Formula 1: The GOAT

“What is the competition going to be like?” Fatih asked Burak as he emerged from the dressing room, helmet in hand. They walked towards the exit leading to the academy’s outdoor kart track, which was finally available for use. It was late March, and the spring season had officially begun.

Since this was the first day the outdoor track was usable after the winter break and it wasn’t yet open to the public, Burak had requested it for Fatih’s practice. The director had approved, given Fatih’s upcoming championship participation. The track itself wasn’t scheduled to open to other students or the public until the following week, after the instructors had completed several reconnaissance laps to ensure everything was in order.

“Do you know much about karting competitions and championships beyond what you see in Formula 1?” Burak asked, holding the door open for Fatih before following him out.

“No, not really,” Fatih admitted, stopping to wait for Burak to catch up after he closed the door. “My knowledge is mostly F1-related.”

“Then take a seat,” Burak said, gently guiding Fatih by the shoulder towards some chairs under the shade of an umbrella. “Let me explain everything before we start, as our practice today will be based on that format.”

Once they were settled, Burak began. “The championship we’ve registered you for is called the TOSFED Minik Kart Şampiyonası (TOSFED Mini Kart Championship). It will run over six rounds, with one round taking place each month, starting in April and concluding in September. The races will be held at different tracks across the country, with the first and final rounds taking place here in Istanbul.”

He continued, “The race weekend format is somewhat similar to Formula 1, but condensed, starting on Saturday and ending on Sunday. First, there’s a practice session. Depending on the number of participants, this can be divided into groups, with each group typically getting two twenty-minute practice slots. This is followed by a qualifying session. After that, we have the heat races, then a Pre-Final, and lastly, the Final race.”

“If the number of participants is large enough to require splitting into groups from free practice, then qualifying will also be done within those initial groups. An overall qualifying list is then compiled by merging the times from all groups, ranking drivers from first to last. This overall ranking is then used to determine the starting positions for the heat races.”

“As for what heat races are,” Burak explained, “you can think of them as shorter races. Their main purposes are to help set the final grid and, in some cases, to eliminate some drivers if the field is very large. If there are multiple heat groups, each driver will race in a number of heats equal to the number of groups minus one, ensuring they race against all other groups. In each heat, drivers are awarded points, typically zero points for the winner, with the points increasing for lower positions. After all heats are completed, these points are tallied. The drivers with the lowest total points get the best starting positions for the next stage. A pre-determined number of drivers at the bottom of this heat classification might be eliminated.”

“Then, those eliminated drivers might be given a last chance in a separate repechage or ‘last chance’ race to see who can fight their way back into the main event. Finally, there’s the main Final race, which will be the longest of the weekend, a twenty-minute race plus one lap.

The winner of the Final receives 25 championship points, followed by 20 for second, then 16, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, down to the fifteenth finisher receiving 1 point. Just like in many other motorsports, the driver with the most championship points at the end of all six rounds wins the championship. The overall champion receives a prize of about 1,500 Turkish Lira (around $1000 USD in 2009), the runner-up gets 1,000 Lira, and third place receives 500 Lira.”

Burak paused, noticing Fatih had been listening intently without interruption. “Did you understand all that, or are you just nodding?”

“I understood,” Fatih confirmed with a nod. Internally, however, a wide smile spread across his face. He had finally found a potential source of early funding for his plan to benefit from his future memories! This had been troubling him for some time, making him worry he might miss crucial opportunities due to a lack of capital. This prize money, though modest, could be a start. Of course, it all depended on whether his mother would allow him to use any money he earned as he desired, or if she’d save it for him, though the latter seemed less likely given her support.

“Good then,” Burak said, satisfied. “Let’s start practicing. Until the actual competition, you’ll be racing against me. I’ll be in my own kart, but I’ll limit its performance to match yours.” They headed to the storage room to retrieve their karts, and Burak grabbed a helmet for himself.

……

They both spent about ten minutes on reconnaissance laps. The outdoor track was dusty from its prolonged period of disuse and hadn’t been cleaned yet, making some areas quite slippery. Burak wanted them both to identify these patches, and for Fatih, driving this specific outdoor kart for the first time, it was a chance to learn the circuit’s nuances.

Once Burak deemed the initial practice sufficient, he slowed down near T14, the final right-hander onto the main straight, waiting for Fatih to catch up so they could begin their mock race.

