I got told 3 weeks ago that I was going to be with my boss and my team of 3 engineers + my lady in the office who is my right hand person at a corporate Go Kart day with a team of 22 engineers from one of our larger client sites.
I'm thinking it will be the usual meet and greet and pamper the clients ego's as usual. Then some go karting and free bbq and drinks afterwards. Then i found out that the client who organised the day (which we paid for) and some of his team are keen go kart racers who use this circuit all the time.
When I arrived I found that the tit had arranged for an endurance race of 45 mins.
I drag race as you guys know. And one of my engineers races stock rods on the oval. We realised after our arrival that we had been suckered into a trap
OH Well!!
I told the lads to do the corporate thing and let the clients show off and do their go kart thing. Most of the clients engineers are in their 20's. The go kart racer guys who arranged the day out are in their late 30's. I'm 53 and out of shape.
So we did the usual stuff of meet and greet etc etc. But the go kart racers who wanted this day and who used this track as their hobby venue were being total cocks and showing off with their tales of their prowess on the go kart track. We had just paid nearly £2k for this day out and their attitude pissed me off no end. So I told my team to go balls out and give them hell.
Long story short!!
We did 10 mins of qualifying for grid position and I got 10th, my oval racer mate got 2nd on the grid. Then we went straight out for another 45 mins of racing. I have to admit that the 10 mins of qualifying left me with cramps in my hands. But we had to race straight away..
On the 2nd corner I got T boned by some idiot who couldnt drive and got pushed off track as the whole pack of 28 karts went by. This was the Red Mist moment for me. I spent the next 44 mins driving like a mad man. Swearing and shouting all sorts of stuff to kleep myself going and managed to make up 22 places to finish in 6th. My oval racer mate came first and got the trophy.
The guy who was boasting about this being his home circuit and his hobby came 5th and his big mouthed mate came 9th and after getting out of the cart after 55 mins of track action in hot sunshine passed out and then threw up and had to lay down during the trophy presentation
My boss who is 44 didnt race as he said his back wouldnt take the hammering !!! I'm happy with that as he's a really decent guy and the best bloke I've ever worked for.
I have to admit that today I feel like I've been in a big fight. My fore arms and biceps are well and truly tender. My shoulder muscles feel like I've carried a heavy weight for 2 days and my lower back isnt good. But my biggest problem is the feeling that I didnt have a little button on my steering wheel on this poxy little 50mph cart so i could have reeled in a few more places on the straights. I NEEDED WoN AND DIDNT HAVE ANY
The best part of the day was at the BBQ when we were chatting with the clients.... I spoke to the EXPERT go karter who had made the booking and he said he had trouble even keeping on the same race lines as me and my mate. My comment to him is one that I make several times a year... DONT LET THE GREY HAIR FOOL YOU DUDE !!
I enjoyed the day so much that I'm going to do it more often. I have the big Daytona circuit just 15 mins away from me in Milton keynes. Go karting with powerful carts is great fun and a good workout as well..
Next Wednesday after the holidays my boss will be paying for me to go for a massage and spa day
