The online racing simulator
Any karting advice you can give me?
Hi all! I wanted to ask those who are experienced karters if they could give me any tips that are quite unique for karting. I know the basic principles of driving fast (Good racing line, not skidding, etc.) but I want to know if there are any other things that I would need to do to allow me to maximise the kart. Please reply soon because I'm attending a karting race on August 3rd (few days time ) which is quite important as it could possibly increase the interest of a single seater team in me that I'm trying to join in a racing series. Thanks!

*calls Becky, tristan and Keiran *
get on the throttle very early!
I guess a tip could be to put your bodyweight where it's needed to maintain maximum grip. I'd also like to see a few nice tips though from the experienced karters in the community
Is it indoor karting?
nope but if you're talking about indoor because of possible weather conditions, trust me, in Egypt, you're guaranteed to get some scorching hot weather in this time of year. I'm worried about just cooking my tires off the asphalt alone from the actual driving itself

Btw, I thought I should mention, they're 9 HP karts, nothing serious like Rotax or anything like that.
No was wondering because if it was indoor the best advice would be to suss out the quick kart!

What kind of kart is it then?
Oh I know all that carry on about choosing the best kart . Unfortunately, if they're gonna do something like what happened when I did a race last year with giving the top qualifier to choose his kart first, then 2nd choose 2nd, 3rd chooses 3rd, etc., it'll be fair in a way I guess but I would hope that they are quite equal. Something they did last year was that each driver gets his fair chance at driving different karts.

Something else I'd like to mention, I'm not considering karting seriously anymore unless I get a ton of support from my dad on it and also, already a bit too old for karts (17 ) so I'm just trying to prove myself to this single seater team to try and get somewhere with them.
Quote from nikimere :?

Check the post above yours . Sorry, I edited the post there link, shoulda just posted a new reply with that info . Its 9 HP anyway
That just says it's 9HP... doesn't say what kind it is...
It must be some sort of a leisure kart?

Is the Single Seater team giving away a free drive to the fastest driver or something? Are they going to be the watching?
Well, not quite. The situation is atm is that there are 3 drivers interested in competing for either a 2nd race seat(1st race seat already gone to a rich kid) but they're thinking that if there are 3 drivers that have the money, they'd be willing to run a 3 man team. Anyway, point of this karting race is that, yes, the team manager will be attending this race and I'm trying to help improve my image in front of him, proving to him that I'm hot stuff and not just some kid who saw an ad in a magazine and wants a go for a bit of craic. I won't get a race seat if I win this thing but I will prove that I'm a serious driver that atm, one of the finest in the country (not many interested in single seater racing anyway ) and will be considered seriously

Kart info: well, yeah, afaik, they're known as Pro karts. I don't know the Chassis but I believe its a Honda engine.
Oh, i was wondering what crazy Team Manager would pay for someone to race a single seater who was quick in a kart. That would be EXTREMELY rare.

I've seen Karting World Champions struggle to get race seats. And one recent one not get one at all.

You have high opinions of your talent anyway. Just remember there is a different between confidence and cockiness.

Enjoy the race/test anyway
a few tips, theres a difference between racing lines and REALLY good ones. normally really good ones will be late turn in, sharper than the geometric line but will allow u to get on the throttle earlier.

i wrote this a few years ago, but my advice is to get some practice, get sum1 really experienced and genuinly good with results to prove it to watch u and coach u and listen to everything they, every1 can always learn no matter how good they are.
www.evenflow.co.uk/indoorkarting.htm

i would imagine if u are inexperienced and hoping to get a single seater drive from leasure karts, u may be in danger of 'overdriving' to try and go fast and impress this person, so remember to keep calm..!
#16 - J.B.
Lean your body weight to the outside of the corner not the inside. The reason is that Karts don't have diffs so unloading the inner rear wheel well reduce understeer. Also the brakes are only on the rear so you can use your left foot to help turn in very effectively.

Good luck! Did I understand you right that you have sufficient funding to go single seater racing? Or are you hoping someone will let you drive because of talent? Either way, get as much kilometers as you can, no matter what kind of vehicle, even if you think you are too old for Karts.
Lepr's, just make sure you ask the fastest driver to share his setup LMAO
Quote from J.B. :Lean your body weight to the outside of the corner not the inside. The reason is that Karts don't have diffs so unloading the inner rear wheel well reduce understeer. Also the brakes are only on the rear so you can use your left foot to help turn in very effectively.

