1st time at NOLA, 1st race in KA. Only 4 practice days under our belt when we arrived. Needless to say the kid had lots and lots to learn. Showed progress in every session until the final. Ended the day 27th out of 41. Had pace for about 20th, but made a pass attempt on next to last lap that didn’t go well. So ended up losing spots at the end.
Proud of the performance, even at mid-pack. He is in his second full season of racing and was in a field full of top talent. The learning curve is steep!
Friday practice, we were chasing setup vs driver error. Lots of overdriving, as the driver cleaned up we had overshot on setup. By the end of the day, we were almost exactly where we started, minus 10lb of lead.
Went into quals with pace for 20-25 place quals, got punted from behind when a drafting partner missed braking point at end of 75+ mph straight. So ended up coming off with a P37, almost dead last. Started each heat from 37, finished H1 with 29th, H2 with 21st, H3 with 27th. Lap times continue to improve each round.
Started final in 25th. Got a great jump on start and was P23 at end of lap 1. Lap 2 got punted by a fast driver with a bad start due to heat wrecks, so slid down to 26th. Worked way back to high of 20th (crossed loop at 22nd). Had more on track contact and slid back to 25th again, also lost pace after the contact. Clawed back up to 23, and then goofed it making pass for 22. Ended day at 27.
Best way to get better is to get your butt kicked a few times. You’ll probably find now that the kart is actually working as intended as opposed to the 206. In something as low HP as 206 sometimes you have to do funky setup things to get it rolling, but in KA or something with some more power, the kart starts to actually flex and work as designed so tuning takes a little different approach.
This is exactly what we are working with. As the tuner I am learning every time out. As a driver he is having to relearn some driving technique.
We ran HH axles, absolute max width, often short hubs, and NEVER EVER seat struts, usually neutral or minus 1 caster (sniper pill kit). Now we are looking like always seat struts, N axle, standard hubs, and often plus 1 caster on the sniper pill.
He is having to learn to time the brake and throttle differently. He is also having to adjust how he turns in and rotates the kart.
We are learning in the deep end with a very very strong regional field. Had a field full of USPKS and SKUSA drivers from KA and X30 this weekend.
But the kid managed to avoid the carnage all weekend in a race where rough driving wasn’t being called. Some scary videos circulating online.
Over time I suspect your setup will change a bit. With a tall driver you shouldn’t need seat struts or caster really.
But he may need it now until he figures out how to wheel it.
206 teaches some good entry level lessons but let’s be real, there’s almost no hard braking in 206 and braking technique is one of the most important but most nuanced skills to master.