Kart Fun Trophy Mariembourg, 2024 Season blog

Kart Race Reports, Driver Diaries and Schedules
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Here we go again for a new season ! @Bimodal_Rocket @speedcraft @tjkoyen @Alan_Dove

Still the same karts, same track, the formula is roughly the same but the races are 5 minutes shorter (30 → 25 min).

This season starts with a race in the rain, so it is quite challenging given I haven’t driven since the last race in early November.

TL:DR :

Q : P8 | +1.2
R1 : P10 | +1.0 best lap
R2 : DNF

Pre-Race Mindset :

While I was excited for the event, I was also quite tired, because I only slept 4-5 hours instead of my usual 8 hours (Yeah I sleep a lot). I struggled to focus and my mild ADHD was out of control, so much that I wasn’t able to focus while racing, which is extremely unusual. And given that it was raining, it was going to be a problem.

Qualification :

Nothing major to really talk about, the kart seemed fine and I feel like I was doing OK, but I ended up P8 and 1.2 sec slower than pole. I couldn’t understand at first, but it all became clear at the start of the first race. Quite uneventful Q session overall.

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Race 1 :

So going into the race, I was still puzzled by the gap the leaders had over me in Quali. Not that I expected to get pole, but 1.2sec was too much in my opinion and my driving felt on point. So I gain a spot at the start and I directly see that they have a better engine, which is manageable in these conditions, but they also have much more grip.

I tried to go as fast as them in the first lap, which ended up with me putting my outside tyres in the mud and spinning, dropping to P23. My mistake, driven by my ego clearly, and the next thing I am going to work on.

The rest of the race is basically trying to make as much spots as I can, but I pushed someone out of the track (got a warning for that) and I spun trying to not kill someone else. Overall, a pretty bad race, I was okay-ish pace wise, but I was not able to focus at all.

In the end, I finished at the #10 spot, which is fine considering how bad my start went.

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Race 2 :

DNF. Basically I fell victim of the usual start pileup. I saw it coming but I didn’t react like I was supposed to. I put myself in the wrong spot again, too eager to be fast. This event tilted me, and after going off track on my own I just decided to go back to the pits and call it a day.

This is the first time I give up in such manner and in one hand it feels wrong, but in the other hand, I am here to have fun. If I don’t have fun, I don’t see the point in staying on track.

Conclusion :

Pretty mediocre results, fortunately with have 3 jokers out of the 14 races, but it feels bad to have wasted one of them because of my mental state. Clearly I have room for improvement on that subject.

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Early season jitters combined with challenging conditions… suboptimal kart draw… and maybe you need meds (5mg methylphenidate is my go-to for evening races, for example).

Sounds like you managed all the shit thrown at you decently in that you still managed points finish.

Give yourself a mental pass and come back and send it. Don’t change a damn thing, just let it go and do it again, hopefully better. I’ll watch the footage now but I doubt you were a noob or made dumb calls.

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Ahh Europe… where they allow rental racing in very wet conditions on slicks. I’m kind of jelly, actually. That was nutty slick, and I think you were right to drive hard, even though it was too hard. Consider it a re-alignment and the essental Tanguy will emerge shortly. Use the drop.

This should be a short and get many views…

I love watching your rain driving. You do use all the track and find grip on the outside. The big powerful moves to rotate etc.

it’s not in your nature to be conservative and settle for mid pack but no drama. But maybe a chat with TJ or Warren to get their thinking on managing the process would help.

Technically driving is fine… same old you

This is interesting. @speedcraft you are needed, I think. Not that this is bad. Maybe it’s significant in terms of your brain and how you process racing. Perhaps things have changed and it could be harnessed for the better. Maybe you can evolve from the racer you were into something less binary (without “losing” anything).

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Yes but it is running my races right now

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Ruining? Explain what’s going on upstairs. The objective would be to understand it and maybe find some way of using it.

