Next time then! 
Whiteland is the kind of track where you really have to push someone into a mistake, honestly. It can get rough and wild there.
Not much room, it seems.
Dom you bring up a good point. Most of the guys I race with I would consider friends but I also ask, if the roles were reversed what would they do? Maybe thats the answer to that question in this case. I do notice a lot of chrome horn being used on Mattās part though.
As we used to say when I raced RC carsā¦Remember we are racing toy cars for bowling trophies!
I think the chrome horn gonna be more of a thing in Lo206 because of the nature of it. Your KA100 race, had more separation, which seems more common in 2-stroke.
I have been thinking about this, winning, and what is sometimes required. I think it is a balance but so long as there is no red mist, we tend to make reasonable decisions. Since I race with a lot of beginners, I try to be gentle and let them know that sometimes I am pushing them forwards, as opposed to badgering them.
Hereās a video of me this weekend taking one of the new guys down the track a bit. I peel off without forcing him deep (new guy and not necessary to really send him deep) but its the same idea.
And hereās a really unsafe track entry by Michael! He has gone from last to being quite competitive, which is awesome! But he is starting to get all NASCAR on usā¦
And hereās a pretty good head on shunt in t1 that Nick squeezes byā¦
This was my biggest take-away when I raced there earlier this year. Heck of a thrill ride to drive, never a moment to rest, but VERY difficult to pass without forcing a mistake.
I had a bad start in our pre-final and was tons faster than the driver running 2nd but couldnāt figure out a clean way to get around them because they never put a wheel wrong. In the final I had a better start and settled into 2nd and had to hound the leader into a mistake to be able to get around. Would it not have been for the error I wouldnāt have been able to pass him cleanly.
canāt wait to get back there next year.
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Dom, what is it you are racing in these videoās? Are pit stops part of the race? I canāt believe there isnāt someone flagging pit out, seems rather dangerous, that guy never even looked.
These are the plain vanilla rental karts powered by the mighty gx270ās. Some fairly obscure German chassis maker, Rimo. I am sure that, in their day, these tired mules were pretty decent. That day has passed.
Pit stops are not normally a part of our race. Format is quali-pre-final. 15 laps each. However, it is not uncommon to have at least one break down within the first couple laps. So thereās that.
Itās on the driver to use sense here. I donāt see how that part of the track could be marshalled effectively. They feed them out from the pit area. From the release, its obvious you are entering a hot track. Itās not exactly subtle.
I had a discussion with Michael afterwards and explained, in great detail, how reckless that was. He is a nice young man and just didnāt know he didnāt have priority and wasnāt thinking.
Some of the teens seem to be huge racing fans and know what they know from that. They are learning the real stuff on the fly, mostly.
(Edit: Specifically in this case, Blend Line. We donāt have emā but what they see on TV is formula cars launching full speed into the fray. Thatsās a different situation than karting.)
Courtesy my smart-alec son. We give them everything and this is how we are repaid. Et tu, Brutus?
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Gopro has telemetry data in it. (Hero 5 onwards). I use a program called race render to Extract that data and present it in the widgets.
This system also works with mychron data, which opens up rpm traces etc.
Indeed, however Schumacher gopro was SCREWED into the helmet, doesnāt take the brains of an arch-bishop to know thatās a bad idea on a ski helmet and unthinkable on a race helmet.
Yeeesh! Why. The sticky mounts are perfect.
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Just realized the last lap of prefinal was my fastest lap 45.936. Also, I went low the last 6 laps with three of them in a row as follows: 46.066, 46.022, 46.071. That doesnāt happen every day.
(Edit: Now that Iāve had time to think about itā¦ sequential laps within hundredths are in fact happening with much more frequency. I started noticing this about a year ago. I am not sure what it means but I like it. I think this is the first time I ran 3 laps within hundredths competitively.)
Crap kart but I drove it well.
In final, I accepted my karts limitations and tried to maintain 4th and keep Nick on podium. I managed to hold off the pack until the last few laps. One of the guys got 28, (the HOT kart) and you can see him try to start getting by me and Nick. We work as a team and hold him off for a few laps. This opened the floodgates and I ultimately got mobbed by the pack. I defended very well and picked back up spots. Nick finished 4th, so, success, almost. Lord knows where I ended up, but who cares. That was Fun!
