Making Peace With Group B

Great karting can happen anywhere

I didn’t start karting with the delusion that I would be the fastest. However, I do want to be faster, and probably always will. I did 11 GPs in 2024 and not once did I make it into Group A, the fastest group. I was a permanent resident of Group B with a few cameos in group.

After a GP, good or bad, I felt a sense of accomplishment. If it was bad, the one thing I could say to myself was that I drove through the pain and gave it my all. If it was good, I studied what I did like crazy to try and repeat it. Over the months I snagged some medals for myself. I hadn’t managed a 1st place medal yet. The pride I had after a good night in B was fading.

I was starting to feel stuck and defeated. Improvement began to feel impossible and I had this creeping feeling I had hit the peak of my racing skills. I started changing lines, adjusting my braking. My brain was too full, the music was too quiet. I was fixated on a version of myself that didn't yet exist. So of course I was driving like shit.

One night, I looked at my GP medals. I had four and remembered that in the moment of receiving each and every one of them I was proud. I decided to go through and makes notes on the back of them.

Each one was a rollercoaster, none of these medals felt guaranteed. I remembered what I did right, where I fucked up and where I could’ve locked in.

I recall the night I had to fend off a good friend of mine from taking my third place for five laps. Or the time I was in pole position for the final and it got yanked away from me in one deadly pass and I ended up in 2nd. It didn’t matter what group it was, I did some good karting. It’s not like I was the only one pissed off to be in B. There’s a lot of hunger there and a lot of damn fine racers. If I can keep pace with them, I should consider myself at least decent.

I made a commitment to appreciate the capabilities I had in the present. I needed to make peace and accept the driver I was. Otherwise I would have nothing to build on. I could learn, improve AND enjoy my time in Group B. I went over to Torrance on a Friday night. “We Don't Care” by Audio Bullys was blasting all night long in my head. The music was back, my lap times were down. I was smitten all over again.