Getting Started
Right! So I've practised. I've
paid my entry fee. I think I'm ready to race. What can
I expect on race day?
Nerves! ... it's quite normal to have
butterflies, even after seasons of racing. Beat the nerves
by knowing you are ready. Prepare your kart
a few days before the race. Set it up to your "standard"
setting which you have determined works well at that specific
track. Avoid "all nighter" prep sessions the
night before a race; if you break something or find something
wrong, it doesn't leave you any time to get the spares
you need. If possible, load up the kart and spares the
night before the race. Avoid rushing in the morning. (You'll
find that karting requires some pretty early starts!)
When you get to the track find
your allocated pit (don't steal someone else's
pit!) and offload your kart. Get documentation
done before fiddling with the kart. For documentation
you'll need your license, your original
entry form (assuming you faxed your entry in)
and a pen. Don't lend it out as it will never come back.
Sign on the Driver Entry form at the
table, hand in your license for "signatures"
(you need to collect three and do a simple test before
getting an Unrestricted License), and get your Scrutineering
Book signed ... What! You don't have a Scrutineering
Book? They cost around R40. Attempt to buy one from the
ladies at documentation. You probably won't have much
luck, but they'll at least give you a signed page. (Be
prepared to go through this same routine at least 3-4
times. Also be prepared to go through the same interrogation
each time at Scrutineering.)
Make sure that your timing transponder
is fitted and charged before you go on to the circuit.
If you don't own a timing transponder you will need to
rent one from the organisers. In the long run it is cheaper
and far more convenient to own your transponder.
If you intend to get some laps in during
"free practice" (normally around
7am - Aarghh!) remember that the track is cold ... and
therefore slippery ... and you should bear this fact in
mind, lest the first corner rise up and smite you. There
are few things more embarrassing than terminally damaging
your kart during free practise on race day. It's also
a good idea to slip your scrutineering book (which you
bought at Documentation - ha ha) down the front of your
race suit - Not only does this keep you warm during winter,
but when you come off the track into the weighing area
you will have everything you need for scrutineering,
thereby saving you a trip to your pit (your fire extinguisher
should be in your trolley for scrutineering).
Between coming in and scrutineering,
check the weight of you/your kart on
the scale. Make adjustments to the weight later if required.
Rather be a kilo or two too heavy, as your weight tends
to vary during the day (you will be excluded from any
timed practise or heat if you are even a f
After scrutineering you should have time
to relax or fiddle (some drivers can only relax when they
are fiddling), before drivers briefing.
Driver's briefing is compulsory so listen carefully. Driver's
briefing can be tedious. Take a chair. Try not to nod
off in the warm sunshine.
After drivers briefing the program moves
straight into Timed Practise. If you
are first on the roster, try to have your kart on the
dummy grid before drivers briefing .... saves rushing
around. It also gets you out near the front, where the
clear track is. Remember, you are not racing.
Be courteous and let faster guys by, but concentrate on
getting in as many clean laps as you can. Avoid sitting
directly behind another kart. You can only go as fast
as them ... no faster. Don't spend 2-3 laps trying to
get by. Wait 'till the straight and back off (after ensuring
it's safe to do so). Wave other karts by if necessary,
and then put foot once you have enough clean track ahead
of you for 1-2 clean, unobstructed laps. Timed
Practise is not important ... it's critical!
Qualify poorly and you'll spend the rest of the day fighting
through traffic. However don't have too high expectations
while you're a novice. Remember that most of the other
drivers out there are probably more experienced than you.
Now for Heat 1: Wherever
you qualified, try simply to improve on your position
steadily throughout the day. You have three heats to get
through. Initially think of them as three mini survival
courses. You can't improve if you don't finish. Avoid
kamikaze tactics, and try rather to make your way steadily
up the field. Most heats are around 10 laps. Not much.
But three of those gives you 30 laps in which to improve
your position. Think of it like that, be smooth, stay
out of trouble, and you should fare quite well.
Karting uses rolling starts.
Here's a tip. Don't fixate on the back of the guy ahead
of you! Try to look a few karts ahead. Always be aware
of the "concertina" effect that occurs when
guys are trying to heat up tyres and clean their plugs
during the warm up lap. I said there were few things more
embarrassing than a good crash during free practice. Well,
this is one of them. Spin off or drive over the guy ahead
of you during the warm up lap, and you're sure to be noticed.
Don't expect to get your license signed. Don't expect
any kind words when you finally get back to the pits.
There won't be any.
The start of any race
is important, but for now, while you are learning (well,
we are always learning, but you're at the bottom of the
heap, as it were), try to survive it. There's nothing
quite as mind-numbingly exciting as being amongst 40 karts
rushing into the first corner (which is designed for 2)
.... and therein lies the problem. Mind-numbing. You will
forget that your tyres are cold. You'll also forget that
your brakes are cold. Some will completely forget to brake.
Others will even forget to turn. Don't laugh! It happens.
That's racing.
Be cautious, but don't be a nerd. Try
to sit right under the bumper of the kart ahead of you
running up to the start line. If the guy behind is gently
"nudging" your bumper, he's trying to tell you
to close the gap. A gap at the start spells trouble. Someone
will try to pull into it. There will be an incident. Also,
don't tap off in the "start zone" (the 90 m
zone before the start line, marked by a yellow line),
or you'll have a kart run over the top of you. You and
the other driver can then haggle over blame for causing
the red flag and restart. Don't laugh. It happens.
Another tip when approaching the start.
