Racing at K1 Speed

I let out my inner speed demon during my best friend's bachelor party. The six of us went to K1 Speed to burn some rubber in 3 exciting and fast 12-lap races. (There's no savoring the moment here.) But hey, at least I got a free head sock!

The Course

First of all, the K1 karts are basically souped-up electric go-karts. Watching them from the sidelines, it didn't look like they go so fast. But when you're really in one, you realize just how fast and powerful they are. The karts are charged up in between races (they have about 4 "sets" of 12 karts each, to alternate for each race.) The K1 staff makes it very clear that no bumping is allowed... despite seeing it happen in every race.

The course was indoors, and probably around a quarter mile in total length, but with several twists and turns. From what I've heard, the courses are unique to each K1 location. There was a long straightaway (really, it was smooth turns) where you could speed up quite a bit before a very sharp turn, beginning the series of winding road. I'll call this turn #1. This is where most people spin out or hit a wall. Luckily, the walls are made out of flexible material so you the impact is minimized.

Race 1

For my very first race, I drove a bit more cautiously, as expected, to test the waters. I didn't know what racing these karts was like, and unfortunately the other six people racing with us were very aggressive drivers. I was practicing my drifting, expecially on turn #1. My tires were completely bald so this was easy to do. Whenever there was a crash, the K1 staff would remotely slow all of us down until the issue was resolved.

Race 2

I did a lot of the same during the second race as the first one. I was better at drifting and more confident about pushing away or cutting off my opponents, which was clearly reflected in my track time. Also, I was first in line at the starting line, which may have given me a slight advantage on the first lap or two, since I had no obstacles (other cars) in front of me to deal with.

Race 3

I still wasn't too happy with my time so I needed to change something up. Despite how fun it was, I decided to stop drifting and just go pedal to the metal the whole race. I'd need to take wider turns to avoid spinning out. Luckily, I was first in line again so I could test out my theory distraction-free. For what felt like my best lap so far, the K1 staff slowed everyone down due to a crash! That was so frustrating. Actually, a few laps later, I did get into a crash and my car was facing sideways across the track. Thankfully I recovered quickly and made up some time and bumped into the offender. Despite all the shortcomings, race 3 had my best lap time overall!

Results

For reference, the record lap time overall was around 18.9 seconds at this racing location.

Race	Place	Best Lap Time [s]
#1	8th/12	23.003
#2	7th/11	22.308
#3	4th/10	22.024