In a very rare turn of events, I had a chance to go karting at Summit Point two weekends in a row. As always, crushing my friends is goal #1, and qualifying for the RX250 is goal #2. The first goal is pretty easy, and the second goal seems pretty unlikely. First trip out, which was two Fridays ago, My best times were in the high 64 seconds and I need to get down to consistent a consistent 60.xx for my weight. It all seemed very kart dependent, with some karts they gave me running as much as 3 seconds slower. Next trip out was this past Sunday, and while doing pretty much nothing different I dropped down to consistent 62.xx laps, with a couple knocking into 61.xx territory. Close enough that I figure if I practiced a bit more I could probably shave a second or so off and qualify.
Even then, some karts they gave me forced me back up into the 63/64 range. Both days were hot and we got there at the same time of day so I can't explain why I was running 3 to 4 seconds faster on the second day. The RX250 qualification is only good for 1 day, so it's not like you can wait for an ideal day in October after taking a giant crap, try out 6 karts till you find the fastest one, and then knock out some good times and sit on your laurels forever. If you want to drive the fast carts, you and your buddies basically all need to show up and qualify on the RX7s regardless of what karts they give you or what the conditions are like. Or at least that's what their website suggests.
Seems like a lofty goal. Is the process different in reality? Or is this the sort of thing where if you go there every day for an entire summer you really can run sub-60 second lap times in any kart on any given day through sheer skill?
Incidentally, my first time karting was in the RX250. It was at a TrackDaze event at Shenandoah and they'd worked out some deal to run a 1 hour enduro in the 250s on late on Saturday. No prior karting experience required, but I'm pretty sure I was the only rookie out there. It was terrifying.