I’ve been dealing with similar… I’ve done well in my series… and I fear each time I will explode and I feel it in my driving, an insecurity about my inputs. I kind of have to let it go and retreat into feel or technique.

I think when self doubt gnaws away at me I remeber that I am the Stig and he is me. That I am not a fraud, that what I can do is always there, baked in, and that I need to say fuck it and just do it. You can change the moment by not accepting it.

You are Tanguy Pedrazolli, and you are a truly magnificent driver. Remeber that when you feel like it’s spiraling. Don’t accept it. Finish the race.

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To rephrase something from @tjkoyen

“I’m Tanguy ***kin’ Pedrazolli” could be a trigger phrase.

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Tanguy, this is just a possibility, but I think your focus may be too ‘outward’ or too ‘results’ driven. You know (and the video shows) that you can drive; you control and optimize the kart’s potential performance very well. You also have a long history of performing at a high level.

However, you are competing in an environment where arguably the most important variable (the potential of the kart you are assigned) is unpredictable, and completely out of your control. In such a circumstance, it seems like the only way to relax and have fun is to shift your focus inward (onto your driving and mental performance, which you have direct control over) and just accept whatever results happen. Then if you drive well, you will feel good, regardless of where you end up on track. If you have a race where you don’t drive to your potential, then you have direct control over this, and can fix whatever issues you feel you have, and when you do so, you will feel good.

This inward approach might reduce the outward pressure to perform and the associated stress and aggressiveness. For example, in race 1, it seems like the outward focus to perform caused you to push too hard on the first lap, drop wheels and spin. I would ask you to consider if perhaps you got an inner signal that you were getting into trouble earlier in the turn where you spun that you ignored in favor of pushing? I’m not saying there was, it may well have just been an unpredictable circumstance, but the idea is worth exploring.

During the rest of that race 1, you were driving very well, and very aggressively, but it seems like focusing on results instead of your driving caused you to make some passes that maybe you would not have liked so much if you were on the receiving end, and eventually resulted in another quick spin. That said, it was very difficult circumstances, so I may be full of :poop: :grin:

Anyway during a very difficult time in my life, someone gave me the book mentioned below, and this quote about looking for happiness externally conveys an idea that had a very big impact on my life:

“If you don’t get what you want, you suffer; if you get what you don’t want, you suffer; even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer because you can’t hold on to it forever.”
― Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives

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I am being greedy, egoistical when driving, especially in sprint races and I can feel my IQ dropping harder than the S&P 500 in 2008 :sweat_smile: In the end, instead of settling for a top 10, I will risk it all and it almost never pays off.

That is what is happening, I am extremely competitive and result driven, which can be a great motivator, but I am not able to cope with failure yet, which is a great demotivator. Also I could redefine what failure is. Right now, anything but the victory is failure and I feel it is holding me back.
I felt it when I was done with qualification and got a thumbs up from the marshall (link with timestamp), I felt I was really driving well. All of that to finish P8 at +1.2sec. I could feel the tilt coming because I couldn’t understand why I was so far behind.

So this triggered me and tilted me, I couldn’t accept being “”“this bad”“” and I was hurt in my ego, which ended up with me being aggressive and accident-prone.

I don’t have a technique yet on how to calm down but I need to find something.

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Ok but you aren’t a dumbass and are acutely self-aware. Your ego is perhaps what helped smol Tanguy find success in over coming your self-perceived limitations.

But big Tanguy isn’t at the track every day after school and isn’t the world champ of formula Renault in sim anymore because life moves on.

Maybe this iteration of you needs to “grow up” and take ownership of the mental bit. I don’t mean that harshly but… you made cascading mistakes that led to you choosing to DNF.

Your talent and ability is exceptional. There is no question you are front of pack driver in pretty much any context.

The Tanguy that I know is a Cyborg, that makes smart decisions and is wise (but aggressive). The moments that you aren’t that are self-inflicted, wherein your expectations run afoul of the reality of the moment. This can trigger you, and if you are feeling fragile, can get the best of you. So, don’t let it. Let the essential driver emerge… back off mentally and instead focus on your marks or think about your fantastic girlfriend or something. Let the Stig drive.

