Chapter 24: Finding the Limit
Date: Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Location: Lelystad – KWM Racing Academy
The sky above Lelystad was a dull sheet of grey, the kind that promised rain but never delivered. The wind carried the scent of damp asphalt and cold metal, mixing with the sharp notes of two-stroke engines already warming up in the distance.
Alex leaned against the passenger window of the car, watching the track lights flicker in the misty morning. His bag sat beside him, race boots half-zipped, helmet resting on his lap. The ride had been quiet.
Willem glanced over.
"You're not usually this silent before training," he said.
Alex blinked and turned slightly. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
"Corners. And weight transfer. Victor said I was too aggressive on the throttle in the cold last time."
Willem chuckled, half in disbelief.
"You're Seven. You're not supposed to know what weight transfer is."
Alex shrugged. "I just want to go faster."
They parked near the entrance. Other families were already unloading gear, voices mixing with revving engines and gravel crunching under boots. Alex zipped his suit up to his neck, grabbed his helmet, and stepped out without waiting.
---
08:15 – Briefing Room
The smell of rubber and oil clung to the air inside the garage classroom. A dozen kids sat around a whiteboard while Victor paced slowly in front of them, holding a marker. On the wall behind him, a drawing of a kart's chassis was already half-covered in notes.
"Alright," he said, tapping the board. "Today we're testing tire pressure effects. Low pressure gives more grip early in the run but overheats faster. High pressure does the opposite."
He drew two curves, one climbing fast and fading, the other building slower but staying stable.
"Pay attention to how your kart behaves. Especially under braking. And if it understeers out of the corners, come talk to us. It's probably the tires."
One of the older boys raised a hand. "What about toe angle?"
Victor smiled. "We'll get there next week."
Alex sat on the edge of his chair, absorbing everything. After the session, he lingered by the board, tracing the grip curve with his finger.
"Does colder air make the pressure drop too?" he asked quietly.
A mechanic who had been gathering tools nearby turned his head.
"That's right," he said, clearly surprised. "You feel that already?"
Alex nodded. "Yesterday the front left slid more at the start."
The man exchanged a look with Victor, who gave the slightest nod.
---
09:00 – Practice Session 1
Alex climbed into his kart — still the same one from last week, but now fully tuned and branded. The KWM logo sat proudly on the front fairing. His kart was still running with a restrictor to limit power output — a rule for newer drivers in the junior class.
He fired up the engine, rolled out of the paddock, and joined the others on track.
For the first few laps, it felt like déjà vu. He hit every apex, used every inch of the track, carried speed in all the right places.
But it wasn't enough.
Every time he exited the long right-hander into the back straight, he could feel the limit — not his, but the engine's. The kart flattened, the power stopped climbing, and other drivers with full output slowly pulled away at the end of the straight.
Alex gritted his teeth.
Not angry.
Just… contained.
He kept pushing. Tighter lines. Later braking. He started using his body weight more — shifting under braking, leaning through corners, trying to coax every bit of energy from the kart.
---
09:30 – Pit Lane
Alex rolled into the pits after fifteen laps, face flushed, visor up.
Victor leaned over the side of the kart.
"You look frustrated."
Alex pulled his gloves off. "I'm driving clean. I'm catching them in the corners. But down the straight…"
He didn't need to finish.
Victor glanced at the data screen.
"Your sector times are solid. You're two-tenths up through the corners. But they're walking away from you in the last sector."
Alex looked down at the engine. Then up.
"Can we take it off?"
Victor didn't answer right away.
He looked at the mechanic nearby, then back at Alex.
"You think you're ready?"
Alex's reply came instantly. "Yes."
Victor held the moment. Measured it.
Then gave a small nod.
"Alright. Let's see what you've got… without training wheels."
10:05 – Lelystad Circuit, Outlap
The restrictor was gone.
Alex could feel it instantly.
The engine didn't just rev — it screamed. Every gear shift came sooner. Every bit of throttle gave more punch. The kart felt lighter, hungrier, alive.
He held back through the first two laps. Not from fear, but calculation.
