The new season starts with Luca moving up to the Cadet 2 class racing Mini Rok and Mini Swift 60cc engines. Our thanks to all our sponsors that made this possible. These engines are specifically designed for go karts, capable of reaching top speeds of 70mph at the end of the straight. It’s pretty impressive seeing these kids take the first turn without lifting – just don’t tell their mums how fast they’re going!

We sold the Cadet 1 kart chassis and Comer 80 engine in January to a new racer who should be very happy with its performance. On closing the sale, Luca and I drove over to Acceleration Karting to purchase the new IAME mini swift engine, then straight to Doug Creesy at CZ Racing to mount on the Italcorse chassis. Luca is besides himself with joy.

A massive shout out goes to team owner Doug Creesy for setting up the kart. He worked tirelessly for several days tearing down and rebuilding the chassis, aligning all the moving parts for optimum handling on our very slippery track and tuning the new engine to pull every available horsepower for best performance. He did an amazing job.

SPONSOR NEWS

I am also happy to announce that I am a proud sponsor and official photographer for ItalCorse America, Las Vegas, a division of CZ Racing. I will be taking photos over the course of the entire season archived under each racer, publishing my best Race Day photographs for purchase directly from my website www.ciambraphotography.com.

To say that Luca is excited is a massive understatement. A new kart, a new helmet – he’s ready!  When Race Weekend finally arrives, he is irrepressible! The track configuration is The Beast – a tiring circuit on the kids that requires late braking, quick exits and maximum momentum to avoid being left behind by the fastest racers.

The first couple of practice sessions, Luca is asked to take it easy to run in the new engine. Even at the slower speeds, he returns to the pits with uncontained excitement. He feels the kart perform smoothly, itching to run – a true thoroughbred. The handling is off the charts and the engine just purrs with potential.

Finally he is told to let loose and WOW! Are we in for a surprise …

Luca is phenomenally fast. He takes the significant step up in his stride and is immediately competitive to the surprise of us all. Throughout practice day, he gets quicker and quicker, incrementally improving his times, tucking behind the 2 fastest drivers. I am watching trackside, impressed and proud of how he is handling himself out there. He is smooth, running a tight racing line but with a lot of margin for improvement – and each lap, his times keep falling. By the last practice session he is sub 45 seconds at 44.91.  At this point, we have no idea how that compares with the other racers as practice day is the time to experiment with different configurations and setups. What I do know is that Luca has made a statement.

Driving home, we have our usual post-mortem of the day’s practice. I ask him if he can go faster and he just smiles at me saying – I am no where near the limit of what I think this kart can do. I don’t want to push it yet, not until I really know how far it can go. The handling is so smooth, it fits me like a glove. With the new engine, the breaking points and accelerating out of the turns are very different than for the comer 80. With the mini swift I can hit the gas almost immediately after the apex without loosing the back and I am still getting used to knowing that I can do that. But dad … OMG! It’s beautiful! Absolutely stunning! Thank you so much dad.

I am excited for him. Race day next and that’s when the rubber meets the road. We will see how he does.

Sunday, we are up at dawn – for someone that likes to sleep late, Luca didn’t blink twice. He looks at me and says I’m ready. As a father, I’m simply beaming inside. I observe his preparation. He is very calm, collecting his thoughts, slowly ratcheting up his focus. We arrive at the track and dive into the race day atmosphere that we love so much.

It’s buzzing with people milling around in the pits, the noise of engines getting tuned, the smell of exhausts heavy with the taste of oil and soot, the rising tension and sense of anticipation are all around us. The sun is out and the expected winter chill has disappeared to be replaced by clear blue skies. It’s t-shirt weather – a perfect day for racing.

Luca gets quickly up to speed in the practice sessions clocking 45.049 and 44.742 seconds, improving on his previous day’s best performance. He’s running smoothly, constantly evolving his racing line, looking for grip and speed. He makes a few mistakes, recovers, learns and continues to push himself hard against his 2 nearest rivals who are also very quick. He is very adroit at keeping the kart straight as he continues to press. He is also demonstrating an uncanny ability to pass slower drivers without breaking his stride.

Qualifying comes fast – only 4 laps to seize the best time and starting grid position. Straight out of the pits, Luca’s lack of experience shows immediately. He tucks in close behind the 2nd fastest racer instead of leaving a gap of at least half a lap. They duel for the entire 4 laps. Luca is faster but he’s unable to overtake and, as a result, can only go as fast as the kart in front. I speak to him about it at the end of the session, he processes it accordingly. He finishes with a time of 44.872 seconds and 3rd on the grid – o.205 seconds behind Kart #13 on pole position. It’s a very competitive qualifying session and it promises to be very close racing for the main events.

Race 1: Luca gets a good rolling start tucked in behind Kart #13 on the inside. Kart #55 on the outside racing line gets bumped as they enter the 1st turn, spinning off the track and ending his race prematurely. It’s a shame as he is a great competitor – a very fast and elegant racer .

Luca holds his position, exiting the parabolica tucked right behind #13 into the tight turn 3 with Kart #98 immediately behind him. There’s little margin for error with all 3 karts on the limit. Quickly the 3 pull away from the chasing pack as they begin a very exciting race within a race. Luca makes a mistake, loses some time and then catches #13, trying to force the mistake, all the time with kart #98 breathing down his neck. Kart #13 runs a little wide then cuts back inside keeping the racing line. They touch. It’s a scary moment but the drivers are unfazed. Back markers come and go as all 3 drivers are racing as hard as they dare.

Kart #13 goes purple on lap 5 – 45.016 seconds. Kart #98 goes purple on lap 6 – 44.941 seconds in response. Luca makes a mistake coming out of the hairpin, spins, Kart #98 takes his chance, grabbing 2nd place. I see Luca pounding on the steering wheel with angry frustration – he hit the throttle just a tad too early. The combination of the extra power and slippery track make for an unforgiving compromise.

