How To Brake?

[NickW]

Originally Posted by bman

Can you elborate?

I can't imagine the braking in a kart can compare to a GT car at Mid Ohio but what do you do in Keyhole and Carousel?

I find my chassis has the best balance if I apply LIGHT brake at initial turn in and hold the same pressure half way to 2/3 through the corner.....basically braking and turning together but very gently and with steady arc'd steering. The tough part is in not applying too much initial brake and trusting that I can maintain constant pressure and the car will arc smoothly.

At the Keyhole we go to threshold brake immediately (braking in a straight line after the chicane), then turn in after braking is complete, apexing twice around the turn, riding the concrete patch for the most traction. Throttle application is immediate because the chassis is settled (unlike a car), increasing the throttle as long as the front end stays planted in the right direction (no lifting). Track out to the runout patch on the left, straightline the track from there to the turn in point at T5 (coming across the track near the emergency lane on the right).

The Carousel at M.O. is tricky because of the big bump in the middle of the apex. That tends to separate ribs if you're not careful. We tend to go through T12 hot, flatfoot on the throttle, then brake in a straight line right before the turn in for T13, double apexing it as opposed to a single apex specifically because of the bump. End result is you lose .1 second on that corner, but you keep your ribs intact, and since T14 comes up quickly, the speed you lose through T13 actually helps give you time to set up for T14.

I should be there in two weeks for the WKA National. I can get some on kart footage and post it if you want.