On March 21, California Lutheran University students gathered at MB2 Raceway to go-kart against one another.

Students raced around the track in groups of five to 10 karts, turning, skidding and bumping one another throughout the afternoon.

“It’s just fun. It’s like playing with a big toy kind of thing,” Elizabeth Van Nuys, a participant at the event, said.

The Programs Board rented out the raceway from 3 – 6 p.m. and allowed students to sign up for time slots to race individually or with friends.

“We’ve had past events, like the lazer tag and other off-campus activity events, so then this year we decided to do go-karts,” said Christina Sharkey, committee chair for the Programs Board committee who organized the go-kart event.

The event was successful. All 150 racing spots were filled either with online sign-ups or when the Programs Board members had a table at the flagpole. Sharkey said students looked forward to the go-kart event and were enthusiastic at sign-ups.

“I’ve asked people if they would want to go out and do a little go-kart with their friends. It sounds like a good idea on a Saturday afternoon,” Sharkey said.

Students were taken over to the karts while employees demonstrated how to drive them. They were fitted for helmets; then assigned race numbers and began to drive around the track a few times before the race started.

While participants were racing, an employee with a remote had control on their speed, which took getting used to for some students.

“I got used to it, and then they control the speeds so they put me up a gear, and I was taken aback,” Van Nuys said. “I realized halfway in I wasn’t breathing so I was like, ‘Breathe.”’

The most challenging part for many participants was taking the turns at the proper speed, especially while other drivers were nearby. For Ashley Marten, it was challenging.

“Trying not to screech on the turns-trying to know how much to slow down but not going too fast that you’re going to flip over,” Marten said.

Despite this, Marten enjoyed the turns themselves.

“I think it’s fun to take the turns,” Marten said. “Right when you get to the turns and get a straightaway, that’s fun because that’s a point where you can really pass people.”

One student even turned so hard that his kart did a complete 180-degree turn. The speed of all the other racers was turned down until he was able to correct his kart.

Other participants enjoyed the competition or simply the element of speed.

“I like going fast,” Cole McGlynn said.

Going fast turned out to be advantageous for many racers as the winner was determined by the fastest lap time.

“The way that they do who wins is whoever gets the fastest lap time so they don’t want to be stuck behind someone,” Marten said.

Because of this, an employee watched participants, waving a flag when two racers got too close. This let the slower racer know they needed to move to the side and let the faster racer pass.

Overall, students enjoyed the event. Many even raced multiple times with their friends.

Programs Board will be hosting more events as the semester goes on, such as Spring Formal on May 2 and the April drop-in. For more information, visit the Cal Lutheran Hub web page.

Allie Leslie
Senior Writer
Published March 25th, 2015