Kinetic at the Race Track

Posted by: -Radical-

As some of you might already have read in the players blogs, the captain of the Stockholm Magnetik franchise; Mark "Kinetic" Kenny went from being a racer over his X-Box 360, to the Mondello Park racetrack in Ireland. On Saturday 2nd of February, Mark had the experience of a life time, thanks to his partner Aideen who gave this to him as a Christmas Present. Mark decided to write to article about the experience that he had while having a day of which he won't forget for some time. You can read Marks article below

---

Race Day

On this crisp February morning, I was leaving my house for what was to be the my first race day of the year. The difference with this race day was that it was not in a virtual arena but at Ireland’s national race circuit, Mondello Park. The Clubman Circuit would be my tarmac for the day and my wheels would be a Mazda 3 and then moving onto a Formula SR single seater race car.


My only obstacle today was the weather. There was a blizzard on Thursday and further warnings for the entire weekend. While there was no snow on the day, there was ice! The access roads to the track where particularly bad so it didn’t look good for my first race day. I arrived at 10am and stood in anticipation to hear that we had been given the all clear to get my race on. We waited an hour and to my luck the track had cleared up and we would be out on the track within minutes. I was given an OMP race suit and an NZI helmet which would hopefully keep me alive should the worst happen.

After a briefing on what we could and could not do on the race track, I was assigned an instructor. The Mazda 3, a front wheel 1.6 litre car which had gone on a crash course diet - all that was left on the interior was a roll cage and driver and passenger race seats, was the first vehicle of the day. My instructor would drive 2 laps first, so that I could get acclimatised to the track. Given that this would be my first ever time in a race car, my stomach felt a bit odd after the first lap, he was pushing the car to the limits. His 2 laps went quickly so it was my turn to grab the wheel.

There would be no shift glithcing, wall bouncing or chicane jumping.....this was for real so needless to say I was rather nervous. The instructor talked me through all of the braking zones, turning points and gears shifts. Although only a 1.6 litre car, the Mazda 3 was nippy and well able to carry speed through the corners. By the 3rd lap, I was rather comfortable in the car and the instructor complemented me on my racing lines, needless to say I was rather happy with that.

After about 4/5 laps in the Mazda, we pitted and brought into the briefing room again. Another briefing followed where were told that the Formula SR cars would be entirely different. The rear wheeled single seater car would be quicker in every aspect and harder to control. The gearing was different to the Mazda too, with most corners being a gear higher. The cockpit was smaller and with the gear stick on the right side, it would take a couple of laps to get used to. Starting off, we had 2 laps following a pace car and then we pulled in on the home straight. 1 by 1, we were let off and began a 10 lap circuit, which would also be timed by the computer at the track. After what seemed like 5 mins but in reality, 10 laps, we pitted for the final time where we were greated by our instructors and provided with our printed lap times.


From the picture above you can see how the track is laid out. I’ll give a quick summary of how a lap occurs. 1st corner is a long right hand turn in 4th, up into 5th and down the longest straight of the course. A slight left bend downhill and into 4th for 2 quick right hand corners. Staying in 4th and into a right and immediate left turn. Another left turn in 4th brings you into the final corner, taken in 3rd, which is a right hand hairpin and takes you onto the final straight.

I really enjoyed the day. I have to admit, I was really nervous on my way to the venue. The was no reset or restart button if I screwed up. Thankfully the instructors put me at ease from the word go and my nerves settled. It was fun from start to finish and I would've stayed out there all day if there wasn’t people waiting to get in the driver’s seat. I will definitely be going back for the intermediate level day out. A quick thank you to the staff of Mondello Park and also my girlfriend, Aideen, for the best christmas present ever.


For more information regarding Marks experience, feel free to check out the Mondello Park Racing Circuit website.