Yesterday, my company had a Go-Kart challenge at Jurong along with one of my colleague, Chad Park, from Korea and 3 other staffs of the magazine, GameAxis and 1 other dude who is the official distributor of Nintendo in Singapore. Well the place was like in a pretty bad shape...and the tracks were small and WET! I was like FUCKED!
10 people total splited into 2 groups and the schedule were as follows, group A go for a 5 min warm up lap, then group B go for the 5 min warm up lap. The A go for a 5 min trial run and then B. The 5 fastest split times were recorded and these 5 racers go for the last 10 laps race where no assistance will be given if one should crash.
I let the "Pro" racers take group A and watch them pit against themselves. From there I observed the way they drive, accelerate, brake and the way they tackle corners. I hid myself among group B which consists mainly amatuers and noobz. I tried to test the acceleration, turning radius, braking power, handling of the kart. Along the way I observe the track, the corners and try to find the perfect driving line.
"Pro racers from Group A"
"I'll tell ya those boys don't mean nothing so go kick their sorry asses"
Crash out a couple of times while testing the potential of the kart in the warm up lap. Hit the dirt, over drifted and ate grasses. When the trial lap came, I was already trying hard to compromise drifting and maintaining the split time. However, I spent too much time enjoying the drift, I soon realise that that's not the fastest way to get around the corner on a kart. A little drift is fine for tight corners but that's about it. Soon I got used to the FULL accelerate and HARD braking before the corners and the FULL accelerate power out of corners was like the optimal driving line. I didn't really recorded the fastest split times and I tried to mask my driving technique when I was nearing the grand stand as I really didn't want others to judge my skills and besides I really didn't give my 110% on the trial laps.
"Group A races pitting it out"
"The second straight before the last bend"
Well, by this time, most of them have already had mud splats and grasses on their shirts and pants. I was the ONLY one that's clean, well maybe because I was too afraid to get my prize possessions like my shoes and pants soiled.
So since my timing was like the 4th fastest overall, watching how the others perform, I knew I had no way to beat them if they had a good run from the start. I wasn't saying that I had the best skillz there and not that I am playing humble, but the truth is that I could pass them if they crash out or if them made mistakes but I wasn't taking any chances. 3 karts in from of me on the starting grid, and Momo, my Japanese Gal left me on Monday. In my mind was angst, and rage and now I will focus and harness all of these elements to win. Losing was not an option. Life is transient and this would be the only chance to get a consolation outta it.
The marshal was giving a 5 second explaination on the grid and in my mind, that 5 sec seems like forever as I could clearly devise a plan and see it rationalize into reality. I needed a head start and the only way I could do it was to jam the brakes and yet accelerate till the point that the kart held stationary by the brakes and that the instance I release my brakes, the kart would lunge forward giving me a head start as everyone else would just floor the accelerator and their karts would just move off as usual.
I was FUCKING right, the moment the flag was raised, I was already overtaking 2 karts in front of me putting me in 2nd place and negotiating a gradual right bend behind my Boss. But due to the fact that I was travelling behind him and he was way too slow for my speed and I do not want to brake on the straights, I just overtook him and took the inner of the next right-angled right bend and there I was being in 1st place. I knew I had to hold on to my lead and yet extend the gap every lap and also not make any mistakes. That was the only way I would win and I ain't gonna let no mistakes or what-so-ever jeopardise it.
Was losing it during the 3rd or 4th lap when I actually over drifted on the tight hair pins. Thank God my lead was like 30 secs ahead of the second car so I actually had ample time to correct my mistakes. I totally free myself of any distractions after that and all that in my mind was the accelerated vision of my path to victory. I guess this is like the first official race I had without the constant fear of cops and that's the reason why I was making mistakes.
During the last couple of laps, I was actually trying to overtake my colleague who was a lap behind me. Damn he was an ASS blocking me in every possible chance to pass him. I tried going thru the water puddles, the grass benders and all other possible way, no luck. So I decided to play mind games with him and tailed him so close and yet not pass him...soon enuff, he totally screwed it and spun out. I twitched my wrists a little and whizz passed him on full throttle missing him by inches.
Held on to my lead all the way and pass the checked flag, did a "hand brake" turn in to the stop area, remove my helmet and waited for the rest to come.
A little consolation for that time but it didn't last long. The past came back and haunt me soon enuff. I can't walk outta of her shadows but I remembered the words that my Korean colleague tattooed on Monday, "Life goes on until death overtakes me"
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