7 Great Tips On Go-Kart Overtaking (Ultimate Guide)

If you want to get anywhere in go-karting, you’ll need to start considering how best you can move through the pack and employ proper overtaking tactics. Regardless of how far along your racing journey you find yourself, it’s a good idea to learn some of the best go-kart overtaking tips.

Our 7 great tips on go-kart overtaking are:

1. Keep it smooth
2. Know your overtaking spots
3. Use the slipstream
4. Always look ahead
5. Take the long way around
6. Fake them out
7. Brake late (with care)

Below, we’ll go through each of these overtaking tips in more detail so that you can feel more confident about moving through the pack when you’re racing.

7 Great Tips On Go-Kart Overtaking

1. Keep It Smooth

This tip actually relates to overall driver ability and you can use it for fast lap times, as it’s not just useful for overtaking your rivals on the track. When you’re approaching corners on the circuit, a lot of people try to keep their foot flat on the gas and this can result in them having to brake more than required or even spinning out.

Rather than rushing into every corner at break-neck speeds, try to consider your exit and the golden rule of go-karts preferring straight lines. If you keep things smooth and controlled, you’ll have a far easier time getting past people in corners who are otherwise struggling with going too deep or too slowly after over-braking.

The most important part of this tip specifically is powering your kart through the corner in a smooth, controlled way and gradually reducing your steering wheel lock. A lot of people will panic when driving through corners and barely put any power into it, or they’ll be too zealous and apply too much. That’ll be your chance to catch them unaware and cruise past!

2. Know Your Overtaking Spots

The biggest thing that I can never stress enough is that overtaking should only be done when it’s safe. Think of it in the same way as overtaking on freeways in your road car or on your motorcycle. Don’t ever try to make an overtake if there isn’t enough space (remember that the backs of go-karts are wider than the fronts), and definitely don’t try it if you’ll put another driver in danger!

Generally speaking, the best places to overtake your competitors are on the corners/bends of go-kart tracks. This is primarily because these areas are considered to be some of the most difficult sectors to drive without losing time, so if you can balance your braking and throttle just right, you can get past people who’ve gotten a bad entry or exit.

You need to remember that every kart racing series is separated by engine types and driver weight, so the karts will all be as equal as possible without being exact replicas. The corners of a track are the only real place where driver skill can shine through, making them the ideal overtaking spots. But there are different spots of the track that are better than others for overtaking.

Overtaking In Hairpin Corners

These tricky bends can often intimidate drivers into braking early and therefore losing too much speed to get a good exit. This mistake makes it easier for other drivers to react accordingly by braking later, making a pass on the inside or outside (wherever there’s enough room).

Overtaking In Chicanes

If drivers aren’t familiar with chicanes and how to carry as much speed through them as possible, they’ll likely brake far more than they need to. Carry some more speed into chicanes and brake later to get past drivers here with ease!

Overtaking On The Straights

I might have just said that the best places for overtaking is almost always on corners, but there’s an exception to that rule. It’s more difficult to overtake on straight portions of the track because it will rely on your driving ability to get a good exit from corners before you reach the long stretch.

With a good exit, you can perform what’s called a slingshot overtake on a driver ahead of you, by coupling that corner’s exit with the other driver’s slipstream for a speedy, clean pass.

3. Use The Slipstream

Now, if you’re a fan of motorsport, you’ll probably know about the concept of slipstreaming. When a vehicle moves along, whether it be on a kart track or a road or even in a cycling arena, it’ll encounter wind resistance (also known as drag). This drag will slow the vehicle down, even if it’s travelling indoors or somewhere that wind wouldn’t normally be a factor.

While the vehicle is moving through the air, it creates a small vacuum behind it, known as a slipstream. Within this small area, vehicles behind the front-most driver will experience less drag, which basically means they’ll start travelling faster than the person punching a hole through the air in front.

Useful No Matter Where You Are

With this phenomenon, it doesn’t matter if you hit outdoor or indoor kart tracks, as the slipstream method of overtaking will work anywhere. After catching up to the driver in front of you, tuck in behind them. The lack of drag you’ll experience as the other driver punches through the air first will mean you’ll be keeping pace even without full power.

Then, when you’re coming up to a corner or are getting too close to them, punch the gas and pop out from behind the other driver. This will give you that extra burst of speed you need to get past them!

For as useful as this tip is and vital in races, make sure to be aware of what the other driver is doing. They might try to shake you out of the slipstream by weaving across the track, or if things get nasty, they could brake and potentially cause an accident if you’re right on their back bumper.

4. Always Looks Ahead

In go-karting, one of the best tips you can ever be given is to keep looking ahead on the track. Not only will you avoid drivers spinning out or otherwise going a bit crazy if they’re showing off, but you’ll always be ready for the next corner. And therefore, you’ll always be ready for the next overtaking opportunity.

5. Take The Long Way Around

When you’re racing, you might think that taking an outside line to pass another driver is pretty counter-intuitive. After all, you’ve got to cover more ground than diving down the inside, right? In a lot of ways, that’s correct.

But most go-kart tracks don’t feature corners that always go in the same direction (how boring would that be?). So sometimes going around the outside of another driver will put you in a great position for the next corner.

To perform the perfect outside overtaking maneuver, stay close to the side of the kart you want to get past as it moves around the apex of a corner. Then, as both karts start to move towards the next corner, dab the gas pedal and try to out-brake your opponent. Don’t go too fast, or you’ll risk a collision or the other kart will be able to power out of the corner faster than you.

6. Fake Them Out

Dummy plays and moves are visible throughout the world of sport and motorsport, and go-karting is no exception. If you’re looking to overtake somebody, making a fake move can be used to your advantage, especially if the other driver is savvy about driving. They’ll move to cover the place you look like you’re trying to make an overtake on, and that’ll leave space wide open on the other side.

To perform a successful dummy move on your opponent, make the person in front of you think that you’re making a move down either side by steering your kart accordingly. Then, quickly and confidently, go to the other side and power past them.

Of course, you’ll have to watch to see if the other driver takes the bait, and this is easier to pull off if you have a slipstream on them for an extra jump ahead. If the other driver doesn’t move to block, don’t carry on with your overtake attempt. Just wait for another opportunity, as you could risk a collision or a spin if you need to take avoiding action because they didn’t do what you expected them to.

7. Brake Late (With Care)

For all of the risks that come with braking late into a corner, such as locking your wheels or going into the back of a slower driver, it also comes with a whole host of benefits. Late braking is essentially a game of confidence between drivers, where the person who brakes the latest can potentially win out and gain places.

Avoid Braking Too Late

If you brake too late, you run the risk of having to stamp hard on the brakes and turn simultaneously, which can put you into the safety barriers or all the way back in last place. Knowing how late is too late will come with experience, so make sure to put in as many practice laps as possible!

It’s basically pointless to try and out-brake a kart that’s travelling directly in front of you, because you’ll easily win the competition of chicken and promptly plow into the back of the driver in front. This can result in a racing penalty or even get you removed from the race.

The best place to perform a late-braking move is when you’re on the inside of another driver when taking a corner. Not only will this give you a better line of exit, but it’ll also allow you to perform a block pass maneuver on your opponent. By being on their inside, they won’t be able to steer any further and you’ll be cutting them off in an acceptable, racing fashion.

Final Thoughts

Overtaking in a go-kart is part of the racing package, so if you want to get to the front of the pack, you’ll need to learn how to get good at it! If you keep this list of tips handy, you’re bound to improve your overtaking chops on the track in no time.