3 Tips to Ensure You’re the Fastest on the Go-Kart Track

You know what every go-karter has in common no matter their skill level? They want to be the fastest.

In your pursuit of the first place position, there are some rules relating to your speed and performance that you should apply. So if you want to shave seconds off your lap time, you have come to the right place.

Tip #1: Look forward, never backward

The farther ahead you look, the smoother your drive will be. When you open up your vision like that, you’re allowing yourself to see the entire course, predict the obstacles before you get to them, and determine your next move. So always look at least one step ahead and never behind. You should also never look at an obstacle in the road ahead; fixating on this will most likely backfire and lead to you hitting it rather than avoiding it. Focus on the path in which you want to go and your brain will tell the rest of your body how to react naturally.

Tip #2: Work on braking

You might be shocked to learn that using your brakes can actually make you faster. The trick is to know when to use them and how much pressure to put on them. Most drivers go into the corners too fast and end up jamming on the brakes halfway through the turn resulting in a slow corner exit and a decreasing speed as you move into the straight leg. If you brake earlier, you can get back on the gas sooner, hit the corner at maximum speed and propel forward. But for a deeper dive into how to properly take corners, check out our Cornering Tips.

Tip #3: Understand load transfer

Without proper load transfer, you can’t make it around corners effectively. We just talked about how important your braking technique is to your drive and mentioned earlier that a smooth drive is a fast drive. But it’s also essential to understand load transfer to ensure that you drive smoothly and minimize oversteering.

Here are the basics behind load transfer. When braking, the go-kart’s load transfers to the front, resulting in more weight placed on the front wheels. When you turn to the right, the load transfers to the left wheels which are on the outside. When accelerating, the go-kart’s load transfers to the rear wheels, which results in an increase in load on the rear tires. Knowing the principles of load transfer gives you a better understanding of what it takes to drive faster and, in turn, crush your personal best track time.