This is no longer existential, the stakes are no longer a financial future, but rather self-love, and personal satisfaction. Use this time to discover what matters to you, why you are out there in the first place. Choose to be happy racing by choosing not to let your insecurities get in the way of kicking everyone’s ass. It’s a choice, the anger, and the shit driving is also a choice. YOU KNOW what’s gonna happen when you respond to adversity by doubling down. So, don’t. Be wise. Be pro.
I guarantee that if you can force yourself to tamp that ego down and accept/forgive the shit moments, you can still be in the hunt rather than in the pits bummed out and wondering if you’ve lost it.

Also, your suit/helmet/gloves combo is Dope.

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That book , together with the Jonathan livingstone the seagull. Was my first 2 ones !

I was in the army days . A great read !! Great books yea .

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I see what you mean, I should let go of the tryhard and start having fun :grin:

Courtesy of my fantastic girlfriend and her family !

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Nope… tryhard is you (and me).

But figure out what you are trying to do. Then tryhard with better motivation and purpose.

You will never be a casual or content with just having fun. This is good, your 30s can involve much winning.

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@Bimodal_Rocket @KartingIsLife @speedcraft

Last sunday was the 6h of Mariembourg ! First enduro I do there, so I was quite excited ! I paired with a simracer friend, Ludwig Ghidi, ex pro driver who won the FR2.0 NEC in 2010.

All 3 classes (65kg, 75kg and 85kg) were mixed for the race.

The initial plan was to go for 8 stops (the minimal amount of stops), so roughly 38 min on track and 2 minutes in the pits (minimal time in the pitlane). The issue is that the apex timing loop in the pits wasn’t working, so they ended up redflagging the race. They restarted the race for the remaining 5h15, forcing 1h15 stints instead of the 38min ones. This led to less kart changes, but we got lucky and got 4 good karts.

Qualification :

I let Ludwig do the qualification and the first stint of the race, he qualified P11 (P5 in class) out of 40 drivers, on the rain, which is fine, the kart wasn’t great engine wise.

1st stint :

Ludwig takes the starts and does very well, putting us P3 in class, until we get pushed off track by a class 2 driver. Ludwig goes down to P20 and far from the podium in class. Luckily, the race get redflagged due to timing issues just after we enter the pitlane, and we get to restart P11 with a new kart and a drying track.

Restart (me) :

I take this one, and the kart bogs down on the grid, making me lose a few places. I keep my head cool, as I know I am going for a 75 minutes stint. I avoid any fights and just try to play for time. This is the perfect decision as we got a great kart and especially a good engine, which allows me to make some spots. I end up P8 and P3 in class.

Ludwig 2nd stint :

He does very well, and put us P6 in the general standing and chases the P1 in class, being 18sec behind them.

Last stint (me) :

I just go out there with a clear mind and I just do 75 minutes of pure time attack. The kart is great chassis and engine-wise and I am able to consistently put down some great laps. Nothing particular happens, but we got P1 in class thanks to some issues in the stands for our main rivals. This, combined to our superior pace, led us to be clear of our rivals.

Ludwig last stint :

JUST BRING IT HOME ! Honestly he got me sweating a bit because he decided to race a class 2 driver, but everything went fine and we got our first win in class !

Conclusion :

It confirms something I already knew from simracing, but I am just better at enduro than sprint. Probably that my mind is in a better state, more relaxed, as I don’t feel the pressure of the shorter races. I know I can back down and let my pace do the talking over the course of the enduro. I would love to find a way to be the same in the sprints.

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First of all congrats! Secondly that’s worth exploring. Personally, I feel more at ease in endurance because mistakes are less impactful in that there is plenty of time. It’s a bit of an illusion when you are up against primo drivers but, given enough time, they might mess up, too. It’s mentally less stressful.

Sounds like you made good decisions this time around and got to feel it play out over time.

