Wheely good time

Kate had a really good time karting today. She was the only one doing the 'Super Challenge', so she had the track to herself. And that was fortunate because the rear right-hand wheel snapped off her kart on lap 10. To be fair, Kate just went for it, and I don't think the poor Sodi rental kart knew what hit it. After 10 laps of squealing tyres and flying dust, the stud bolts on the rim just sheared off from the stress, and Kate limped the kart back to the pits on three wheels with bodywork scraping on the concrete. The mechanic in the pits was shocked and embarrassed, but Kate was loving it.

Kart two didn't fare much better. Five more laps and the rear right-hand tyre came off the rim, and Kate limped that kart back to the pits with a flat tyre.

Kart three seemed a bit more robust. But the ill-fitting exhaust made the kart sound like a monster, and Kate discovered the brakes didn't work when she hit the first hairpin. Rather than come in to the pits though, Kate opted to carry on and get a bit of practice driving without brakes. Scary stuff when you consider the safety briefing was some cut and paste text in Google translate, and Kate was driving in a t-shirt with her long blond hair flying in the wind (which did look very cool though).

Her fastest lap time was in the all time top ten for the track. Not bad considering she only had 10 laps in the faster of the three karts before the wheel fell off. The staff were impressed, and despite being the only one on the track, she's come away with an Elche Karting Club podium trophy. And, looking at the smile on her face, she had a Wheely good time too.