Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Go Karting at Lemans

Lemans Karting in Fremont, CA

April 12, 2012 was the third day of the Ops Review at our U.S. headquarter  and another team building event was arranged for the attendees.  It was a "Go Karting Challenge" at Lemans Karting.  It rained that day so it was not safe to do it outdoor.  We had an indoor karting race.  It is my first time to go-karting.  At first I was hesitant to join and I even asked my boss if it is easy to operate.  He said if you know how to drive a car then you can drive a kart.


At the lobby of Lemans Karting while waiting for the other participants

Lemans Karting is Silicon Valley's only Indoor and Outdoor track built for corporate off-sites and teambuilding. It has two (2) tracks (Indoor and outdoor),  event rooms, racing simulators, catering & more!
European Style Indoor Race Track

My first Go Karting experience

A week before we headed to the U.S., we were asked to register on line for this SunPower team building  event to speed up the arrival process at the venue and save time.  After everyone has arrived, we proceeded to the briefing area upstair and one of the Lemans' staff gave us some safety guidelines and explained the meaning of the flags used in Go Karting.  Different  colored  flags waved by race officials give signals to the go-kart racers.


The  Conference Room where the briefing was held

After the briefing, we returned to the  track and we were asked to put on our safety gadgets before the race.  I felt excited and at the same time nervous.

Go Karting helmets of different sizes

Lemans' Staff  checked on me and adjusted my seat so I can reach the break and gas pads

Good to go for a ride

 We got the Sprint Race Package at Lemans with about 30-40 laps (indoor) or 20 minutes.  In this format, each driver would get a short qualifying session followed by a race for position.

Elvie in Kart No. 24

We were given about five (5) minutes practice.  I was with group no. 1 and the only female driver in this group. I was the slowest driver. Look at the result below :

The Practice Result

In the actual sprint race, I am still the slowest driver (No. 7) but I made some improvements.

Sprint Race Result

Winners were the following :
Group 1 ~ Mike Ramos
Group 2 ~ Christophe Dargnies
Group 3 ~ Jascha Ortmanns (My boss)

Lemans Karting Fremont

 Address : 45957 Hotchkiss Street, Fremont, CA 94539, U.S.A.
Tel. No. : (510) 770 9001 or (877) RACE-LMK

My arms and legs were aching after the race but I enjoyed it. After the tiring karting race, we had our dinner at California Cafe.

California Cafe
Address : 50 University Avenue, Suite 260 , Los Gatos, California, 95030 U.S.A.
Tel. No. : (408) 354 8118

We stayed at the Montebello Room of California Cafe

California Cafe has great food, services and ambiance !










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