We've been challenged to a go-karting event by a supplier However, I've never been before - so whats the best technique etc.?

Worth practicing first ?

Smoothness wins the day, being light also helps as being chunky (like myself) gives you the power to weight ratio of a small bungalow, and you know how fast they accelerate :(

Damned good fun though

I found the best technique was to keep the accelerator all the way down and control speed with the brake. Don't know if this is recommended, however...:P

It'll depend on the type of karts being used. The ones I've driven were one wheel drive and one wheel brake which meant you could get it sideways very easily if you were heavy on the controls. I'd recommend practising before hand and starting off slow and then building up speed. As Jon says - keep it smooth

Chris

You should snap at the brakes rather than fade them in and out like a car, but be careful not to lock up an spin out.

You should try and lift the inside wheel as much as possible when cornering, as its a solid axle it means one wheel has to scrub so by lifing it you loose less speed.

Pick a braking point at every corner and try to brake later and later on every lap

Go easy until your tyres are warm, they handle like **** with cold tyres..

the best technique for karts around 120-160cc is to stay wide on the corners because you carry more speed, when you try to stay close in to the apex of the corner you loose a lot of your momentum

Like Jon say keep it smooth. You loose alot of speed when going sideways. Ask Mr colin D. He couldnt get the hang of not going sideways

Also remember to use all the track (depending if no ones behind you for that late braking move)

it depends on the track, i went to a small local indoor place on saturday night and found that the best approach was jam on the brakes and go sideways in and straight out, and my lap times proved it. but when i've been to daytona at sandown park the best approach is to use the track and be smooth.

As my name suggests, I'm not at all chubby and do really well at carting. Apart from having a power to weight ratio over most normal sized humans, smoothness wins the day. I recently did well on a track in Mexborough and found that to keep your momentum up, it's important not to slide.

Mind you, I have no idea what I'm talking about so just ignore everyting I have said.

just go at it phil, brake late, brake hard and take the longest corners possible to keep the most speed.

A very good tip, is too, lean into your corners. Unfortunately i had the pricely sum of go-karting for about 2 years.

We've been challenged to a go-karting event by a supplier However, I've never been before - so whats the best technique etc.?

Worth practicing first ?

In my experience practice in advance will not hurt at all, of course in the same type of karts as you will be racing in on the day. Even better, make an advance visit to the location of the event and get to know the track!

I always found with karts: work out how fast you think you can go around a corner, then double it, and you probably have the correct speed. They really do handle very well.

While sliding (drifting) round the corners is ultimately great fun it will not help your lap times. IMHO there is of course a balance between having a laugh and winning!

Best of luck

IMO Taking the right line around the corners is easy its getting your entry and exit speed JUST right and feeding the power on perfectly.

Take a can of "Easy start", Hide it but spray it into the air intake, makes them go like a rocket!! be carefull as the owners get ****ed off!!

Being light really does help on the straights as you go like **** off a shovel:thumbup: , only thing is when I come to a corner the kart skips and bounces like mad, so I spend most of the time on 2 wheels or in the air at times:confused:

Also depends how well marshalled the course is. I always seem to get 'brakes' warnings when I go to any round here, basically using brake and throttle at the same time :P

As above, smoothness and keeping the momentum up is key. Have fun

Steve

Like Jon say keep it smooth. You loose alot of speed when going sideways. Ask Mr colin D. He couldnt get the hang of not going sideways

Also remember to use all the track (depending if no ones behind you for that late braking move)

And how would you know... being a karting n00b n all... :P

And how would you know... being a karting n00b n all... :P

A friend told me.

loosing weight fast always helps.

When I go karting I always beat the "season" pro's, I wouldn't sau it was down to my driving but how light I am....was!

Yep, always take a dump just before to better your power/weight ratio!!

Also depends how well marshalled the course is. I always seem to get 'brakes' warnings when I go to any round here, basically using brake and throttle at the same time :P

braking and accelerating at the same time burns out the centrifugal clutch mechanism really quickly

As the kart I'm driving at the time isn't mine, this doesn't bother me unduely :P

Steve

ever driven a twin engined one??

a customer bought one in to use to have some bits made up for it once, it had two 5.5hp honda gx160 engines. the guy let us have a go on it, and i can personally vouch for the fact that going 60+mph 3 inches from the ground will scare you ****less

That sounds crazy Tom - would love a go though. Have you seen that video of the one sliding round the outdoor track. Think it might be a Dutch contraption? I'm sure you'll find it on Google Video or YouTube. God knows what's powering it; he just spends all his time going sideways

Steve

Nah, twin engine Karts are rubbish, they are far to heavy, my mates Tony kart with 2 stroke parilla engine, now thats fast!