Karting, what line?

[Matty]

I'm not an overly competitive person, but not going to pretend I wasn't slightly miffed that I was 0.5s behind my nephew's quickest lap after karting this week when it's his first time in quicker/adult karts. I'm just going to blame it on me being about 5kg more than him.

Either way, just for my own sanity what line would you take through the tight "S" bend right in the middle? Through corner 1 and 2.

Kart_Track.JPG (177.27 KiB) Viewed 690 times

[DaveE]

The quickest one

HTH

[Jobbo]

Since you’ve got a bit of a straight after corner 2, you need to carry as much speed as possible through that. Not sure what line that actually means in practice in a kart, and I bet whatever that line is would open you up to being overtaken by people diving up the inside on the way in.

[mik]

Dunno what track it is (edit: was looking on the phone without my specs - I now see the "Midland Karting Ltd ) - check out YouTube and I am sure some pro will have a vid of the right line.

I’d do something like this - as per @Jobbo I’d sacrifice corner 1 to optimise corner 2 and try to take a late apex. As also noted - best line if you are alone, but very open to a pass n block if someone is behind you.

Edit: and if it’s wet - probably a completely different line to find grippy tarmac.

[Brannen]

I couldn't say for certain, but last time I did outdoor karting, a lot of the really fast guys were staying right on those tricky S bends. Tried to copy and it did seem to work, but there were multiple stag dos on the track, and people were just all over the place and ranging in ability. Made it difficult to take the best line every time, as they'd end up ramming you, cutting in front and making you slow down losing momentum etc.

[mik]

check out YouTube and I am sure some pro will have a vid of the right line.

So rather more "traditional racing line" than my drawing above . I guess my line might better suit something where the balance of power vs grip was biased towards power - whereas it's very much biased towards grip on these karts.

[tim]

Ride the kerbs as much as possible

[speedingfine]

If you say Dan Webster three times, he appears in a car with a central driving position. I'm sure he'll know what to do

[Rich B]

Just stick yourself up the inside and don't worry about a little contact.

[Jobbo]

check out YouTube and I am sure some pro will have a vid of the right line.

So rather more "traditional racing line" than my drawing above . I guess my line might better suit something where the balance of power vs grip was biased towards power - whereas it's very much biased towards grip on these karts.

Based on that video, I think the advice is 'Just Go Faster'.

[dinny_g]

If you say Dan Webster three times, he appears in a car with a central driving position. I'm sure he'll know what to do

[Matty]

Dunno what track it is (edit: was looking on the phone without my specs - I now see the "Midland Karting Ltd ) - check out YouTube and I am sure some pro will have a vid of the right line.

I’d do something like this - as per @Jobbo I’d sacrifice corner 1 to optimise corner 2 and try to take a late apex. As also noted - best line if you are alone, but very open to a pass n block if someone is behind you.

Edit: and if it’s wet - probably a completely different line to find grippy tarmac.

That's the line I was trying, but you lose a ton of momentum trying to take the line tight enough at turn 1 it's difficult to get it back. I did end up following the line in your video but that doesn't seem right either (FWIW I managed a 33.01 but a couple managed 32.5 on that day).

[Matty]

If you say Dan Webster three times, he appears in a car with a central driving position. I'm sure he'll know what to do

I heard if you said his name 3 times in a mirror he turns up and hits you over the head with a custom, billet aluminium crankshaft?

[speedingfine]

An ali crankshaft? It really is Halloween