The Karting Thread

It's been a long time since I last drove a kart. I broke a wheel bearer when I spun during qualifying and the only spare kart available for me had this steering problem, which made it hard to steer. My arms were sore for a week.

I have a history for breaking down karts, besides breaking a wheel after I spun and hit a curb hard:
-Once I crossed the finish line (after 5min qual and 20min race), and when I lifted the throttle the pedal got stuck. Nothing serious happened, as I returned safely to the pits, but smoke was coming off the kart's engine.

-On other occasion I was driving a kart from my cousin's friend, which was a more powerful kart than the rental ones at the local track. During my out lap, I was just trying to adapt myself to the power, when I started to floor it the kart died. It had some kind of problem with the fuel reaching the engine or something. In the end, no one else drove that kart that day.

-The first time I drove a kart, I didn't break any but was quite memorable. During the 5min of qualifying I spun everywhere, did this and that, until driving through a corner where I went a bit too fast, went off track where there was a whole. The result was that I flipped the kart and ended up with the wheels pointing to the air. I came away with just a few scratches (in my hands and back), put some bandages on my hands and went to participate in the 20min race. I didn't finish last and just was lapped once by the much more experienced guys.

Your story is far more interesting than any of ours, holy cow

I've had a front left axle shear off going round a flat out left hander before. Strangely though it didn't scare me... I kind of had a strange feeling the corner before and my perception went into slow mo. I clearly saw the axle kind of give a violent shudder and break and I was thinking to myself "damn someone's going to get an ear full after this". My perception had slowed things down so much I had time to think about the best way to minimise the resulting accident, which since the detached left front made getting through the left hander a mission I settled on head on impact with the Armco, it'd be a relatively short accident and would leave the track behind me clear.

The whole thing from start to finish couldn't have lasted more than about 2-4 seconds... but it felt more like 30.

Annoyingly they gave me only completely shite karts that day, in that session I went back out in a kart with a cold and underpowered engine which kept cutting out during the cautions, the chassis felt buckled as well because it didn't want to go round corners... and after that I had one with the worst brakes ever, ended up t-boning someone at the hair pin, because they were going slower than slow, and I'd stupidly gone in at my braking point... lack of brakes + overly conservative kart in front = accident and swollen elbow and knee.

I haven't been back to that place since...mainly because I had to have a real go at them for giving me karts that simply should not have been on the track that day.

Incident 2k9 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It just occured to me that Clay Pigeon is quite
> close to me...wouldn't mind a run out on there.


Had my first club kart race there in Junior TKM back in 2000...cool circuit.

So, I went back to Warden Law again yesterday. I think I improved significantly since last time! I know this because I took pole, fastest lap and the win, and nobody overtook me the entire time. Had a lot of fun fighting past backmarkers too, only managed to trip over one of them. Super fun

Today I feel like I've been put in a sack and kicked to @#$%& though, anybody else get that? Most of my back is totally bruised especially just under shoulder blades and my left hip-bone (it's a clockwise track, figures).

Anyway, time sheet uploaded below. I love this circuit. At the minute they have Thunderkarts but I hear they're buying a new fleet of twenty-something something-elses soon, which sadly will put the price up. Would recommend it to everyone here.

Full track (including chicane)?

The best time when we went in the summer was a 67.145.

Never been to Warden Law, but some of my friends regard it as thier favourite circuit in the UK.

I'm up at Teesside next weekend with Club100, anyone been there?

---

67 secs? That's mental. My fastest was 72. Full track and chicane. I do love that chicane.

I don't know where the extra five seconds could be lost tbh... I could understand a time like 70 secs but 67 is a huge gap.

The guy at the bottom was lapping around doing 100 sec laps, lol. I think heavier people have a huge speed disadvantage.

Was it damp? Obviously on the slicks the damp kills the tyre heat and grip... though it brings unlimited fun! I find that place awesome, wet or dry.

As for weight, I weighed nearly 14 stone back in the summer, and I thought it actually helped me. Most cars were 'bouncing' around at the rear end, but my rear wheels stayed planted, so maybe it actually helped.

I'd imagine most of our field were below 70 seconds - certainly all the Vader Trophy crew would have been. I'll scan my lap sheet (which I still have) later.

Peat Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Never been to Warden Law, but some of my friends
> regard it as thier favourite circuit in the UK.
>
> I'm up at Teesside next weekend with Club100,
> anyone been there?


Yeh Teeside in the club100 karts are awesome. I went with the BUKC last year. Such a nice flowing track. The turn 1,2,3,4 part is great when hit the sweet spot with nice warm tyres.

Ah, cool.

Yeah, i think it should suit me.

Also, 'excited' to experience Middlesborough for the first time.......

---

It wasn't damp but it probably wasn't bone dry, if you get me. The ground was soft. It was also the first session of the day. Not sure if that would affect the speed or grip but a couple of karts cut out, mine did during quali and I had to get a new one.

I'm bloody itching to go back now, I had so much fun navigating the back markers at times I forgot I was winning. Damn the £45, otherwise I'd be there every weekend.

James May!

A bit later than I was hoping for (mainly as I forgot to scan it on Monday).

This is from 4th September last summer (the day before we all went up to Knockhill). Note not all the guys here are Vader Trophy guys - we merged a grid with another group. We did beat them rather handsomely though.

Click on the image for the full-size one.



And no, I don't know why two (non-VT) guys had marks penned next to them either.

