Karoline and I made another trip down to MRP Raceway to meet up with Marshall Martin and the LSR Motorsports crew for a day on the track. Marshall made some changes to the CRG/Rotax based on my last drive to see if we could get a little better setup for my small size. He made an axle change, a smaller seat and a few minor changes and the plan was to go out, have some fun and to work on some consistent laps.
Marshall made a few call that brought out a bunch of LSR/CRG drivers for me to run with during the day. A big thank you to everyone who showed up, I enjoyed running around with everyone.
Eric LaLone spent a good part of the day working/mentoring me and I have to thank him for some great advise on my lines and for continuously dragging and pushing me into the braking till you see god zone. Eric is a great track and kart mentor who knows karting inside and out.
I also want to thank Rotax engine builder Al Menting and his son Josh. Josh is a top notch driver who ran a few laps with me while breaking in his engine for the Rotax Nations and gave me even more tips to get up to speed. Big props to Al and Marshall who work tirelessly at keeping the Rotax series going and it shows in the number of drivers who wander in and out of our pits throughout the day looking for chassis and engine advise. These two guys really care about this sport and are the CRG/Rotax gods in this area
.It was a good day for me, I found consistency in my driving and my lap times. Last time out I struggled mightily with neck issues. This time out I changed my Nolan helmet for my old Shoei X11 and that made a huge difference. No more neck problems. I got down to the mid 50's and I'm happy with that for the moment. High 48's is the record so with a bit more time on the setup I think I can get it there.
Another interesting thing you find in karting is the father/son/daughters who seem to be everywhere in karting. Very similar to motocross and very different from motorcycle roadracing. Kevin and his son Ryan (who runs a Mini Max kart) prove just how much a young kid (4th grader) can be at driving. Ryan regularly runs down and passes the bigger Rotax Max karts and drivers. Josh is 17 and is amazingly fast, but his consistency at lap record pace really opens your eyes to what karting can do for your driving skills. MRP offers a cool ride and drive deal using Honda four strokes if you ever want to try this sport out. It's cheap and its a fun way to see if karting is for you.
I have to continue to say that these 125 karts are just insane. The speed comes fast and the brakes are just crazy awesome. The cornering G force is never ending and they are very challenging to drive and control. I can see why drivers from Formula One to Nascar use these karts to stay sharp. They require your full attention if you are able to drive them fast. The extract your maximum effort.
I also brought my friend Don Proctor out for the day, he arrived a little late in the day but we shoved his 250 LB, 6 foot plus body into Marshalls 2 speed Rotax RM1. He surmised that two wheels probably work better for him. He did however get the chance to see where I was heading for the future.
I have to go back to the cost of karting vs the cost of sportbikes. No question karting is as much if not more fun and much cheaper. Tires are better than 1/2 the cost of motorcycle tires and they last forever. Heck Eric ran the Rotax RM1 (replaced by the Rotax DDR2)on two year old tires and he was pretty damm fast all day. The sealed engine package is bulletproof and the cost of a trackday is 1/4 the cost of a motorcycle trackday. Best of all you can just show up any dya ofthe week and run, alone or with a group of friends. Of course as we have found some people are good with four wheels and some prefer two. As was the case with Don. On the other hand former WERA racer Dave Theil loves the karts and Iexpect him to join me next year.
All in all it was a great day. I am finally ready to buy my kart. Karoline will be heading up to the Rotax Nationals in Shawano Wisconsin, a big long trip as we will check that out mid week and then drive down to Indianapolis for the US Moto GP. Once that is out of the way we will turn our attention to karting on a a full time basis.
Thanks again to Marshall Matin (LSR Motorsports) and Jim Boltz (SSC West) for making this happen for me.
If you love speed, I highly recommend karting as a reasonable motorsport to participate in (as compared to other motorsports). I suggest that you check out MRP (Birel chassis dealer) or LSR Motorsports (CRG chassis) if you are looking to get into karting. They offer a rental/test program as well as schooling. They also run a full race series every year.
A full and complete set of photos of the whole crew who came out for the day can be found on my MySpace page. CLICK HERE to head over there to view them.
Cheers,
Jim