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Look at that smile and the trophy!

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I suspect that, being an enduro, the entire field has a more measured approach on track (other than the occasional genius who is determined to win the 6-hour race in the first stint :rofl:), instead of the get whatever you can, whenever you can, however you can approach that many seem have in sprint races.

Congrats on the win; between the ears, and on track! :+1:

1 Like
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@Bimodal_Rocket @speedcraft @KartingIsLife

Here we go for Round 2 of Mariembourg championship

TL;DR :

  • Dry conditions, post IAME testing (very grippy)
  • Q : P19/36 +0.803
  • R1 : P28/36 +1.018 best lap / +38.893 end of race
  • R2 : P19/36 +1.181 best lap / +29.212 end of race

Qualification :

So I changed something coming into this round and decided to sleep (while my GF was driving) instead of doing the 2h drive before by myself. I thought the extra rest would help, but I felt sleepy when doing the qualification. It made me doubt if the kart was actually good or bad, as I didn’t feel 100% focused on the driving. In the end, I did my worst Q ever at this track. The kart was bouncing for the majority of the session as the tyre pressure felt low, and I was only getting “”“good”“” laps at the end. Should have trusted my guts and switch karts.
Also it is clear now that there are like 4-5 karts that are clearly above the rest and it is impossible to compensate for that when one of these lands in the hands of a top driver. Removing those karts would have put me at +0.3 instead of +0.8 and would be in line with the extra weight I have.

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Race 1 :

So my start was decent actually, in a very messy field. But I get pit-manoeuvered in lap 2 and it was done for me. The kart wasn’t working anyway, chassis was ok but the engine was really poor and I knew I couldn’t fight for the top spots. Also something very strange : I don’t improve as much as the others during the race. It is very confusing, as almost everyone is improving by 5-6 tenths, while I only improve by 2 tenths. It is not the first time it is happening, but it was very clear this race, as I was in the bottom 10 in race pace. So am I missing something, or am I just better in Q and can’t improve as much as the others ?

The behavior in the field is starting to be an issue, people don’t care anymore about pushing others around. Expected with the sodi rental karts and all the plastic they pack, but it is clearly not improving, despite the stern talking-to and briefings we have. I have two ideas I might considering explaining to the race directors, but I would like to have your input on these :

  • Time penalties (stop and go, 5 sec stop and go, 10 sec stop and go) instead of the usual black/white flag.
  • Point-based license (like in F1). Each penalties removes also some of your points for the remainer of the season. Lose all your points and get a automatic DSQ of a race.

I know this championship is for fun, but we must be honest and face the fact the field is full of tryharders (including me) and the race direction must adapt to it.

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Race 2 :

This race was better, even though I doubt that they switch my kart. My engine was also amongst the worst, if not the worst, on the grid. I couldn’t catch up to people while in the slipstream. I couldn’t bump draft anyone, and even worse, I was losing in the straights. It was frustrating at first because I was fighting people that are not as good as me technically and they were able to compensate thanks to their engine. That forced me to change the way I attack in the race, forcing moves on the brakes instead of using alternative lines. The last few laps were super intense, as defending with a worse engine is prolly the hardest thing I had to do in a race. You can watch starting at the 22 minute mark when I start to attack the group I was part of.
My kart was almost 2 seconds slower without anyone bumping me and it is not acceptable when your fleet is used only for this championship, and is not used for any arrive and drive.

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Conclusion :

Objectively my worst round, mainly because of poor luck on the draw of the karts. I gave my all, but the results are poor, there is no denying it. I may be wrong, but the fleet feels worse compared to the older one in terms of parity. I may be focusing on the enduro more now, we will see

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Ah rentals! It is always thus, it seems. It really sucks when you lose the kart lottery. Next time your luck will change, most likely.

Regarding the pushing, yeah if it’s bad they should get serious about stop and go penalties etc.

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Hopefully :sweat_smile:

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Those races do look fun though. Everyone knows what they are doing and there’s a lot of karts.