Karting Schools

[Mike Clark]

What is your opinion on karting schools? Have you attended one? If you would attend one, which one

I have a teammate that thinks we should go to one and it is up to me to figure out which one. I am mixed on it. Part of me says should be good & part says spend the money on local driving and assets. I think we both have 2 races in and no decent practice. I say get some stability going on the local level before doing anything else. The local track offers coaching also. This is regarding sprint racing on asphalt with a KT-100, but may move up to rotax later. I have just started making changes to kart setup.

My background is I have racing knowledge but no kart knowledge. For example I won my class the first time I autocrossed and have attended Skippy School. I have about 3 hours in a kart.

Currently we have some assets such as a trailer, tool s and even a location to be used as our kart shop after putting in some effort to be able to use them for karting.

Examples

http://www.jimrussellusa.com/programs/karting/sprint-courses

http://www.bondurant.com/courses/three-day-kart-clinic

http://www.bondurant.com/courses/advanced-kart-racing

[Jim Fry]

Check out our kart racing schools at Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville, GA, one hour north of Atlanta. The schools are run by TS Racing and taught by Bret Spaude, 6 time WKA Natl Point Champ and current Grand AM driver and Jim Fry, 51 yr karting vet with 7 WKA Natl Championships and 2008 EKN Road Racer of the Yr. More info at:

http://www.tsracingatlanta.com/TSRspeedSchool.html

[Roger Ruthhart]

Never heard anything but good about the Bondurant karting school. Run by great karter and great guy, Alan Rudolph.

[Craig Drabik]

I did the two day program at Jim Hall and it was the best money I ever spent on karting.

[Mike Clark]

I just want to thank you guys for your responses.

[Paul Hir]

Along the same question is it better to do a 1 on 1 coaching session? or is it better to attend a school?

[Gary Osterholt]

<div class=”d4p-bbp-quote-title”>Paul Hir wrote:</div>
Along the same question is it better to do a 1 on 1 coaching session? or is it better to attend a school?

Both are good options.  The advantage of the 1 on 1 coaching session is that you use your kart and they can help with the setup.

Gary Osterholt
GO Designs, LLC
http://www.godesigns.us

[Tim Koyen]

I would really put some more seat time in before going to a driving school.  I think you’d get much more out of it if you had more experience.

KartLift Kart Stands
DeepSeat Kart Seats
877-777-8020
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Don't bother PMing me, it doesn't work. Email is best: tim@kartlift.com.

[Paul Makarucha]

^ I agree with Tim, I’m sure karting schools are beneficial, but so is getting a driver coach for a bunch of days.

Just food for thought.

[Mike Clark]

I am just following up on this post.

I just raced my 3rd race. I had clutch problems all day, which was discouraging. What was encouraging is that I really feel I was starting to “get it” at the end of the race. In one corner in particular I finally felt the kart working. I felt the kart rotate early on turn in and was barely braking or turning the wheel to get through the corner. The kart cornered more smoothly.

It reminded of first learning to get up on water skis or how a boat feels to be up on plane vs trying to get up on plane. When I got the kart the front wheels were all the way in. I started moving them out.

I drove someones kart the week before for some laps. That helped also.

I DNF’d right before the end of the main but managed to coast into the pit & push to the scale shed. I qualified 4th, .400 off of the pole .

Currently local seat time is the core of the plan.

 

[Tim Koyen]

Good job Mike.

As you come to realize the “feel” of the kart and when it’s working and when it’s not, you’ll get a good solid understanding of how to make it fast.  Then you can get some driver coaching or do a school and get much more out of it.

KartLift Kart Stands
DeepSeat Kart Seats
877-777-8020
------------------
Don't bother PMing me, it doesn't work. Email is best: tim@kartlift.com.

[Mike Clark]

Tim,

Thanks. Once the ‘feel’ came I really saw how I was steering with the brake / throttle. It was as if my awareness went from the upper part of my body to the lower part of me. Almost as if where I perceive my CG is was lowered. The kart definitely beat on me less.

I used one of your Pro Kartlift stands this weekend. One thing I noticed is the stand gives a lot of access to the bottom of the kart. I didn’t raise or lower it though.

[Jon Romenesko]

I did a two- day school at Bondurant, and i’d say it was well worth the money.  I went with them because of the relative closeness (Arizona), and the fact that I was able to get one-on-one time with <i>the</i> legend (and great guy) Alan Rudolph.  I learned so much in those two days about how karts drive than I think I ever have since, and it was an awesome experience all around.

 

I would definitely recommend getting some good seat time in before investing.  I went with ~1 year (probably less) seat time under my belt, and I probably could have benefited from having a little more experience in karts before hand.  You know, having the fundamentals down pretty well so you’re not spending school time on that, and can focus on some more advanced things.  Karts are a bit goofy to drive if you’re coming from cars, so its a good idea to get a decent handle on the way they…handle before you try to refine your technique.  With that said, Bondurant took huge chunks out of my lap times.

 

If I could do it over again, I would want to have some relatively competitive times at home, spend some time/money on a local coach, and then head to the professional school.

GP10/CR125
S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto - SKUSA Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge

http://theslipangle.com/

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