Taking Top Spot on the Leaderboard

[vc_row row_type=”row” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]Article written by Daniel Demaras www.demaras.com[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”normal”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]K1 Speed located in Downsview Park, North York, 75 Carl Hall Rd, attracts some of the best racers in Ontario, aiming to set blistering fast lap times. The new track layout has seen lap times getting quicker and quicker as drivers learn to negotiate the highly technical circuit, with the lap record changing hands between multiple racers.   Setting a fast lap time is a combination of many things all working together. You have to know the right racing line around the circuit, which you learn and perfect through continuous practice. It’s not just cornering, but also throttle and brake inputs that lead to a good lap time. There are also external factors that contribute to setting a quick lap time. When the track has been driven on throughout the day, it heats up, providing more grip for the karts. Often, fast laps are also set a couple of laps into the session, once the tires warm up, giving your kart more grip. If all these factors come together in a lap where you hit all your marks, brake at the right points, turn in at the right points and keep your momentum going, you can set a quick lap.   I visit K1 Speed Toronto and arrive and drive often because it’s the best indoor track in Ontario. I’ve done more than 7,500 laps around the track, and I’ve set the best time of the day more than 100+ times, but last month, all those internal and external factors came together, and I managed to set a new track record!   It’s cool to know that I had the fastest lap ever at K1 Speed, Downsview Park and it really encouraged me every time I stepped into a kart. I felt the confidence to compete with the best racers. But with so many racers gunning for that track record, I knew my record wouldn’t stand forever.   K1 Speed’s zero emissions/ 100% Adrenaline arrive and drive and group racing has an online system to check live lap times, best lap of the day, best of the week and month. Even when I’m not at the track, I check online to see how fast other racers are going. A few days ago, it happened; Anatoli Gourouchkine beat my time. But I’m not upset…I feel totally motivated to get back out on the track and reclaim the record!   That’s one of the fun things about K1 Speed’s Electric Karts. You’re competing on so many levels. Sure, there’s the other racers you’re up against in your race. But really, you’re always racing against yourself, racing against the clock. Trying to set a personal best time. From now until August 31st, K1 Speed is having a ‘Fastest Laps’ contest. The fastest lap of the week will win one race and the fastest lap of the month will win three races. I went back to K1 Speed’s Downsview Park location, last night, and while I didn’t reclaim the record, I’m in the running for fastest of the week right now, with Nico Hines, Alec Pavese and Igor Manukhov right behind me by fractions of a second.   For drivers who race at K1 Speed Toronto regularly, there’s also the Club Speed, which is a year-long competition for most points, on way to qualifying for the Club Speed. Even more important to me that the fastest lap time is the fact that I’ve accumulated over 3,000 K1RS points. The race to score 4000 points and qualify for the K1 Speed World Championship in California is on, and I know that many people will look to race for Canada in the upcoming competition.   All these lap times and K1RS points are visible on the timing screens at K1 Speed, and Club Speed which provides live lap times, so you can follow the action from your phone.   With the Summer of Speed arriving, K1 Speed’s zero emissions / 100% Adrenaline, Electric Go Karts at Downsview Park, 75 Carl Hall Rd location, will be more action-packed than ever, with lots of people coming to race, and many looking to improve their times. I know I’ll be looking forward to racing against all kinds of quick drivers, and I’m super excited to see how the competition will play out. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row row_type=”row” text_align=”left” css_animation=””][vc_column][vc_separator type=”normal”][vc_column_text]Daniel Demaras is a 15-year-old karting enthusiast who shares his passion for karting on both the outdoor and indoor tracks, including K1 Speed. Daniel races for Professional Racing Ontario.  Learn more about Daniel on his website www.demaras.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]