What to Learn During Your Out-Lap

You will not set your best time on lap one, so use it for something else: finding out what you have been given.

Check the brakes first

Somewhere safe and straight, press the brake pedal properly. You are looking for:

• •Where it bites. Early or late in the pedal travel?
• •How much it slows you. Strong or soft?
• •Whether it pulls. If the kart moves sideways under braking, the brakes are uneven — worth knowing before you brake hard into a corner.

Do this early. Discovering weak brakes at the end of the longest straight is a bad way to find out.

Check the steering

• •Free play. How much movement is there before the kart responds?
• •Weight. Heavy or light?
• •Straight ahead. Is the wheel centred when the kart is going straight? Many are slightly off. Note where centre actually is so you are not misreading your own inputs all session.

Check the power

Squeeze the throttle fully on a straight and pay attention to how the kart responds. Petrol karts differ in how quickly they pick up. Electric karts deliver torque immediately, which mostly matters on the way out of corners.

Check the grip

Tyres and track are both colder on lap one than they will be later. Do not assume the grip you feel at the start is what you will have in three laps' time — but do notice whether this kart feels planted or loose relative to what you expect.

Also worth noting

• •Seat and pedal position. If the venue allows any adjustment, sort it now, not later.
• •Anything that feels wrong in a way that is not just different — a noise, a vibration, a pull, a pedal that does not come back. Tell the marshals rather than driving round it.

Then get on with it

An out-lap is for information, not caution for its own sake. Once you know the brakes, the steering and the power, start building speed. You are not being careful — you are being prepared.