My Experience with Norberg Karting Academy

Kart Race Reports, Driver Diaries and Schedules
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I’ve decided to race Orlando Cup next weekend under the Norberg Karting Academy tent. This will be my first time tenting with a big team. I’ve hired mechanics and coaches before, but not like this. I hope that documenting this will help other privateers decide if they want to pay for similar services for themselves. I hope someone will ask a question that I can answer!

I don’t have the budget of Ryan’s regular clientelle, so this will likely be a one-off. I decided to do this for three reasons:

  1. Get driver coaching pointers from Ryan and others who might have a different way of explaining things than my usual coach, Daniel, who has done a lot for me (How to roll more speed through corners?).

  2. Observe how a high-level team operates through a race day, some of the adjustments they make, and what they focus on between rounds.

  3. Hopefully get to compare myself against another driver in my class if the team has one (learn more about where I am losing time, since I am one of the slowest drivers in the series).

I’ve decided to run without dedicated mechanic support, but the team does have a “floater mechanic” who might or might not have time to help me (more on that later).

I must admit that I’m feeling nervous for this weekend, more so than I would be if I were racing alone. I have the following fears that I must accept and overcome to perform close to my best:

  1. mechanical failure or crash damage. I would hate to spend all this money just to have my weekend end in the first corner of the pre-final or even worse. I want to run as many laps as I can in practice, qualy, and race so that I can make the most of this opportunity to get feedback on my driving.

  2. getting ignored/pushed to the side by coaches. I’ve had this experience with other mechanics/coaches where they will take on way too many customers to maximize their earnings and have almost no time to pay attention to each driver’s needs in between sessions. They try to hide it, but it’s incredibly obvious to the driver and a bad feeling for sure. Hopefully NKA won’t be like this.

  3. MyChron or camera glitches/overheating/other problems. I want to preserve data and video from this for later analysis, and I fully intend to post it here on KartPulse for your analysis as well. Hopefully no issues with my recording devices.

  4. Rain. Orlando is very rainy this time of year, and this will be a night race, which increases the chance of a wet track because the thunderstorms tend to happen around 3-6 pm. I feel I won’t learn as much if the track gets wet. It will be good practice for me to improve my rain driving, but the gaps between drivers will be so big that I won’t really know how close I am to the fast guys (am I 1% off? 5%? 7%? What would this wet time gap look like in the dry?). Also, I rarely practice/race in the rain, so what I learned wouldn’t often be applicable. I might not even have enough time to switch to rain setup between sessions since I won’t have a mechanic. Rain would also increase the chances of crashing out or getting punted by another driver (see #1).

I’ll make a separate post below about my experience with the team thus far…

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Part I: initial contact and pricing

Contacting Ryan wasn’t too hard since he gave me his cell phone number when I bumped into him in the paddock three years ago and I still have it in my phone. You could also contact him by email through his website. The website doesn’t show the academy’s calendar or any info about pricing.

Ryan told me to deal with his wife, Shelby, who manages communication with his customers for him (and probably does other things for the team as well).

I initially asked Shelby for a private 1-on-1 lesson with Ryan, but she explained that he doesn’t have much ability to do that these days because of Orlando Kart Center taking track time away from owners (reducing the number of days/week that we can practice in our own karts) and also closing off the back gate that Ryan and his team used to use to enter and exit the circuit directly from their garage. I’m not sure that latter point is really a dealbreaker since they could just use the grid like everyone else does, but it’s a long walk from Ryan’s garage near Turn 2 or 3 to the grid, so going back and forth with the driver and the kart between sessions would suck.

Email communication with Shelby has been great. I’m impressed she’s been so responsive to me sincs Ryan is busy winning races in Pro X30 and I think they’re also expecting a baby. I had a lot of questions, mostly about the format of the weekend/coaching and pricing.

