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Sorry for not replying sooner but we have been very busy setting up "the team" and we have been out making that "groove in the track" Rennen described.
You guys have hit on what I consider to be the to most important tools a racer can have. Patience and a smile. Success in racing has to be measured by more than the numbers of trophies in the case (although trophies are a bonus). It is our time together that really matters.
My son has had very little experience yet he is showing a great deal of apptitude. He only has one race under his belt and maybe 20 hours of seat time in a Briggs kart (about 10hp I think). In a field of 60 qualifiers he qualified 2nd just .02 seconds off the pole and made the 25 kart main. He got punted on the first lap and lost a half lap to the field, came back to finish fourth behind 3 kids of which the least experienced has 6 years in karts. Not bad for the first time out. The upside for him is that he has been racing luge (rennrodel for you Rennen) since he was 6 years old and spends a great deal of his life at 120+ kph so he is used to and not afraid of speed and g force. Since his kart is not here yet he has been practicing in a freinds international rotax and seems to be doing great. He has been out with a few karts on the track and appeared to be quick but this weekend will be his first practice with heavy traffic and should tell us a bunch. His first Rotax event is a week from Saturday.
As for me, I have had a fair amount of experience racing sports cars and some formula but have been out of it for a long time. I asked the prep questions so that you could give me a jump start and jog the memory to avoid my own braincramp. You've really helped me out! My upside is that I'm handy with a spanner if I don't say so myself and have some coaching experience and training (insert "don't be arrogant" here). Over the last few days I did get the chance to drive a 125 shifter for about 100 laps in a couple of different practice sessions and that was a trip. I felt like a kid again (until the next morning when I felt really old). It was a great experience as it reaquainted me with the feeling of high performance driving (anyone who doen't beleive driving a fast kart isn't high performance driving doesn't know) and adjusting the chassis to where I like it. One really nice thing in working with my son is we communicate well and tend to describe things in the same terms so when he tells me what the kart needs I can understand, almost feel it.
The very best part of all is that he was speachless when asked if he was having fun. He said that he could not put into words how much he truly enjoys it.
I'll let you know how he does and want to hear about your on track exploits as we go along.
Thanks Again!!!
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