What’s more interesting is that sometimes the ideal line isn’t the quickest, if you turn as much as you can in the apex to make sure you steer as little as possible in the exit, that will make your acceleration far superior, the reason behind this is that unlike normal racing cars, go karts have SHIT engines, any steering angle on the exit will severely limit your acceleration
Make sure you don't mix up ideal line and the geometric line as shown in the video. I think you were refering to the geometric line as the ideal line. On the ideal line as shown in the video you rotate the cart deep down in the turn to get as much of a straight line for the exit to maximise the exit speed. On the geometric line you have higher apex speed due to the bigger radius but you don't get as much speed on the exit and that deficit will be carried all over the entire next straight until the next braking point. The longer the straight is the more the exit is important.
@@simsch97yeah ok thanks, this guy’s comment confused me. He meant geometric line. Right? lol. Anyway, the ideal line is difficult to do in rental karts because no one else tries it and inevitably they’re in your way. At least indoor karting.
This is a wonderfully made video and I can tell that it took a lot of effort to make, as someone who is just starting to get into racing this video was incredibly helpful to me. Really, thank you.
Thanks for this tutorial series, decreased my best lap time by 5 seconds in the second time ekarting. From 37,218 to 32.938 in a 315 m track. Never driven any gokarts before, the g-force is addicting
I went go-karting and was surprised how much power I would lose during the hairpin turns to what I thought was the ideal line. This is exactly what I needed to show me how to improve next time! Thank you :)
0:44 i would like to add onto the fact that the hairpin corner is named after hairpins. the gas pedal of the go kart, actually interestingly accelerates the go kart.
Thanks for this video. I just started with bit of karting two weeks ago and I saw I was losing lot of speed in hairpins because I’m using geometrical line. I’m gonna try this tip next time I go and see if my lap time improve a bit, thanks.
Just went for spin in my local mini karting track, I've been using this optimal line quite a lot. There were 2 other guys slightly slower than me, passed them a few times using this line. Improved my personal best lap time from 31.7s to 30.5s !! But it's a shame they just resurfaced the track, slippery as hell had a few spin outs . . . .LMAO
@@sameroulisMore weight will definitely hinder you down the straights but it gives you better grip through the corners. We are still learning the lines. We'll be posting a track guide soon. Also check out Qatar Karting Community (@qatar_karting) on Instagram. We post when our next Karting Meetups are on the account.
General Question: I often find in arrive and drive races, where you get to topspeed rather quickly, that a late apex doenst bring me the expected results, since the acceleration bonus I get is negated by the low top speed of the karts. I feel like the extra speed out of the corner is shut down by people just parking it on the apex and not beeng able to convert a better exit into considerable advantage in time spent at top speed, since both karts reach it quite quickly out of the corner (2-3 sec). I would really like your take on that. Awesome videos, i really enjoy them
By taking the ideal line explained in the video, it means that you’re getting on the throttle faster than the other driver, so theoretically if the karts had the same acceleration rate, driver weight, etc, then you would reach the top speed faster than the other driver and hence have an advantage (even if it’s a small one).
With regards to other drivers parking it on the apex, as the overtaking driver, you would need to adapt your lines to get the best overtaking opportunity. Whilst you’re behind a driver that you are looking to overtake, you should analyse their lines and figure out where they are better or worse than you, so you can make a decision on where it would be best to overtake them. A lot of this is spontaneous thinking that comes with practice as you get more experienced in different overtaking situations, etc..
@@coreycox5600 Tobah is correct here. If you reach the top speed very soon after the corner, then the early throttle of the ideal line is not very important. Maximizing the minimum corner speed could be a better strategy in this scenario. It depends on how long you need to reach top speed, and how much apex speed you sacrifice with the late apex.
This was actually super helpful! Thanks for the video :) been karting since i was a kid but never really bothered with the technicalities so hopefully this’ll help me get better (and beat my brothers)
What said around 3:30 is not true for cars with weak engine, which are most of rental go-karts. If the car accelerates slowly, it makes sense to carry more speed through the corner.
