Streets of San Carlo - A racer's view

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Here is my account of the craziest race I had the honor to participate in.

The prep
The race took place in San Carlo on May 4th, I decided to fly in from California the week prior and team up with my brother who still lives in Italy.

First hurdle was the licensing: you need a valid FIA Italian Karting license, which I was able to obtain the Monday prior to the race, after a visit with a specialty doctor, an EEG and all bunch of paperwork. Somehow I managed all that in one day, a miracle. With that done, we filed our entry.

Kart n 12 (mine) - 99 Tony Extreme - Race engine: Iame TT37, backup Rotax DSD - Carb: L2 3J
Kart n 11 (brother) - 98 Jolly Kart - Race engine: Rotax DSE, backup Iame TT27 - Carb: L3

We knew rotaries were not the best choice for the track, but they added that bit of spice and true vintage pedigree to the setup. All other racers were on reed engines. Based on 100 Legend rules, engines and chassis must be pre-2000. Carb is 24mm, Ibea L2 or L3 and the equivalent Baroni, etc

Few days before the race we hit the Alberone track, to test the equipment and make sure everything was ok. Rainy day, we caught a break in the weather to turn few laps and manage to hit few snags anyways (a seized chain, rear brake failure and some other fun stuff). We sorted all out, put in a new piston on my engine and loaded up for the race.

We left super early on Saturday for a 4 hour drive with an overly loaded small trailer, pulled by a sedan (also loaded to the brim).

Since we arrived early, we were able to setup a tent in the main paddock, which was a small street that runs across the racetrack.

We dined with a group of 100cc diehards that we recently met, I thought I also saw @Alan_Dove walking out of the restaurant that evening, but then I thought…it can’t be. I knew Oliver and other drivers were coming, but I thought it was just the 2 drivers, so I thought I must have mistaken somebody else. After dinner, we did a track walk, trying to learn as much as we could now that the track had its final shape

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Race day

The entire race took place in a day. 2 open practice sessions (5 mins each), 1 quali (6 laps), 1 pre-final (10 laps) and 1 final (12 laps).

Track is nested in the heart of a small town, here you can see the layout and pits

SC 1 Paddock

Open Practice
Open practice went well, I mainly used it to understand the track. Gearing was spot on, the only change I made between sessions was tire pressure and front width, to see if I could gain some traction and stability under heavy braking.

Engine-wise, I had a lot of trouble with the jetting, constantly falling behind the jetting. You need to constantly adjust jetting and keep enriching as you go, but I felt I was always a couple of laps behind the setting and it makes A TON of difference. You can see it from the example below, I was gaining between a 2,000 and 1,000 RPMs a lap, by simply having the engine naturally leaning more than I was enriching with the screws and maybe not being consistent with the tapping.

For the second round of practice, I decided to turn the powerjet all the way in, now jetting with 2 screws only and starting leaner. Worked well, but I was still behind the curve so first couple of laps were super hard. Keep in mind adjusting the carb was uber difficult here, no time to meddle around between one corner and another

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Quali
The most insane 3.5 minutes ever. As I take off, one of the mechanics decided to take a nap and I hit him straight on his ankle. As I take off, engine is bogging, doesn’t want to rev. I find a very slow kart driving in the middle of the track, can’t find space. I slow down to let him go, but then I catch him again…he signals for pass, I have no revs, no space, have to brake on dirt and hit the bales. I didn’t even realize my brother crashed too as part of the chain reaction that ensued. He hit a space between bales and crashed into a concrete curb super hard, bending his chassis and hitting his ankle. I managed to kick some bales into place, restart and went all out for 3 laps, securing the 4th fastest time

SC 2 Quali

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Pre-main
I start 4th, on the left side. Given my prior problems I decide to lean out the jetting. It works, I have a good start but I make a fatal mistake…I try to gain a position on turn 1 from the outside without really shutting the door..so I end up having to brake to give way to the guy on the inside. Kart bogs, I can’t get out of the first chicane and I lose another position.
That’s when I make a second mistake: in the following lap, I try to dive deep KZ-style on the fastest straight at 105km/h and 19,500 rpms…kart doesn’t turn and I hit the bales at 54kmh, registering a 5G hit. If you notice, there was a misplaced bale, maybe I could have saved it, maybe not, who knows

SC 3 Heat 1 Crash

Front is gone, I need to retire.
My brother is doing well, but his engine literally granades on last lap. Tires lock and he spins into the barriers

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Final
Damage assessment: grim.

My steering column

My brother’s engine

Front of his kart had some damage too

Here is where I need to mention how everybody stepped up to help. One of the guys (Cega) that we met at dinner the day prior, showed up at 7AM at our tent and never left our side all day. He helped with pushing and prep. Once he saw us coming back from the pre-main in a pitiful state he helped my brother with the engine swap and me with chassis fixes. A second person showed up with an OTK column and helped me install it, while I was jumping on the side pod bar to try to straighten it.

We managed to fix everything as much as we could, on time for the main.

Unfortunately, they made me remove the gopro so I don’t have the footage but it was another mega insane session. Front guys crashed, few others seized. My brother had a rod failure on 6th lap and flew off again. I started last due to the crash on prior heat so I kept my head down and concentrated on every corner. During the last two laps I started seeing more people into the barriers, then checkered flag and…I come in 3rd! What a ride!

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Few other pics

[Andy_DiGiusto]

Final thoughts: not sure what’s the definition of “real karting” is, but this gets freaking close. The interactions with the public were so great, the whole atmosphere and the insanity of the race itself is something you must try, at least once in a lifetime. Sure you can do it in a TAG or KZ but the 100cc takes the cake, it was by far the best race. I’ll be there next year, more ready, with better equipment, better skills and ready to fight.

[Muskabeatz (Evan Batt)]

Incredible! Nothing like the adrenaline of lapping just after having push started from a barrier encounter!

The experience sounds like it was a blast. Makes me want to get into the 100cc scene. I’ve done street races here in the states, but a street race in Italy sounds like the holy grail.

[jsipplracing (Jake Sippl)]

What an awesome read. Great documentation. I just found out of the San Carlo race when I watched Alan Dove’s youtube video on it. It looks like a bucket list item for sure!

[tjkoyen]

God this sounds like such a fun experience!

[Ted_Hamilton]

I need to con…vince my buddy to sell me back the Tony Esprit I started with and do this! Nice write up…I can almost smell the castor…

[Lane_Hollar]

Man, this was like the documentary Drive to survive but instead of formula 1 , its karting..yall are the Haas racing team. Lol. Awesome you got to do all this and spend time with family!!

[Roger_Ruthhart]

Fun… thanks for sharing! But that race would never get insured in the US