CHAPTER 86: FULL PUSH

"How do you think he will do against a driver who has proven himself well in the competitive European karting scene?" Rümeysa asked as she watched Enaam Ahmed going around the track, acclimatizing himself. He had been doing this for the last ten minutes, returning to the pit for feedback and a few setup adjustments before heading back out to set more lap times.

This was being done to give him fair preparation time, similar to the two sessions Fatih would have before they faced off against each other in the final two sessions: a race simulation and a qualifying simulation.

"If he were racing in Turkey in the senior category, he would most likely be leading and winning it easily," Burak said, his eyes locked on Enaam, who was starting his second lap following the adjustments. His surprise was clear at the level he was witnessing for the first time on the international karting scene.

As someone who had peaked in the national karting scene and couldn’t go abroad due to his family’s financial constraints, this was his first time laying eyes on an actual competitive European karting driver, and he was not disappointed. He remembered that Enaam had only just finished this year’s World Karting Championship in fifth, meaning there were four people above him, and that was just in the KF-Junior category. A flicker of doubt, an unwelcome guest, entered his mind. He had seen Fatih’s genius, but genius in a small pond could look very different in the ocean.

"But don’t worry," Burak added, forcing a confident tone, as much for himself as for Rümeysa. "I don’t think Fatih will be overshadowed. He just needs time to learn the track." Despite his words, a larger part of him held its breath. The hype was real, but now, for the first time, it would be measured against a legitimate, world-class benchmark.

As they conversed, Fatih finally came out of the locker room, now fully dressed in his new race suit that had the TOSFED logo going down both his shoulders, his name stitched on his waist, followed by a small Turkish flag. Other than that, the remainder of the race suit was clear of any other sponsorship or logos.

A man in RFM gear met him at the door. "Okay, Faith, please follow me. Briefing before your first run."

"It’s Fatih, not Faith," Fatih gently corrected him, already used to this happening anytime an English speaker read his name, having experienced it three times at the airport alone.

"Oooh, Fatih, sorry about that," John said as he looked at the binder once more to make sure, before he realized that his brain had subconsciously read Fatih as Faith.

As they walked, they had small talks, with Fatih answering questions while John asked them, until they entered the team’s trackside tent, which was a hub of activity. Fatih placed the helmet in his hand on the rack before he took a seat, and John sat opposite him with a foldable table between them.

As he looked around, he saw what he would call a telemetry station that had a few laptops, a data logger, and a CAN interface that would be used to perform real-time performance analysis and post-session technical feedback.

Then there was a large electronic board hanging, currently showing Enaam’s top six fastest lap times from his two sessions, a clear target for him to hit.

E.Ahmed - 45.94

E.Ahmed - 46.01

E.Ahmed - 46.17

E.Ahmed - 46.25

E.Ahmed - 46.75

E.Ahmed - 47.13

"Here is the track map," John said, handing Fatih an aerial map of the track that had no other information than what was painted on it. He paused for a moment before he added, "The first session is a blind test, testing how you digest new tracks and how fast you can be ready to go for a push lap, your learning curve, risk management. But also, at the end of the session, you will be providing us with feedback on how the track feels and possible setup changes you want in order to increase your performance and lap times, because at the moment, the kart’s setup is set to neutral in every aspect. You don’t need to feel pressure to perform instantly, and you have a full twenty minutes to have the track for yourself to both learn it well, try for a few push laps, and think about what improvements could be done for you to go faster." (Image here)

Although it sounded difficult, and it really was, neither he nor any other driver of his age was expected to pass all of them perfectly. This was done to test their technical abilities, but more so to test how they handled pressure, as it was a test of intellect as much as speed. That’s why the detailed requirements were being given to him just minutes away from his first session.

"The second session will be done after we go through your data, show you areas you can improve, and adjust the setup to fit you best before we send you out again to see your improvements. Then we’ll start the joint sessions with Enaam. Understood?"

"Yes, understood," Fatih nodded as he looked at the image.

"We will go when you are ready," John said before he remained silent, planning to watch how Fatih dealt with the situation and how long it would take him to be ready.

Only ten seconds after he said that, Fatih raised his head and said, "I’m ready."

"Already?" John asked, raising his eyebrow, surprised at how calm and collected Fatih looked through all of this.

