Off track

30 June

Oh ok... I'm a McLaren fan!

Another promotion video but hey, they did not bring the car
to the track and 'test'

Just wonder how much time these guys (F1 drivers) really have
to commit their time for off track stuff like these.
Quite a bit, I would imagine.

But these things do eventually assist them on track as well,
when sponsor come abroad.

Likewise, for karting.
Off track stuff like get some workout regularly, and reading
some stuff to understand how kart works will help in driving
too.
Driving which is practicing is still one of the most important
factor of getting better though.

Anyway, let's see the video showing off some real cool F1 cars
of the past.

Crash Boom... BANG!

24 Jan

Just a few blog entry back, I was just saying that racing should
be fun. And it will be the main reason that one will continue to
race. Right?
At least it is so for me

E.g. Kimi. Once he stop feeling it (fun) in it he stopped F1 and
went over to WRC.

Anyway, nope, I am not going to stop racing.

But the race last Sunday had caused some heated moments.

One moment, Tony was helping Leo in adjusting his carb on his
new Rotax Max engine before Heat 1, then during one of the
laps in Heat 1 he sort of pushed Leo into the concrete wall along
the pits!! This incident in turn cause Tyler to hit Leo when he
was crawling across the track after bouncing off the wall.

Fast Forward.... Rained when we waited and waited for Tyler
to return from a lunch outside for Heat 2. DARN!!

I did tried to race when it was still only drizzling. But soon after
it just poured like it threatened to flood the entire track, I just
got back pits to indicate it will be a 'no go'.
Ang and Gary agreed too.

Most of us had learned the lesson... except...

So in the end, some (not me) stayed on to race in the wet,
and the wall collected another victim of the day, Louis.
He continued running with slicks, while the rest mounted wet
tyres. His kart spun and its rear hit the wall heavily.

Here, I may have to say... Serve Him Right. Why?

Because firstly he wrongly informed Tyler that we are going to
start at 3pm when already we mentioned we wanted to start at
2pm. Although Tyler had to shoulder some blame for not reaching
the track on time for the briefing.

Secondly, even though he has wets he did not put them on his kart.
His SILLY philosophy is always 'Can means can lah'
Surely, he can and he did ... crashed into the wall!
Hope the old man starts to learn his lessons.

One can watch the crash here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=412020881669&ref=mf

Putting some of my frustrations of the race 1st, I am now happy
to write about my race... which is actually frustrating too!


It started when I do not feel so good in the used set of MG tires.
So I just change to the Vega Blue which Louis now retails.

It was ok... But being the very time of using it, I did not know
how it measure against the rest of the tyre makes.
Until qualifying... I realised it was not so good as I only got to
10th out of 14 guys.

Gees... a huge huge step backwards!

Then I start to think a bit..
I do reckon my driving should not or will not just deteriorate so
much in between races, so what had changed?

Grip level = tyres !

So I went about setting my front torsion bar settings, and
rear width settings... and Pray I will make up some ground
as soon as the green flag dropped.

The kart feel so much better with the changes.
Especially so, through the slippery Black Hole and Dungeons
hairpins.

Starting from 10th is, of curse, not ideal.
But it was fun when I managed to race with Alan Lange for position
at one stage, and overtook Tony after he lost grip at the Dungeons.

I could have overtook Gary as well, in my opinion. But when I past
Tony, he was just weaving in and out of the track.
In one of his crazy movement my front bumpers crossed underneath
his rear bumpers!
What the .... !!

Later he mentioned he was trying to block off Mark... who he said
just cut him off in the earlier laps.
That may be true but it does no give anyone the rights to drive
dangerously across the tarmac like he did.

I was incensed after the brief contact, and started to gesture at
him. Ya I know... he would not see me anyway but Allan Lange
who was behind me did.

Honestly I should have not lose my concentration and keep up with
him and put my challenge firmly on him for the 4th place.

Then he started to pull away slightly lap by lap... and I eventually
finished 5th behind him.

It was good fun.
It should be better overall though, not for me only but for many
others.

I just have to wonder what will the next race be like?

With Leo now on a Max engine, KP racing, and will Allan Smith and
Rory be up front again?
What will the track dynamics be?

Importantly, where will I be? Before all these, I need to clear my
sinuses else I will be racing again without much trainings.

