I do not have a driving licence, but I do feel like a Lewis Hamilton causing havoc around the racetrack. Speeding around bends, misjudging braking into a chicane and careering into the tyre wall, I felt like I was a young boy again.
(Don't treat this article necessarily as professional advice of how to drive a go-kart, but more for a first-person insight into the pleasurable experiences, the differentiation between indoor and outdoor circuits, and the competitive streak of this motorsport activity.)
Indoor Go-Kart Circuits
My first experience was at an indoor racetrack in South London at the Streatham Raceway circuit 15 years ago. It was flat as a pancake, as an indoor circuit should be. I had one or two installation laps with my friends, and then off we went. What struck me most, no not the tyre walls, was the feisty engines and the sheer momentum you get around fast bends. I'd like to think then that I was a bit of a daredevil. I had a sporting pedigree with my sense of competitiveness ripening at the age of 13, and just liked putting in the effort every Tuesday for PE. That was what I remembered, the raw pace of a go kart.
It was a 45-minute session, and for £25. I saved my pocket money pretty much in exchange for an adrenalin rush. To be honest, I didn't know how I would fare. If I drove very slowly like an older person on a mobility scooter, I probably would've been laughed at for a very long time. The first corner of the Streatham track was a short bend. I remember it throwing me off one side of the go-kart to the other. Being a round bend, it is important to gain good corner speed on a go-kart, slightly lifting the accelerator pedal in the middle and stamp back down on it for a wider exit. It was important to 'hug' corners where you think it is never-ending. Hold onto the apex, as its critical in gaining good traction on the exit of a bend.
From then on in, it was a simple array of kinks, sharp corners and a chicane. You also need confidence in your go-kart. Don't tap the brakes until you really need to. Let the kart decelerate naturally into a corner; only in chicanes will you need to apply some stopping motion. I finished 2nd of five drivers, so I was pleasantly surprised.
Most indoor tracks have their its own unique characteristics. Some are of an open layout, and some, like the Streatham Raceway, feel very tight and enclosed as if every corner you find your wheel brushing the tyre wall. If you are amateur like me, go to an indoor track. It is very safe, fun, cheaper, and you can avoid any chance of a shower from an outdoor track. Years later, exactly that happened, and it was an exhilarating experience in very much a different way.
Outdoor Tracks
The Surbiton Tolworth Karting track was overlaid with moisture on a relatively warm summer's day down in southwest London. The dampness on the circuit slowly evaporated, but the race provided a unique challenge. It was an open, wide track with a combination of faster and slower corners, wide bends, and chicanes. In the wet, the task of completing as many laps as possible (known as 'Ironman') in those conditions was alien to me.
The track conditions proved to be tough. Attending my friend's birthday were 10 other racing combatants eager to be the best. I was nervous, and it showed throughout the race. After 10 years away from a 200cc powered engine, I tentatively applied the throttle only to spin out on the third racing lap on a fast right ideally taken flat out. It's important, especially in wet weather conditions, to almost feed the kart into a corner rather than steering violently, as a spin is almost certain. My opponents lapped me continuously thereafter, and I virtually acted as a safety car leaving 11 cars strung out in a line! I spun out on so many occasions, I almost felt like Felipe Massa during a wet grand prix.
It seemed I forgot all the basics of go-karting - use the accelerator, not the brakes. Try fast, not slow. Don't spin on the straight (I still don't know how I managed that) etc.. The track evolved to much drier conditions by the end and I managed to pump in a few half-decent laps, but even my best was some two-and-a-half seconds off the fastest lap in a 27-second lap circuit. I was lapped 25 times! My 'daredevilness' escaped me. I said it was the taking part that counted, others thought entirely differently. No surprise there.
For those who have never tried go-karting, please do it. It is very enjoyable, especially outdoors where track conditions are of a great challenge. And those thrill-seekers will love the wet track conditions, just not me!
David Tran - A young and an enthusiastic writer, David Tran reports on the latest goings-on in sport. With a degree in journalism and solid reporting ...
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