Nope, better then that.
Then I’ll try Kobayashi?
I was going to guess this. I’m a big Kobayashi fan so I should know, but I don’t!
You got it! Kamui Kobayashi in 2001 before he came to Europe with Maranello Kart in 2002.One of the nicest (and slightly crazy) guys I met in karting.
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Oh do tell, I bet you have stories…
That might need to be a new topic, “Nik’s story of the week”. I’m sure he’s got some great stories to tell. lol
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I’m not sure they’d be that exciting. Kobayashi was (probably still is) the sort of guy was crashing scooters in the paddock trying to do sick jumps and would just pick himself up and laugh. In 2002 in Formula A at Sarno i think he seized an engine every session in testing, then seized it in qualifying (after he got pole) and just laughed about it afterwards.
Pretty sure i’ve posted this before but here’s the race I was most competitive against Kobayashi, I’m the taller then average topkart driver starting on the second row. As a bit of background we went there to finish in the top 33% and get an international A license so we dialed everything down in the final to finish. We qualified top of our group and finished 3rd in the prefinal. Think we finished 5th in the final, i can’t remember and i can’t read the weird paper trophy they gave me.
Good last lap when 2003 Karting World Champion and future Indy driver Wade Cunningham Kobayashi’s Kobayashi. You may also spot my (lady) team mate at the time, another indy car driver.
Other stories, i’ve been hit on the helmet by Hamilton, pushed Bas Lammers out the way and pretended not to hear him (bit mean when I later found out he wore hearing aids), gave Alex Sims a pep talk after he had a skiing accident (wonder if he remembers that) that made it difficult to drive a kart, Antonio Felix Da Costas nickname when he was in karting.
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You were number 205? Your teammate was the lady who lost he rear wheel towards end? That was a heck of a battle. There was that moment where you guys were side by side and you said “no”. He didn’t listen, however. No one was gonna give an inch.
Number 205 is Kobayashi lol. 201 is Wade Cunningham. I think I was 203 but its hard to read the number.
I was the team mate of the guy (he’s a little Japanese guy) who lost his wheel. He was a Japanese Top Kart driver. My female Indycar team mate is the one who gets a close up before the race starts and crashes over the top of another driver midway through.
Heck of a race! Lotta DNF!
Who is your teammate? And damn, youve raced with the best
Close, Pippa not Lotta.
@E13, Pippa Mann
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Pippa was an instructor at the Porsche school when I went. Was pretty cool to meet her.
One think I don’t understand is how you guys race so closely behind with metal bumpers. Are your braking points just super precise? The gap never seemed to be more than a foot. I find that I have to back off a bit from the driver in front into braking Zones. Maybe that’s just because I race at a club level
Everyone is racing at the limit and everyones limits are very similar, they can all brake and turn and pretty much the same time and you’re effectively waiting for a mistake (or a good tow) to overtake.
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Definitely a little skill that has disappeared slightly with the introduction of full-width plastic bumpers…
The distance from your feet to the actual front of the kart nowadays is greater than it used to be. Whether it’s some proprioceptive thing I always found when I removed the front pod I felt more comfortable on the bumper of another driver because I always knew where my feet were in space if that makes sense. It feels like you could touch the kart in front with your feet… well you actually could ha
Nowadays drop down bumpers are also a factor. No one wants to get a penalty.