One of Shelby’s questions for me was would I want the team to provide me my own personal mechanic for the weekend or not? She explained that mechanics were in short supply for this race, so she’d have to “bring someone from out of town.” She told me it would cost $250/350/day plus the mechanic’s hotel, meals, and travel, all of which I’d be expected to pay for. She recommended I not hire a personal mechanic and explained that the team would have a floater mechanic who would do his best to help me out. I agreed, and asked her how much the weekend would cost me without a mechanic. I wanted to do practice only (one day), since I feel that I can learn and improve more during a long practice day than I can in a rushed race day. Shelby said no, I’d have to pay for both days. The price is $600/day (600 for practice on Friday and another $600 for the race on Saturday), plus additional costs if I end up buying parts from the team. For this reason, they charge a $600 deposit and collect the rest the day after the race when they know whether or not to charge for parts. Shelby sent me a Quickbooks link by email to pay the $600 deposit, and it was easy.

$600/day wasn’t that shocking to me. I’m not sure if that’s in line with what other teams charge, but I’ve heard paddock rumors about how much Ryan used to charge for 1-on-1 lessons, and it was A LOT. I wouldn’t mind if I found out that Ryan was charging more than other teams because of his name. If I want coaching from Mr. Nine-Time, then I’m gonna have to pay up. That’s the way it is in any sport. IMO, as long as the team pays attention to my coaching needs, this will be money well spent. Good coaching is way more valuable to a slower driver like me than any money I could spend making my kart faster or entering more races.

With that said, there are cheaper coaching options out there and I respect your opinion if you think this is a ripoff/waste of money. I’m not here to shill for Ryan. I’m just giving my personal opinion on the value proposition and why it seems worth it to me at this juncture. I’ll revist this after the weekend and give my thoughts on whether or not I still feel it was worth it.

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I doubt it’s a ripoff and I think it will be a good experience for you. I have no clue if he’s a good coach or not but his record certainly speaks for itself, and I imagine, his vast experience has provided him with many insights and an ability to quickly recognize areas that need work. My only negative thought is that it’s a one off experience and I would imagine it would be more productive over multiple engagements.

I also think that it’s possible that the way he thinks/articulates things may get varying reception depending upon how you think/articulate. Like, for me, Warren’s way resonated with my personality and thinking, it rung all the right bells. (Not that he was able to fix broken old me but he did help me hugely, nonetheless). TLDR not everyone thinks the same and explains the same (or receives info the same). Quants/Poets and all that jazz.

To your point, it’s not private coaching, and his attention will doubtless be spread across multiple folks. However, I imagine it’s pretty likely that he’s gonna be able to provide you insights that will be valuable regarding the race at hand and what he observes in your approach etc.

Wether it’s worth the $ or not (given your budget/needs) it will undoubtedly peel back the curtain a bit and give you perspective and help you figure out what you really need and what you don’t.

I’m a bit jelly and hope it goes well and is a valuable experience. Thanks for sharing and I look forwards to the installments.

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I feel like that when it comes to coaching, you don’t need a Norberg. While he is clearly one of the best in US Karting, he won’t be able to convey what makes him faster than everyone else in a way you will be able to copy.
For coaching, usually just somebody with experience and pedagogy is going to be enough, as you just need an external POV.

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@tankyx I agree. That would be a coach like Daniel that I mentioned above. He’s not a top level driver, but he is much faster than me and a good teacher, so that makes him an effective coach.

I know I won’t be able to just copy Ryan’s driving. There’s a huge difference between watching a top level athlete execute or hearing them explain their game and doing it yourself. Sometimes when I watch onboards of a better driver on my home track, I think to myself, “how the heck did he do that?! How is that possible?” I also sometimes have this feeling when my coach tells me to brake later when I think that I’m already on my limit. But I know that if I do the right things to improve, then I will one day be able to do similar things.

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You shouldn’t be asking yourself that. Actually you shouldn’t be asking yourself any questions :grin: They are able to do that, on the same tire same class ? Do it as well.