I should also stress that while I said the fastest lap was a 67.145, I don't know if it was. That's my fastest race lap, and while I was on pole, someone else could easily have been faster in the race (Jon (Tux) must likely, as he was flying). Epic race that one. :D

my best karting experience has to be when i went benidorm, if anyone watched last weeks benidorm on ITV thats the Go Kart track im talkin about its bloody massive :D was 0.3 off the record round there and im a bloody heavy lad.

Was at Teesside a couple of months ago for the BUKC, gotta love the speed =)

Yeah, all your times are much quicker than the ones in my session, and given that even the randomers below you were also much faster than my lot on their first time, I shall blame tyres, sleepy karts and ambient temperature for the five secs difference

Ian Woollam was 17th and would have beaten me. Weird?

Also, I take it the best times of the week are in private karts?



I wonder what happened to Zigmund Slezak



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2011 05:26PM by loque.

Ian's a very decent driver - a part of our old VTR endurance team.

Still, I will concede that the extra heat (though it wasn't that warm as I remember) must have given the tyres a bit more bite. You wouldn't expect 17 drivers in one race to be faster than the entire grid in another. Still, I seem to remember them saying afterwards that the pace of the top 6 or so in our race would have been good enough for the win in the previous race, but everyone back to Neil Stratton (Glyn on here) would be capable of winning on most days - he races in the MR2 Racing series. Kevin Williams (who was Skel on here) generally cleans up most times we go.

Assuming we do the Knockhill weekend again this summer, feel free to join us if we do karting again before hand (we've always gone to either Warden Law or Dunstan the day before Knockhill).

As for the best times, I've no idea, but unless they just include all the layouts, there's no way you could go 20 seconds quicker in one of the those karts without some sort of super-turbo.

You can never underestimate how much a difference a "shook down" kart makes. Going out on track in a kart which hadn't been ran nor started all day before you climb in is far more likely to stall for one thing because the engine is cold, let alone the tyres. Mix that with a cool track temperature and grip levels are very low.

I had a non started kart before and did a double 360 spin at the first turn of the wheel simply because the tyres were sooo cold :D

I did a short arrive n drive at a circuit in Italy last December, the temperature would have been about 4-7 degree Celsius, pretty chilly, and I was sliding around all over the place, but when I parked it in the pits at the end of the session I was the only one to have visibly steaming tyres... probably because slid around the most :P

I haven't been karting too often of late, partly because of a big lack of money, but also some annoying physical injuries. I went to Daytona Milton Keynes last month for the first time in over a year though, epic fun, but I was way of my own pace because I was far too polite in traffic, so I need to leave my manners at home in future.

OK...

So, tonight, I went Karting for the very first time. I've been meaning to do it for years, but kinda passively and vaguely, in a "One day..." context. A few days ago, I decided I'd just go for it - the next time I'd be able to afford a session, as I was skint at that point. I think a recent(Good, but mindblowing) life-changing experience I had in March of this year is what might have given me this sudden burst of motivation.
Anyways...

I went to the indoor ScotKart karting track in Dundee tonight. I'd phoned them up yesterday and told them I wanted a session, but I didn't have to book, just turn up during opening hours(3-10PM - perfect for me with my sleeping patterns). They were very friendly and approachable in general too, which was cool.
I turned up tonight and had three 10-minute sessions with a break after each one; in the first session I was on the track by myself, then in the next two sessions I was on with other guys who were much more experienced.

It was an amazing feeling driving the kart - it was so responsive it kept catching me out to begin with. A brilliant burst of power every time I touched the accelerator. There was a lot of vibration from the engine too, which made it difficult to see at times to begin with. I spent the first session familiarising myself with the kart and track layout. I crashed twice - the first time gently, then a bit harder a few laps later. Up till the second crash, I'd been learning how the kart drove and responded to acceleration and braking(Not at the same time, obvs!) and I'd started lowering my lap times. I got going again after the second crash, but the session ended before I could do another full lap.

In the second session I spent most of the time checking where the other guys were on the track, since it's pretty twisty and I could see more or less the whole track from wherever I happened to be. I spent a lot of time finding places to pull over and avoid blocking them, which might have been overkill, but I figured the last thing they'd want was a slow kart consistently getting in their way. I felt like being on the track with other karts gave me a better focus, and I didn't crash this time.

The 3rd session was easily the best. I felt way more comfortable in the kart, and towards the end of the session I realised I was driving instinctively - I was treating the kart like it was an extension of my body, like I was at one with it I guess. I was driving more and more by feel, and more by using the accelerator alone, lifting and coasting with minimal use of the brake. (Although one time when the track went yellow, I was on the S/F straight and had been accelerating hard; I braked in a straight line and the kart snatched a brake and did a cracking skid.) I started to get the most awesome adrenaline rush when I hit the accelerator too. I knew I must be going quicker, because I didn't have to let the other guys past nearly as often - but I still felt like I was going pathetically slow. When I finished the session(and it finished a bit early for me, as my kart randomly cut out with a couple of minutes left and I had to pull over and get out) I found out I'd just lapped 18 seconds quicker than my previous best.
Next target is to finish ahead of someone!

I have my laptimes printouts(Not bothering to post them up, because they're pretty crap IMO!) and I have my own balaclava now too.
I'd love to do this again soon, but - annoyingly - since it costs money, and I haven't got any at the moment, it'll need to wait for a while. I definitely want to give it another go soon though.

So, I've now been a racing driver. Modestly, but hey.
Happy days!

---

Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2016 02:32AM by EC83.