The track was bustling with activity. Young drivers with there family, friends or even teams with engineers could be seen preparing and discussing their plans for the day. Karts with different color schemes could be seen all around and there were people walking around just enjoying the excitement you could only feel on a race day. On the sidelines, there were a good amount of people waiting around for the racing to start. Having a drink and eating a snack while enjoying the sun and just having a good time.
Seeing all this Jayden immediately forgot all his nervousness and just enjoyed the feeling he got just being there. He was on a race track and was finally going to race himself. "Get over here and help me unload!" Kevin called Jayden back. Jayden returned to Kevin and helped him unload the Kart. They had their own spot in the pits that was marked by a simple sign with the number 93 on it. The same number he would be using for this race. " Let's sign your participation form first and then we can prepare everything for the practice session," Kevin said. Walking over to the reception Jayden they noticed there were other groups also going the same direction they were going. Looking closer at them Jayden was surprised when he noticed 2 familiar faces. At the same time, those 2 also looked at him and had the same surprised look on their face that he must have had. "Jayden!" Octavia called out while running over to him. "Vincent, get over here it's Jayden" She called out behind her. Vincent walked over looking a bit disgruntled but still greeted Jayden. "Hi Jayden, long time no see. fancy meeting you here. Are you planning to watch the event?" He said with a disdainful smile hanging on his lips." "I'm joining the race of course!" Jayden replied smiling proudly.
Seeing the shocked looks on Octavia and Vincent's faces gave Jayden a strang sense of pride. They talked a bit more about their plans for the season and after signing the participation forms they went back to their own teams wishing each other good luck. Jayden felt good seeing Octavia and even Vincent again. Although he had only met them once it was great that they would be together on the track again.
Joining up with Kevin again they planned out the rest of the day. He would go easy during the practice session learning the track. After that was done Kevin would make changes to the setup if needed. For qualifying, Kevin would let Jayden decide. If he wanted to slowly gain experience he would need to start from the back but if he wanted the full racing experience right from the get-go he should go all out during the qualifying session. For the race itself, only a finish would be accepted. Keep out of trouble and see how far up the field you can get was the plan.
When it was finally time for the practice session Jayden was fully prepared. He got on track and started his usual routine of slowly discovering the track layout. He tried different racing lines and braking points and slowly picked up speed. The other drivers on the track were a mix of amateurs and professionals getting ready for the season but they all had a certain degree of experience. This was evident in very little mistakes that were made on track and the average pace they had been quite high. At the end of the session, Jayden's lap-time was the lowest of everyone with a 37.24 and the fastest being Vincent with a 35.72. He did not care. He had used every second of practice he had to figure out the track and what would be the best way for him to drive during qualifying and the race.
After going back to his assigned spot he discusses the needed setup changes with Kevin. The kart was stable under braking and turned smoothly but he was struggling with traction when exiting corners. To combat this Kevin slightly changed the camber of the rear wheels. This changes the angle with which the tires came in contact with the track and should improve traction with a slight sacrifice in tire life. Kevin was gambling on the fact that Jayden's smooth driving style would offset the difference.
Qualifying was, in fact, a 30 minute race in which it was all about the fastest time you could set with everyone else on track trying to do the same. It would be a fight to gain your own spot on the track and push for the lap. Jayden would have to make a choice now. Play it safe or push? For Jayden, this wasn't really something he had to think about. He knew he playing it safe was his best option for finishing the race but this was not what he wanted. He wanted to race! To finally find out how he compared to others. Not what it was like to drive around in the back of the field.
So when the session started he pushed right from the start. This was totally different from driving in practice with everyone driving close to each other. It wasn't possible to leave huge gaps between drivers because there would always be someone to fill the gap. If you would want to do that it would have to be done gradually increasing the gap a tiny bit every lap and then push when you have the space to do so. Seeing this was Jayden's first qualifying he did not know about this so every time he tried to create a gap another driver would dive in the freed up space. Frustrated he could only drive at the pace of the driver in front of him and at the end of qualifying his fastest lap was a 36.39.
Getting out of the kart his frustration was clear to see. His lap was only enough for 14th place. He would be in the middle of the pack while Octavia was first with a 35.53 and Vincent second with a 35.59. He would have his work cut out for him during the race.
"Might as well have qualified in last place!" He thought. At least then he would be safe from other drivers making mistakes around him.