I Got Ripped Off... Twice
A Good Education is hard to find.
This post is 100% a bitch fest. I'm not naming names, I’m just gonna tell you all the lessons I learned in trying to educate myself.
We’ll start with the more expensive endeavor of me getting into a gas kart for the first time. Ever since I started racing at the Circuit, the gas karts had caught my eye. There is a class offered at an outdoor track for 350 bones. That included a rental kart fee, instructor, a track walk and 4 driving sessions. Not bad, right?
First red flag, the “class” portion was just mapping out exactly how this instructor drives the track. A few things, people's lines are gonna be different due to weight and kart type. There was no basics like “slow in, fast out.” Nothing about managing traction when braking. No foundation.
Red flag number 2, the “track walk” was us walking alongside it and looking over it from a high vantage point. This is an old track, it would've been nice to feel out where I could catch air if I wasn't careful. Spoiler alert, there are LOTS of places for that to happen.
Third red flag, after a couple runs on the track we get back into the classroom. I thought maybe the more foundational instruction would begin. But no, it was a confidence booster telling us we were all well above beginner (not true) and that we should buy the intermediate class.
Final gripe, my 4 sessions were cut down to three due to poor time management. So what did I learn? I love gas karts, don't love being ripped off.
The next class I took was 175. I got there at 8am and immediately realized I was fucked out of 175 bucks because the class size was enormous. We had a karting pro as our instructor for the day. I am by no means saying this man can't kart. Obviously, he can kart his ass off and has done so professionally for a long time. But can this man teach? I say this as the daughter of a teacher, fuck no. And certainly not with 30 people in his class.
The track walk was legit and informative. I asked about a certain corner, the pro had not done that configuration so he had nothing for me. Awesome. I then asked about acceleration on the karts we were using. Did I want to roll on the acceleration or slam it? He responded with “you don't want to ask the tires to do too much. Remember the 80/20 rule.” It's a good rule, not what I asked. The good thing about this one, I got the track time I paid for.
The best education I get seems to be from my racing friends. I have yet to do a proper one on one driving coach session. I’d consider it but obviously right now I'm a little skeptical of higher kart education.