How about some road racing chaos. Mid-Ohio 2020 Animal 380 Saturday, but run on Sunday.
This is the race that ended with karts rolling in the last corner. You canāt see any of that in the video but you can see it develop.
Jeez you guys haul butt! Are you lay down?
Whenever you say Animal I think of this guy and itās totally appropriate for what you guys do;
These long road course turns are interesting. When the pack formed you can see how a slight inefficiency in a long turn costs a driver.
If itās doable, think about doing a trade up with gopro when they offer that. They will give you 100 bucks trade in. Given the faring mount and speeds, vibration/shake reduction would really be helpful.
What kind of laptimes you run on road as compared to letās say s a Miata or similar?
Contact next to you 13:25
How do these long sessions feel at speed? This looks like it might be less tiring than sprint?
16:20 spun kart mid turn. Looks like draft was broken but this allowed you to gap back up to pack?
At around 17:15 a gaggle of normal karts comes screaming through. I would have thought the lay downs would be fastest?
24:40 hooo boy that was close. Think a little contact? Crazy finish and it was very nice of you to push that fellow down the straight leading up to final turn.
You can briefly see bottom left of the screen someone/s heading into the grass. It looks like folks got tangled to your inside and bled low left.
Matt,
I am surprised #83 didnāt get a blocking penalty. Especially towards the end of the race, he was changing direction multiple times leading up the corners. Not familiar with the WKA rules, but just my $.02.
Good Race! You obviously had better pace, just no good opportunity to pass cleanly.
Just rewatched your raceā¦ heck of a start. Looks like you two had a ball and you werenāt subtle about nudging him along. This camera angle does work nicely and the close driving is very engaging.
Itās subtle but at 2:39 you finish the arc of the exit of the previous turn. You had gotten a nice run off the corner and it feels to me like you could have let it run out wider. You pulled it in and it seemed to me you could have maybe gotten a bit on him if you had let the turn run itās course further. In other words, it looked like it wanted to swing out wider, placing you just outside him and further up. There wasnāt much track left, but there was some. This is just a guess. Look at how you drove out of turn at 2:52 for clarity on what I mean. That flowed all the way out.
3:30 Take this Deeeeeper. You are killing this guy on line and inputs. You keep squirting out of turns where it looks like heās wrestling with it more. Anyways, seems likely to me that you coulda closed a kart length under braking. Looked like a long lift with some coast.
But, ya did back it up nicely and then proceed to crush him in every subsequent turn and end up on his bumper anyways. Coulda been sooner, tho.
3:57 into same turnā¦ get alongside and pressure him here. You let him dictate your entry and the speed. You could have maybe gotten it done right here. This would have provoked a reaction. If I am not mistaken you coulda been halfway up his sidepod by the time he brakes. You could brake much deeper than him, I bet. The braking in this corner has been you lifting so as to not bonk him at apex. Donāt give him the apex. It is possible that my armchair analysis of this discounts risk a bit too much for real life. But, it seems reasonable.
What we get is you having to adjust slightly near apex so as not to bonk. This kills the next lap. You are playing catch-up as he gaps from apex of t1.
You then spend the next lap doing a very nice job of catching back up.
At 4:38 approx, you do a better job of braking into that same corner and flow nicely out. Gap up.
But, I think you can do better here. This is your one spot to make a pass easily. It really looks to me like you are able to hold throttle a bit longer and the jump on the brakes a bit deeper. I can feel you squeezing the pedal with your toes here. Be less progressive on the intital brake application. Resist the urge to safely squeeze in the pressure. Thatās not doing you any favors. It lengthens the braking zone and forces you to have a slow brake release as well. Be more assertive with the intital punch and anticipate that you will need to immediately reduce pressure and turn in. This is more of a practice thing, obviously.
6:14 Better! But more, more more!
You have good instincts and appear to be a feel driver. If you can bring your braking up to your overall sensitivity game, you could do some damage in club, I think.