So, in all, I will race. Because it is fun. The fun do not just reside
on the fact of racing alone. It is good because of the good friendship
we had with everyone.
If this is gone, then more than 50% of the fun is lost for me.
And Racing will be just racing... perhaps then I will just follow Kimi
and makan some ice cream instead...

Vodfone & McLaren

19 June

Just chanced upon this ad.

Interesting... !

Ideally

13 June

World Cup, PC Show, shopping for new shirts, gatherings, and
rest to recover from a cold had all prevented me from getting to
the track this weekend.

I had a nasty bout of cold a day after the wet karting session.

Which means I did not get any running or swimming or some
training done at all until Friday.
I could felt I had lost some edge then. It is inevitable when I'm
'sick' and not doing any physical work out.

Additional hardly ideal is when the coming race is on Father's
Day, 20 June.

Nothing is ideal for a race prep. But then again when is things
100% ideal when I race? Not enough sleep la, not enough
practice la, wrong settings la ... etc.

However, I will still try my very best to be at the track side
in my kart racing with the guys.

Why?

Because it's FUN!

If this factor is taken out of the equation I will not even bother
waking up at 6am, drive all the way to JB, drive all the way into
the jungle, and just kart. I will not do all this if it isn't fun.

So ideally or not... Guys, like myself, just want to have some
fun sometimes too!

Washout...

6 June

A wet track outing today....!
bummer!

I needed to try some carb settings and see why is it that my RPM
seldom go more than 13,500.

Got to clean the carb, adjust the needle clip position, and even the
main jetting... go out for about 7 laps came back in... then it's poured!

However, seeing that the rain is not going to let off anytime soon I had
2 sessions of wet karting!

To be honest here, I am quite proud of myself.
Not because I was going fast fast... but I do start to appreciate the
art of driving in the wet.
It is difficult... and it's more tough to drive in a dry setting.

I should have widen the front more by a spacer or two and
narrowed the rear wheels... but I was just too lazy.

The laziness had a benefit. I learnt something new today which is
throttling is the critical in exiting through a corner.
Too much of a throttle, a spin is inevitable.
Too little, the kart will just not go and start to slide wide.

It was mighty fun, but it was some work too.
To constantly feel for the grip level and assess how much to push
and know how much to hold back is really tiring.
It certainly does not help when the visor start to fog up in the
condition!!

Oh, I got the trophy from last race!!
A new different design which is not too bad at all.

BUT.... I was still classified fourth after I told Louis (the boss)
that I should be third because I was supposed take the points of
the qualifying while Rory take the 'better' position.

As explained in the previous post, since both Rory and me qualified
with the same time, we tossed coin for the one to make the decision.
I won the toss, and elected to let him start 4th. In turn, it means I
will start 5th but take the points for 4th.

The race table should look this way:


Ah.. well... that's that.
At the end of the day, I race for the fun of it. I enjoy it.
The points do not matters, because it does not mean anything if I
do not enjoy racing where I raced.

And for this race I also feel perhaps I could have done more to
earn a good solid good placing. My heat 2 was just not good enough.

Now, let's look forward to the next one on 20 June.
We should have a few new comers in it.

That should be fun for everyone!

Turning it Right

2 Jun

Got this from
http://evenflow.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73:the-hidden-secret-behind-driving-smooth-&catid=35:kart-driving-articles&Itemid=59

It talks about driving smoothly which leads to a faster lap times.
Kindda insightful...

Davide Fore sums up the whole philosophy of elite kart driving perfectly there for you. The meaning of life for the advanced kart driver is to adjust the steering angle during cornering as little as possible AND to have the wheel as close to centred the whole time. Now, it seems fairly obvious that driving smooth is fastest.

You'll hear Martin Brundle complaining about drivers sawing at the wheel too much on F1 coverage, or marvelling at how smooth Jenson Button is. It's pretty much general knowledge that driving smooth is the way to go, but telling someone how to drive smooth is useless without telling them how to drive smooth!

It's easy to drive smooth, my gran drives very smooth on the way to Sainsbury's but she aint fast!!

Anyone can drive smooth and slow, so the act of turning the steering gently and carefully isn't a problem for any driver when the kart isn't on the limit. It is when drivers start to push that smoothness goes out the window.

