tKart article: this is the line of Jeremy Iglesias (world KZ champion) in the hairpins. Very extreme V shape: seems that from the outside he point the kart towards the apex BEFORE he start braking, then he immediately brakes with the kart pointed diagonal towards the apex.
Another tKart article: Fabio Camponeschi line (European KZ champion). Normal V shape: he’s not near the outside line like Iglesias but more to the center and he brakes straight, AFTER the first big brake he point the apex (I imagine with trail braking or coasting).
It’s the same driving style that graphically seems different or it’s actually different? Iglesias line is something strange, it could make sense because he go less metres but I’ve never seen a “diagonal” brake.
Camponeschi line seems more classic, but also here there is something strange: he brakes not from the outside but near the center of the track, why? I’ve never seen this too.
very different lines, it’s the same corner or just two different hairpins? Iglesias go early apex and Camponeschi go late apex. Idk what line is faster, but the idea of breaking diagonal is cool, I’ll try next time in the track.
Im a total rookie so my opinion doesnt amount to much, but its pretty cool to see the “iglesias” line drawn out like that because ive noticed i favor that method when im racing in a crowd. For two reasons:
Im already somewhat pointed to the corner so i can essentially brake as late as i want, without having to turn the steering wheel very much. Trying to late brake with the conventional driving line like the other guy, i tend to lock up the rear axle or start sliding when i turn the wheel (i suck).
I feel like its a good way to “close the door” a little early on someone whos trying to pass on the inside. If you take the conventional line, if someone really wants to, they can dive bomb the inside, where as the first method lets you “block” their line.
If im in a qualifying session i stick to the conventional line for the momentum. I race 206 Senior so being smooth is crucial for keeping your speed.
Then again, this is my first year karting so im just winging it as i go. Whether its right or wrong, idk. all I know is ive made it to being a mid-field guy in a sea of kids who’ve been racing since they were in diapers so i consider that good progress haha
You have to remember, KZ=front brakes. Rear brakes only, you have the ability to turn/steer since the fronts can’t lock up. If you lock the fronts on a KZ, you can’t steer. I am guessing the former is broken down in to 2 “straight” segments pre-apex, but may be totally wrong.
Honestly I don’t know if it’s the same corner, but the shape is the same. Breaking diagonal seems interesting, but for example in F1 I’ve never seen anybody doing this. I don’t know if it’s because F1 has differential and suspensions that kart hasn’t or because with this line you do less metres but sacrify too much speed.
There are different lines for KZ and OK (single gear karts). In OK, you have to do a more wide line to maintain the speed in the corner, because the kart dont have a lot of exit power. That’s why being smooth is so important in OK, to maintain the speed.
In KZ, you have front brakes and gears, so you can brake late and do a really sharp corner to go less meters at the track, since you have almost 50hp to exit the corner.
theoretically break diagonally will be faster because is very difficult to trail brake in KZ without lock the front tires, but also I dont know if is possible break in a diagonal line. I never saw anyone doing it at the track, but I will try this week and post here if works or not. Also, Camponeschi does a more classic kz line, breaking staight and doing a sharp corner.
If anyone here is a good kz driver, please answer what line is the fastest and if breaking in a diagonal line works!!
Think of it as order of operations. In the green line, you brake hard, turn into the apex (trail brake if needed), and then throttle it out. In the red line, you turn into the apex super early, then brake hard.
I do this when I want to block the inside line and still out-brake someone in a hair-pin corner. Trying to brake super hard, then turn into the apex you’re prone to either understeer and wash out, or lock the rear up and spin. With the diagonal line, your kart is already pointed at the corner so you don’t really have to worry about getting your kart to rotate while braking. Like, you could literally lock all 4 wheels up and it wouldn’t really matter because you’re still pointed at the corner.
So I do something like this in the rubber in Kk. I think if you get to the point where you have extended travel with the 4 contact patches floating on top of the rubber, it’s likely not gonna be the fastest turn you could do. (But, it would be effective against another kart, situationally).
Admittedly I have rear brakes only and when I’m doing similar, you basically are snap-steering to use rubber to catch and hold the “set”. Kind of lift off oversteer, forced.
Can I ask you in qualifying lap what line do you prefer and why? Considering shifter kart in a 180° hairpin followed by a straight.
From my telemetry (MyChron 5 and Race Studio 3) I see that I’m faster doing less metres at average less speed (so not late apex like green line but V or similar line). Let’s see this hairpin for example:
Time: 4.789 s; Distance: 87.59 m; Average speed: 66 km/h
Time: 4.511 s; Distance: 80.75 m; Average speed: 64 km/h
I think, but I may be wrong, that with no shifter and only rear brakes the ideal line is forced, to keep the momentum. In KZ, maybe there are 2 or 3 different driving styles that could be good depending by the track, tyres and chassis. It’s more all about compromises than in single gear kart
I race 206 so during qualifying I definitely stick to the conventional line so I can keep my momentum and exit speed. In general, I pick the line that requires me to brake the least and keeps my steering wheel straight
But when I’m in traffic, totally different approach.
I’m by no means a top notch KZ driver, but I am decent especially if I run in the masters category. My approach to that hairpin woud be very close to Iglesias; however, I don’t choke the airbox and I do tend to carry the brake a little further until just before apex (from analyzing video). I also would be a little tighter and straighter on exit to maximize drive traction. That’s just my two cents.
The lap with the slower hairpin gains 0.082 on the straight, not too much. It has more speed in the first part but from 70 km/h the are in the same point of the track and with the same speed increase until the end of the straight
So you confirm my idea of ideal racing line in KZ. As a F1 fan, before driving KZ in my mind the ideal line was the geometrical line, like U instead of V, seeing the F1 lines (Vettel usually has late apex line in Red Bull). But maybe with more weight transfer, more power and all other things like suspensions and differential it’s different.
