(bright music)
- Hey guys, and welcome back to another
episode on our YouTube channel.
If you do like our channel,
please like and subscribe to the channel
so you don't miss out on any future episodes.
Today we're gonna discuss
is there such thing
as having natural talent
or is it something you can work on over time?
So let's get stuck into it.
So when we look at some drivers
from day one you can just tell,
they can pick up very quickly.
They're hitting their apexes.
They got confidence in their braking zones
and they're quite fast compared
to the other experienced drivers.
And then you look at other end of the spectrum,
and you're looking at some drivers
it takes 'em four, six, eight months
to pick up those basic fundamentals that we need.
So is there a such thing
as some kids can have that natural ability
or is it something that over time
with coaching or watching videos
that you can pick up on?
For me, it took me two years to really become competitive.
That's not to say that I couldn't drive.
It was more that I couldn't put it all together
in the one session.
So whether that might be
that one day I'm hitting the apexes perfectly.
But just two days later
I'm missing apexes by, you know,
a foot or so.
And my dad's like,
"What are you doing out there?"
Now, some of the kids that I coach
with the business that I run,
you see some kids that within the first day
there were maybe only two seconds off the pace.
Now, some of the factors
why that could be the case is now
we've got stickier tires.
So naturally when you have more grip out there
you can have a lot more confidence
and a lot less spins.
Also, when I started back in the 1990s,
we had hydraulic brakes.
So, you'd go into the braking zone.
You'd hit the brake as hard as you can
and it wouldn't really slow down.
So the chances they gonna miss your apex is a lot more
or you're gonna run wide
or you're gonna have a spin when they finally do lock
you're gonna have that little bit of a spin.
So nowadays it's a lot easier to start off in kart racing
with the stickier tires, also a lot wider race tracks.
So again,
some of the tracks that we used to use,
I used to race on back in the 1990s,
and even the early two thousands, you know,
six to eight, you know,
seven and a half, eight meters wide.
Now we're looking at some of the tracks
especially in Europe,
they're eight at a minimum and up to 10 meters wide.
So again, a lot less steering inputs are required
a lot less mistakes that can occur.
So that's why we're seeing a lot of drivers
these days get a lot closer
to the pace in that first month of driving.
Now, what happens
if you're a driver that's taking a little bit longer
to get up to speed.
Now, one of the first areas
is gonna be hitting our racing lines
every single corner.
So we know if we are slightly off the line
we're gonna lose that grip.
And when we don't have the grip
we're gonna be sliding more.
And we can't go around the corners
at the same speed as other drivers.
So the easiest way that we can try
and understand where the racing line is
is to watch other karts.
That gets you a sense
on where to drive straight away.
So once you've got an idea of watching
the more experienced kart races out there,
you can start to visualize
where you're gonna place your kart on the track.
That first time you get into the circuit.
Now the next area where probably the biggest chunk
of time can be won or lost is into the braking zones.
So when you're starting out
you may have experienced some times
where you've hit the brakes a little bit too aggressively,
and you've locked them up and you've spun outta control.
Totally normal mistakes are gonna be made when
you're starting out.
The way that I like to try and explain it
to newcomers is you want to get a sense
of how good those brakes actually work.
So I recommend trying to slam on the brakes
but when there's no one around you
in the middle of the straight,
and at a slower speed.
What that does is it gets you a bit
of a perception on how quick the karts gonna slow down,
and which way is sort of gonna wiggle around as well.
You're gonna hit the brakes.
It's gonna have a little bit of dancing around
in the rear of the kart.
So then as you start to increase your speed
into the braking zones,
and other karts are around you,
you have a bit more of a sense on what's gonna happen
into those braking zones,
but when you're starting out,
and you're nervous to use the brakes,
your roll time is gonna be a lot greater
than what the experience drivers are.
They're gonna hold the gas down for a lot longer
short and sharp on the brakes.
And then back on the accelerator very, very fast.
And that's where their time's gonna be made up.
Now, the third area where some kids can pick up a lot faster
is actually just using the full width of the racetrack.
Now again, when we're starting out
no matter what age we actually are
whether it's six, 10, 20 years of age, you know,
even 35 years of age,
we tend to not use all the racetrack.
Now two factors that can come into mind
are that you don't actually know how wide your kart is
compared to the track.
So you're giving yourself a little bit of allowance.
So if it does go wrong,
you all got that safety blanket to the outside of you.
So that's probably why you don't use
the full width of the track.
