We’re usually a happy bunch of colleagues. Others in the office are envious of the vibrant giggles that spread from our corner. But even we’d been feeling a bit washed out for a few days. The month was oddly taxing, and the team was pressed to honour the work commitments. We were so pulled in that it felt like our laptops generated gravity!
The team needed a break. After much research and careful deliberation, we unanimously agreed that there’s no better place to blow off some steam than at a karting track. With some emails exchanged and phone calls made, we were all set. Formula 11 Karting, one of India’s biggest go-karting tracks, situated in Noida, emerged as the clear choice.
If the approach of the team of Wion Drive on the karting track were to be recreated in slow-motion, it wouldn’t be too far removed from the opening sequence of a Hollywood movie!
While the excitement to tear up the track was palpable, a mandatory crash course in racing and safety became imperative. The self-proclaimed racing demigod duo – Amit and Divyank – gave us a basic refresher on the dos and don’ts of track driving followed by a mandatory safety session by the crew of Formula 11.
And then came the golden rule: have a blast, but kindly abstain from turning your colleagues into speed bumps. With that, the wait was over. We didn’t get going on the track, we were unleashed on it.
The scent of burning rubber, the symphony of revving engines of the Sodi RT8 karts, and the warped perception of time – all these elements conspired to awaken the dormant competitive spirit even within our most tranquil team members.
Peering out from their helmets, eyes narrowed with a peculiar blend of aggression and self-preservation, our rather docile teammates morphed into daredevils in their own right.
She rammed the safety barricade set up for entry, displaced it spectacularly, bent it, and made the crew jump away animatedly, uttering the choicest words in scare, as she ricocheted through the pit lane. Yes, she went through the pit lane — during an active racing session! She was the most fearless of the bunch, and, it must be said, fairly rapid, too. She will eventually master the art of controlled aggression. A brilliant literary artist with a vast spectrum of interests, she’s a measured mix of simplicity and complexity. That’s Diksha.
With thin, lifeless tentacles for arms, he discovered a brand new purpose for them: arguing with a heavy steering wheel and losing. The target time was in sight and he was chasing it with immense bravery. But physics had other plans for him. With the tyre barriers failing at their job dramatically, the machine that was scraping seconds off on the tarmac just a moment ago was now sheepishly grazing grass. A curious chatterbox, he’s the one to have to disarm a tense moment. That’s Biplab.
Excited like a four-year-old, our youngest was one of the two chosen to set the target lap time — that speaks of his skill and speed. He kept shedding tenths off through the sessions, trying different, and sometimes bizarre, racing lines. He was set to clock the fastest time. Then, a complete novice spun him out. Skill, it seems, was overwhelmed by the rotational momentum. His nobility and innocence will charm you immediately. Or will they? That’s Amit.
He’s sweet, soft-spoken and a good lad overall. Contrastingly, he’s also spooky. He’d come and stand silently behind you. It gives you that feeling when you sense someone’s presence and are scared to turn back to look. It’s menacing, and that’s exactly what he turned out to be on the track. He started as quietly as he speaks and was as exciting to watch as a rock ageing. But he was always lurking and kept claiming victims to claw up the chart and ended the day as the fourth fastest! That’s Chitransh.
Her’s is a tale of tranquillity, tranquiliser and tenacity. Mostly glued to the chair, pacing her fingers on the laptop, she’s not one to chirp mindlessly — unlike most others. While a scalpel with rare one-liners, she’s mostly tranquil. At first, her on-track action was also that, and it seemed as if her kart was shot with a tranquiliser. But, she kept pushing, learning the little and the big things, and recorded the maximum improvement of anyone in the team. A solid performance! That’s Deepika.
Behind the garb of nonchalance hides a coltish early-middle-aged Don Juan. Not one to show it blatantly, give him the suited company and he starts to flow. That’s pretty much how it went for him on the track, too. Tracing the turns flowingly with the steering, and measuring the throttle application nicely, he was possibly the most consistent, with a spicy mix of aggression. The lap times didn’t matter to him; an artful display of his focus did. That’s Sandeep.
His generous food pouch is the reservoir of racecraft, it seems. Lap times throughout the day disregarded the natural ballast that he carries on (rather, in) him all the time. No wonder, then, that he made up the pair chosen to set the target time for the team. Consistently rapid on two- and four-wheels, he has spent more time moving his body practising the art of corner entry and exit than shedding weight. Looks like it’s working well for him. Position notwithstanding, he was also the only one to be on every team member’s podium composition. ‘Nuff said. Third fastest. That’s Divyank.
Wolf in sheep’s clothing. Had it not been for his facial vegetation, this bony chap would be refused entry at age-restricted establishments. Not that he visits them, but if he were to. His restful personality prevents others from knowing the savagery of his intent. Dialling in a faster lap than the previous one every time he crossed the line, he was clearly emerging as the one that everyone should’ve bet on. So undramatic and clean in doing the laps, that he went unnoticed. Until he didn’t. The second fastest! That’s Naveen.
His recent escape to a land of snowy tops earned him a much-talked-about title. Make what you will of that. With the reputation established, and personality to match, there were whispers of him emerging as the dark horse. Tiring to watch in his first stint, he picked up pace at an unexpected rate in the second session. It seemed like the whispers were gaining volume! The injured arm from a recent eventful experience, though, halted his progress. Who knows what could have been! That’s Sid… er… Sudhanshu.
The odd one out, yet not quite (that’s for another day). One who can ‘talk cars’ to the extent that will annoy enthusiasts on every car forum, he’s as carbonated as the spirits he downs. On the track, he carved the corners with precision and grace. And, oh boy — he was racy! Relentless, focussed and unafraid, he was chasing the tenths, hundredths, thousandths to the smallest figure possible! He was also the only one to have come wearing racing boots! That’s Ashish (Kumar).
Transforming a casual day of fun into a high-stakes competitive melodrama, he channelled his inner soccer mom personality to cheer his team while he was in the stands. His on-track demeanour on the other hand was a stark contrast. In a display that defied inertia, his dad-bod and ostensibly humble stance, he glided across the track with clean racing lines, stealing speed with the finesse of a cat burglar. Practically invisible on the track, he emerged as the unsung hero, setting an enviable lap time of 36.115 seconds – the fastest of the entire day. That’s Ashish.
As our gear transitioned from the mundane attire befitting lunch ladies to the clandestine garb of mini-motorsport prodigies waiting to be discovered, the world around us took on a new hue. Colleagues turned into competitors, the track became a wild creature demanding to be tamed, and time itself played the dual role of urgent taskmaster and eternal companion.
Helmets off, we exchanged notes like scholars dissecting ancient manuscripts. Insights into racing lines and revelations about each other’s driving personas, divorced from their corporate veneers, fueled our organic improvement. Seconds melted away from our lap times like a cube of butter on steaming hot pancakes.
While debates raged about the expected champions, the real drama unfolded in the unassuming ranks, as evident on the sly grins of the leaderboard. Formula 11 Karting served as the perfect pressure valve, allowing us to vent steam and discard inhibitions like worn-out tires. Broken and healed, each of us left the track with a unique souvenir of the day’s exploits, apart from sore muscles.