Getting fit for motorsport

[MadCat360]

Ok, I understand you but your story raises a question - how do you go from rental to proffessional? Nobody was born ready to race - so how do you become a racing driver?

That, is a very good question.

Depends. If you can do a racing school, that's the best (and, surprisingly, least expensive) option. My racing school had me running with the experienced racers within two races, and running at the front and beating past champions by the second half of the season. But I'm also a quick study, and I had 4 top flight coaches helping me.

The second-best (and probably most expensive) option is to hire a private coach, rent a pro-level or near-pro-level kart and have him tutor you for a few lapping sessions. The danger is, he's likely to be a bad coach, even if he's a good driver. A (respected) racing school guarantees good coaches.

The slowest, medium-expensive (over time) and hardest option is to teach yourself. Buy every book, take a few weeks, go out twice or three times a week and do about an hour or two's worth of driving each day in a pro-level kart, do helmet cam footage, and do self-debriefs with a track map after every session.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

That, is a very good question.

Depends. If you can do a racing school, that's the best (and, surprisingly, least expensive) option. My racing school had me running with the experienced racers within two races, and running at the front and beating past champions by the second half of the season. But I'm also a quick study, and I had 4 top flight coaches helping me.

The second-best (and probably most expensive) option is to hire a private coach, rent a pro-level or near-pro-level kart and have him tutor you for a few lapping sessions. The danger is, he's likely to be a bad coach, even if he's a good driver. A (respected) racing school guarantees good coaches.

The slowest, medium-expensive (over time) and hardest option is to teach yourself. Buy every book, take a few weeks, go out twice or three times a week and do about an hour or two's worth of driving each day in a pro-level kart, do helmet cam footage, and do self-debriefs with a track map after every session.

I am going to do 2 or 3 practice sessions with my kf2 kart before my first race but I am not sure wether I'll have a coach or not. I am pretty good at teaching my self - I beat the track record at my rental kart track at my 4th attempt just thinking what can I do better and where can I improve.

 

[LikeStig]

how do you go from rental to proffessional? Nobody was born ready to race - so how do you become a racing driver?

Ok. You made your post seam like you were trying to do the upper tier of Karting. If you want to do club races, as they're called here in the US, a couple of practice sessions can ready you for that.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

They're not club races, it's the Romanian National Carting Championship - that's why I tought this is not so hard as we have a maximum of 5 racers in the KF2 class .

 

[vette5885]

I'm just going to repeat what Madcat started with: stamina. When I go to track days with my car, we're only on for about 2 hours total, and I'm usually completely exhausted at the end of the day - and I'm not even racing! I honestly don't know how some of the endurance racers do it.

So if you have any plans to do more than a couple of 20-25 minute sessions in a day, then definitely do whatever you can to build stamina. The more you push yourself (and your car or cart) to the limit, the more important it will become.

However I do disagree about the running part, especially being that you're young. Impact exercises are really only an issue if you either have problems or are older (35+). The bike, rowing machine, and swimming are all great exercises too. Definitely change your routine often, as to ensure you work different muscle groups.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

I can now run 5km straight in 24 minutes and I train every day (running once in 2 days) and push-ups and other stuff the other time. My stamina has already increased by much now that I am in Germany, is that good training for karting? I think I can also train in Hamburg, not on a race kart but on a rental kart.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

Come on guys, don't bail out on me! Is my training good so far? I've now broke the 23 minute barrier at running 5km and won a 4km running contest.
Oh, and another thing, if anyone knows how to rent a kf2 kart in germany to have some pratcice, please offer a bit of help .

 

[MadCat360]

Until you get in a kart and do a good long stint you won't know how well you're doing - everyone's different.

If there's any kart tracks near you I'd go to an event and talk to some teams and get some contacts. You'll be able to get some track time that way.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

Just talk to them and say if I can get some track time in their kart? Well, I have some kart tracks near but they're all indoor tracks. I'll see what I can do tough. I am going to do a 4 hour session on a 6,5 bhp kart see what I can do.

 

[nsx_23]

Not a superkart?! I hope it was a four-stroke. The 2-strokers will do 160 MPH and the same lap time as a GT2 car...

Nope, 2-stroke......



Never had I been so scared in my life behind a steering wheel. Ever.

To be fair, the track was completely empty at the time, so there was no-one for me to hit at all. I don't think I was anywhere near the limit of the kart.

 

[MadCat360]

Nope, 2-stroke......



Never had I been so scared in my life behind a steering wheel. Ever.

To be fair, the track was completely empty at the time, so there was no-one for me to hit at all. I don't think I was anywhere near the limit of the kart.

Damn dude. You're super lucky to get the chance, that's top flight karting right there. One of my coaches is a factory driver for CRG and he's never even driven one as far as I know. They're small but they're quite expensive (I've heard stories about 20 grand for a re-build)... jealous!

Just talk to them and say if I can get some track time in their kart?

Yes, basically. You'll have to pay though. It's worth it. They'll show up with your rented kart in a big ole trailer and a couple guys to crew for you during an open-test session, like a track day with unlimited passing. CRG and ItalKart, at least when they show up at Infineon, kind of have the largest operation. But, you won't get that at indoor tracks. You've got to go to a major track like Nurburgring to find the tracks where the top-flight (I use that word a lot) teams hang out. You want to be associated with them.

Indoor karting might give you an idea of how you're doing, but in my experience with 4-stroke rentals (which is limited to bumpy parking lot racing) it's more an exercise in bruise avoidance than neck or arm strength and stamina. But it should give you some indication of where you're at.

 

[nsx_23]

Damn dude. You're super lucky to get the chance, that's top flight karting right there. One of my coaches is a factory driver for CRG and he's never even driven one as far as I know. They're small but they're quite expensive (I've heard stories about 20 grand for a re-build)... jealous!

Everything feels a bit slow after a superkart...

I'd kill to own one of those things one day. Actually much more stable than I expected them to be; I was expecting to spin as soon as I try to get into a corner.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

Yes, basically. You'll have to pay though. It's worth it. They'll show up with your rented kart in a big ole trailer and a couple guys to crew for you during an open-test session, like a track day with unlimited passing. CRG and ItalKart, at least when they show up at Infineon, kind of have the largest operation. But, you won't get that at indoor tracks. You've got to go to a major track like Nurburgring to find the tracks where the top-flight (I use that word a lot) teams hang out. You want to be associated with them.

Indoor karting might give you an idea of how you're doing, but in my experience with 4-stroke rentals (which is limited to bumpy parking lot racing) it's more an exercise in bruise avoidance than neck or arm strength and stamina. But it should give you some indication of where you're at.

Oh bugger, now I live in north Germany and it will be a long trip to the nurburgring. Anyway, how much will a session cost? Aproximately. I'm not quite sitting in a pile of cash right now.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

Good news. I'm going monday on a session. I've got a 15bhp kart to start with (I could have went for the 30hp kart but I am saving that for later). I really hope I can get some good track time to feel for the first time how a racing kart feels like. Like I said, I will also do a session with the 30bhp one but a bit later. This I hope will also provide me with a clue about where my fitness is right now. The only problem I can see is that I have no idea what kart class that is - KF2, KF3, KZ1, no clue whatsoever. The hard road for the 2010 championship begins here.

 

[MadCat360]

Oh bugger, now I live in north Germany and it will be a long trip to the nurburgring. Anyway, how much will a session cost? Aproximately. I'm not quite sitting in a pile of cash right now.

For a "pro" (national) team? 500 to 2000 or more for a day (USD). Motorsport prices vary a lot from USA to Europe though.

Good news. I'm going monday on a session. I've got a 15bhp kart to start with (I could have went for the 30hp kart but I am saving that for later). I really hope I can get some good track time to feel for the first time how a racing kart feels like. Like I said, I will also do a session with the 30bhp one but a bit later. This I hope will also provide me with a clue about where my fitness is right now. The only problem I can see is that I have no idea what kart class that is - KF2, KF3, KZ1, no clue whatsoever. The hard road for the 2010 championship begins here.

Well a national level 125cc shifter is going to be about 40-50 horsepower, like ICC (KZ2). A 125 sprint kart is going to be more like 30, like TaG Senior (no idea what it's called in Europe).

15 BHP is probably an 80cc 2-stroke, or a 200 or 250 4-stroke (not too familiar with them).

Anyway good luck and have fun (the most important thing right now).

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

Well, I was there yesterday and fitnesswise it was pretty good for me, didn't feel tired. I must say I had to do a 10 min session with a 6,5BHP rental kart before testing, the guy said he wanted to see how I drive. Fair enough I did the session and was anctious to get in the 15bhp race kart. Just one problem: it was broken. The result? the guy shoved me in a 38BHP race kart. Ok, that was a bit of a handful because I was on a track that I didn't knew and with a racing kart I had never driven (and never have driven anything close to it). The speed was amazing but more amazing was the steering witch I found lighter than in the rental kart. The brake was rubbish I must say, I had no clue when it was going to lock up so I ended up spinning 2 times because of that and only one time because of wheelspin. After I gone after this 2 spins I have to say I was faster and faster, I was getting to know the thing but 15min is just not enough. Anyway, I can go anytime so I'll wait until they get the 15BHP kart fixed (250CC 4-stroke) and get some kilometeres in that, I think that way I will find the 38BHP one much easier to drive. Have fun? It was AWESOME!
Another problem was rear grip, the kart was not running the regulation weight witch is 160kg, it was just me and the kart and I am really light (50kgs). The engine was a 2-stroker 125cc but I forgot the make, it was not something very famous. On the straights it was just mind-blowingly fast even tough it was quite a tight circuit. What do you reckon 0-60 of that thing?

 

[MadCat360]

Another problem was rear grip, the kart was not running the regulation weight witch is 160kg, it was just me and the kart and I am really light (50kgs). The engine was a 2-stroker 125cc but I forgot the make, it was not something very famous. On the straights it was just mind-blowingly fast even tough it was quite a tight circuit. What do you reckon 0-60 of that thing?

This was a shifter, right? Probably 0-60 in 3 or so seconds with a good launch and soft tires, more like 5 seconds in a sprint. If it was a real tight circuit you probably did about 60-70 MPH on the straights, but I wasn't there. The 40HP shifters where I run at, with a quarter-mile straight off a 35 MPH corner, can hit 100 MPH.

I'm about your same weight (114 pounds with gear), and if I get in an unweighted kart I'm about half a second slower around the track - the extra 45 pounds I usually carry really helps the cornering speed and the braking more than it hurts my straight-line acceleration. Without the weight the kart is just way too twitchy in both trail braking and power.

What did you think of the solid axle? Sure makes the kart understeer huh?

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

Here's a view of the track. Nope, it was no shifter on that thing. It was very very twitchy just as you said, I really had to concentrate to drive the bloody thing. And, yes I think I will also be faster if I put some weights on it to bring it up to the regulation weight. I only had understeer at the beginning because I wasn't giving it enough gas so I was more like limping across the track but you can easily cure that with a bootful of throttle. The thing felt like it had endless power. The absolute worst thing about it is that you're on a bloody track where you have no idea where your braking points are. I knew them on the rubbish rental kart but when they strapped me into that I had no clue whatsoever, and I also lost part of the brakes because of my weight. Anyway I had bucketloads of fun and I'm looking forward to master the 15bhp one before I have another run in this.
Just gotta pop in another question for you mad cad: what helmet do you have? I have no idea what the regulation says you must have. Must it be FIA Homologated? I know the overalls must be level 2. LE: never mind, found it on you blog .
So you race in the Jim Russel series. I've heared of that in the states. How much does a whole season of racing cost you?

 

[MadCat360]

You definitely reached 60 on that back straight. Man, I wish our tracks were that fancy... Infineon's a little bit "ghetto".

The season of Jim Russell costs $4600 for the races, and then if you want thursday practice (a little under an hour of driving) it's $300 per day, and I bought my whole season beforehand so I got a little discount. It came out to around $6500 or so. Super cheap! Plus if you win the championship you get 3 days in a Formula 3 car.

As far as helmets go, for karting pretty much any motorcycle helmet (DOT or SNELL M-2000 or M-2005) will do. Moto helmets are lighter, but not as protective. An auto helmet will need to carry the FIA 8860 certification and/or SNELL SA-2000 or SA-2005. Auto helmets are designed to take more G (300 G dissipation), and are tested with spikey objects and various blunt objects such as steering wheels and roll bars. SA-2005 helmets are as safe as they get. The SA-2005 tests are exactly the same as FIA 8860, but SNELL does more testing with spikey things and the FIA does not (a 10-foot fall onto a spike is part of the SNELL test. The visor also has to withstand a blast from a shotgun - not sure what they use as ammo though. Probably birdshot).

Personally I wouldn't use a moto helmet. You can get lightweight Sparcos that are just as light and much safer. But the most important thing is fitment. If it doesn't fit very snugly it'll just flop around and do nothing! When you're trying on helmets, pull and push it around in every direction and if there's any slop at all don't buy it. Don't worry if it feels a little too tight at first - the more you wear it the more the liner will conform to your head and get that ultimate fit.

I had my eyes set on an HJC carbon fiber job, but it fit me so poorly I got the Bell GP2 instead.

 

[ALXBWSCREW]

I knew Jim Russel was cheap but not that cheap! Gezz, now I really wish I could live in the states. Just one race back in Romania will cost me about 2000Euros (with a rented kart) and that is pretty dang much if you ask me. Do it yourself, a whole season will get you way over the 10.000Euros mark. And it will be a do-it-yourself season because we have no such competition as Jim Russel. You're lucky it's so simple for you, just show up with the cash and gear and race, I have to save up to earn myself even a race, after that god knows what I will do as my parents have nowhere near enough money to keep me up there for the rest of the season so everyting has to be earned hard for me and that's straining after a while. That's why I made this thread well over a year before I actually get into some competition, I can't afford enything to go wrong I must be spotless. The thing that I have to do know is blance the cash spent on training in Germany with the race karts with the aprox 1500 Euros I have to save up (including gear), money witch will buy me the race back in Romania.

About the helmet: I want to buy one with the SA-2005 the main problem is money but I found a Bell Sport at 260 bucks so that's what I'll end up with I think. I cannot go there with a motorbike helmet because the Romanian Karting Championship runs after the FIA rules (I think). I'd love to get myself one of those lightweight sparcos believe me. So to recap weight is not a problem (I'll just train my neck harder) it's safety. For the first time ever I felt a bit insecure in that kart so investing in something to protect your head is wise.

P.S.: "You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to MadCat360 again"