I am writing this update rather belatedly as Luca and I are on the east coast enjoying Susan’s and Eric’s generous hospitality in The Hamptons. Luca is having a wonderful holiday with his cousins, Jacques & Charlie – sandy beaches, big waves and endless, lazy days as only a happy 10 year old can spend his summer holidays. Carefree and in the moment.
We managed to squeeze a race night before our departure so that Luca could get some valuable track time. The points season is in hiatus until 8/20 due to the extreme heat of a Las Vegas summer. With that said, the track owner schedules a night race every Friday night during the month of July so that the racers can remain sharp ahead of the season restart. We should make it back from the east coast for the last of the summer series on 8/13 – literally, as we drive back home, south on the I-15, we stop off at the speedway – the kart will be waiting for Luca to jump in for the first practice session.
So to Luca’s first night race. Luca flew in from San Diego, CA Saturday morning where he had been vacationing with his mother, Lee. I picked him up at the airport. He was so excited about being back in the kart. It was blistering hot in Las Vegas compared to the clement weather in SD. The temperature was around 109 and projected to climb to 116 by the time he got on track.
The circuit configuration was Track 2 – a fast track that would be favorable for the faster karts. Luca needs to be very quick exiting the turns to make the faster karts work hard to overtake him on the straights. He would factor this information in his pre-race preparation and execute his strategy during the race almost perfectly.
Luca was fast in practice coming in first in his class and 3rd overall. He would be starting 3rd on the grid behind the 2 fastest racers who were clocking their laps about 1.5 seconds faster than his – not surprising considering the advantage they have over his Kart. Luca is 0.5 seconds faster than his next rival.
Qualifying out of the way, Luca prepares himself for his first race, quietly focusing his attention on what he needs to do to get ahead and stay there. He applies a trick he saw in the movie Rush where James Hunt was preparing himself for the Monaco GP. Luca visualizes his racing line in his pre-race preparation ritual and then it’s time as he is called out into the paddock to start his warm up lap. It’s a rolling start and they’re off! My heart is in my mouth!
He gets a good start and tucks in behind the 2 favorites. They pull away quickly while he begins to build a gap from those behind him.
However, on Lap 2 he makes a slight mistake, losing a lot of momentum, as he is passed by a racer from the higher class – kart 35.
This racer had just upgraded to the higher class from the kid karts and during practice it was obvious that he was having difficulty with the step up. It would be problematic during the race and consequently, introduce me to the dangers of motor racing.
At the end of race 1, he had a spectacularly serious crash after refusing to let the leaders overtake him, flying at high speed into the tires. He was ejected from the kart, which somersaulted and landed on top of him with its engine still running. Race officials and family ran onto the track, the race was stopped and the paramedics rushed in to help the kid racer. The kart was totaled but thankfully, the driver was almost unscathed. He only had a sprained wrist and bruised pride. But it really could have been so much worse.
As Luca raced to regain his place, it was obvious that he was much faster than kart 35 but he just did not have the power to pass him. Each time the racer in front of him made a mistake, Luca pulled up next to him but struggled to command the racing line exiting the turns and fell behind him in the straights. Luca decided to hold back for a couple of laps, observing the racer in front of him before making his definitive move. He picked his moment, then held off again which surprised me as Luca is usually so clinical once he makes his decision.
He makes his pass the next lap at the same spot. Luca is ahead and has the racing line but kart 35 refuses to let Luca pass and swerves into him to take him off the track! It’s an appalling decision. Luca’s kart takes off – all 4 wheels in the air, almost rolling over but he somehow manages to bring it back under control, a bent rear axle for his efforts.
I am so grateful that it was not worse. The marshals miss the move and kart 35 gets away with it this time but Karma was to strike towards the end of the race as he tried to do the same to the race leaders. It did not work out as he may have hoped. He will learn not to race this way again as fear is a great motivator. However, fear comes at a heavy price for racers as it may inhibit him in his race development into the future. The responsibility really lies with his parents for not teaching him the basics of sportsmanship.
Luca racing hard into the hairpin turn at 45mph with kart 35 just behind him. No stress showing on his face – totally focused on the apex.
The race falls into a routine and Luca crosses the finish line in 1st position for his class and 3rd overall – a good result plus some very valuable experience under his belt.
After the race, I asked Luca why he had let up at that previous lap before attempting the overtaking maneuver on kart 35 when he had the racing line – he responded that he had looked at him as he drew up to the kart and he saw madness in his eyes! He thought it wiser to back off than to go for it at that moment as he remembered Ayton Senna’s words of wisdom. Fair enough … you cannot fault his decision in light of what happened the following lap.
His pit crew and I are happy with his race. He has shown maturity and demonstrated a cool head. The kart needs some work on it – we can’t replace the bent axle as we do not have a spare but they will do their magic to optimize it as best as possible. Luca will have to deal with what he has for his second race – that’s a part of racing he has to learn. It may affect his competitiveness against the faster racers but he only needs to win his class next time out.
ight falls and Luca will be driving under the floodlights for the first time. They call his race and he’s off to an aggressive rolling start.
He sticks very close to the favorites for the first 2 laps by which time he has left those behind him by close to half a lap.
He gets the signal to let up to protect the compromised kart – if he keeps his position, he will win his class. He follows his pit instructions, again showing a presence of mind that belies his early years. The pit crew is impressed once again by his attitude and performance. Luca crosses the line 1st in his class and 3rd overall. That’s 4 victories out of 4 races – very encouraging.
We sit down to analyze the team’s lap times. We are astounded. The faster karts are lapping at 30.24 seconds, close to their qualifying times, which is expected. Luca is lapping at 30.894 seconds! They should be closer to 1.5 to 2 seconds faster than him and they are not! He is beginning to show his speed and it will ultimately force us to review our plan for his racing education. We will know what that looks like towards the end of this year and in preparation for the new season in January 2017.
It looks like this starter kart will be holding him back before too long. Let’s see how he builds on his performances in the next few months.
Go Luca!