You have correct info about the geometric line vs the ideal line, but I think you mixed up all your examples and it might be confusing in the end. Your example in 4:20 did not show why the ideal line is faster than the geometric line, because the other guy was defending. He definitely was not using the geometric line. Also, in reality, the answer always is "it depends". Do you have a fast car, like F1 or GT3? Then absolutely go for the ideal line with the late apex. Your horsepower will give you all the benefits of an early throttle. Do you have a slower car, like a FWD hatchback, a kart, or something similar? Then you need to smoothen out your turn, because you don't have the brute acceleration, so losing speed in the corner is bad. Also, this applies in the rain. If the grip is low, then an F1 car cannot use max power, so the fastest line is closer to the geometric. If you search about it, you will hear that F1 drivers use the "karting line" on rain. This means exactly that. The grip is low, so they need to maximize minimum corner speed, instead of late apexing. In general, your info about "the straight is where you gain time" is correct, and this is why early throttle is crucial. But the line depends on a lot of factors.
Thanks for the video, I’m struggling on this corners only, my corner speed is slow but the release is very good, the problem is I usually get overtaken and the straight is not long enough to regain
This is dumb. If I'm the guy in front in the green shirt then I'm playing defense. If that karter on my outside is there then I likely know they are going to cut the corner tight and over take me on the inside. If I'm in green I'm playing defense and riding my kart not that tight entering that hairpin and making my exit tighter so I can block. Also, if I take that high line entering that turn I suggest only to run that line IF you don't have a competitor underneath or you will be overtaken. This line should only be ran under the right conditions. Novice should try and learn what works best for them. The experienced driver knows this line is to be used very strategically.
trimp7941 Its very relative, depends on the track, for example for me, there’s a really long straight right after a corner like this and taking it this way I keep the momentum and even if I get overtaken by the guy taking the corner more aggressively I still regain before getting to the last turn. But I really improved my times around 1.5 seconds per lap when doing a hot lap
I need some1 to help me out. I have a race on thursday and it is an indoor track. How can I overtake when the defending line always is from the outside as well, because you can‘t overtake a Kart fully on the Short straights. I would simply „tackle“ him away (which isn‘t allowed nor good). Thanks for every1 who answers 😅
You have to brake before you take the corner. Try to pick an appropriate braking point and then practice the ideal line. Let me know if this makes a difference.
One question if we have a hairpin line, shortly followed by a corner with the same direction, is it better to take the geometric line rather than the ideal line, in such a way that we prep the next corener from the outside, or is it better to take the ideal line and defend the next corner rather than gain time?
Great video, I am currently struggling with a left hairpin followed directly by a right one followed by a very short straightaway into a wide right corner. How would you see the fastest line for such a combination?
my gf goes karting regularly tomorrow is my first time ever going karting i just came here to learn more about karting so i dont lose if i win ill update this comment. ////// UPDATE : I lost Horribly she beat me by 5 seconds
@ 7:03 , why cant the green car turn at same radius as red car and simply block the overtake on the inside. He is going slower but his turn radius is larger so that is unclear. Good video though but I guess you are assuming recreational karters and how to beat them ? 🤟
Im playing KartKraft these days in my g920 wheel and its so ridiculously hard, I cant do 5 laps without spin or lose control of the Kart. My this thing help me lol
yeah too bad in practice is full of kids or idiots that would just push you into the wall by rear ending you. forget this strategy. I never seen any action taken by marhsalls in amateur tracks. THey only show the flag but damage is done meanwhile.
At 6:42, what if the green-line guy, brakes a little bit harder, and keeps on the inside, blocking your ideal line? I mean, it is even legal in the first place? It happened to me, and it's pretty frustrating.
In a proper defense the green-line guy would want to squeeze as far left as possible (while still leaving the space for red) and get a faster exit than.. whatever he was trying to do here. This also causes red to not be able to take the ideal line. If he brakes and hug the inner line (with that entry in the video) you can probably just overtake him from the outside carrying more speed even tho it's not a perfect line. The only danger is that the green line guy hit you while you're passing him on the left, which is.. in a proper race; his fault, but at that speed even if you guys bump into each other it should still be okay.