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