This weekend my parents and I ventured out to Homestead Florida with SKUSA at the AMR Homestead-Miami Motorplex, to run KA100 Jr.
Overall, it was an okay weekend but also disappointing, on my part. I had a lot of fun learning a new track and it is one of my favorite tracks, but I didn’t do so good there. The track may look easy but it was very hard, I could never seem to figure out what everyone else was doing to keep up to pace all weekend long.
We struggled in practice Friday to gain more speed, which was due to me mostly.
Saturday I didn’t qualify so great, by not great I mean like 17th and 1.4 seconds off pace. I was very disappointed in myself, because I know I can do so much better than that. Prefinal came around and I started 17th and went to about 14th on the start, which I would do good on the starts and move up about 4-5 spots, but I struggled the entire race to keep pace and I would just go back further, which always put me back to where I started in the race. In the final I started 17th again finished the race in 16th, after getting up to 14th. Like I said I do so good at the beginning and just fall off because my mind just overthinks how to be faster than the driver in front of me to pass them, which causes me to mess up. I just didn’t do as good as I expected myself to do.
Sunday comes around and warmup was dry, but it was starting to rain. Once the rain came it did its monsoon thing, which put us on a 30-minute delay. My qualifying session was in the rain where I qualified 23rd, which totally sucked because something just seemed off. Prefinal time and my head was in the game to get in the top 10, it was raining.
I had an amazing start where I went from 23rd to 15th on the start and got as low as 14th, but my kart slowly kept going away and getting slower, which caused me to finish 17th. Come to find out there was water in my motor, and it just about shut off on me during the race on the straight, so I had what I had.
Final time comes around and I was ready, track a little dryer, I was determined to do good. I started 17th, I again got as far up as 14th on the start, by lap 7 the same thing happened where I was under driving the kart, which made me so slow through the corners. I was letting my mind get the best of me in the race, which caused me to slow myself down. I finished the race in 17th, which was no increase in positions, and I didn’t get any faster throughout the race.
I know I am in the learning phase of junior right now and still trying to figure out the terminology and how it translates to Junior vs. the Mini Swift, such as brake less, go deeper in, don’t underdrive, don’t overdrive, and more I am sure I am missing.
My mind just wasn’t in it 100%, I learned a lot this week about the track, but didn’t finish how I expected OR where I would see myself finishing. I know at the next race I need to work much harder and listen to my dad, because I quickly learned this weekend that not listening to him and my coach, caused me to suffer.
Thank you to my dad for everything you do for me and my kart to help me on/off the track, my mom for all the support you have provided to me, Ashley Rogero on the coaching this weekend that I listened to but just didn’t utilize on the track and for Comet Engines for the fast engine that had great power as always.
I would like to thank all my sponsors for putting their trust in me no matter what.
CRP Racing, Rocks Trailer Sales, Alissa Grim Photography, Precision Karting Technologies, Motul Oil
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