A Duel At Dusk

I might be decent at this...

It was one of those Sundays where we couldn’t make it to our usual Kurch morning session. We settled on heading to the track after dinner. It was nice and quiet. Perfect for a proper battle.

The first time I bested Kimi doesn’t count. His kart was fucky, balance was way off, I hated seeing it. He insisted a win is a win because sometimes, Kimi is fucking wrong. We had an agreement that when it came to racing each other, we would never hold back. No matter how many times he dusted my ass, he kept his word.

I had been educating myself on threshold breaking (again, shout out K Tips). Everything starts with “slow in, fast out.” Corners you can't take flat out require a calculous of lifting and braking. Thus far I stuck to the rule of finishing those actions before I took corners. But now my calculous was getting more advanced.

Our first race was a slam dunk for Kimi. I quickly learned new braking method meant new lines. This evolution was exciting to feel in real time, but I was still slower. Evolution needed to speed the hell up.

By now the staff had come to know us well and for our second race they offered up their two best karts. Then for our final race, we would swap. These wonder karts were very different. The one Kimi started with was loose. Lots of understeer and shit brakes, but the acceleration was undeniable. My kart was stiffer, steering more responsive but less giddyap. This was the kind of kart Kimi and I liked.

For our second race I felt like I had no excuse. Kimi and I always value grip over power, and my kart had grip. With less power I decided to hold a tighter line on the back end of the track which included the big teardrop.

My kart was happy to hold me in that inside line, I could lick the wall. I clutched to that line and held on all the way to a win. I was stoked, but also dreading what Kimi was gonna do with the grippy kart.

I saddled up for the third race determined to keep that fast fucker behind me. Everything about this kart was too damn free flowing, but man, the way it flew off the line. The pins with shot brakes are no fun. Kimi was on my ass feeling right at home with the grippy kart. I said “fuck it” and decided to give threshold braking another shot. I set myself up on the first pin gently applying that good- for- nothing brake and riding it in to the the apex. Holy shit, it worked. Now I had a line and power to boot.

A couple laps of that braking style gave me a gap, not a big one, but I could breathe. Everything I was whining about with that kart disappeared. Driving that way is an act of submission, you have to let it dance. I got it, I understood why the staff like this one. Just as I was making peace with the sensation, I had won, it was over.

We hopped out and Kimi said “I’m surprised you could do anything with that kart. I hated it.” I told him how I changed braking tactics. He may have been a bit salty at his twin losses but he was more curious than anything. This was the first time I felt like I was stepping out of that student role and into something else.

I was feeling pretty cocky at the end of the night. 2023 was coming to a close and I wanted to up the stakes for 2024. I told Kimi we should start doing the Grand Prix challenge at our home track. He was in.