ProKart Indoor-Blaine January 6th

[StevenMosley]

My brother went nuts and rented the Blaine ProKart Indoor track for an hour
on Sunday, January 5th from 11am-noon.

We will be doing a 50 minute race with a grid start. The cost
will be $55 for 12 people and $65 for ten. We plan on having
12. If you are interested or would like to be on stand by in
case someone cancels please call my brother at (651)214-8805.
For those on the list below. Show up around 10:45 and bring
$55 cash and your helmet. You will be paying my brother so
don't go to the counter.

Here is the list, if you have any questions call my brother.
1. Steven Mosley
2. Chris Mosley
3. John Boos
4. Mike S. (Mustang Mike)
5. Rick Mosley
6. Mark Konrad
7. Keith Beumer
8. Tim (Keith's friend)
9. Salah Khuhro
10. Chuck Bower
11. Chuck's Friend
12. Open

[StevenMosley]

Here is a quick update for everyone involved or that is interested.

We have filled all of the spots and the 12th spot
was taken by Dave Morton. If your name is on the
list and you can't make it please call by Saturday
afternoon to cancel so we can try and find a
replacement. If you would like to be a replacement
please reply here with your name and phone number.
I will call you if we have a cancelation. If you need to
call please use (651)214-8805.

Otherwise we will see you at around 10:45am this
Sunday January 5th, 2003 at the Blaine ProKart Indoor
located at the link below.
Map and Address of Blaine Location (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?country=US&addtohistory=&address=1 201++97TH+AVE+NE&city=Blaine&state=MN& zipcode=55434&homesubmit=Get+Map)

[chuck b]

For those that haven't been carting before, I hope you've been working out because driving these are physically intense (and mentally too). Little 8 minute stints and I'm ready for a break, so I'm curious to see how difficult it will be to peel my fingers off the wheel after the longer ~30 minute race.

[chuck b]

Hey anybody- do you think carting experience improves your Autocross skills? Explain....

[phile]

>Hey anybody- do you think carting experience improves your Autocross skills?

Not a lot. One reason is that autocrossing rewards driving the right line. Racing rewards driving the wrong line.

What I mean by this is that if you drive the right line for the best lap time, the guy behind you is going to get inside you. I put together my fastest laps at this indoor kart ("carts"are used at grocery stores) track when I was sure there was nobody behind me within striking distance.

In the sense that seat time is always good practice for car control, a half-hour of seat time in an unrestricted environment (no pedestrians or traffic cops) is a good thing. But the vehicle dynamics of a kart are vastly different from a those of an automobile (even a Lotus!).

Try not to throw the kart around, as these karts don't respond well to it. High slip angles will cause the kart to slow down, and you don't have the power to overcome that. Choose lines that let you maintain speed, but be mindful that these lines will be the ones that leave you vulnerable to being passed.

If your goal is to place well in the kart races, you will need to defend your position. If your goal is to learn how to drive fast lines for autocross, be reconciled to the reality that you will get passed a lot. And every one of those passes is going to ruin your line for that corner. You may have nobody behind you to practice the next corner, though.

All of this is not to denigrate the experience at ProKart. It's a lot of fun. Wear a neck brace, as the G-forces are for real, and the occasional hit on the curb/wall will also get your attention.

Phil Ethier

[StevenMosley]

Kart Racing is a different animal, but fun as heck.

I'm dead meat on Sunday. I have been sick for
the last week and I can't shake the cold I have. It
is going to be tough on Sunday, but I'm doing it no
matter how bad I feel.

:)

[aansorge]

Who were the quickest guys?

adam

[chuck b]

John Boos was quickest from what I could tell- pretty good since there were some lightweights in the group, myself included. He's got experience plus skills plus "tricks".

But I'd say we were all pretty damn good.

It is difficult to do a full assessment since the carts vary considerably. The runs were setup really well. There was an initial qualifying run which determined start order for the first "real" race. People were basically put into random carts at this point. Then we ran with that cart for two races. Then the last main event, we were again reshuffled. We put the fastest guys in the slowest carts. Not a perfect system but pretty good.

I compared my times to others that drove the carts I had. In my last "fast" cart, I had my best times, which were the best by anyone in that cart. In my second pig cart, I had my slowest times, and it was the slowest of anyone who drove it. What does this mean? Some people are better at making the most with pigs, while others do well with finely honed and tuned craftsmanship karts. I'm not sure why this is.

Very fun overall. Less battling for position than I had expected, as most of the shakeup occurs in the first few laps.

[SalahK]

I was the only driver who drove the SAME Kart in all three races. However, my times also dropped with each succesive race. I think there were three main factors that led to the decreased times.

1.
This was my first outing at this track so I was learning the track with each lap.
2.
This was the first time I have driven a 6.5 bhp kart like this in over 2 years. I had run these Karts in Bloominton a couple of times back in 2001 when ProKartIndoor first opened. So I was learning HOW to drive these karts.
The technique is VERY different from a car. In fact, a 17 bhp Kart I had driven last year was also very different from this kart.
3.
The track seemed to stick better as more rubber was laid down and the track got warmer.

One thing is for sure. It dosen't help to weigh 190 lbs on a little kart :D

[SalahK]

oops, wrong thread.

[Bill Owen]

He's got experience plus skills plus "tricks".

What sorts of tricks?