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and then braked for Turn 3, a left hand 180 followed by a 90 right. It was easy to scrub off a lot of speed in this complex. Coming in hot would always cost time.
After the right hander it was a quick burst, swinging to the right side of the track to set up for the Turn 4 complex, two 180s, first to the left then to the right. Again this was a place to lose time by pushing too hard. A nice late apex on the right hander pays dividends as this leads onto the fastest stretch. I found you could flat foot from there through Turn 5, a right hand 120, skim the left wall, then bend around the kink, brake hard for Turn 6, another righthand 90. I used as late an apex as possible through Turn 6 as it leads onto the fastest portion of the track.
Back on the throttle as soon as possible, use every inch of the track to the left on the exit of Turn 6 and then it was flat foot through Turn 7 (a 90 right sweeper) and onto the start/finish straight. The lap record is

After rumors of in-door Karting coming to the Silicon Valley, Speed Ring opened in Santa Clara in early February. Without really a chance to personally check it out I suggested to my sales group that I would be pleased to help put together an evening outing during a company sales conference in late February. Well, you know the rest…
We contacted Speed Ring, located at 2900 Mead Ave., Santa Clara (just off Bowers) and secured the entire facility for about 2 hours on a Tuesday evening. But, before I tell you what happened let me explain exactly what Speed Ring is…
Speed Ring is an in-door Go-Kart facility. It is much more than just a go-kart track. Basically you just arrive and drive. There's really little training or experience needed. You'll need to show your driver's license and be 18 or older. Then register (pay, sign waivers, etc.), Speed Ring then supplies you with a suit, gloves, helmet, and collar. There's a locker room with lockable bins to store your street clothes. You should be wearing comfortable shoes for driving.
Once dressed, you'll go through a brief safety session, where you get instruction on flags - I was really surprised to learn that all the racing flags are used, green, yellow, waving yellow, black, white & checkered! There's no driving instructions on line or passing. You're on your own on that piece… Then it's out to the karts!!!
The Karts are sprint karts with a Honda 4 stroke (probably around 5-8 hp), on the steering

wheel is an electronic on-board read out timer that reports your lap times and race position. There's a wrap around bumper that prevents wheel to wheel contact. Tires and wheels are typical kart stuff, slicks and solid rear axle with rear axle disc brake.
The track is about 400 meters long. From start/finish straight is Turn 1, a near 90 righthander that is taken nearly flat out. I found I needed a slight lift or brake tap to get to load the front to get the kart to turn in. Back on the throttle, then hard brakes from the left edge of the track for Turn 2, a 180 right. I used a mid-apex and let the kart swing wide on the exit. On a number of laps I just touched the wall on the exit of this corner. Back onto the throttle, just skimming the left side. This is followed by a kink to the left. I let the kart slide across the track to the right side