Karting Krasna Polyana
KES Championship Finals - Sofia, Bulgaria
My international racing debut. Subsidised by Ellysium Racing.
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| Photograph by Kinetik Automotive |
From Sofia Airport, straight to the racetrack. That was the plan.
Not before Frank and Michele's off-road escapade via some rock-laden, derelict terrain in their adventurous efforts to find the racetrack. I'm both amused by their negotiations with the terrain, whilst intrigued by the landscape and nostalgically golden sunshine. Their son, fellow electric racer and eponymous "electric renegade" Ellis Spiezia, sits beside me, entirely unfazed by the whole antics.
A shortcut later, we rediscover a concrete road. Then, to my awe, a dog walks up to a pedestrian crossing, crosses to the opposite sidewalk in orderly fashion, and exits onto a side road. All on its own accord. How?
Impromptu tour complete, we have arrived at base to meet the Kinetik team. We study their racing fleet in the workshop and have our seats fitted. A novelty for me, coming from Arrive & Drive format karting, to have a kart fitted to your specifications.
Meanwhile, open racing continues. Between residential blocks, the venue holds its own as an outdoor racetrack with sizeable facilities including a cafe, a stylish lounge area between the stands and an extra canopy-style yard for spectators.
Karting Krasna Polyana has 17 corners, including five hairpins and two chicanes. The track surface is severely bumpy, to be expected from an authentic street circuit, so confidence and determination is required almost everywhere to complete a tidy lap. A demanding enterprise, not least in high-performance electric prototype karting machinery!
Day 1 - Practice
Part 1. Acclimatise.
The Kinetik e-Kart is unrivalled in power by anything I've experienced so far. Coming out of workshop, I press on the throttle very delicately. Instant wheelspin; a snap of oversteer, for good measure.
Taken aback, I navigate the outlap very steadily and pace myself the first few laps - get a feel, for kart and circuit. Soon enough, I'm full pelt down the straights, but still overwhelmed by the torque. I stay very gentle on the pedals out of almost every corner for the rest of the session. As such, I'm 5-seconds off the pace at the end of first practice.
I've cut the deficit down to 3-seconds by midday. At this point, I go over to the chief mechanic from Maranello Racing and request a small change to the throttle pedal. My thinking is that this will help my control over the kart sensitivity. However, it's collectively agreed by all drivers to modify the power mapping of all karts, as actually everyone's experiencing volatile inefficiencies in output.
Part 2. Learn.
During intervals, having made observations in the earlier sessions, professional racing driver and Kinetik e-Series ambassador, Pavel Lefterov, has kindly provided a personalised and thorough track walk. We explore each sector, discuss where I'm strong and where to improve, so that I have a more informed strategy into the next practice session. Soon after, I'd step into the kart and find the throttle sensitivity much more tailored, the kart balance more consistent. My communication with the mechanic seems to be translating on-track. A novel confidence starts to creep in.
I've then tried to go flat out through the high-speed chicane into Turn 8. While possible, I've clipped the second kerb, mistimed the braking point and spun rearward into the barriers. A marshal helps me recover the kart, but I'm now kicking myself.
Some solace: another driver replicates this mistake the very next lap. But I'm still in discontent, with myself. The mechanics would need to make some minor repairs and I'm not trying to add to costs. While Frank reassures me otherwise, I need time to regroup.
On a positive note, time for data analysis. And my lap times are closing in on the karts ahead every session. I've set an objective for the end of the day: target a 50-second lap time. That's what everyone else is averaging. Now I've realised the limits with that earlier spin, it's time to reset and keep pushing.
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Part 3. Push.
Now I'm pushing every lap, I realise the kart suffers heavy understeer on corner entry and mid-phase, but then dramatically loosens on exit. I have to master the precise moment to open the steering; pre-empt the kart's shift into oversteer. I'm getting a feel for it, but end up veering too wide and clip the tyre wall on two occasions. I'm now angry with myself.
I continue to push. I could feel myself going even faster and understanding what to do with the kart to reduce lap times even further. The g-forces involved in this enterprise would become physically demanding. I feet my arms cramp, then relax into these new demands as I enter a state of focus. A rhythm, racers might say.
I could hear myself breathing heavier inside the helmet. Electric motors, so no engine noise to block it out. Only a mix of adrenaline and determination sustaining me to the chequered flag. But after all that, I pull in at end of practice dissatisfied - the perfect lap ... I didn't feel like I managed one.
Then, Mr. Maranello immediately comes up to me. The mechanic pats me on the shoulder and says, P3. Extends a hand to shake mine, smiling for the first time I'd seen today. I step out of the kart and study the data to realise I've gone from a 55-something to a 50.2. All in a day's practice; confident, there's more in the locker still. A competitive imprint to bring into race day.
