If you wanna be among the fastest drivers around the PFI karting track, there are a few things you should be aware of.
PFI is one of my favourite tracks to drive and one that takes me back to lots of great memories
Here’s the list of things you should take care:
- Focus on the exit for the back straight
- Be strong on the brakes for T6 and T7
- Clip the kerbs nicely at the chicane
- Carry in speed at T11
- Get the last 2 corners right
#1 Focus on the exit for the back straight
We all pretty much know how important it is to get good exits that take to long straights ahed and it’s nothing different from the exit of T5 here at PF International.
You wanna make sure that you can keep yourself nicely to the left at the exit of T4 so that you’ll be able to have a good wide angle to carry lots of speed into and out of T5 which will make your straight line speed and lap time extremely good.
Also make sure you use all the exit kerb since it will allow you to open up the steering and maximize your acceleration.
Make sure you also get this corner right during the race since it will then allow you to either pull away from who’s behind you or to catch the slipstream of who’s ahead so that you can overtake into T5.
#2 Be strong on the brakes for T6 and T7
The next key area to focus on is the breaking for the two hairpins of turn 6 and turn 7.
You want to attack the brakes as much as possible so that you can slow down your kart in the quickest and most efficient way.
You should really feel your rear tires locking for about one second.
I remember all the time arriving on the limit here back in the days when there was the KF with front brakes so that you could literally brake into the corner…It was such a great feeling! 🙂
Having a strong braking here also allows you to make great overtakes and defenses during the race.
You should really try it and practice the late braking technique over and over again next time since there could even be 1-2 tenths of time difference.
#3 Clip the kerbs nicely at the chicane
If you want to be fast at the chicane of T8 – T9 you’ve got to make sure you maximize the grip by clipping the inside kerbs of both corners.
By doing so you will allow your kart to pick a bit more front grip which will help you turn more without using more steering.
That will be fundamental if you want to be quick and smooth at the same time.
Not only that, but since everyone is doing it you’ll quickly realize that the grip is higher when you brush those apex kerbs, therefore you’ll be able to carry a higher speed AND make less distance which will automatically bring down the lap time.
It’s not an easy thing to do, that’s why you should practice doing it time and time again so that you can be spot on for the race.
Practice makes perfect.
#4 Carry in speed at T11
Turn 11 is that kind of corner where you will feel like you can carry more speed than what you’ve just done.
That’s because the radius of the corner is pretty wide and therefore you should be aiming for a high entry speed and late apex.
Another characteristic of this corner is that you don’t have to run too wide on entry in order to prepare, in fact it tends to be better to stay quite tyde depending on the grip level on track.
You carry in lots of speed and then aim for going back to power while still turning aggressively to the right so that you can position the kart in the best way for the left hander of T12.
#5: Get the last 2 corners right
The last two corners are so challenging.
In fact even pro drivers tend to get them wrong every once in a while.
The reason is because you need to use the apex kerb of T13 which then opens up the exit of T14 if you want to be fast.
It’s not easy and it’s definitely not an overtaking spot, but with practice you too can learn how to master these last two corners.
So again, focus all your efforts on opening up T14 as much as possible and that will be achieved by clipping and holding onto the apex kerb of T13 until you’re then ready to turn in for T14.
The whole reason for doing this is that by opening up the corner on the entry of T14 you will then have the chance of carrying way more apex and exit speed which you will keep on the start/finish straight all the way down to Turn 3.
Wrap up:
Make sure you check out our top 7 go kart tips to make you fast on track and winning races! 😉
So unless you want to finish last at the PFI karting track and get beaten by all your competitors, start to put these go kart tips into practice and make sure you win the next race!
Start training now so when it comes time for a race, you’ll know exactly what to do on the track.