed safe) so everyones having to replace bodywork and chassis or weld on new pod mounts (yep thats safe!). MSA is I guess your equivalent of CAMS? ie the national sporting authority who report to the FIA/CIK.

[Sam-KK24]

That Chainguard is not allowed anymore either..

The new one came in at the start of 05 I think?

[ghinzani]

Yeah glad the aussies havent caved in like our authorities. One of the reasons why I prefer to race non-MSA.

[marcus]

OK thanks for that I didnt quite understand.

I guess in the next yer or so we will follow suite but for now thats the way we can run the karts

[#15 tkm 4/]

next year we will be running the plastic rear bumpers, so you get that ion about 3 years time

[marcus]

well after sampling this kart after so long I since have had another go as well and yesterday signed up for my licence and club membership again.

I am now about to purchase a similar kart this week and return to racing

Im pretty excited about it even if my bank balance isnt LOL

[marcus]

well to follow on from this story and back to this thread http://tentenths.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107947 today I made my return to racing after 8 years.......

It was a terrible day weather wise here in Oz and after suffering a DNF because my battery terminal was jumping off and cut my engine power , i competed in 4 races and finished 3 of them

4th , 4th and 3rd to give me 3rd outright for the day and a podium position

Im very happy with the way things went today considering the conditions (3 wet races and one we managed to get in on slicks) (P.S the race on slicks is where my battery terminal worked loose , on the last lap whilst in 4th mind you)

Im over the moon , and my wife and daughter were very impressed (they have never seen me drive in anger so to speak before)

I think I scared my wife in my first race after having contact with another Kart when I dived down the inside into a hairpin and was all locked up and sidways into the turn giving the other guy the grass or my sidepod option , he chose3 my sidepod but we both managed to continue on and I made the place

Im sort of glad it was wet , it brought the field back to my level and I could use my skill and ability ( yes I know Im bragging) to make up for my lack of speed to gain places.

If it was dry I dont think I would have got a podium because Im still working on my driving but the wet enabled me to be closer than normal and I took full advantage of it and passed guys whenever I had a chance.

all in all Im very happy with where i am at , its a good start and hopefully I can keep the momentum (sp) up and continue on and produce more podiums to finish the year.

so thats it besides my battery working loose it was the only problem I had and i didnt even spin the whole day (maybe I wasnt trying hard enough ??) but Im back and Im where I belong

CHEERS
Happy Karter Marcus

But 3rd for the day was a great incentive and has only made me more determined to go on racing