~ by Michelle #29 Demaras ~
On Friday, I did something I don’t usually do; I went to the track! Not to race, but to watch. Daniel had practice at Goodwood, and school is out, so I tagged along.
We arrived around noon and there weren’t any racers on track for the first a couple of hours because of the rain. That period of time was for prepping the karts! I’m not a mechanic, and I don’t know much about karts, so I definitely wasn’t wrenching on Daniel’s kart.
There really wasn’t a lot for me to do. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t have fun! Walking around, exploring Goodwood with my brother was a good way to pass time. I haven’t been there in nearly a year.
The big challenge was trying to avoid the big splashes of water from the top of the tent! If you walked too close to the edge, sometimes the water would start pouring out. A rainy day was a fun day to come to the track.
At one point, my dad asked me to help. He told me to hold down the gas pedal while he pulled the starter cord on the motor. I didn’t really think anything of it, so I went along. What I didn’t know was that the engine is insanely loud! I pushed on the pedal and the vibration was SO STRONG in my hand. I revved it couple of times, and then he shut down the motor. I was told we had to start it a few more times, even though I’m not sure why. It was less shocking the second and third time…but still scary.
I was shaken for around 5 minutes after. I don’t know why my dad tricked me into doing that. So mean!
Soon after the rain stopped, Daniel was on track. I sat on the barriers fairly close to the track. I noticed Daniel was trailing really close to another racer the entire lap. It expected Daniel to pass the kid, because things might not end well being so close. After another lap, still not making a pass, it seemed like a risky thing to do, and you don’t really need that during Friday practice. Soon enough, the kid ran into a puddle, spun, and Daniel smashed into him.
A ton of parts on the kart were busted, and my dad brought out the spare parts he bought before the season started just in case of a situation like this. Luckily, Cale the mechanic fixed the kart in time for the next practice session, and there weren’t any other crashes.
It was a really fun day, and I hope I’ll be able to go to the track again soon.