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Visual learning tho. Also, you are basically an alien and have pretty crazy deep understanding/skills. I think your level of confidence in your skills probably allows you to tune out the thinking. But I also get that you are basically saying “let it go, and in the moment, just drive”.

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Indeed, But I also learned like this back when I started as a kid. “Stop overthinking, stop trying to figure it out. It is not magic, it is physics. If they can do it, so can you. It doesn’t matter if you crash trying to do it you will get it in the end.”

That is what they used to tell me back when I was 10, and I still tell that myself to this day when I start overthinking.

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Part II: pre-weekend prep

I have one important problem to address before this weekend: I cracked my nassau panel during a recent practice crash, and I didn’t make time after work to order a replacement until yesterday. I unscrewed and repositioned it and it’s holding up for now, but one more frontal impact could end my race. I’ve ordered a replacement from Comet Kart Sales, but it might not arrive in time for this weekend, as I like to go down to Orlando the night before since I live 4-5 hours away from the track. I’ve asked Shelby from NKA if the team can bring one to the track for me. She says she thinks they might have one and she will check. It’s last year’s bodywork, but I’m hoping they might still have a few lying around. Good thing Ryan is a kosmic guy. If I don’t get a new panel from Comet, Shelby, or the track’s parts counter, then I’ll just have to hope the old one will hold and tech won’t notice.

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My other problem was that I’d just had the bottom end rebuilt on my motor and it needed to be broken in before this weekend. I got break-in done with a quick trip to 103rd street yesterday afternoon. It was raining and I didn’t want to waste my only new set of Levanto rain tires (might need them for Orlando Cup!), so I went out on slicks. I told myself I wouldn’t push it since I usually keep RPM to 9k during break-in, but I just couldn’t help myself and I spun into the wall. I felt so stupid since this was totally unnecessary, but luckily there doesn’t seem to be any further damage to the kart. I’m still learning how to reign in my natural instinct to push the limits even in sessions when I shouldn’t. Break-in is done, so mission accomplished.

Today, I’m gonna take the motor off the kart, clean the motor and chassis, and possibly change the diaphragms in the carb. I don’t change the needle when I do my carb rebuilds because I don’t have a dremelled down socket that is thin-walled enough to remove the needle. Never had any problems with this.

I also want to get more fuel. I have less than 3 gallons on hand and I’m not sure if it will last for all of practice and the race day. The closest place to my house that sells Sunoco Supreme is 2 hours away. I think I’ll just wait and get some on the way to Orlando or in Orlando.

I think I’m gonna install a bit more ballast since I’ve lost a couple of pounds since last time out.

Other than that, not much to do. I’m gonna DM Rob and get some advice from him about how to make the most of the race weekend. I’ll also take advice from this thread like what Tanguy said above.

I have one question for you guys: I currently have on hand one new set of dry Levanto tires, one new set of wet Levanto tires, and two used sets of dry tires (Levanto and Vega). Levanto is the spec tire for Orlando Cup. Should I use a new set of tires for Friday practice and then another for the race day, or should I just practice on used tires all day Friday and for Saturday practice session and put on new tires for qualy like I usually do? I’m waiting for Shelby to get back to me about what the other drivers in the tent will be doing. If there will be another 100cc driver using new tires in practice, then I’d like to get another set and use new tires as well so I can have a closer comparison to his data. It’s not easy for me to get Levanto tires. Mondokart has 'em, but costs a lot for shipping. Comet Kart Sales doesn’t have them. I’d have to buy them in Orlando the day before practice and mount em up in my buddy’s garage using my tongs and my cheap Harbor Freight air compressor or wait until practice day and use NKA’s compressor to mount 'em. I have three sets of wheels, so that won’t be a problem.

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Friday is when you’re getting coaching from Norberg? If so, I’d maybe do your first session on the used tires just as a warmup, then switch to the new ones. Practicing with new tires is important since that’s what you’ll race with. In general, karts don’t just have more grip with new tires, they handle differently and usually work as they are intended (much better).

