Go Karting Gothenburg

driving tips

Gokart driving technique

The driving techniques we write about are not the only or always the best for every situation/turn. Som have their own preferences but what we bring up is a good foundation to know.

The Gokart

The right pedal is the throttle and the left pedal is  the brake.

The seatbelt can be found behind your right shoulder and should always be on.

Seat adjustment is behind the steering wheel, never sit with straight legs.

The steering wheel has a display that shows position and lap times (latest and best). Below the screen there are two buttons, the blue one (on the left) is the reverse button. To reverse the kart, hold down the blue button and accelerate, release the button to go forward again. On the right side (green button) you have the start button.

Basic driving tips

  • Take the turn far out

    Take the turn far out, if it's a 180 degree left turn you should be as far to right as possible before entering the turn and then cut the apex.

  • Keep your hands still

    Avoid moving your hands when turning/driving. Find a good grip (9, 3) thumbs pointing upwards and hold them there the entire race, this is to prevent irregular laptimes.

  • Use the gas pedal to steer

    Drifting is not wiggling your steering wheel back and forth a billion times in a second. You steer the way you want to go (accelerate or break to turn the kart faster) then steer the opposit way and accelerate more or less depending on how much you want to turn the kart. Only use small movements when adjusting with the steering wheel.

  • Inte full gas

    Det går med andra ord inte att hålla nere gasen fullt runt hela banan. Att bromsa och vara lugn på gasen i utfarterna är bland det viktigaste för att få bra tider så försök behålla lugnet.

To win

How do you do to win the race?
Follow the driving tips we have here and take it easy at first. Feel the surface and get a grip on the techniques the first few laps, then gradually increase the speed until you are on the verge of losing the grip. You lose more by losing control and spinning or ending up completely wrong in terms of race line, be on the safe side.

Experience plays a role in how well you drive / how fast you get into it. BUT … It is not a decisive factor with us, the surface and driving technique differ so much from ordinary gokart tracks, that those with experience does not have the advantage they would normally have had.

Get good at the shikane (S-turn before the straight), if you have difficulty passing someone take advantage of the blue flag by lying close to the kart in front after the shikan / beginning of the straight.

Anyone can just floor the throttle in a straight line, the difference between a normal and a professional driver is how to take the turns and the limits of the kart.

Extra driving tips

  • Place the kart in drift

    Put the kart in drift a bit before the turn, that way you will cut the apex better and ultimately save you precious time.

  • Lean outwards

    Lean your upper body outwards in the turns to gain more control or just relax your upper body and it will come natural. Don't overdo it.

  • Seat jumping

    - Some people seat jump, esecially on the straights to make them "temporarily weightless". We are still debating whether this actually improve the lap times or not...

Scroll to Top