**Chapter 13 — Prep Day**
Saturday, March 29th, 2009
The sun had barely risen when Alex and his parents pulled into the parking area of Kartbaan Strijen. The facility sat tucked between quiet fields and farm roads, but today it buzzed with trailers, karts, and dozens of drivers getting ready. It was more crowded than any weekend so far.
"Busy," Willem muttered, parking the car. "Feels more like a championship round than a qualifier."
Miriam leaned forward to look. "There must be thirty kids here already."
Alex stayed quiet, eyes fixed on the track beyond the fence. Strijen looked… sharp. The layout twisted back on itself like a knot, with tight hairpins, narrow chicanes, and almost no room to breathe. This was nothing like Eefde.
Victor was already there, standing by the paddock entrance. He waved them over, clipboard in hand.
"Morning," he said. "Glad you're early. This place doesn't forgive mistakes."
He led Alex and his parents onto the track for a short walk before the first session. Other teams were doing the same. Kids listened while coaches pointed out lines with their fingers, pacing around corners like generals planning a battle.
Victor stopped at the first hairpin. "You'll want to brake early here, but not too early. Trail brake into the apex, then stay tight. This exit leads straight into a chicane. If you go wide here, you lose two corners in a row."
Alex nodded, eyes following the tarmac. It looked grippy—but narrow.
They continued around the track. At Turn 7, Victor pointed again. "This is where people spin. It's downhill, off-camber. Don't push too hard on the throttle until you're straight."
Back in the paddock, Victor pulled out the session schedule. "Two practice sessions this morning. Qualifying in the afternoon. You're in group two this time."
Alex pulled on his suit in the tent while Willem prepped the kart with tire warmers and fuel. Victor adjusted the seat one last time and tapped the side of the kart.
"Just learn in session one," he said. "No hero laps. Feel the track."
---
**First Practice Session**
Alex rolled onto the track behind six other drivers. The engine buzzed beneath him, the vibrations already familiar. But as soon as he took the first corners, he felt it—this track wasn't friendly.
The corners came fast and sharp. He missed an apex in Turn 3, locked up slightly into Turn 5, and almost clipped the curb too hard in Turn 6. Behind him, one kart spun in the chicane and kicked up dirt.
He completed eight laps, each a little better than the last, but none clean. When he came back in, he pulled off his gloves with a frustrated sigh.
Victor raised an eyebrow. "Good. You didn't crash."
Alex gave a dry laugh. "It's hard."
"Good," Victor said again. "If it were easy, you wouldn't learn anything."
---
**Second Practice Session**
Now that he knew the layout, Alex pushed harder. He braked later into Turn 1, found a better line through Turn 3, and cleaned up his shift point out of Turn 4.
But then it happened.
Turn 7. The downhill one. He turned in a little early, still on throttle. The rear stepped out.
The kart spun—just once—but it was fast and sudden. He slid into the runoff, tires barely skimming the grass.
He caught his breath, checked for traffic, and rejoined.
Back in the paddock, he pulled off his helmet and shook his head.
"I messed up."
Victor nodded. "You spun. Now you know what not to do."
"But I lost confidence after that. I couldn't get back into rhythm."
Victor crouched beside him. "That's part of the job. Recovering after something goes wrong. No one drives perfect laps all the time. You'll get it back."
---
**Lunch & Reset**
Willem passed him a sandwich. Miriam handed him water. They didn't say much, but sat beside him in the shade of the van. It helped.
He watched other drivers go by—some laughing, others serious. A few seemed to know every marshal by name. One of them had fancy team gear and matching gloves.
"They've been doing this for years," Alex said quietly.
Miriam put a hand on his back. "You've been doing this for weeks. And look where you are."
He nodded slowly. She was right.
---
**Qualifying**
Group two was called up around 2 PM. Alex zipped up again, nerves settling in like fog.
Victor leaned close before he climbed in. "Don't think about the spin. Don't think about the points. Just think about the kart. One lap. That's it."
Alex joined the line of karts and rolled out.
Warm-up lap — clean.
Then came the flyer.
Turn 1: Smooth entry. Slight oversteer, but controlled.
Turn 2: Flicked through the left-right with quick steering. Settled early for Turn 3.
Turn 3: Hit the apex. Quick on the throttle.
Turn 4: Carried good speed in, a little bump unsettled him but he held the line.
Turn 5 to 6: Better rhythm this time. Trusted the kart to rotate without forcing it.
Turn 7 — this time, he braked earlier. Stayed patient. No spin.
Turn 8 and 9: Fast, tight, the kart drifted slightly wide but he caught it just in time.
Final sector: Tight, clean, slightly conservative on the exit, but safe.
He crossed the line and breathed out.
Back in the paddock, results were posted ten minutes later.
\*\***Qualifying Results — Overall Top 5:**
1. Sven de Wilde — 47.6 sec
2. Farid Amini — 47.9 sec
3. Alex Vermeer — 48.1 sec
4. Thijs van Kampen — 48.3 sec
5. Ruben Klein — 48.5 sec
Victor clapped once. "Good. Very good."
Miriam looked over his shoulder. "Third?"
Victor nodded. "Tomorrow he starts near the front."
Alex smiled. "I just didn't want to spin again."
Victor grinned. "You didn't. That's progress."
As the sun began to drop lower, the paddock started to quiet down. Some families packed up early. Others stayed behind, talking or reviewing onboard footage.
Alex sat on a folding chair beside his kart, arms crossed, watching the golden light spill across the tarmac.
He had done enough today.
Tomorrow, it would count for real.
And he'd be ready.