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That’s not really breaking in the engine at that low of RPM, and driving in the rain isn’t going to generate a lot of heat in the engine either. The whole point of break-in is to get the engine hot to seat the rings and let everything expand and contract.

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Run a new set in Saturday practice and do a qualifying simulation. Typically the quali sessions are short and you’ll need a touch more tire pressure to get them in the sweet spot while the rubber is fresh.

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Can you just run it on the stand for that purpose?

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Nope, no load so you don’t generate enough heat.

If possible, I would recommend similar to what Rob has above. Run initial sessions on older tires to get a feel for the track and confirm a ballpark on setup. Then throw a fresh set of rubber on and adjust for the added grip and push like a qualy.

We have decided to start trying this as we are finding that we lose pace as we add grip. Unfortunately it is difficult to replicate the high grip of a big race weekend any other time. If you throw fresh rubber on for session 1/2/3, the track isn’t rubbered yet. Then by session 4/5/6 of a Friday practice when the track rubbers in, the tires are cycled enough to not be at peak. For us it is the difference in a 10-12 place qualy and a 24-26 place qualy.

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Not sure I want to do another practice session at 103rd street to correct my break-in mistake after I just washed the kart, but I guess I have no choice? Could I break it in on Friday at Orlando? How long would it take me?

…

Friday practice is from 6pm-11pm and Saturday Race from 5pm-midnight.

I’m expecting to have coaching both days, but might not always be with Ryan, might be one of the team’s other coaches, which is fine.

I’m leaning towards using a new set of tires on Friday and another set on Saturday. I think Friday I’ll get more coaching and have more time to compare data. I think Saturday will be hectic.

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As Chuck said, you need to put load into the engine to build the proper heat.

Most break-in procedures involve accelerating to higher RPM, then letting it drop back down, then accelerating again and progressively adding RPM each lap until you’re flat-out. That’s how I was taught to do it years ago and how I’ve always done it since, except over the past few years my builder just breaks it in on the dyno.

@BisayaKarting you might be fine. I would just double-check with your builder before going full-chat into T1 at Orlando. Usually it takes me about a session to break in an engine, but running it rich for a second session while pushing at 100% is not a bad idea.

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Unpopular opinion: Break-in doesn’t matter. Only cold-seizing (and avoiding it.) IMO, the tolerances on modern machining are so good, that a break-in doesn’t matter. Especially since there are schools of thought that say that immediately running full-bore is the BEST way to break in, since it optimizes the metal conformations. So, since there are people who run full bore, people who baby it too long, and a bunch of us who do SOMETHING, my conclusion is that it just doesn’t matter. Especially since my builder does a dyno pull anyway. I use ‘break-in’ to ensure than nothing is grossly wrong, and do a couple heat cycles, and am at peace with that. I’ve had times where I had to go without break in and suffered no consequences. All purely anecdotal, but I think it’s largely a non-issue. YMMV.

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Same. If it is built right, warm it up nice and toasty (145f for me) and send it. Never had an issue.

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The point is not modern vs old machining…if tolerances are set correctly, materials, ring gap, jetting etc…then one heat cycle and few taps during one or two laps under load is all that’s needed. Even during the first heat cycle…once warmed up, don’t be gentle. No need for extra oil, laps and laps at half throttle…all nonsense.
And yes, I’m Italian so I abide by “Italian way” to break-in engines. Besides, better to stick it right away than during the opening lap of the main. There is method to this madness though…materials, tolerances of piston,.cylinder, ring etc are all meant to work together. If they don’t, then your engine will stick, eventually, no matter how gentle you are during break-in.

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I’ve always run in engines hard, they tend to run way better than an engine that is broken in by 2-3 sessions and half throttle.

If it doesn’t hold up it won’t hold later either :woman_shrugging:t3:

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