May 18th 2022:
Our two daughters bought a combined 'car racing experience day' for their mother's Christmas present last year, which was finally booked for last Saturday 14th May.
It reminded me of my daughter Meghan's 18th birthday back in January 2016, when we celebrated by inviting a few family and her friends to what was then 'The Race Club Go-Karting Circuit' in Corby.
Well, at the ripe old age of...(you must be joking!), I'd never driven a go -kart before, but as I hummed the familiar tune of Fleetwood Mac's 'Chains' in preparation, I felt pretty confident after xxx years of driving that I'd be able to teach these teenagers a thing or two about car racing. After all, most of them hadn't even passed their driving test and therefore were probably unlikely to know the difference between a steering wheel and a brake!
By now, you probably know where this story is heading. All I will say is that after completing 30 laps at what seemed to me like warp speed, I was handed my A4 sheet of "computerised results, accurate to the milli second" for each lap, and feeling quite smug, I set off to meet my fellow competitors.
Well obviously, the computer had broken down that day, because it suggested that I had come in 9th, out of a total field of ...er....9!
Of course, my glasses had steamed up throughout the 'race' making it difficult for me to see the cork screw turns and the big sweeping bends, let alone the highly challenging hairpin leading down to the Monaco Tunnel!
And of course, there was a suspected fault on the steering of my kart, which made me ease off the throttle a bit, and then all the other karts had go faster stripes...etc, etc, etc!
And as for the staff, - they wouldn't even take a bribe!
But despite my humiliation and inevitable foundation for frequent future ribbing, I remember thinking that I hadn't had so much fun in years!
Sadly, the Race Club Go-Karting circuit in Corby is no longer open which is so disappointing as the staff were brilliant that day, professional, and very customer and safety focused, even though not open to a very generous bribe from a sad defeated old git like me!
I learned much about the competitive nature of my daughter and her friends that day, and it taught me to think again before messing with teenagers in future, (at least, until I've had a few secret hours of professional training and hard practice on the circuit - then I'll show 'em!).
But now, 6 years later, Meg is a fully qualified and very competent local Veterinary Physiotherapist, with her own business treating horses and all kinds of small animals in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and I couldn't be more proud. Of course I put it all down to letting her win that day on the race circuit to build her inner confidence!
In hindsite, I think I may have got my strategy wrong - I should have 'raced' rather than 'gone for a drive', and if that failed - I could have always cheated!
I think I've got it covered for next time.
And, by the way, my wife loved her Car Racing Experience day on Saturday, driving fancy cars around a circuit at (a ridiculous) mph. She even suggested I should give it a go sometime.
What a shame I'm going to be busy on that day.
Simon
Simon Perry
The bestof Market Harborough
