I’ve been a fan of kart racing for a while.  In karts, you’re virtually invincible as the center of gravity is essentially on the ground.  You can blast through turns at almost full throttle and really the worst thing that can happen is a spin-out.  The best part though about kart racing is it gives you an opportunity to really hone your driving skill.  Karts put you on the track, no suspension or power steering to get in the way…just you, driving.  Many professional race drivers start in karts and I can see why.  Dan and I have even thrown around the idea of shifter karts, and after today, I’m ready.

Shifter karts are quite a bit more extreme than the electric ones I drove today, but still 50mph an inch above the ground indoors is plenty fast, and enough to plant the seed for addiction.  For 23 bucks you get 14 laps, mandatory use of a full faced helmet and of course emissions-free electric kart race action.  It might be a little steep for some, but to speed junkies like myself, it’s definitely worth it.  It takes a while to get the feel of the track, find the right lines and proper braking and acceleration points, so your first lap times suffer.  Once you get the hang of it though, it’s a blast.

MB2 features full real-time electric lap timing so spectators can keep track of the action and at the end, they print out full performance stats for the drivers to take home and brag to (or hide from) your friends.  I ended up with the second fastest average lap time and the 6^th fastest lap time out of a field of 10 racers.  I spent my last 3 or 4 laps stuck behind some douche bags running slow side-by-side, otherwise I know my best lap time would have been stellar.  Now that I’ve got a feel for the track though, I’m eager and ready for more.  With the facility just 10 minutes away from the office, I may have to drag Dan down at lunch for some lunch runs soon.  I’ll get him addicted and then it’s only a matter of time until we’re members…and then well on our way to shifter karts.