Sacrificing One Corner to Gain in the Next

Some corners cannot be driven on their own. A chicane, an S-bend, or two corners close together form a sequence, and the fastest way through a sequence is often not the fastest way through its first corner.

Why this happens

Where you exit corner one decides where you can enter corner two. Take the best possible line through the first corner and you may arrive at the second one on the wrong side of the track, at the wrong angle, too fast to take a good line.

Giving up a little in the first corner to arrive correctly at the second can be worth more than everything you gave up — especially when the second corner leads onto a straight.

How to work out the compromise

Start from the end. Ask: which corner in this sequence leads onto the most road? That is the one to optimise. Then work backwards and set up everything before it to serve that corner.

In a two-corner sequence ending on a straight, that usually means:

• •taking the first corner slightly slower and slightly wider than feels natural;
• •positioning the kart so you can turn into the second corner properly;
• •getting on the power early out of the second one.

What it feels like

Wrong. Deliberately giving up speed in a corner feels like a mistake while you are doing it, which is why most drivers do not try it. You have to trust the stopwatch over the sensation.

How to test it

Drive the sequence your normal way for a few laps and note the time. Then drive it with a deliberately compromised first corner for a few laps and compare. Change nothing else on the lap, so the difference is attributable.

Sometimes your instinct was already right and the compromise costs time. That is a useful result too — now you know, instead of wondering.

A note of caution

This only works if the rest of your lap is consistent. If your times swing around anyway, you will not be able to read the result. See How to Build a Consistent Lap first.