The stars aren't quite aligned for me today.
I'm subsisting on four hours' sleep because my daughter has monsters under her bed. I have a stinging wound in my back from a minor operation two days ago. And I have mixed up the arrival and start times for this Super Sunday member's session at Formula Fast, which has made for a stressful 90 mile dash from Winchester.
Possibly the world is trying to tell me I shouldn't be karting today. But here I am, kitted up and more or less ready to go as the drivers in the first of 10 sessions roll out of the pits below. There's a quiet buzz about the place; some familiar faces about, some fast names on the timing screen. Manley, Jute, Llewellyn, Mays, Truman. The beast hasn't awoken just yet, but with 12 weeks and change to go, BRKC is on everyone's mind.
There are two groups, which means everybody gets five sessions of 10 minutes each. I'd prefer slightly longer sessions, but no matter. At £31.50 for 50 minutes of track time, it's superb value for money.
Today is all about experimentation. I can lap competently and (with practice) consistently around here, but I'm fundamentally not quick enough. Something in my technique is holding me back, and I'm reasonably sure it's my tarmac-honed tendency to pivot the kart on corner entry. On this slick surface, it simply doesn't work: I can get to the apexes very quickly, but am unable to stop the rear of the kart sliding soon enough to carry speed through the exit.
Over my five sessions I try a number of different techniques, with varying degrees of success. In the breaks, I spend time watching and listening to the others - Lewis Manley in particular - from the gantry. Not for the first time, I marvel at his incredible feel for the grip available, the kart sweeping into the Snail with barely a hint of tyre squeal.
It's a little frustrating, and sometimes hard to tell whether progress is being made, but I'm putting valuable mileage in the bank. Everyone is at different weights - most well below the BRKC regulation 90kg - so I do my best to focus on my own laptimes and ignore everyone else's.
I end the evening wanting more, and am half tempted to ask the staff if I can have another go on my own. But I'm exhausted: it's time to call it a day. When I return, I'll apply what I've learned today in a proper comparison, by matching my weight to one of the pace-setters and comparing laptimes in the same kart.
In the meantime, something else is keeping me awake at night: my first ever international competition. I'm hugely excited (and more than a little terrified) to be competing in the Belgian National Championships at HDKart on 18 November. The format is very similar to BRKC (5 heats of 15 minutes each, single lap qualifying), the circuit looks fast and grippy, and the beer, I'm told, is excellent.
Currently I'm the only Brit. I'd love that to change - travel and accommodation is cheap, as is the event itself. There are still spaces available... https://www.facebook.com/BelgianNationalChampionship/
Solo or not, there'll be a story to tell. Watch this space.
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