Columbia, SC
30
YouTube-Certified Mechanic
Experience with autocross, rental kart racing, sim racing.
Interested in getting into LO206
This past weekend I was able to go to the karting school at Atlanta Motorsports Park. I wanted to share my experience. Super hot, super fun, left there with that classic BO smell.
We did a track walk, braking drills, lead-follows, mock race in the rental karts. Then we had 2 sessions in a LO206 and 1 in an X30.
Takeaways:
-Improved braking technique a ton with appropriate pressure
-Gained confidence to carry more speed into corners
-Learned how to lean and flex with the chassis (this was counter-intuitive at first)
-LO206 was my favorite, the predictability of the chassis gave me more confidence to brake later than rental kart
-X30 is a load of fun in practice, but I’m not ready to go wheel to wheel in that
That’s neat that they also have you drive a powerful kart on sticky tires. That’s actually quite clever in that you can now make an informed decision about how you start out. X30 is great but it’s quite physical and a session in one can be a bit of a reality check.
Agreed but it’s also crazy addictive, I was pounding around 100 laps each day I practiced last summer, every week at least 1 day. This summer I took a step back, too much work. Back on it next month tho, can’t wait.
Chris for braking drills we had an instructor stand at turn 8 and watch us through 8 9 10 and 11. We stopped at 12 and got feedback immediately from another instructor on the radio. We took a cut through back to 2 and did it about 8 times. Then they watched us at turn 2 which is a 30 foot drop from the crest after 1. Tricky corner. I’d say the instant feedback was the key. Allowed me to make adjustments after each run at it. We had the track to ourselves, so we could stop and get feedback.
The price for the day was 375. Super beneficial to me because I needed help with braking and I wasn’t going to buy a kart until I tried out a racing chassis. So that’s why I picked them.
AMP is unique. It has tremendous elevation changes, is hugely long, and no other course seems quite like it. It’s the opposite of gopro in some ways. Both are wonderful tracks. Gopro to me is a classic “kart” layout that uses all of the spce its in. Amp had no such concerns. It’s spread out over many acres and is more reminiscent of a highly scenic car track. The only other track that seems kind of similar is Idube in South Africa. Similar vibe.
The procup endurance series tells me their next race is at AMP. I would love to do that enduro. I’ve never actually been to AMP, despite having driven many thousands of laps there in KartKraft. The speed there is intoxicating and it’s quite challenging to get all of it correct.
Should anyone who is doing this race require a driver, I am interested!
Here’s what it looks like in KK:
The upcoming race for which I am LFG (while I will race hard and everything, I would team with folks of any level of skill and wouldn’t be all aggro about win, win, win):
6 Hours of Atlanta
October 23, 2021
Endurance Karting returns to AMP for the first time in 6 years!
No license is required so bring your teams and race for the top step on the podium in one of 6 classes in equally prepared and weight ballasted Honda Dino karts. The #1 goal for is to provide karts with a high level of competitive parity where the driver, strategy and teamwork win races overall or in one these classes:
Rookie
PRO
Semi-Pro
Masters (Average age 40+)
Big Boy (Min Weight 220, can be ballasted)
Legends (55+ Average Age)
Like all our events, any team of any skill level can register for this event and all necessary equipment will be provided.
Of course I want to race with you. As always, if you are willing to put up with our relative skill levels, I am always hoping to challenge all worthies with ya. I was under impression you were not down for the idea of flying out there, etc. Anyways, we could run a duo team if nothing else works out and drive 3 hours each. That would be fun. I think I could also arrange maybe for Nick.
Could be a little tight for me. SCCA Runoffs are back at Indy this year during the first week of Oct. and my dad is expecting me to help crew again. BTW, anyone interested in some Pit Passes, I might be able to pull one or two.
Still think this could be a blast. I was thinking the Masters (40+ average). That would leave a little room for a younger driver or two and still make average. My birthday is Halloween, so as of race day I will be 45.
