So, why am I blogging about my karting data?

So, why did I decide to blog about my data?

The decision came after reflecting back over my race season this year. I finished 6th out of 34 in our local region series, the In City Prints Cup.

Don’t call it a comeback. Although I just might…

 

So, I just realized today that it’s been almost three years since I’ve written a post for this blog. Three years.

I remember, when I used to post here three to four times a day. Although it’s not like I haven’t been busy. A lot has changed, largely for the better.

Why karting will help your car racing

It’s that time of the year, where most of my autocross and road racing friends are packing up their cars for the fall and winter.  During the ‘off season’, they would love to be able to get more practice time in, but when you’re running a club racer like a Spec Miata or a Spec Racer Ford, getting practice time is an incredibly expensive premium.

Very few people have the resources to simply rent a full-size track, afford transportation and manage the regular consumable costs in order to practice sufficiently between big races or during the winter months.

7 Key Elements that make for good teamwork

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about an experience I had earlier this year, that albeit frustrating, provided some key takeaways that I wanted to share.

I had volunteered to help a grassroots race team get off the ground earlier in the year. It was an interesting experience, because I was working with someone new to me who had asked for my help. It was different from working on a project with my friends. (Honestly, it was more like working with a client from my day-job, as an consultant.)  I was only around for about two months. It didn’t really work out, just really due to an improper character fit with  the people involved.

I’ve cropped this photo to remove the ‘team owner’s’ name/face from the original photo, but we definitely had the pace for a victory here, if the exhaust had not failed. (We didn’t know that we had to safety wire them, as it was my second 206 race ever!)

After a few races:

Three anime that get me psyched to go racing

As follower of my blog know, I love racing. I get inspired by many so many elements of motorsport. However, one of my hidden secrets is my love of racing animes and mangas.

There something about how them that make me just want to get into my kart and hit the track. So, since I was in the middle of binge watching through some right now, I wanted to share three of my favorite anime that inspire me to go racing.  So let’s get started with a classic…

So I’ve been working on some karting data videos…

…trying to look like I know what I’m doing. 😛

So I’m excited for a new opportunity that I’ve been working on the last few weeks with AIM Sport. We’ve been developing some data analysis videos for using the Mychron5 and Race Studio 2. For those who aren’t aware, the Mychron/Race Studio combination is the system that a majority of competition karters use for data-logging and acquisition. However, the concept of data acquisition is a daunting concept for most people to take on.

There aren’t many black people at the racetrack

*Not going to lie. I’m not sure how long this post will stay up. But, it is a matter of ‘my site, my rules’, so here we go.*

There aren’t many black people at the racetrack.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a matter of safety or acceptance. Some of people I’ve met while racing have been some of the nicest, and most understanding people I know. I’m just saying when I go to the racetrack, there aren’t very many black people there.

I’m not angry about it. It’s just something I want to see change.

Just a little update #keepkartingfun

So, it’s been a little bit since I’ve done an update. So what have I been up to?

For the last three months, I’ve been working with Ched Follis and Leonardo Borrego to form a karting team. We called it ‘Ched Follis Racing’ and we’ve been racing and testing in LO206 (Really,  the class name is just 206 now, but I keep calling it by the old name) at a few of our local tracks. It’s been a complete blast.

Honestly, it’s been one of the best experiences racing that I’ve ever had. The three of us meet weekly to prep and setup the kart and do testing between races to fine tune the setup. (We try to take the tips and tricks from practice days and apply them wherever we can.)

Help the newbies. Karting needs it. #keepkartingfun

Helping some new drivers and people who want to learn to tune by using the LO206. Simple and easy to get them started.

We all know what it’s like to be new when we started karting. It can be a bit overwhelming. You don’t know anyone, you don’t know anything, and generally you’re not that fast. It’s a very critical time when deciding whether you want to keep doing it or not.

When I got started, I was fortunate enough to have some friends who encouraged me to go out to do some track days with them, until I got up to speed. If that hadn’t happened, it would have been likely that I would have quit to do something else.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have that luxury, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Everyone can do their part to help new people get into the sport of karting, by just lending a few minutes of their time to provide some helpful tips. It’s not only valuable, but immensely satisfying to create that support structure. 

Moving things in the right direction #keepkartingfun #lo206 #Theartofkart

In life, things never go as you plan, but sometimes they end up better.

Originally, I had planned to go to the third and fourth round of the Gold Cup, but other events stepped in. However, an opportunity came up for a set of test days to help setup Ched Follis’ 206.

Between spending time at both PGP Motorsports Park and Sumas International Motorsport Academy, it was an opportunity to get some more seat time with the 206 and try some new setup changes with the four-stroke at two different tracks with Ched and Leo.