We Drove for 4 Hours – CityKart Endurance Race

This post has been delayed for quite some time.

A while back I posted an entry about a 4 hour endurance race to be held at CityKart, Sucat, June 15…. We did it! Here’s how it went down.

We got there at around 8 in the morning for some pre-race orientation and of course free food! They briefed us on the basic rules and what each flag meant. I will never forget the blue flag – it meant that the person tailing you is leading in laps – so you can’t really fight for the position anymore and have to give way. If you are all fighting in the same lap then that’s a different story – you can keep up the fight. So there, I got so familiar with this flag because it was waved at me a lot. They also told us to try and maintain a lap time of less than 55 seconds to stay competitive – Yeah right! Hahaha, I barely made 57 seconds! But it was all good! Lots of fun! I thought I would give karting a rest for the rest of the year after this – but as I type this post I feel the need… the need for speed.

There were 6 teams – I think. We were the biggest group – 4 drivers. Quincy, Jec, Willie and me. Most of the teams only had 2 drivers – hmmm… come to think of it, all of the other teams only had 2 drivers. And we were 4!

Photos from Quincy

You can split the track into 2 main sections, the indoor and outdoor. We practiced a week before but when we got there on race day – they changed it a bit. In the indoor part of the track, there’s a 2nd floor (neat right?) and to make it more exciting, on the slope going down from the 2nd floor they setup a long sprint with a sharp right turn at the end. Cool! I lost control twice on that turn. Bruised my ribs – but that won’t stop me.

Anyway, the race started at high noon and it was really hot! Good thing Quincy was up first (sorry pare). I remember steam rising off of his back when he went in for a driver change – it was really hot especially in a racing suit. He was followed by Jec then me then Willie.

When it was my turn to drive, after what felt like a hundred laps I came in for a driver change and to my surprise I only drove for 20 mins! Hahaha. I kid you not, it really gets your adrenaline pumping and with the racing helmet on, it felt really uncomfortable. All you can hear is yourself breathing and the engine of the go-kart. After a while, I could clearly hear my thoughts – weird. Its like your ear adapts to the noise of the engine so you block it out and in your head you only hear yourself. Something like that.

It took us 2-3 rounds of driver switches for the whole duration – 4 hours. Obviously we finished last but it was a GREAT experience. Our fastest lap time was by Quincy – 55 sec. The rest of us in our team got an average of 57 seconds. But the overall best lap time during the race was around 52 seconds! Amazing! Of course, that’s from the winning team. These guys really love to drive, a 2 man team driving in a 4 hour endurance race – 2 hours each! Whew!

Overall, it was a great experience. We ended it with 2 rounds of beer with a smile on our sweaty and stinky faces.

That’s us with our Bioman outfits.

I have a new found respect for race car drivers. Its not as easy at it looks and you need to be talented and work hard to develop the skills needed.

They have a new one coming up! Manila 701 Race. Its 701 laps – no limit to number of members in your team. Costs around Php45,000 and its a fun race. Drinks, food and entertainment from dusk till dawn. It will be on July 19 – 20 at CityKart. It will roughly take 12 to 14 hours to complete 701 laps – that’s why its expensive. A fun and crazy race simply means that they will be adding surprises on the racetrack. I’m not sure what they have in store for this one, but I heard last time that they were throwing balloons at you while you drove and there’s even a section of the track with foam or was it bubbles. Anyway, if you can put up a team of 10 then the race fee gets split to Php4,500 per person which is easier on the pocket right?

For more details, you can visit their website: http://citykartracing.com/event001.php

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• May 24, 2008 -- City Kart Racing – 4 Hour Endurance Race on June 15, 2008 (3)
• June 1, 2009 -- Racing Simulator – Wheel to Wheel (2)
• June 30, 2008 -- Pacquiao, Diaz and an Italiannis Brunch Buffet (2)

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