The other reason why that occurs is
is because you're not looking far enough around the corner.
So if you start to look where you're gonna be driving
you can start to get a sense
on how much track width there is available to you.
And you start to get the gas nice and early,
and start to use that track.
So start to use some of those key principles
on looking further around the race track,
further ahead of yourself as well,
seeing what you're about to drive into,
and that will help you out as well.
Now, some other kids now who are picking up very fast
is because they're playing racing simulators,
they're playing the Xbox games,
and because those games are becoming
so realistic these days,
it helps out a lot when newcomers are getting
to the kart for the first time.
They can basically try and...
Try and image as if they're basically playing in a game.
So it doesn't have the green line of the racing line,
and, you know, in the braking zones
it doesn't have a red line as well.
They get a sense
because the game is so realistic these days
and it almost feels like you're actually sitting
on the racetrack itself,
that when you jump into a kart for the first time,
it definitely helps starting new drivers out.
Now, the other thing to take into account
is when we're looking for the drivers
who are quicker in the first couple of times on the track
is that they've got a lot less scope to improve.
So if you're already very, very close
to the maximum speed on the track,
you haven't got much more to improve
before you're on the pace,
but when you're a large chunk off
there's gonna be holding the accelerator down for
two or three meters,
or braking a little bit more aggressively
into the braking zones
or using a bit more track width.
So there's a lot more scope for parents, mechanics,
or coaches, or even just spectators who are trying
to give some advice to the local club members out.
A lot more scope of the drivers
who are taking a little bit longer to progress,
you can find a lot more time a lot quicker as well.
And as we know when you're sort of five or six seconds off,
those one second improvements are quite easy to find,
when you get into that last one second,
we're trying to do those one percenters
that little bit better.
We're trying to find one 10th per corner
or even half a 10th per corner
to get that maximum lap time.
So one of the most naturally talented drivers
that we've seen coming through the ranks
is actually a young Australian driver named Oscar Piastri
who's actually flying through the ranks at the moment.
So he started his karting career at age of 10,
and now he's progressed all the way
through European karting,
formula three champion,
formula two champion,
and now a former one reserve driver.
Now, my cousin did a lot of the coaching with Oscar,
and he said from day one
he was the most naturally gifted driver he's seen.
Now, some of the things that helped that was
he had good hand-eye coordination.
He used to actually race remote control cars.
So he had to be switched on because, you know,
controlling a remote control car is very, very fast.
It's sort of fast paced
and hitting the right lines and being smooth.
It's still the same principles
that he can then take into kart racing when he started.
Now, another thing is he started the age of 10
in kart racing.
So a little bit older
than some of the other drivers who've, you know,
since started at five or like myself, or,
you know, seven or eight.
When you're a little bit older,
at 10 you're still a very, very young age
to start kart racing,
and driving a vehicle on a track,
you can understand things a lot better.
So if I'm explaining something to a six year old,
I'm explain something to a 10 year old kid,
you can see the way they pick up things a lot faster
when they're slightly older.
Another driver that I coached
he must've been around 12 years of age,
maybe 13 was Anton De Pasquale.
So again, he's now in the Supercars Championship
racing for the Dick Johnson Racing team,
and he's an exceptional kart racer.
But again, when I'm explaining things
to a 13 year old at the time,
he can grasp it a lot faster.
So it's learning how to explain things to a younger driver
so they can pick up things just as quickly
as what you are to a slightly older driver as well.
So hopefully you guys have got a few tips.
If you are taking a little bit longer
to get up to speed in your kart racing,
that's totally normal.
As I said, it took me a good 18 to 24 months
before I was being competitive
and challenging for podiums.
These days it is a lot easier to get up to speed.
We've got simulators,
we've got videos
and GoPros that you can place onto the karts
to read what you're driving.
Also got sticky tires, better brakes,
and wider race tracks as well.
So these are all key things that are gonna help you
when you're starting out in kart racing.
Remember, ask questions from more experienced racers.
They're gonna be likely to help you out
because they've been in the same position
at some point in their career.
And if you're naturally talent driver,
straight at the gate, congratulations,
it's very, very hard to be in that same position
as what you are in.
And I wish you guys all the best.
If you'd like this episode, please,
click subscribe to our channel,
and also let us know the comments down below
how long you've been kart racing,
and how long it took you to get your first podium as well.
I'm your host, David Sera.
Thanks so much for tuning in,
I look forward to seeing you guys next time.