Just as Fatih was navigating the T9 chicane, a mission prompt flashed in his vision forcing him to slow down:

[Urgent Mission!]

Your instructor is preparing for a practice race. Your karts are matched for power (his is heavier but slightly derestricted to compensate). There is no reason to lose.

Objective: Race your instructor. Take and keep the lead, defending effectively and preventing him from overtaking you until the end of this practice session or until he restarts the race.

Reward: 10 SP

Penalty: None

(ACCEPT]/\[DENY])

Fatih glanced at where Burak was waiting near the end of the lap, then immediately accepted the mission. He instantly started weaving aggressively down the straight between T9 and the flat-out left-hander T10, trying to generate as much heat in his tires as possible, bringing them towards their optimum temperature as he approached Burak, who was now moving at a snail’s pace.

“We follow safety car restart procedures!” Burak shouted as Fatih pulled up beside him. “You can only overtake once we pass the start/finish line, okay?”

Fatih nodded. He slowed for T14, tucking in right behind Burak. The moment Burak hit the apex of T14, he accelerated hard. Fatih, thanks to Catlex (Good), reacted almost simultaneously. His lighter kart gave him a slight edge in initial acceleration, and he stayed glued to Burak’s gearbox, benefiting from the slipstream. He even brought his head forward and lowered his torso, creating a mini-DRS effect that gave him an additional speed boost, bringing him closer and closer to Burak’s rear bumper as they blasted past the start/finish line, officially starting their race.

With the speed advantage from the tow and his aerodynamic tuck, Fatih immediately jinked to Burak’s left as they drag-raced towards the braking zone for the first right-hander, T1.

As they neared the braking markers, neither seemed intent on braking early, a test of nerve. Burak looked intent on pushing Fatih wide if Fatih didn’t yield.

Fatih was the first to blink, or so it seemed. He braked hard, much harder than optimal for T1, but it was a calculated move. Burak, committed to out-braking him, inevitably ran slightly wide, missing the perfect apex. Fatih, having braked earlier and more sharply, was able to turn in tighter, get on the power sooner, and hit the apex, immediately snatching the lead. He took the following left-hander (T2) smoothly, then set up for the double right-hand chicane (T3 and T4), navigating it precisely and using the kerbs to straighten his line.

He accelerated towards the small left-hander (T5), going through it flat-out as if it were a straight line, hugging the left side of the track, then immediately prepared for the right-hander (T6). He carried good speed through T6, hitting the apex and going wide before taking the right-hander (T7), hitting its apex and going slightly wide on the exit while accelerating earlier and harder, achieving a smooth exit. This led him towards the left-hand hairpin (T8), where he hugged the right side of the track on approach, braked late, rotated the kart sharply, and powered out by taking a very late apex.

He used that late apex exit to attack the T9 chicane (Right-Left-Right) aggressively, then went flat-out through the sweeping left-hander (T10). He trail-braked expertly for the right-hander (T11) that led into the right-hand hairpin (T12), taking a conventional but fast line. He then powered through the flat-out left-hander (T13) before braking precisely for the final right-hander (T14), completing the first racing lap well ahead, with Burak now following, trying to close the gap.

‘Oh, my god, his defense is scary!’ Burak thought, recalling how Fatih had made that clever braking move into T1 to take the lead, and then how he’d masterfully controlled the kart through every subsequent complex.

This became the pattern for the next laps. Fatih defended as if he had eyes in the back of his head, never once looking back, instead using the sound of Burak’s approaching kart to judge his position and speed before executing perfectly timed defensive moves, blocking Burak’s attacks.

Since their karts were closely matched in performance, the concertina effect in the corners played a role. Despite all Burak’s efforts like late braking, trying to force mistakes by applying immense pressure, even giving Fatih a slight nudge to induce panic while Fatih drove as if he were seasoned driver, defending corner after corner, lap after lap, for the next twenty minutes without a single significant mistake.

‘With his racing instincts and tactical acumen, if someone beats him during the actual championship, I don’t know what my reaction will be,’ Burak mused, feeling it was enough practice for now. He silently peeled off into the pit lane. Fatih realised this as he crossed the start/finish line and heard Burak’s engine note fade, looked back and saw his instructor waving from the pit entry. He completed one final cool-down lap before joining Burak in the pit lane, marking the end of their first intense practice session on the outdoor track.

[Mission Complete!!!!!]

[+10 SP]