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Credits to Dan Farley for providing most of this info - Especially the Driving Tips. Editted by Rob Orlowsky.

• Get to the track by 4.30pm to sign in, sort out money, choose kart etc…
• 5pm Driver briefing followed by a 20 min practice session
• Qualifying hot lap (each team picks 1 driver)
• 6pm - 10pm Race

It is at the Wanneroo International Kart Track, which is the turn off as you go to Wannaroo Race track.
Click here for the google map

Be aware that the satellite image is correct, the maps are not: Pinjar road is blocked between wannaroo road and the track. Take Joondalup drive to Pinjar Rd.

Enclosed shoes are a must. Race suits and helmets are provided though you may bring your own if you like. Helmets must be full faced enclosed helmets.

Have a read of the official page, especially the lower section “The Race Deal”:
http://www.wannerookarthire.com.au/endurance_racing.php

Rain, Hail or a clear night, the race will go ahead…. Make sure you have a change of clothes, and some warm options. If you are a Motorcyclist, feel free to bring your wet whether gear if the forecast is rain, particularly the pants (and perhaps your riding jacket).

If you are a Motorcyclist and want to use your own helmet, remember this is a night race, do not forget to change to your clear visor.

At time of writing, Dan Orlowsky is organising one team, Rob Orlowsky is organising two teams, Lance is organizing a team of 6 i believe, and Dan Farley is Organising 3 teams. Here is a live view of where we are at with team organisation:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tdx7zavFXF3auPtJQl8HPpg&output=html
Keep in mind that this is just for the purposes of getting numbers really, we can organise who is in what team on the night if you like.

I'll (Rob) be bringing a portable BBQ, if anyone wants to throw some meat on. Be aware that there are drinks to buy there but not a whole lot else. I recommend you bring some snags and buns or something!

Each team will need to have someone take responsibility for their kart, this means a credit card kept in the til of the office during the race (of course the driver is still responsible for the kart when they are in it). There is usually a bit of bump in the races and the karts are fairly hardy. They will not ping you for a scratch on the side pod or nose cone, but you do have to be mindful of the kart. Not only can you bend steering and break pods if you crash. The way you drive can cause damage to other parts like clutches, brake disks, chains, accelerator cables, flat tyres etc. which you might find yourself paying for. If you listen in at the start, you generally won't have a problem.

In saying that, if you take care your biggest concern is someone else hitting you. It's reasonably rare that anything would need to be paid for to be fixed or repaired. Some times things just wear out and Wanneroo Kart Hire takes responsibility for it then. As an extreme example, on a previous race, one of the teams had an engine replaced mid race cause it blew a valve. (They still got 2nd place in that race)

Along with taking responsibly for the kart, you will need to sort your team out. All of your teams will have 4 drivers. You will need to agree on your strategy for your pit stops, driver changes and who will drive when. Its a good idea to make your strategy flexible. As an example, in a previous race, one of the teams was rear ended about 10 laps before they had planed to have a fuel stop in the driver's first driving stint. Fuel stops are a compulsory stop every hour and you are held in the pits for a whole 2mins which is way more than you need to fill up fuel. He pulled in to have the axle fixed. They were in the pits for about 6 mins, but treated it like a fuel stop. Changed drivers and added more time to his 2nd turn behind the wheel.

Most things are pretty self explanatory. But the biggest thing is how the pit stops work. The race is split up into 4 hour blocks, you must stop once with in each hour long window for a fuel stop. As soon as the driver tells the track staff you are in for a fuel stop they start a timer for 2 mins. The driver then gets out and the staff will lube the chains and add fuel to the kart. There is no rushing here. The driver who is get back in the kart is handed the fuel cap to put back on the kart. They get into the kart then put the fuel cap on while waiting for one of the staff member to release the kart. Pit rules only allow 2 karts in the FUEL STOP area at one time. If there are the 3rd karts in the fuel/service area, the 3rd kart will have to wait until the 1st kart is released to begin it's 2 min stop. Driver changes are not compulsory, but are recommended. There is a separate area in the pits for stops that are purely driver changes. There are no limits on the number of karts doing driver changes.

On the track overview above, the pit area is marked with a yellow line. Reckless or racing into or through the pits will see you called through for a drive through penalty. There is a section marked orange that has a radar controlled speed limit of 15kmh. Believe me that is really really really slow. If you go over this speed you will have to do a drive through.

Race starts are LeMan's starts. Each team has a runner and a driver. When the race starts the runner will race from the start/finish line to the karts which are in the order of where they qualified In their hot lap. The rules of starting with the helmets on or off keeps changing at the moment, but the runner will either hand the driver their helmet or tap them on the head. If a kart comes off or breaks the pit lane speed limit on the hot lap their runner will have to run to the start of the main straight to their waiting driver.

