Driving our karts can be fun and exhilarating, as well as it can be tough and frustrating. Often times, people will get red flagged and “talked” to about how they are driving. So here are some tips and tricks to not only be safer, but also become a better and faster racer.

When you first start out make sure to start slowly and get used to the track, the kart and how the kart handles on the track. You should do this every time you race, at least the first lap.

Look down the course as you drive. Your hands follow your eyes, so look where you want to go, not what you’re afraid of running into.

After you get used to the track and kart, make sure you maintain a smooth racing line. Think, “Where am I going to next? Do I need to slow down, or can I take that turn at my current speed?” If you ever slide in a turn, always go slower the next time. You probably can eventually go through the turn faster than you are now, but you may not be a smooth enough driver to execute the turn yet.

Speed happens naturally as you become a smoother driver, most the time with bad effects. As you increase your smoothness you will increase your exit speed from a turn, thus making it so you go into the next turn with more speed than ever before. Which means you need to rethink when to slow down for the next turn and how much.

Often times, you will be have a particular problem with a certain turn. Our advice is to investigate the turn before the one that is giving you problems. Make sure that you are doing that turn correctly. More than likely, you are taking the turn before too fast and thus cannot get in the correct position for the turn that is giving the most noticeable trouble.

If you do ever get “talked” to about how you are driving, it is because we see cause for concern. We don’t want you to crash and get hurt, just as much as we don’t want you to get caught up in someone else’s mistakes, so make sure you always leave others room. If someone is definitely faster than you, our best advice is let them pass you and try to learn as much of their line as possible. If someone is about as fast as you, be sure you don’t do anything that will cause them to crash into a wall or even worse, into you, and always leave them room. Never cut someone off, that’s just bad driving.

And of course you can always ask our staff and other racers you see racing well for some more tips and advice.