I’m nearing the end of recommissioning my pain in the arse Mari Mk6. It’s been a right slog but an early in the new year test session is on the cards.
My question is this: does anybody operate their karts as a single person effort on race days? Unloading the kart from their transport, setting up, lifting on/off trolley, push starting and then the reverse of all this after the race?
I ask this as I had hoped to share the kart with my teenage son who could have helped with at least the lifting and push starts, however he now doesn’t seem interested.
I don’t really want to pay somebody to do this, so is it doable to race as a one man band?
Solo is a massive pain, but two drivers can run two karts just fine as long as they’re not in the same class. You either need a teammate or just to find another driver in the same position when you’re at the track.
I operate solo on practice days and it’s not so bad. As long as you’ve got a friendly karting community, there’s always someone to lend a hand putting the kart on the stand or helping get it out of the trailer.
I had the hope/expectation that I could ask a nearby team to help me lifting on and off the trolley (that can’t be guaranteed as everybody can be busy) but it’s the push start that really bothers me. I’ve never raced a direct drive kart before, can these things be easily push started from cold by the driver?
I operate solo. I have a check list that I use to pack before I leave for the track. I have another checklist for unpacking at the track. At the end of the day, I run the unpacking checklist in reverse order.
I have a manual winch based kart stand. My friend and I built it using aluminum and so it is light but we have some leverage location issues and so the force is much higher than we want but such is life.
I’d I need help, I’ll ask others and they are happy to help and I make sure I offer help whenever I can or see someone needs it.
One time, my brother came out and it was fantastic but he lives 1000 miles away.
I do run by myself at times but it’s a colossal pain. Usually involving me missing multiple sessions and swearing profusely to the point that junior drivers parents question my integrity.
Would not recommend 0/10
Also: I had one of those easy start wheels, helped me score points in races that might have otherwise been a DNF. One time it didn’t fully raise up, so the rear of the kart was sitting on the plastic wheel. Wheelspin and drifts were
a good chunk of the folks that race in the local cincinnati area clubs are solo operations. but very, very few of us are push starting karts, which definitely seems like it could be an issue. i’ve been out on practice days when the old timers are out there in their shifters, trying to push it and jump in, and most of the time they just asked me to push them, which i didn’t mind. long and short of it, as long as there is at least one other able bodied person at the track, you can operate solo.