There are a few reasons for this:-

Lack of fitness.

Drivers feel that to go faster they need to apply more effort to the wheel. Smooth accurate steering starts with a smooth and accurate right foot. The driver lacks an appreciation of the huge significance of load transfer. The First Key to Smoothness is Strength and Fitness

When you first try to drive smooth it is hard work. Holding the steering straight in a corner against the will of the kart will drain you, and it is far less effort to flick the kart into a corner and lazily hang the rear out. Yes, sliding the rear around is the lazy way to drive! You heard it here first. There is some good news however, once you master load transfer and the art of smoothness it suddenly becomes very easy physically, but you won't get to that stage unless you get fit, and have incredible upper body strength and core muscle strength.

Use Your Will Power and Determination Away from the Track to Get in Shape - Not on the Track When You Drive!

When you get into your kart to drive, you need to have done all the hard work already in training and studying your art. Push ups require hard work and effort, but the actual act of driving takes finesse and care. If you don't train for driving, but show up at the track with the attitude that you can make extra efforts while you drive to win, then you will likely overdrive and be slow.

Accurate Throttle Control Determines How Smooth Steering can be.

If you struggle to be smooth on the exit of a corner, no matter how much you concentrate on using the wheel carefully, then you should shift focus on to what your right foot is doing. If you are aggressively trying to get onto the throttle early and too quickly before the kart is ready then you will unsettle the kart. Apply the throttle exactly when the kart is ready, rather than hitting the gas and hoping you can control it.


The Tricky Bit for Advanced Drivers - Load Transfer

Car driver coaches get right on my nerves when they spout the following nonsense:-
"Kart drivers come into cars without a clue about load transfer, karts don't have suspension and therefore hardly any load transfer, and karters just think they can throw a car around and get away with it"

In fact karts are extremely sensitive to load transfer, and are completely dependant on load transfer in order to go around corners at all. The best karters have an accute awareness of load transfer and it is the key to driving a kart with the minimal steering inputs possible.

Quick Explanation of Load Transfer for Karts

When you brake the load transfers to the front of the kart, the weight on the front wheels increases. When you turn right the load transfers to the outside of the kart, i.e the left wheels (and the opposite side for left handers) When you accelerate the load transfers to the rear wheels, so the weight increases on the rear tyres.

Key Point for karts

When you turn into a corner at first, the castor and jacking effect starts the process of lifting the inside rear wheel. Once that initial turn in is done and you get into cornering, then load transfer to the outside of the kart takes over the work of lifting the inside rear wheel. This is because the front of your kart is more flexible than the rear and all that load transfer deforms your chassis enough to keep the inside rear tyre off the road enough to allow the kart to turn.
Phew, boring bit done.

But that particular characteristic of karts is what allows Davide Fore to straighten the wheel most of the way around corners. Once the kart is loaded to the outside wheels (which means the initial turn in is done and the kart is cornering steadily) then the chassis deforms under that cornering load and can't help but lift the inside wheel. Just having that inside wheel pressuring the ground less then the outside driven wheel is enough to allow the kart to turn around the corner with very little steering angle.

How to Take Corners Smoothly Step-by-Step

Brake a little bit early, and gently releasing braking pressure as you approach the turn in point. Before you turn in properly, introduce the kart to turn in by starting to steer as small a degree as you can manage (almost like taking up the slack in the various steering components). Begin to turn in to the corner, turn the wheel as gradually and slowly as you can, imagine you are gently loading up the chassis with cornering load and that the front of the kart is steadily bending with that load

Once you have turned the wheel enough for the kart to make the turn, hold the wheel at the same angle until you pass the apex. The kart is now loaded like a spring, if you adjust the steering now you could overload the spring or release the spring suddenly and destroy your corner! As you pass the apex gently unload the kart by slowly straightening the steering wheel. You are now gently allowing the inside rear wheel to meet the track again and as you do this you will feel the traction increase and you can accelerate away rapidly.

All the time imagine the kart chassis as a spring that you need to load and unload gently. Any sudden opposite lock movements can unload that spring suddenly and ruin the corner. And as you get better and better at this process you will find you use less and less steering, eventually getting to the standard of Fore where you can corner with a straight wheel.

By Terence Dove EvenFlow Driver Coaching