12 Skills to Master by Christmas
We’re on the countdown to Christmas here at TeamSport, as there are now only 12 weeks to go! If you’ve been working on your karting skills or are keen to improve your technique before the Christmas break, then we’ve got just the thing.
Our 12 skills to master before Christmas are vital to competent karting, so learn one a week to help perfect your karting style. If time is tight choose one to work on throughout the last quarter of the year and you’ll be sure to pip your mates to the podium.
1. Basics
As with anything, it’s important to master the basics before you move onto the technical aspects and karting is no different. The most basic skill is to keep the kart smooth so that sliding is rare. You may think you’re getting an edge by slamming on the accelerator, but at the end of the race the smoother drivers are always the winners.
2. Technique
Another basic skill to master is your technique on the track. Find a technique that you’re good at and stick to it. This could be a racing line, driving position or simply just a favourite track that you stick to in order to improve. If you’re comfortable on the track it’s likely you’ll improve just by relaxing.
3. Driving position
The best kept secret in go karting. Your driving position is vital to your success on the track and it’s something that most karters don’t understand. It’s important to sit up straight in your seat and hold your hands at 10 and 2, but more importantly you must relax your arms. Not only will you benefit from the correct weight transfer from your body but you’ll also look like you mean business, and it’s likely you’ll show it too.
4. Steering
Equally as important is the way you hold the steering wheel. The physics of your kart is affected by the way that you take hold of the wheel and therefore holding the wheel in the 10 and 2 position will really help to improve your steering action.
5. Corners
Master your corners. Entry and exit to corners are a great way to improve on speed, so when you enter a corner, keep wide to make the entry smooth and only pick up speed when you reach the outer edge of the track again so that you can straighten up and get the most speed out of your kart.
6. Brakes and Accelerator
Learning how to handle the accelerator is another way to improve your karting skills. Use the power from the accelerator carefully and remember too much acceleration can cause a negative effect. Braking is equally as important as competent use will improve your handling and make your lap faster. The technique to master is simple, slow down enough so that the kart can corner without losing grip.
7. Overtaking
Overtaking is easiest on the inside before you reach the next bend. If necessary watch your opponent for a lap so that you can see how they take the corner. Once sussed, make the move.
8. The racing line
Every track has an optimum racing line and you need to suss it out. Find your racing line by testing the corners and decide how you can maximise speed at each part of the track. Once you’ve found the line where you can maximise speed, you’ve found your racing line.
9. The apex
Corners are vital to improve your karting technique, but the most valuable part of the bend is the apex. Practice controlling your speed before the bend so that you can go smoothly through the apex and pick up speed when you exit.
10. The track
Study the track. After you’ve mastered the basics, you can start studying the track to find out what the possible racing lines are, which you can then use to maximise speed against your opponents.
11. Team strategy
If you’re karting in a team, decide on a captain before you race so that they can determine the team order and when/if you need changeovers. Remember it’s a race, so the less time you’re in the pits, the more time you’re on the track.
12. Practice
Finally, get your practice in. Go over the tips and discover your weakness to ensure that you’re working on the right area. The best way to improve is to repeat, so get down to the track today and become a karting master.
So there are the skills, can you master them all?