Good luck! Did I understand you right that you have sufficient funding to go single seater racing? Or are you hoping someone will let you drive because of talent? Either way, get as much kilometers as you can, no matter what kind of vehicle, even if you think you are too old for Karts.

Ah, there we go, that makes sense now. I've always heard to put your weight on the outside, but I never knew why.

It's probably my driving, but most karts I've driven have been suffering from anything but understeer.
Quote from nikimere :Oh, i was wondering what crazy Team Manager would pay for someone to race a single seater who was quick in a kart. That would be EXTREMELY rare.

I've seen Karting World Champions struggle to get race seats. And one recent one not get one at all.

You have high opinions of your talent anyway. Just remember there is a different between confidence and cockiness.

Enjoy the race/test anyway

Well any tips that you could specifically give me? I heard stories from Sully that you were a king in karts .
One bit of advice i've had but never tried (don't kart very often) Was on the faster corners to lean your body forward because those type of karts are usually very stiff, so transferring weight in anyway you can helps.

I've heard that it works with the "arrive and drive" karts, so i'm guessing you will be on something similar.

And yea....Dan.
Where you put your body weight depends on the chasis and setup, particularly castor, so really you have to do that by feel.

One thing they will look for is signs of fatigue, mental and physical, you would be surprised how many drivers take their hands off the wheel to relax them, or stop leaning because their muscles are tiring. When i'm assessing a driver for endurance racing in a kart I look for this and their race craft more than absolute pace, i'd imagine anyone assessing you for a single seater drive will be looking for similar things too.

Dont be shy to use both pedals on the tight corners, unless they start black flagging for it. Obviously you need to keep a feel of brake temperature and it does depend on the track, but i'll often two pedal on a hairpin - sod the lack of a differential and heated brake disks, anything to gain a tenth .

Dont worry about tyre squeel, do worry about slide.

Look after the kart, show good race craft, finish in the top couple of positions in all your heats (you wont be selected for single seaters unless you are a winner), dont crash even if its somebody elses fault and dont worry about absolute lap time (they wont have a benchmark anyway).

If your opposition are all rental drivers then go out as early as you can in the first practice session they give you - make sure your innate skill allows you to lap all those who go out with you on their first run - they'll get faster quicker than an experienced driver (they have more time to make up), so getting out early and putting a whole lap on the field in a short test session makes you look good.

If somebody is beating you, watch them, study every move they make, and for the love of whatever diety you pray too be nice to them. Take defeat well and show a willingness to learn from your betters - no single seater team is going to be interested in a driver who doesnt listen, even if you know everything about single seaters and racing you dont know everything about their team.

Remember, they wont have benchmarks of what is a good time or isnt, they wont be standing there with a stop watch. Study your times sure, show an interest in your own performance and look keen to improve it, but it's more important to win all your heats (you should be at least podiuming each heat against rentals) and utterly destroy them in the final than it is to be 0.3 seconds a lap faster.

EDIT: Also, know where your weekest corners are. If you are slower than somebody - know where you are slower. If you are quicker than everyone but not gaining on 1 particular section - know what section. Identifying your faults is the first step to solving them.

EDIT2: I said camber and meant castor, which proves either that I was tired, or imperfect... well it was written past 2am
just to lean purely forward in a hire kart. That is something I have never seen to be successful in a hire kart. You can try wet technique leaning if you have ZERO grip - http://www.karting1.co.uk/wet-karting.htm - but don't be as aggressive with the turn in as with wet technique, but the leaning part might make sense.

I was at an indoor event early this year with Oli Oakes (karting world champion 2005) etc... and he WAS RAPID.... and he actually drove pretty similar to how he drove in his Formula A kart.

Jept solid in the seat, firm on the brake, but SUPER SUPER SUPER accurate. It's all about keeping the revs up - here's Oli driving - http://www.karting1.co.uk/oli- ... ld-champion-interview.htm -there' a vid down the bopttom of the page

FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG