If you’re renting a go kart at a commercial track, they’ll typically lend you a helmet to protect your head.
If you’re a child, ask an adult to make sure you’re not sliding around in the seat. This will help you stay safe as you’re driving the kart.
The ideal grips for driving a go kart are the same as the grip you might use to drive a car. For instance, think of the steering wheel as a clock face and grip the steering wheel at “2 and 10” or “3 and 9. ”
The accelerator may be colored green to help you remember it’s to go. If you’re driving a model that has the pedals next to each other, use the same foot to press either the accelerator or the brake. This makes it harder for you to accidentally press both at the same time.
The brake pedal might be red to signal that it’s to stop.
Most go kart models have the pedals split on either side of the go kart, so you’ll likely have to use your right foot for the accelerator pedal and your left foot for the brake.
Try to gain distance on the straights, not the curves.
For instance, you might need to suddenly hit the brakes if you drive up on a packed track. Once you pass the other cars, you might hit your accelerator. This slows you down. Instead, you might see that there’s a traffic jam up ahead and slow down slightly. Then, you might loop around the other cars and return to your previous speed.
This means it may be faster to drive in the outer lane sometimes, even though it’s a greater distance.
Your go kart won’t hit its highest speeds when you rev the engine. It’s better to gradually build speed. This also helps you slowly pass the other karts instead of having to constantly brake and accelerate as you all start the race.
Some people like to give slower carts that are blocking the track a gentle bump to encourage them to move out of the way. However, this will slow you down. It’s better to just go around them if you can.
If you dart from outer corner to outer corner, you’ll be able to drive across the curve in a straighter line compared to if you hug the curve. You’ll still need to turn your go kart, but the angle of the turn won’t be as sharp, which allows you to better maintain your speed.
Don’t feel bad if you’re not good at driving the go kart when you first get started. This is normal! You’ll get better if you keep doing it.
Your laps should steadily get faster as you gain experience. You’ll likely notice that your laps get slower when you first drive on a new track.
If you’re going to be participating in a race, check out the track ahead of time. If you can’t go in person, ask the race organizer to send a map of the route or pictures of the route.