He settles himself, starts chasing down kart #98. Within 1/2 a lap he catches him, hounding him. Luca doesn’t need to wait long. On lap 9, they reach a back marker. Kart #98 hesitates, Luca seizes his chance, passing both without loosing any momentum, pulling away immediately.

Luca now begins the chase for the leader and goes purple on lap 11 – 44.648 seconds. Its the fastest lap of the race. By lap 12, he’s got Kart #13 in his sights. Kart #13 is no novice to this class – a very quick and determined driver, he possessively keeps his racing line and Luca has nowhere to overtake – excellent driving, protecting well his position. In fact, it’s really impressive from both young drivers right to the end as they cross the finish line in 1st and 2nd respectively.

As the checkered flag drops, both drivers look across to each other, congratulating the other with high fives as they slow down – the adrenalin high kicking in after a very competitive race. There is a new found respect between each other on this opening salvo on what is going to be an intense championship season between Karts #13, #55, #98 and Luca in #8.

Luca gets back to the pits, takes his helmet off and we fist bump – great performance kiddo. Race 1 is only the heat, the points will be won on race 2 – I am so very chuffed! Paul, Luca’s mechanic, simply says Wow! He takes him aside to whisper some observations and for Luca to share his feedback on the kart’s race configuration. He then steps away, beaming from Luca’s performance and with a wink to me. Luca has shown us that he is fast. Now it’s time to show us that he can win.

Race 2: Another excellent rolling start and 2nd into turn 3 very close to Kart #13. Once again, both racers pull away quickly, this time leaving a slight gap on Kart #98 and the chasing pack. Luca is pushing hard on Kart #13, going purple on lap 3 with 44.360, the fastest lap of the weekend. Kart #13 gets his fastest lap on lap 5 with 44.396 seconds – there’s nothing between them. They match each other turn for turn.

Luca is riding all over the back of Kart #13 but he unable to make the pass. I can see he is quicker but Kart #13 has more experience. I think to myself – take your time Luca, be patient, just keep pushing. He will make a mistake. However, it takes seat time to learn to win from the back and on lap 7, Luca’s inexperience shows in the most unforgiving terms.

Coming onto the last hairpin before the straight, Kart #13 takes a back marker. Luca doesn’t want to be caught behind the slower kart to see Kart #13 stretch it’s stride down the straight after the effort he made catching it. He decides to go for it. He gets alongside the back marker, sees the gap that Kart #13 leaves open. It’s an impossibly small window and the outcome is inevitable.

Luca can’t slow the kart, locks the brakes, taking out Kart #13. With hindsight, it’s a dumb move but in the heat of the duel, it is an opportunity. He should have been more patient. With more than half the race to run, Luca had plenty of time to sit behind him and wait for the right moment to make his move. It was not to be this first time out. Errors happen – that’s racing!

Both karts are unable to continue, limping back to the pits, out of the race. Luca is inconsolable as he’s disqualified with strong words from the track director. Tempers are high too trackside as the number one concern is safety mixed with a heavy sprinkling of frayed egos. From where I am standing at the bottom of the straight, it looks like Luca is at fault – I want to make sure we do the right thing.

I grab him to make our way over to Team #13’s tent to apologize for Luca’s inexperience in trying to force the move. For our efforts, we receive a lecture on safety with a terse reminder of Luca’s place as rookie in this championship class.

As we go back to our tent, despondent and with our tails between our legs, Luca says, with tears in his eyes – I’m sorry dad. I so wanted to win.

I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, hold back my own emotions and give my little guy a huge hug. He has come such a long way in so short a time. His natural talent and race maturity masks the fact that he has still so much to learn. He made a mistake, an error of judgement – so be it. I thought he was brilliant out there today. I simply respond with something I’ve told him many times – don’t ask for permission kiddo, ask for forgiveness. Don’t change anything. Learn and move on. Can you go faster?

He looks at me, nods and with a wry smile says – Yes dad. Much faster. I can see the determination set in his eyes – enough said!

When we get back to the tent, its a whole different story. What a fantastic pit crew! High 5s, slaps on the back, calls of brilliant racing and well done Luca – unbelievable support from everybody, team mates, pit crew, parents … even the dog wagged it’s tail! – yes obviously on the safety message but don’t change anything – go win the next race – you were amazing fast for the first time out! And anyway, in the heat of the dual, the damage to the kart shows that maybe it was not all your fault.

That last statement causes more controversy as I try turning it into a learning opportunity for both kids. I should have held my tongue. Motor racing is an extremely emotional sport for all involved – especially when things go wrong. It’s best left on the track.

Either way, thanks  to Paul and Doug for their response to Luca’s despondency by putting a smile back on his face. His mum too for lots of love and where hugs are plentiful. Luca recovers some of his composure but there’s no hiding the fact that he remains extremely disappointed. He knows what happened. He will analyze it, digest it and factor it into his experiential library. It can’t be undone but it certainly will be avoidable in the future. As for the 2 racers? They sorted it out between themselves as friends and that’s all that matters.

For me, Luca’s performance is fantastic. I am very proud of him and impressed by his demeanor on and off the track. What happened in Race 2 is unfortunate – it’s called racing. These 2 young kids just gave us an amazing spectacle; I loved it! Most importantly, both are ok, there is no significant damage to either kart and valuable lessons have been learnt.

Track rules state that Luca is allowed to drop one race result over the course of the championship year so this 1st race will be the drop. The race weekend of February 11th is coming up fast – I can’t wait to share the next installment in this exciting adventure.

Thanks to everyone and … GO LUCA!