Critique my driving? (Video)

Looking for some speed.Some video of me in Kpv with 4 pipe. Trying to get tips for the coming year of hopefully racing in Ka100 Senior. Just looking for some tips to becoming a better driver. Any responses are appreciated.

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Hey @Noahkoenig134! Welcome to the forums. I’m based in St. Paul and SKC is my local track so I figured I’d say hi.
I’m not particularly strong at SKC so I’m hesitant to dole out any tips.

Is there anything in particular that you think you need help with?

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As far as racecraft goes, the starts are always critical. Especially in the lower hp classes where passing is more difficult. You want to be closer to the guy in front of and try to get to the throttle quicker then him to get a run.

It looks like there would be a gap to get the inside of the 6 into 1. The 22 bobbled in 1, and you would have been in position to take the 22 into 2 much like the 6 kart did.

It looked like you got a better run off 2 then the 22. If you pinched him down to the grass you probably would have been able to hold the outside into 3 and taken him in the next corner.

Passing comes with experience. It’s good to go out behind drivers you are faster in during a practice session. You’ll start to see when you have a run and you can pull out. In this case, you were faster then the 22 in basically every corner so you want to lay back a bit so you don’t have to lift when he bobbles. When he does bobble is when your going to get a run to pass. Best of luck.

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Hey @Noahkoenig134, welcome to the forums!

As someone else mentioned, being glued to the guy in front on the starts is crucial in any form of karting. Do your best to never let a gap open up, so that the row as a unit can push as hard as they can until close to the braking point. At this point, back off, give space, and make it through the first corner.
Here are some other things to consider:

0:47: Unless there is someone to your inside, I suspect you should be near the curbing on the inside, apexing as you would normally. The karts in front are all bunched up, and therefore compromised for speed. A great time to capitalize by running the ideal line.

0:49: At this point, there is a train forming to the inside to overtake another driver. You should slowly blend down to join this train, as they may be able to help you draft and move past the driver on the outside. As the 6 pulls to the inside of the Exprit, you could follow him, and possibly pick up a spot. You do so anyway, but only due to the really slow pace of the outside driver, which he then retakes…

1:12: You are out of position here. This will allow the 322 to pull away into the next corner. Make sure to use all of the racetrack at all times, unless defending or passing.

1:46: Up until this point, your whole lap has been great! At this juncture, you come out of a hard left hander into a sweeping right. You choose to stay to his inside out of the left, neglecting that he must move back across the track into the right. If you had stayed wide on exit, and simply pulled alongside him as he moved across the track, you may have been able to take the position. Instead, by trying to go up the inside out of the corner you spoiled your run, and he was able to hold the position. This is an example of where knowing the track is important.

2:30: Unless you are battling for the lead and biding your time, if you have enough run to bump someone, just go around instead, or at least try.

A couple general comments:

  • It appears that you are driving an OTK kart. these karts tend to respond well to very aggressive braking styles. Now, to be clear, that does not mean that that is how you must drive, or that this may be comfortable to you. However, I suspect that your kart has some braking capability that is being left on the table. Perhaps something to try in practice? The KPV platform has enough power that a more aggressive braking style won’t slow you down if done correctly.

  • When following another driver, you seem to have a tendency to ‘pinch’ yourself on corner exit. This means that you are regularly not letting the kart roll to the edge of the track on corner exit, which hurts your speed around the track. This is an interesting tendency, as most drivers that are new to racing with others do the exact opposite, turning into corners too early behind other drivers. I suspect if you worked on this, and reminded yourself before races that your fastest times will come from following your own racing line, rather than another driver’s, will help.

Overall, you are a very solid, consistent driver. I think given some more time, you will continue to find speed. Hope this helps!

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@KartingIsLife Hello! Just looking to get faster that’s all. Any tips would be appreciated.

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@Joey_Kowaleski, Thank you for the tips. Racecraft is one of the things I am going to focus on more this year.

@Eric_Gunderson1 Thank you for the tips. I am on a 2016 Tonykart(set-up was wrong, should have been neutral) My goal that weekend was to be smooth. The hard part was obviously trying ot get the braking smooth but aggressive. The hard part for me is not killing the engine under braking because at the beginning of the year I was hitting the brake so fast that the engine died when I got to turn 2. Looking forward to improving, thanks again!

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