6:47: Not quite, but closer. You were way more assertive and I hear the tire being worked under braking. Looked like a secondary pump, tho, maybe? Oh look at that, gap up!
7:18: What a lap. Now finish it. Pull alongside. Take him. You are the better driver today. Believe it and do it. Stop backing out.
8:55 Donāt push the leader down the straight. He doesnāt need your help. Jig left, take him.
10:15 You earned that! Lovely reaction and follow up.
From then on out, itās yours. You did start to get a little ragged at one point, it looked like the pressure of the lead weighed on you for a moment. But you put it aside and started dropping tenths.
That was a lovely race and I am sorry to pound on your braking. You did everything very well, imho, and looked like you had the time of your life doing it. I am proud of you, there is life past 40 and your footage shows it. This is something I think all of us who have to go to work on Monday and worry about our families have to overcome. Either you get more aggressive and go for it in stages or you wait for the mastery of driving to come to you. I think we are more quickly served progress by learning how to believe in our abilities by pushing them a bit.
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These are my 2 most recent races and my best two races ever. first one I got 3rd out of 20 (missed 2nd by .021), second I got 6th out of 21 but started in last.
Turn 1: I think you need to be more assertive on his bumper. You arenāt just lifting but also braking to not bonk. See if you canāt do a gentle push instead. I think it would let him know his pace is unacceptable and that he needs to giddy-up. His pace is a problem as the leaders are gapping.
So far you have been choosing to work with the others, which struck me as wise. This guys weakness is now obvious though and heās got to go. I am curious to see what you do nextā¦ (halfway mark).
6:21: Nice move by Tonykart.
6:50: I think youāll have the momentum to get him furtherā¦
7:10: ā¦textbook.
7:42: you braked here and I am not sure why. It seemed to me your momentum would have carried you past him and possibly to challenge or pressure the next guy. Thatās a very broad right and it looked like you could have gone under.
8:10: Yes, yes, and more yesā¦ this is how you do it. You managed to not lose momentum (No braking at all) whilst staying glued to his butt. You carried so much momentum you were able to take him midway down main straight.
8:45: On leaders butts alreadyā¦ your pace appears to be a half second faster than theirs. I am guessing they are doomed. I hate to say it but our previous pal was holding you up. A lot. Next time work with him only until you get a chance to blow by.
9:00: Last lap is a doozy. I am struck with how well you take the first turn and gap on exit. You then take this momentum and build on it. You nicely set up the final parts and were right there when the opportunity presented itself. Well done, Sir!!!
This reminds me of what TJ been trying to teach me, about when to get back in line and when to go for it. Itās not easy in the moment, and from a safe distance I can poke holes at missed opportunitiesā¦ but darn, you did good.
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Dom,
I love your input and agree I was easy on him at times. I am 50 and been karting for 4 seasons and the guy I am racing is 53 and this is his first season. The hot shoes in our class are mid 20ās (his 3rd season) and the other is 16 and also has the most experience racing kart. Switching from yamaha to ka has changed the way I race. I have thought about , researched, read more about chassis set up and driving technique than ever before and the addition of a GoPro has been great to analyze what Iām doing. So one of the things I tried this race day was braking earlier to get on the gas earlier (backing up the turn) based on what I read here. Im not sure we have the track for it, or I was going it wrong, but as you noted I should be braking harder and later. Iām bummed the season is over, but looking forward to next year for sure.
Hey donāt be bummed you did a fabulous job and what a great way to end it. My point about our ages (weāre both 50) is that half a century in you drove hard and very well. I love the fact that itās pretty clear to me that we can be as fast as anyone, given time (which is not on our side, alas.) Or, at least almost as fast as we want to be, which will forever be just out of reach, but a darn fine thing to chase for the next 50.
I get the braking now. It really didnāt make sense to me how you could exhibit a level of driving skill going forwards that was so much higher than your braking. I was sort of baffled. This makes more sense now.
Backing up this turn may well work with two or three going in. Here you just needed to beat him to apex and move on. But, good effort and a learning experience.