6TH TO 1ST Shifter Kart Race Recovery! ~ Colorado Kating Tour 2023 Round 2 

Thank you! Means a lot!

Thanks man!

Thanks man!

Yea haha. We were having some issues with our main unit, so we ran a backup to have some data that weekend.

Thank you! Yea, that’s a rough part of the track. Very fun though!

Thank you so much! Means a lot!

Thank you!

I will most certainly say that Grand Junction is the best track in Colorado (there aren't very many in Colorado any more anyway lol). I would argue what makes a good race track is one that challenges the drivers skill and physical ability while also encourages racing while also being fun to drive. I do agree navigating the curbs in the chicane can put some extra ware on the chassis, especially in this direction, but the best drivers will be able to properly drive through the chicane with the best line to get the best lap time, which will in turn minimize the ware on the chassis. I think this section alone already makes it a better kart track than many in the USA because it requires much more skill and driving finesse to drive properly and quickly, which is what you want in karting. But realistically, this really isn't a concern in any class other than the shifter and the high power single speed classes, like ROK GP or OK, which need to carry a lot more speed through the chicane to be fast. In slower classes, even like the Rotax Senior Max category, this chicane isn't much of a physically or mechanically demanding section of track like it is in the Shifter class. And I know from practicing here that in the other direction, if you jump over the first curb, which is all that you need to do in that direction, you only gain about 1.5 tenths. I'm not sure about this direction. Having said this, as you can see, even in the shifter class we made the entire 15 minute session without any cracked frames or bent axels, and we easily made it through the whole weekend without any. I also believe that Action Karting (even though it is no longer open) was much more rough on the chassis and the driver (ouch) and that track had no curbs you had to jump over, it was just very rough. But in general, the the rest of Grand junction Motor Speedway is also great. The immense elevation change, the combination of tight 90 degree bends, fast sweepers, hard braking zones, tight hairpins and technical rhythm sections like the chicane make it fun and challenging to drive. I do agree that many tracks that have lots of runoff on the exits of corners can take away from the driving and racing, as the risk of dropping a tire and spinning out takes much more skill to be fast. But luckily this isn't much of a concern in karting, and other than tracks like AMR Motorplex and CalSpeed Karting (which has also closed down), there aren't many karting tracks that have this issue. But I do think tracks need curbs. At Finishline Performance Karting in Biloxi Mississippi, the track was narrow, and had no runoff, which made the track feel very mickey mousey and annoying to drive. While it was punishing if you made a mistake, the track was unsatisfying to drive. This track is pretty punishing if you go off and can cause major issues (other than the second to last corner), and actually has a very large drop off on the exit of turn 4 if you go too wide. I will add that the extra run off in second to last corner actually adds to the track in a positive way. It requires you to be much more brave, and carry more speed into and through that corner and the last corner, in both track directions. And if you go to wide on this runoff, you will lose time. I may be a little bit biased, but having to been to many other race tracks in the USA, I believe this is a pretty good track, and many national teams agree as well. I apologize for the long wall of text, I just feel it requires some elaboration. TLDR: I believe the curbs in the chicane add to the track and make it great by requiring more skill and finesse to navigate quickly and efficiently.

@@filipniemkiewicz1026I've driven many other tracks in the country as well. You're right. Action was the worst kart track I've ever driven. I respectively disagree with you on Grand Junction. It's mediocre at best, IMHO.

@@badgumby9544 yea that’s fair, I will say I think it’s a good track, but not among the best. But I’m not sure of many tracks where you don’t have to attack curbs to be fast? There’s only a few I can think of, and most of them are now closed.

I seen the answer in a comment 🤘starlane kool

Yes! I used DashWare to generate the overlay. You can use many data inputs, Starlane, Mychron, or even products like Garmin! The specific overlay I used is one that I found in the program and modified its color, added the G-Force chart, and changed the data scale to fit the higher RPMS.

Awesome stellar driving I've watched it a few times 🤘

@@xXRadioRamboXx Hey! Thanks you so much!

Hey thank you! My biggest tip is to learn to use the full potential of the brakes! They are super powerful on these karts and when using their full potential you can gain loads of time. Braking as late as possible from top speed was one of my hardest skills to figure out.

Thank you! We were using two because our main dash (the center one) which was a Starlane, was having some weird issues which meant we didn't get any engine data like EGT and RPM. But we were still getting lap times. So to make sure we got that engine data, we ran the second dash (bottome right one) which was a Mychron 4. Now, we would've just switched to the Mychron entirely, and just used one dash, but we didnt have the right sensors to get the Mychron to read lap time. Sooo we used both. Funny enough, after refusing to work all weekend, the Starlane finally started working in this Final event, which was nice because it allowed me to download the data off of it to use for the data overlay in this video!!! I have never had any issues with the Starlane before, and had never had any since this race, so I'm not sure what happened haha.

Yes it is real! Some tracks we can even get to 95mph, like at the Las Vegas Super Nationals or at Utah Motorsports Campus.

Thank you! I use a program called DashWare. You can use the data collected through the dash on the kart and input it into the program to get the over lay. But it was kinda hard to set up. It took some work to get the data and gauges right.

@@filipniemkiewicz1026 Thanks man, I'll definitely look into it!

@@filipniemkiewicz1026 what is the gauge that you are using in the video? you downloaded it? I didn't see this gauge on the dashware. And great drive btw, really good passes and pace!!

@@borgesmurilo7 Thank you! Sorry for the delay. So i used one of the base gauges in the program but edited the colors and graphics a bit to look better and to fit the higher RPM readings!

Hey! I use a GoPro 11 Mini Black. I mount it using a seat strut bar bolted to the cassette behind the radiator.

No problem. In the ROK shifter we usually replace the piston and ring after every race weekend.

@@filipniemkiewicz1026 that’s not too bad. Fairly simple from what I know. Ever thought of a 175 IAME?

@@bubsiesiegel No not really. It’s not very popular so there no competition for it. We mainly run KZ at national events, and ROK for local regional races.

Yes, I believe you could last a whole race! But it will be a struggle, shifter is so much more violent and physcal than even the senior tag karts. Its also a much different driving style that will take some time to get used to.

Yea I kept the rpm too low and I flooded the engine. Rookie mistake haha.

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