Look for the front runners raising an arm. They're not
waving to their fans. They're passing on the "1
more lap" signal, given to them by the starting
officials. When the "1 lap" signal is given,
and the start is on a straight, expect everyone ahead
of you to rush off as if the race had really started.
They're cleaning their plugs. They will suddenly come
to an almost stop at the first corner. Try to be ready.
Otherwise you'll run over the top of the kart ahead of
you. If the start line is near a corner, expect the same
behaviour on the very next straight section.
The "1 lap" signal is given
extremely frequently. If the karts are not in formation,
or they are approaching the start line too fast for safety,
you will be sent around for another lap. And sometimes
another. And another. And eventually, when you're really
distracted, and you're worrying about running out of fuel,
they'll actually start the race. Try to be ready. Otherwise
you'll have a kart run over the top of you.
Approaching the first corner.
Don't thunder punt the three karts ahead of you off the
track. Remember to brake slightly before your normal
braking marker (you know, the one that you picked out
during your many practise laps). Use your peripheral vision
to keep an eye open for karts spinning off further around
the corner. Forewarned is forearmed. If someone spins
ahead of you, give them more room than you imagine they
need. They seldom go the direction you expect, so the
more room you can give them the better. Also, try not
to brake too hard or tap off too much ... someone else
will ride over the top of you. Remember when I said
it was important to walk the track? Well, you
walked the track, and you know where you can cut
across the grass in an emergency, without damaging your
kart or becoming a danger to others. Sure you do. Do what's
necessary to avoid the carnage without creating more.
Just don't get stuck on the grass ... you'll feel stupid.
Remember, the primary objective in the first few corners
of your first few races, is to survive.
Later in your career you can focus on picking up places,
but for now, surviving where others don't is a surefire
way of picking up a few gimmee places.
After the first two or three corners,
settle down into a rhythm as fast as
possible. Try to put in a few smooth, fast laps to shake
off those guys on your tail. Until you're racing for position
(i.e. points), concentrate on driving smoother, faster,
rather than driving defensively and trying to keep everyone
who's behind you ...well, behind you. If the guy behind
you is genuinely faster, you're wasting your time trying
to keep him back. You'll succeed for a few laps, but those
guys who got ahead of you on the start, your real opposition
(they got a lucky break), they'll be gone, no hope of
catching them and picking up a few well earned positions.
You'll also succeed in frustrating the
guy behind you. If you're lucky, he'll push past, wave
a fist and that'll be the end of it. Maybe he'll say something
to you in the pits later. Listen to him. Most, if not
all, the guys racing are decent enough. If you're new
to racing and you're getting a lecture, it's probably
because you did something wrong. Don't get defensive.
Learn from it. If it was your mistake, identify it as
a weakness in your technique and learn not to do it again.
If it wasn't, well, that's racing!
However, if you frustrate the guy behind
you by constantly looking over your shoulder and balking,
weaving, check-braking etc, and you're unlucky, you may
get bumped off in a corner as he tries to push past. You
may get thunder punted right off the circuit if he loses
his cool and tries something desperate (of course, being
a faster, more experienced driver, he won't do something
dodgy ... yeah!). Situations like this generally end up
with one or more bent karts, and sometimes a few bent
drivers.
As an aside, the rule about overtaking
in karts is that the guy in front has the right to the
corner. However, remember that, if a kart is inside of
you going into a corner, and you can see him, where is
he going to go when you close the door on him? Tick tick
tick ...Yes, he's either going to go through you or over
you. Who do you think wins this standoff? No-one. Who
do you think loses out least? That's right! The guy on
the inside (if you don't lock wheels and both get upside
down). He's forced to use the outside guy as a brake.
Since he's going slower, he can turn tighter and hopefully
stay on the track. The guy on the outside is going faster.
He goes off the track. His race is probably over.
There is a lesson to be learned here.
Going into a corner, if you can see the guy behind you
from your peripheral vision he's probably 2/3 the way
down the inside. Give him some room. But only enough room
to avoid tangling. Try to use your modified line to get
a run on him through the very next corner (works well
if it's in the opposite direction). If you're the guy
on the inside, be prepared to take a tighter line out
of the corner. Don't go wide and ride the other guy off
the track. One day he will be in a position to repay the
favour.
There are faster guys. There are slower
guys. Figure out which is which and treat them appropriately.
Don't treat the fast guys like gods. They aren't. But
don't become a moving roadblock in the vain hope of proving
you can beat them once. Let them by, learn from their
lines, store up this knowledge and then, if you really
are talented, beat them many times.
The procedure for Heats 2 & 3 are
similar to Heat 1. Except there are only 30 of you fighting
for that first corner. The others have bent their karts
along the way, and are now spectators. You, however, have
steadily improved your position because you were prepared,
you knew what to expect, you knew what action you would
take when it happened, and you have survived.
At the end of the days racing, give yourself
a pat on the back for finishing. No matter where you finish,
you still did better than those guys who fell off along
the way. If you didn't finish, try to figure out why.
If you crashed out, why? Why did you get involved in an
incident? Could you do anything in future to avoid a repetition?
If it was it a mechanical fault, could you have avoided
it by better preparation? Sometimes you can .... sometimes
you can't. THAT ... is racing!
During the next few races, set yourself
some realistic goals. A finish in the
top 70% of the field. A finish in the top 60%. A finish
in the top 3 ... yeah!
After the race, thank
the officials. It's a sh*tty job and you can't race without
them. Oh, and don't forget to collect your signed license
from the control tower after the meeting. It's amazing
how ratty the officials become when they have to baby
sit your license between races.
Motor sport can be dangerous
... don't make it more so. Be safe. Be competitive. Above
all, have fun!
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