Day 2 - Race
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Qualifying
We start off with a very slow warmup session. Everyone thinking long-term, trying to preserve their tyres. Then qualifying. We'd need the first two laps to get the tyres into their peak window. However, as soon as I took turn 1, I notice something very off with the kart. So I'm again navigating the first lap cautiously and find that the left side of the kart is bottoming out at every right-hand corner.
I've had two very close calls with the barriers, so I've brought the kart back into the pits. Kart lifted onto the trolley, I emphasise my on-track sensations to the technicians by pointing out how significantly more scraped the left underside of the chassis is compared to the right to explain my intuition. I'm met with assumption: it's down to the bumpy, clockwise nature of the circuit.
Yet I drove this same kart here yesterday - bottoming out was not a sensation I'd experienced before now. Everyone who inspects the kart notices nothing. I'm now doubting myself, anxious and confused in this environment, both linguistically and in the context of owner-kart management and mentality.
I ask Ellis for a second opinion. Another thorough, but inconclusive check. But then ... Oh, that's it. The young renegade shakes the front left wheel avidly, upon realising it is almost detached. A small bolt's loose. I'm relieved, reassured for sticking with my intuition, grateful to Ellis for the mechanical support to enable our resolve. As our issue is indeed resolved in the workshop, we prepare for the heats.
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| Photography by Kinetik Automotive. |
The Heats
I'm now behind on getting dialled back into pace - not helpful, as the only novice on the grid. So my approach into the heats is get back in sync with my newfound ability to push a high-performance go-kart.
However, as soon as we enter race conditions, my natural racing instinct wants to play catch up. I'm immediately trying to keep up with the more experienced guys ahead. And having used less from the tyres than everyone else after a reduced qualifying run, I'm now overdriving and depleting my theoretical tyre advantage.
Plus, tyre warm-up: poor. In both heats, I get off to a strong start and actually close in on the leaders into turn 1. On exit, though, everyone has significantly better grip to accelerate sooner. I would try to replicate them into the next sequence of corners, keep the steering as smooth as possible, but the kart would just slide and I'd lose more ground.
By the time I could feel the tyres coming into their own, circa lap two in both heats, I was too far back to close the gap and race anyone. Therefore, I used each heat to improve my own pace. Only by virtue of a double DNF from one kart, which I overtook on-track in Heat 2, did I gain a qualifying position on the grid for the main race.
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The Race
A slightly weaker start off the line, converse to both heats, but I have a decent enough getaway to hold position and defend into turn 1. On exit, I get on the power earlier, open the steering onto the racing line to minimise sliding and finally manage to keep up with the leaders on exit.
Although, by opening the steering for an optimal line out of Turn 1, I've opened the door for the kart behind cut to the inside line in the process and collect P4. However, they heavily lock up into turn 2, allowing me to switch back on them. We're side-by-side into the turn 3 hairpin, but I'm on the outside. Naturally, I have to concede position. Then, they all pull away again.
A clear improvement, though: much more competitive on the opening lap. Yet, I still had difficulty finding the same grip as everyone else after T3. So much to learn about performance tyres. Be that as it may, I could push a bit sooner into the race than in the heats and by the end of lap 2, I'm already setting lap times into the low '50s. From this point onwards, I'm pushing at will, every lap.
Yesterday, I would have bumped a tyre wall by now. Today, I was flirting with them. Examining, within milliseconds of each encounter, the centimetres I am from contact, while nurturing the kart away unscathed, through to the next corner. And the next. Leaning on the kart like I would back at Revolution Karting. Everything starting to make sense.
Then with a few laps to go, I start to consistently beat my personal best lap time from final practice: lapping at multiple 50 seconds flat, before entering sub '50s territory with a 49.8. I cross the chequered flag to complete my first high-performance race entry ... electrified.
Summary
Tyre management is not generally an issue in rental karting, so coming into this event with Vega tyres proved the most definitive challenge. Weaving, braking in a straight line, all the generics ... insufficient, while everyone else had considerably better grip to pull away in the opening laps. Something specific needs to be learnt to extract the peak tyre performance for a whole race event. An objective I aim to meet, should such an opportunity for development be realised next season.
Overall, what an experience. As the only first-timer on the grid, I started practice 5 seconds off the pace and not only closed down that deficit, but exceeded it to within a few tenths of the leaders. Plus, not forgetting that P3! With a few rocky moments in between, I ultimately reflect on both days as having achieved consistent progress.
Having comprised the first driver lineup for the inaugural 2022 KES Championship in Bulgaria, I'm very much looking forward to the next adventure on the road to professional racing. #travelwithpurpose
Thank you to Ellysium Racing for enabling my progress as an OG electric racer - that's Frank and Michele Spieizia for everything - from managing my stay, to mental and physio support, and Ellis for the coaching and mechanical insights. Respect to Pavel Lefterov for additional support both on track and trackside. Kinetik Automotive for unlocking new technical grounds into which I continue to invest effort, research and time. And to Sofia, for the remarkably pleasant hospitality and welcome ... baglodarya ti!