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11.29.08, Infinion Raceway, NCK Road Racing
It was a tough weekend for the ITS Motorsports team at our first NCK Road Racing event at Infinion Raceway, Sears Point, in Sonoma, CA.
The 98 kart, driven by Dan Levens, had a mechanical issue during the novice practice which sidelined him for the entire session only completing a few laps to warm the engine. After repairing the kart we brought it to the starting grid for the first event of our class only to have the race delayed due to one of the ambulances transporting a spectator to the local emergency room. Two ambulances are required to be at the track at all times so the race was delayed until it returned. This created a very anxious grid of drivers including Dan who has never raced at this venue, let alone participated in a road race event, and did not get many laps in the morning practice.
During the drivers meeting class positions and groupings at the start were discussed, however it did not go exactly as planned by the race director. Spacing of the groups and the grouping of the karts in each class could be described as chaotic at best. Crossing the start line and taking the green flag, the frustration of the starter was very apparent.
Getting a good jump on a few of the competitors in the group, Dan was running flat out towards turn one and was trying to keep his position in the preferred race line entering the corner. The tires had not come up to temperature yet and the track was very slick. There is a slight rise in the track mid way through the corner which gets the kart a bit light which along with the cold tires caused the kart to become very loose in the corner. Trying to catch the rear of the kart to keep it from spinning, Dan made a rookie mistake and over-corrected causing the kart to go into a snap spin. Headed for the shoulder of the racing surface the kart was facing backwards when it left the track and onto the grass/dirt shoulder surface.
The end result of all of this was a destroyed kart, three broken ribs, three broken bones in his hand, and a very scraped up ego. Dan was transported to Sonoma County Hospital via the American Medical Response ambulance to get checked out while his Califonia Kart World | Birel team mates raced on.
We all learned a lot at this race and will work even harder headed into the 2009 season with another trip planned for Infinon for the NCK Road Racing season opener in February.
Thanks for the interest in our team and we hope you check in often for our race postings as the 2009 ITS Motorsports race season progresses.
Our next stop will be Infinion, February 28, 2009. Hope we see all of you there!
E-mail: Info@ITSMotorsports.com
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