He studied the kart's behavior — how it turned in faster, how the rear responded differently under power, how the extra torque pulled him out of corners harder than before.
At the end of the back straight, he braked a full ten meters later than before. The kart twitched under him, dancing as the tires adjusted — but it stuck.
And when he turned in…
It bit.
---
10:12 – Flying Lap 1
He started pushing.
Turn 1 — entry speed up by 4 km/h. Apex smooth. No understeer.
Turn 2 — slight correction on exit. Not because of overdriving, but because the power wanted to rotate the kart.
Turn 3 — perfect brake timing. He left the corner with one tire skimming the inside curb.
Victor watched from the pit wall, arms folded.
"That's… fast," the mechanic murmured.
Victor didn't reply. He was watching Alex's hands — smooth, precise, adjusting mid-corner without a hint of panic. He was flowing with the kart, not fighting it.
---
10:14 – Flying Lap 2
This time, Alex attacked.
He dove into turn 4 like a knife through silk — braking deep, rotating the kart mid-turn, then launching out with a controlled slide. The rear stepped out, caught, and straightened in one fluid motion.
The engine howled. The kart rocketed down the straight.
He overtook one of the older boys on the exit of turn 6 — clean, decisive, no contact.
From the fence, a group of parents stared.
"Who is that kid?" one asked.
Victor finally allowed himself the smallest grin.
"His name's Alex."
---
10:17 – Cooldown Lap
The moment he crossed the line, Alex backed off.
His breathing was heavy now — not from exhaustion, but from adrenaline.
He pulled into the pit lane, visor up, eyes wide.
Victor walked up slowly.
"Well?" he asked.
Alex took a moment to answer.
"It's different. But it makes more sense now."
Victor blinked. "More sense?"
Alex nodded. "It wants to go where I already wanted it to go."
Victor exhaled through his nose — almost a laugh.
"That's called being in sync."
---
10:25 – Inside the Garage
The kart was back on the stand. Tires steaming slightly. Engine ticking as it cooled.
Alex sat on a crate, drinking water, wiping sweat from his brow.
The mechanic showed Victor the data sheet.
"He's faster than half the older group already. If we tweak the front toe and drop tire pressure by half a psi, he'll be on top."
Victor glanced at Alex.
"No," he said. "Let him find the edge first. The kart's better than he is right now. That's a good thing."
The mechanic nodded slowly.
And Alex?
He just stared at the track outside.
Already thinking about the next lap.
13:45 – Parking Lot, Outside KWM
The van was warm inside. Alex sat in the back seat, helmet bag beside him, seatbelt already clicked. His race suit was half-unzipped, damp from the morning session.
His parents were in front — his mother driving, his father tapping something on his phone.
The radio played softly, but no one really listened.
"You were quick today," his father said without turning around.
Alex didn't answer immediately. Then: "It felt like… I was finally doing what I was supposed to do."
His mom smiled in the rearview mirror. "And it looked like it."
They pulled out of the parking area, the academy buildings shrinking in the background.
"I passed someone," Alex added after a pause. "One of the older boys."
His dad glanced back. "Cleanly?"
Alex nodded.
His mom chuckled. "You say that like it surprises you."
"It kind of does," Alex said. "They've all had more time in those karts. More races. More… everything."
His father looked over his shoulder this time, serious now. "You're not behind. You're just earlier in your story."
Alex stared out the window, quiet again.
But he was smiling.
---
Later That Night – Vermeer Apartment, Arnhem
The dishes were done. The apartment was quiet. Outside, the city glowed under streetlights.
Alex sat at the kitchen table, a sheet of paper in front of him. He had sketched a simple track layout from memory, drawing corner numbers and little arrows.
Next to each turn, he was writing notes:
T1: brake later
T3: keep inside tighter
T5: rear feels loose — ask Victor about setup
He didn't look tired.
He looked… focused.
His mother passed behind him, placing a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Still working?"
Alex shrugged. "Just remembering things. So I don't forget."
She kissed the top of his head. "Sleep soon, okay?"
"Yeah."
But even after she left the room, he stayed there.
Pen in hand.
Mind on the track.