{"id":37286,"date":"2017-03-06T07:39:47","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T15:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=37286"},"modified":"2017-03-06T07:39:47","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T15:39:47","slug":"karting-the-best-foundation-for-racing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/karting-the-best-foundation-for-racing\/","title":{"rendered":"Karting: The Best Foundation for Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Karting:<\/p>\n

Where to get started? Simply put: Karting. It checks all the boxes and lays the foundation that world-class drivers use every time they step in a racing car while surrounded by cameras. Plus, it\u2019s good, clean fun.<\/p>\n

Karting\u2019s first major appeal is that it\u2019s relatively affordable, and that karts are designed for kids. The youngest, freshest tykes can get their bum in a seat for a few bucks. Drivers who get their start early in karting seem to have an edge over their competitors in the racecraft department, since it\u2019s cheaper to have an accident, and since children absorb information like sponges, they seem to have a sixth sense for positioning their kart a few inches away from a rival’s.<\/p>\n

\"Karting:<\/p>\n

The ideas of conserving momentum, taking the right racing lines, braking at the limit and studying your opponent\u2019s lap to find weaknesses all are taught in the School of Karting. All the basic techniques cross over into the world of full-sized cars, though there are a few subtle variations since a kart is exceptionally light, lacks suspension and is on three wheels most of the time.<\/p>\n

Karts weigh a couple hundred pounds and offer immediate, unparalleled response and good power. In fact, their response is almost too much at times; the kart can be so sensitive to inputs that it\u2019s very easy to slide. With some of the less powerful engines, a big cross-up means lost momentum that is very difficult to regain, so keeping the inputs economical, precise and measured is a must. It\u2019s from this that many top drivers develop their butter-smooth style and sensitivity to their vehicles’ behavior.<\/p>\n

\"Karting:<\/p>\n

However, that response comes at a price. Because karts have no suspension, they take virtually no time to transfer load, which transfers through your body. Aside from that being quite hard on your ribs, which are usually beaten by the form-sitting fiberglass seats, it is somewhat different from driving a full-sized car. Even a lightweight car has some suspension movement and more weight, and therefore it takes more time to transfer load.<\/p>\n

Also, because karts don\u2019t have a differential at the rear, they use a lot of caster and Ackerman angle to help the kart tripod into the corner. This helps it turn in, but means the handling behavior is a little different than that of a car. Therefore it takes some time to learn the nuances of a heavier car and change technique to suit it.<\/p>\n

\"Karting:<\/p>\n

As a result of all this, the driver who makes a shift into full-sized cars needs to learn to react to the suspension compressing, the tire\u2019s contact patch increase, and the weight of the car moving underneath them to get the most out of a car. It simply won\u2019t react as quickly as a kart. This is why some young guns tend to overdrive the car or be very timid at their first; they aren\u2019t communicating with the entirety of the car.<\/p>\n

Karting is the only way to make a career in road racing these days. It\u2019s not like some people like to believe, either. Unless you\u2019re looking to go to the World Finals, it doesn\u2019t take a rich benefactor or a huge corporate endowment to go anywhere on a used, four-stroke kart that will hit 70 mph. For the familiarity with the limit of grip, the comfort with another driver inches away from you, the timing of a pass and the unparalleled sense of fun, there\u2019s nothing comparable.<\/p>\n

On a parting note: Parents, while it\u2019s great to get your kids into karts early, don\u2019t push them too hard. The proverbial Little League Father is everywhere in karting, and it\u2019s possible to burn your kid out before they\u2019ve entered high school. Make sure they have fun, and then they\u2019ll have the incentive to push forward with an incredible foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Where to get started? Simply put: Karting. It lays the foundation that world-class drivers use every time they step in a racing car. Plus, it\u2019s good, clean fun.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":37287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,3470,5029],"tags":[1719,3199,41,1632,2683],"class_list":["post-37286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-karts","category-news","category-racing","tag-kart-racing","tag-karts","tag-news","tag-racing","tag-tommy-parry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/1.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-9Ho","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37291,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37286\/revisions\/37291"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}