Karting Event on 17 March 2007

The Meetup

17th March 2007

We got newcomers joining us other than the usual 4 of us on this eventful day. Welcoming June, Jonathan Sim, Marcus, valerie aka Ms Overturn (I can't remember her name actually, will update it when I get some info - thanks to jonathan sim for the prompt reply, name updated.), Daniel (joined us the 2nd time), Bernard (joined us on the 3rd of march) and Weiloon (joined us on the 3rd of march).

As the usual day started, kp always the earliest to reach Permas Jaya, while the others only started to meet up at 0930 hours. And of course, as usual, jon and nEL being the usual late comers (this time is due to nEL - cause of the delay).

Finally, we got to meet up at 1000 hours instead of the stated time. There we had a total of 5 cars creating the heh heh symptoms (which is heh heh, up to you to imagine). We only get to reach the track at 1130 hours. Well, changing of ringgit and some quick breakfast bites (alright, jon commented, it wasn't really quick) causes the journey to be 1½ hours.

The race begins at about 1200 hours, where the unexpected of the expected happens (expected there will be crashes, spins and all sorts of stupid things).

nEL's crash log

Firstly, nEL's accident then follow by kp's accident. nEL was the first to crash, but fortunately, the human is alright except for the kart's steering (which was later replaced).


The crash happened at point 4 (look at the map). When nEL was about to exited from point 4, the kart sway to the left (too much speed) and went out of the racing track. As on the side of the track there's still some allowance, but the surface was uneven. As the kart enters to the uneven area, nEL lost control of the kart as it is not able to get any traction and rammed into the tire wall. The kart flew up into the sky and landed 1 to 2 metres (it's not that far actually) infront of the impact spot, fortunately, it landed on the wheels and didn't overturn. At that point of time, kp was the nearest to me (was right behind me actually). He saw my kart flew right up to his head level. Fortunately, he missed my kart. Well, that's the accident for nEL (still in 1 piece).


kp's crash log

It happened at point 5. 3 karts was involved in the event.

place of the impactful incident accident = turn 5 (see pic attached, good map! =) ). the turn where i hit Lau HARD too a fortnight ago. talking about this, my 1st 10mins in the kart, i kept thinking about it and overtaking becomes quite a chore to me, more so than normal. the 'fear' was conquered on 2nd / 3rd set of 10mins.

now back to the crash. yes, it was a quite a Crash too, in the 2nd set of 10mins. was it the last lap that it happened? i cannot really recalled, i think it is. but wat i recalled was these:

i was following Nic down the straight downslope.. turn 1, 2 ,3 was fine.. at abt turn 4, Nic overtook June and perhaps Daniel before turn 4 for the upslope. well, to be frank, the fear i said that was eradicated is not entirely true! i was quite hastened to overtake both June and Daniel then mainly because the turn was approaching pretty fast for the uphill. lesson learnt previously was that, this turn for us who had kart more often is 'easy right' and full throttle all the way UP up UP.

however for 'beginner' (using the term loosely here, and being there myself too) they tend to struggle a bit. cos of the long straight before that will means one had to brake or slow down before the turn. after which, very quickly, plough down the accel to get as much power for the uphill run as possible quickly. sound easy, it is. BUT the timing of do all these is the real tricky bit.

likelihood, if one brake too hard, too long AND try to turn at the same time will result in a spin. sometimes if one power up the throttle too early while counter steering at it might also have u the honor of being a spinner.

by not overtaking June implies i will have to wait for my chance when the uphill present itself After we all make our turn safely. i had a feeling somewat she will spin. dunno why. which makes me actually somewat prepared and not following closely at all. thankfully, i did wat i did. as she did really spun... just as she was going up... to her right. she braked harder. she stopped. while i tried to move to the left and see if i cld actually continue without hitting her or stopping with her. NAH. i had to stop. my kart do not have enuff space to move forward. and when i stopped the front bumper just merely touches her rear bumper.

at this point both of our karts are still running. so, all she had to do was to steer left and she will be on her way and i will be on mine as well since i'm already facing toward the slope. hence, i just turned to my right and told June to just slowly steer as i mentioned. and when we spoke i can see that there was no 'immediate danger' of any kind. i.e. i dun recalled anyone coming at this turn.

then, it happened... i turned front and then back to June and see how she's doing with the steering. i saw KP coming at the turn at a fast speed..... so fast that i hardly had time to react to tell him to slow down.. the very next thing to me see KP approaching the turn is the he hit right into June!!!! Slam Bang! the impact is HUGE. i guess as huge as the one i crashed two weeks back..

darn.... wat happened next is that i think i saw/ heard June sorta scream... and KP hitting slightly on the steering wheel.

June was ok. since her kart's engine had died, and seeing no one around the tack any longer, i told June to get back to the shelter. while i go over and check on KP, who at this moment took off his helmet and was kneeling under the shade of the tree.. look bad. seems bad. his right rib is hurting him, but there visible bruise then.

i drove my kart back to the pit upon seeing Nic and Des going over to KP. later on, after resting for awhile, he and his niece&fren returned to singapore. and while at jusco, i called him and he told me that his check up with the doc turned out ok and monitoring is required.



Concluding the race
















nEL's crash occurs at the first round of the game.
kp's crash occurs at the second round of the game.

Miracle happens on the third round, none of us crashed. Maybe it's due the 2 crashes in the previous round, all drivers started to notice the importance of safety.

Lesson learnt from the picture above... Never dump your helmets in this manner.


The aftermath
















Heh, the same old place that we will go to, and your guess might be correct. It's Secret Recipe once again, with the same old dishes to be served. (better pictures coming up soon)

After meal, same old procedures, same old stuffs.

Well... the next karting event... to be updated again...

still blogging...

post created by nEL...
post edited by nEL again with Jon's comments added.