Each team is given a plate with their kart number on it. When it is time to pull your kart in, one team member will go and display the number to the kart on its next lap. After seeing the number the driver will do another lap and as they leave the last corner before the pits head to the high side of the track raising one hand in the air to alert other drivers they are pulling into the pits.

If a kart comes off the track at any time during the race it must immediately some in for a chain lube. This is because when a kart comes off dirt and sand goes into the chains. If the pits are busy, you may have to wait for them to do this, but you will not be held for 2 mins like a fuel stop.

Getting in and out of the Kart. It may sound simple, but all the brake and accelerator linkages are on the floor pan of the kart. It is easy to stand on them and break them, most commonly this will result in one engine not getting full throttle, to the tune of 2-3 seconds a lap. At the start of the night staff will demonstrate the correct way to enter and leave the kart.

Accelerator OR Brake, both at the same time will cook the brakes and wear out the clutches. A kart with no brakes isn't so bad, until there is an accident to avoid, then it equals damage.

Don't drop a wheel of the edge of the track. These karts are rather low, a wheel off the track will drop on side of the kart by 2-3cms. This mean that the brake disk and/or the final chain sprocket will drag on the bitumen. Along with that tyres can be taken of their rims this way.

Last, if you spin out, sitting in middle of a corner is not generally a good idea. But before planting your foot, have a look for other karts coming through the corner, most drivers will have seen you, but you are the one facing the wrong way don't expect drivers on the race line to give way to you or even slow down. (in saying that, take great care passing backwards karts).

It can't be said enough, “To finish first, you must first finish”. Almost every single previous race there have been teams with drivers that seam to be doing faster lap times than other teams. But at the end of the day they are beaten by a solid 30-40 laps.

As mentioned before, if you go off the track you must come in for a chain lube. The time that is lost when a kart spins out then has to come for a chain lube is a min of 60 seconds. A good lap time is around 59 seconds, so really you loose a whole lap. If you are in the kart for 30 minutes at a time, that means you may as well just gone a whole 2 seconds slower per lap and not spun off.

Clean racing is key to being competitive. If someone is trying to pass you, don't get caught up in trying to defend them. Most times someone passes it isn't for position. As mensioned above, there have been in the past teams of faster drivers that seam to be 20-30 laps behind other teams because they keep crashing. Let someone else have a crash with them.

It sounds incredibly simple, but a corner has 3 stages, braking, turning, accelerating. These Karts only have rear brakes, so steering at the same time as braking there is a tendency that the rear wheels will loose traction and over take the front ones. This is often followed by a kart going backwards into the sand. Heavy braking will unsettle any vehicle, try to wait for it to settle before turning in. Easing on to the throttle coming out of a corner is a lot more forgiving, but still can be a hazard.

Very obvious, best way to pass is to get on the inside of the kart (you are on the right hand side of the Kart you want to pass on a right hand corner) before the next corner. If you get far enough up the inside, the driver will give way. If they dont give way, chances are they will end up in the dirt, and you wont loose any time worth mentioning.

The way to get on the inside of the kart in front of you is to exit the previous corner faster than the kart in front. That you will have to work out your own racing lines for etc… The other way to pass is if someone makes a mistake, either spinning out or braking to early or late.

The most common mistake here is getting as close to the next kart as possible. If you are really close to the kart in front of you the chances of passing actually goes down. The key to passing is to exit the previous corner faster than the kart in front. This really means you have to catch up to them through the corner. If you enter a corner really close to the kart in front, if he starts braking where you normally would, you will have to start braking before that point in order not to hit him, this means you will be slower for the rest of the corner.

The other side of being to close is if the driver in front of does make a mistake you need enough room to avoid them and go around them in order to take advantage of the mistake.

While you are in the kart, if you are thinking about the spin you had last lap, chances are you are about to have another one. The same can be said for if you know another driver is behind you and are thinking about them passing you. All you can do is think about the corners coming up, last lap is over, think about it after the race. If someone is trying to pass you, the best way to stop it is to be as fast as you can be, that means thinking about where you are going, not what is behind you.

Don't lean into corners. You want as much weight on the outside wheels as possible so they dig in. Some times you will see karts go around a corner with an inside wheel in the air. Be assured: it's almost impossible to roll unless you hit something sideways very hard (very fast).

Cold tyres are a factor for the first 10 laps or so. If you are the first driver in or have an extended pit stop, don't expect the kart to preform how it did in practice.

If the race is wet or damp, note these karts are on slicks…… If you hit a puddle or wet patch at speed you will loose steering, acceleration and braking for a while. You may need to adjust your racing line to be going straight when you hit a puddle, in order to gain your steering before the next corner.

Most important tip of all….
HAVE FUN….. there will be more races if you want to come again.