Safety

Watch the National Karting Safety Briefing

N.B. Watching this video does not allow you to bypass the circuit briefing on arrival.

One of the fastest, most demanding circuits in the Country

Follow these handy tips to make the most of our track and
record some great lap times!

Driving Position

• Make sure you are comfortable in the kart - if the seat appears too large, please ask for an insert -
  both pedals can be adjusted to ensure they can be reached easily and without overstretching
• Place your hands on the steering wheel at the quarter to three position
• Relax your arms and keep your elbows down at your sides
• Keep your head up and look where you're going!

Racing Line/Track Position

• For every corner, there is an optimum racing line which will include, approach, braking point (not always, sometimes it may just be a lift off the throttle, sometimes full throttle), turn-in point, apex and exit point
• Approach - approach the corner on the outside of the track (ie. for a right-hand turn, you should approach on the far left-hand side of the circuit and vise-versa)
• Braking - brake in a straight line, hard, but don't lock up! The faster you're going the more careful you need to be - be progressive. Slow in, fast out ie. maximise your exit speed, and not your entry speed
• Turn-in point - turn late to ensure you hit your apex point, don't dive in too fast down the inside as this will mean having to slow down drastically just to make it round the corner
• Apex - this is the highest point of the inside bend. In general, you want to be clipping the corner after the apex, somewhere on the last third of the kerb
• Exit point - let the kart drift out naturally towards the outside of the circuit to keep a smooth arc throught the bend, as far up the circuit as possible - use the full circuit width
• Sudden movements upset the kart's balance - smoothness maximises momentum

Driving Techniques

• Always look up the track, don't just focus on the immediate foreground
• Use as little steering as possible to get round the corner
• When overtaking choose your moment carefully
  Stay calm and focused, be prepared for an opportunity when it arrives

Team Strategy

• Before the race a team captain should be appointed who decides team order and frequency of driver changeovers
• The less time you're in the pits, the more time you're on the track clocking up laps - however, if you leave a driver out too long they may get tired and slow down or worse still, have an accident. This may require tweaking during the race itself. 15-20 minutes is recommended
• Arrange with your team where you are going to display your pitboard/driver changover board
• As we have said before, the less time in the pits the better, so make sure your next driver is ready, in the pits, with all racewear correctly fastened, before calling your driver in for a driver changeover
• In an endurance event you have plenty of time to win the race, don't dive down the inside of the first bend - a race won't be won in the first five minutes, but it can be lost!
• Keep your kart going round - going for risky overtaking manoeuvres might take you up one place, but could also take you out of the race altogether if you have a serious crash
• Don't get black flagged - know the rules and stick to them. Dangerous or unfair driving will only result in a penalty