Kart Sesh Zero

The day go-karting hijacked my sanity.

My kart racing career was ignited by an innocent invite from a friend who has no interest in notoriety. In fact, he’s allergic to it. So, I will refer to this enabler as Kimi. If you’re a F1 fan, that nickname should explain a lot. He’s a long time karter and hoonigan with plenty of track time under his belt. He’s been described by his racing peers as “the perfect student” and “a goddamn learning robot.” All of this nonsense is entirely his fault.

I’ve loved racing in all its aspects, from professional series and leagues to street racing and even video games. Speed Racer was an anime that blew me away when I was a kid. I’ve been in love with Fernando Alonso for a very long time. I took auto shop all throughout high school. I was long overdue to participate. Given Kimi’s resume, I figured I was in good hands.

He liked to get to the kart track at 10am, right when it opened. Indoor track with electric karts topping out at about 45 mph. If you’re a karting enthusiast you’ve probably figured out by now that yes I am talking about K1 Speed.

My first time sitting in the kart made my brain go silent. You’re so close to the ground. You can feel everything. It becomes very clear, very fast, what the kart does not like. My feet were heavy, spinning out all over the place. But it felt so good to have my mind completely devoted to mastering it.

Within just three races I was an absolute goner. Even though I was new, I caught glimpses of what it felt like to find the line. That moment when the limits of the kart, physics and your own ability all shake hands and find a flow. I was utterly besotted like it was some goddamn Jane Austen meet cute. The adrenaline had me giggling and blushing. Best first date of my life.

I immediately texted my husband, “I like go-karts now.” Two days later, I had a new racing helmet in my hands.

First karting helmet. Points if you know what anime those stickers are from.

That was August, 2023. Since then, this relationship has only gotten more complicated and gratifying. If for some strange reason you choose to keep coming back here, I’ll tell you all about it.