a lot of people struggle on the first lap whether its getting in wrecks or dropping a few positions. so this can be a place where people can give tips or ask qestions.
Got any tips from your experiences? I find that if I’m too cautious, I get swallowed up. Sometimes I have to lean or push the guy next to me off because they are also being squeezed. This can get messy and sometimes someone gets spun.
What do you do when the scrum is very rough at the beginning?
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from my experience, the biggest mistake a lot of people do is not being aggressive enough especially in national karting if you get passed by 1 person everyone else wants to pass you and it goes downhill from their another tip is looking ahead of you especially when your in the midfild/back then you can see when people check up or wreck and that lets u take advantage of it
another tip is if you’re being squeezed or whatever if possible don’t back out because if you do your more likely to be wrecked.
in situations like this its better to ether just let them take themselves out or just move them out of the way
Here is a example of starting in the back during a big race
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I avoid wrecks well, but im too cautious on the throttle. I let off for just a second than get trained by everyone. I dont have enough confidence in my cold tires at the start
a quick tip if you struggle with that, give the car in front of u a little gap leaving pits so u have 2 or 3 corners where u can he how late u can brake and see how much grip u have.
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Love how you slotted in behind that guy. Too bad about the bonk. That was good work.
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I’ll try that. I noticed that on the warm up lap in national races everyones more spread out. I really think its holding me back.
Ive gotten a lot better at starts but that one hesitation always kills me
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Ya it definitely helps quite a bit
Maybe be ok with the idea of pushing the other guy ahead. If you think about it, brakes are likely an issue. Someone pushing on your butt and you have brakes in, that’s bad. Free rolling wheels are less likely to get you spun.
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in slower classes like lo206 or ka pushing on the start is recommended just be careful to not push under brakes and id recommend passing them after a few corners so you dont get freight trained.
Cold Tires/First Lap is an easy thing to practice. You get a chance on every single practice session on every single practice day. Learn the limits of your braking and cornering right away when you come out of the pits. Many people waste a couple warm up laps (and the cool down lap) when they could be learning things.
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i think it helps build some confidence if thats something you struggle with early race.
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The first lap is all about visualizing where you need to be prior to the start of the race, quick/confident decision making in the moment, and careful reflection on what worked and what didn’t. This will help inform when to go to the outside, when to follow the guys on the inside, etc. Hesitation is your enemy, as others behind you will quickly become impatient, and view you as an obstacle rather than an asset.
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Interesting observation. I’ve never looked at the other guys as potentially an asset. Food for thought.
Oh, man. Evan is right. Asset or Pawn is the number one thing I am sizing up for the people in front of me on the start. Do I dive in on this guy or do I know he is going to dive in on someone and i am going to follow him through? You HAVE to know this about your competitors.
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Basically, if there’s a fast driver in front of you making her way through the field, it usually makes sense to hook onto the back and follow through those open doors.
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I see this being all the more important in the low HP classes, but still something I employ in higher HP classes as well.
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i agree with that especially in a 206 or ka its better to hook up to a quicker driver if possible but in classes like x30 which has more hp and way more aggressive racing you should just pass. another thing is some fast drivers don’t like people following in their draft, some of them might brake check you.
Dangerous game. Brake check and cost a bumper and things went from me pushing you forward to pushing you out.
true but the smart ones would have gaped u while brake checking you