18 This might really be interesting! (1/2)

The marshall motioned for Jayden to go. He powered out off the pits and went onto the track. Traffic was light since they got here early so Jayden could slowly get used to the kart again and also start learning the track layout. He would not make the same mistake as last by driving like he owned the track.

”I have enough time to slowly get a feel of the track. No need to push without knowing where I'm going” he thought. This track was long for a karting track. the average lap time was about a minute for the people driving the same karts and Jayden. After almost 3 minutes Jayden completed his first lap. Although he was driving slowly he paid attention to the drivers around him and made sure to stay off the racing line.Crossing the line he looked to the side seeing if he could find hind his uncle. To his surprise, his uncle was busy pointing the camera at a man wearing a suit.

”Wasn't he supposed to film my driving?” Jayden thought, confused by his uncle's actions.Seeing he was again approaching the first corner he put this to the back of his mind and again concentrated on getting familiar with the track.

A few minutes ago uncle Anthony indeed started filming Jayden. But seeing he was driving around extremely slow he got a bit disappointed. ”I hope this isn't all he can do otherwise it will be a massive waste of time and money. Renting all this camera gear is expensive, let alone the kart and track time!” He looked around to see if there was something interesting going on when he suddenly discovered an older man in a suit standing a few yards away from him. He looked familiar to Anthony so he went to chat with him. He extended his hand for a handshake and said ”Good morning, How are you today? Are you by chance familiar with karting? I'm here with my nephew and I was looking for someone who could help me figure out how he's doing!”

The man looked at him, then his huge camera. He finally shook the hand in front of him. ”Wich driver is your nephew? I know a bit about racing in general so if you have questions just ask. I'm just looking around today” he said.

”Thank you! My nephew is driving kart number 27 and I think he is just about to finish his first lap. Do you mind if I record your comment's? So my nephew can look at them later? he asked.

The man nodded and looked over at kart number 27 that was now just coming past.

”Is this his first time driving here?” He asked.

”Yes, I think so. How could you tell? Anthony responded. ”Because you can see he doesn't know the track layout yet! He is doing a good job staying off the racing line and letting other drivers past so it looks like he has good spatial awareness.” He said but although he appreciated the way Jayden was behaving on the track that was all. ”Let's see how it looks like when he starts pushing a bit,” he thought. Anthony recorded everything the man said. ”You never know which footage will be useful later on!” he thought.

Meanwhile, on the track, Jayden was picking up his speed. He had the general layout of the track in his mind now so he could start figuring out the details. ”Time to speed up! I don't know how fast I can go without trying to approach the limits.” He thought.

Jayden started to visibly speed up. Not going all out yet but feeling out what he could do and where the grip was on track. He figured it would take some time to get used to racing a kart again but to his surprise, it was like he never stopped racing. He had been watching videos online, looking at how fast drivers drove a kart. He now understood that while his smooth driving was good for driving consistently it was harder to go for fastest laps driving like this. He would need to figure out how to let the kart slide when he wants to. This helps to warm the tires and enables you to get the kart to turn quicker. If he could master this would be more complete as a driver. Being able to push for a fast lap when needed but also able to drive fast while keeping the tires and kart in a good state because of his usual smooth style. ”I have two hours today. I'll first find out where the grip is and try to set a benchmark lap time. Then see how fast and can go driving with my usual style and finally try to push again but this time driving in a way that should provide the most speed at the cost of tire life!” Jayden planned the rest of his time out.