by: adrian t.



In any market there has to be a niche. To feed that niche, there has to be a core group of people who are passionate and dedicated to it. To the members of the California Indoor Racing Karting League, they not only feed the niche, they fuel it. They have built a big enough following that import legends, Bergenholtz brothers, and Formula Drift driver, Joon Maeng, are members of the league. Every month, when CIRKL hosts a race at various K1speed facilities in California, and where championship points are on the line, each member karts their heart out.

This isn’t your Sunday afternoon local mini golf go karts. These are serious torque-monsters claimed to have a top speed of 40mph. So when your ass is 2 inches off the ground, thats fast. As a spectator though, the speed can be deceiving; maybe its because there is no visceral percussion of the air hitting your chest, or hearing the Doppler effect when a motor screams past your ears. You only hear the whine of the electric motor and the tires as they find grip all the while top 40 music is blaring in the background. However, to take away the heroism from these karters would be a crime, because there is still risk and danger at every corner.

Our karting guru, Brian, invited me to their 4th race held at the Ontario, CA facility. Having participated in one of these “super track” events once before, and being invited as a spectator, I’ve noticed one thing hasn’t changed: unlike many of the track days, HPDEs, time attacks, and race events, egos here aren’t checked at the door, they explode at the door. But who’s to say thats a bad thing. The faster guys constantly have a target on their head, each kart is the same spec, and strategies play major roles on who wins and who loses. This all makes for close racing…..and drama.

The format is simple. Each driver is broken down into 3 run groups. Each group has 2 qualifying sessions of 14 minutes. (i think) Based on the qualifying times, drivers are further broken down into 2 groups: A and B. The qualifying times also determine your grid order for the race. First one to finish the 7lap race wins. And points are assessed per the rules of CIRKL. In qualifying, Brian was plagued with undercharged karts, netting him lap times that were 2 secs slower than the front of the pack. Reluctantly, it was just fast enough land him the bubble spot on the A group — fast group. During the race it was a rolling start and by lap 3, a crash happened which Brian was able to edge by netting him a new position of 6th place which he kept at the end of the race.

As the race ended, and karters were coming out of the track, many blamed the karts, and others blamed each other. But at the end of the night, it was all smiles. It was like witnessing a group of brothers who fight, only to play again, only to fight again. These karters take serious pride in their discipline. The lack of media, trophy girls, and spectators aren’t why they do it. It is for the camaraderie, the competition, and bonding that they keep returning….the free cookies probably help to. It is equivalent to a pick-up game at the park with your friends. But most of all, if you ask any real racer they will tell you this, “a bad day at the track is always better than a good day at work.” So kart your heart out, or else someone else will do it for you.

RLB:make_moves

www.k1speed.com
www.cirkl.org