"Yes," Fatih said, placing the paper back on the table before sliding it to John.

"Okay then, let’s take you to your kart," John said, hiding his surprise, before helping Fatih with his helmet and balaclava as they headed out of the tent for him to get in his kart and start his session.

........

Inside the pit tent, Steve, the lead engineer, looked up from his laptop as John returned. "How was he?"

"Surprisingly calm, considering the situation had changed compared to what he was briefed on during the welcoming meeting. It’s the first time I’ve seen that reaction. No matter how good they were, even Enaam and Lando showed some level of nervousness, even if they didn’t mention it. But I saw none of that in Fatih, as if it were a normal Tuesday. I don’t know if it’s confidence or arrogance in his abilities," John reported, giving Steve the summary of the situation.

"We are about to find out now," Steve said as the laptop finally started updating in real-time, just as Fatih was exiting the pit lane and joining the track. They raised their heads to look at the transparent tent wall showing the track and saw Fatih in a white kart going through the start-finish line, starting his first-ever lap on this track, before they lowered their heads back to the laptop to see the telemetry of his drive.

"That is a smart move on his side," Steve said when the telemetry showed Fatih driving at seventy percent speed in the first few corners of the track and continuing to do so for the remainder of the lap to learn the track and feel where the grip was.

"Yeah, it should take him at least five laps before he knows the track well, and only then should he attempt a full push lap," John said, agreeing with Steve.

However, not even ten seconds after they said those words, as Fatih came out of the final corner, the telemetry graph for the throttle spiked to 100%, causing the two of them to jointly raise their heads to look at the track and see if the telemetry was faulty in a shared look of disbelief. But from Fatih’s speed as he went through the start-finish line, it was clear, on his second lap, Fatih was going for a full push lap.

Their eyes were glued to the track as they watched Fatih take his push lap, in their minds expecting him to either spin out or crash for trying to fly too close to the sun too soon, but neither of them said that as they just watched the situation unfold.

........

As he approached turn one (Oblivion), he shifted to the far right side of the track, crossing past the white line on the tarmac. With a sharp left turn, he took the corner flat out, maximizing curb usage to set himself up for a clean run into turn two (Crook). Carrying impressive speed, he aimed for a late apex and lifted slightly before charging uphill toward turn three (Christmas) at full throttle.

He delayed braking until after the marshal station, then pushed the kart aggressively, inducing understeer into the apex to get a strong drive out. On exit, he continued turning right and clipped half the curb at turn four (Kink/Boxing Day) to shorten his line. However, he took a bit too much, unsettling the kart momentarily before correcting and settling into the middle of the track. His line discipline, established from the Christmas turn, remained consistent.

Turn five (Inkermans) was taken flat out, demanding more physical effort due to the bumpy surface. He went wide on exit, using a touch of the curb before rejoining the racing line. Heading downhill into turn six (Ashby Hairpin), he braked from the magnetic strip line and held the brakes carefully through the slippery zone. With smooth steering and half the curb used, he experienced a snap of oversteer that compromised his exit slightly, but he quickly adjusted and used the full width of the road to recover.

On the straight leading to turn seven (Wilkins), he opened up the entry as much as possible. He braked into the corner, forcing the kart into understeer while maintaining high speed. Power came on late to minimize the bumps, and although he went wide on exit, he stayed just shy of the curb, quickly correcting his line before descending toward turn eight (Osiers). With a wide entry and late braking, he treated the exit as a straight, optimizing his momentum.

Entering the final sector, he approached turn nine (Boot - Left), braking precisely at the marshal pod and turning just before the curb began. He used the full left-hand curb, absorbing the impact and seamlessly linking into the next turn just meters ahead. Without straightening the steering, he transitioned into turn nine (Boot - Right), braking minimally and avoiding the curb, rolling out at full power. He kept tight through turn ten, taking it flat out and deliberately ignoring the inside curb to avoid the circuit’s dirty section.

Preparing for the final corner, he entered the pit bend wide to the left. He lifted slightly through turn twelve (Pit Bend), going wide but staying on track. With a final push of full power, he blasted down the straight, crossing the start-finish line to complete his first lap, and without hesitation or slowing down, launched straight into his second.