Karting Malaysia - Shah Alam Kart Track Driving Guide

Shah Alam Kart Track Driving Guide:

This driving guide is intended for karters new to the sport that may have driven on the track a few times or haven't even been there once. The guide is written with the 100cc rental karts/125cc race karts in mind because that is what I have experience with at the track, but all the driving lines apply to pretty much any kart, including any 4-stroke fun karts. If you're a newbie to the sport check out the Kart Driving Tips for the Beginner first.

Track Characteristics:

Originally the track was also used as a parking lot for the Shah-Alam stadium, and had the kart track outline simply painted onto the carpark. Since then changes have been made including repaving the track and adding grass infield areas and runoffs and proper curbing. Being built on a car park the track has almost no elevation changes. Water drainage is not very good, and the asphalt doesn't seem to suck in any of the water on parts so certain corners might remain wet for hours after the rain has stopped, while other parts dry very fast. The track has two long straights, and its layout provides drivers with many places to overtake.

Track Layout:

Click the track layout picture to bring up a larger version of the image that you can use to follow along as you read. The line drawn into the layout is an "ideal" racing line with the colors representing when you should be on the throttle, on the brakes, or maybe just lifting off a little. Remember that the line isn't 100% accurate, and is just used to illustrate the approximate ideal racing line. Also note that the corner numbers here might not be the same as the "official" corner numbers, but are labeled in a way to simplify this guide.

Turn 1:

Turn one is more of a kink in the start/finish straight than a proper turn that you have to worry about. It is flat-out in any kart, including a 125cc shifter kart. The aim is the go through the turn with as little steering input as possible, getting very close to the inside of the track (avoid the curb) at the apex and then pointing the kart in the proper direction in a straight line to brake into turn two.

Turn 2:

Turn two starts before the end of turn one because you have to line yourself up for the braking area half-way through turn one. The braking area is not like a standard braking area where you approach the corner parallel to the side of the track - you will be braking as you go towards the outside of the track. The object is to have the steering wheel as straight as possible as you brake, because otherwise the rear will come around you and result in oversteer. You then get off the brakes and get back on the throttle very early. The corner looks like a very slow hairpin but you can get on the gas so early it ends up being a surprisingly fast corner. On the exit you're looking to use a lot of the track almost all the way up to the curbing on the outside, and then start to go towards the right side of the track in preparation for Turn 3.

Advanced: this is one corner where a tiny bit of oversteer on entry after turn-in works to bring the kart around faster - it almost happens automatically if you stay hard on the brakes and then when you come off the brakes and turn-in the kart steers itself around the corner. You should feel the kart just start to rotate around which is when you get on the gas and power out smoothly. When you get it right you've experienced cornering nirvana.

Overtaking into Turn 2 is possible but quite risky if you are still behind through T1 because the leading kart turns in quite fast and the braking area isn't straight or very long. Most overtaking here is done if you're already alongside coming down the straight before T1.

Turn 3-4-5:

This turn 3-4-5 chicane is very challenging and no one line is necessarily the fastest or best one. Generally you are looking at going to the right side of the track before entry and in most karts you will have to lift a little as you turn into the corner, if for no other reason than to move a bit of weight over the front tyres so you don't understeer through the corner. You then look to get very close to the curb without touching it, and your aim is to straight-line the chicane as much as possible while still setting yourself up for the last left-turn (T5) to have a high exit speed. You want to avoid the second curb at all costs because it'll send you in the air and ruin your line into the final part of the chicane. Also try to turn right a little bit just before stepping on the brakes to slow yourself down for the last part of the chicane, and then get on the gas again as you turn left and let the kart run wide on the exit, even past the painted track lines.

Advanced: It is possible to use the curb at both 3 and 5, but the benefit is very small and the risks are quite high in either screwing up your line, or having your chain jump off your sprockets. Might be good for a qual run, or good to try a few times just so you know how the kart will handle so that when it happens accidentally you won't be caught out.

Unless the driver ahead of you has made a big mistake it isn't worth trying an overtaking move into the chicane - it's best to try to stay close and wait for an opening later in the lap, possibly even by just getting a better exit out of T5 and getting alongside into T6.

Turn 6:

Turn 6 is usually almost flat out, and many drivers make the mistake of driving through it with their foot on the floor and their tyres sliding around holding on to dear life(and unnecassarily heating up and wearing out). It is usually best to lift off the gas slightly and maybe even get on the brakes a bit if grip levels aren't high, and then wait for the front end to grip properly before getting back on the gas. You will be faster than if you drive through the corner flat with a handful of understeer and you'll also keep your tyres in better shape. In the 80cc rental karts the corner might be taken flat without problems, but already in the 100cc rental karts it's highly likely that a slight lift will be better on the tyres and your laptimes.

Any overtaking move into Turn 6 start a few turns earlier through the chicane where you should try to get a better exit out of T5 then the guy ahead of you, and you might be able to sneak alongside coming into T6. You can also get a better run through T6 to set yourself up for a move into the Turn 7 Hairpin...

Turn 7:

This is a tricky corner as it's very slow and requires hard braking on asphalt that is usually quite dirty on the edge of the track because a puddle usually forms in the braking area and leaves sand/dirt on the track. Because of this it might be best to brake a little bit to the inside of the corner rather than using all of the track on entry. Because turn 8 follows very soon you have to take that corner into account when going through turn 7. Because you'll come up to a slow corner again you can really hammer it into and through turn 7 without concentrating too much on the exit speed. Carry a lot of speed into the corner and use some, but not all of the track on the exit to better prepare yourself for turn 8.

Overtaking into T7 can be done but because it is such a tight corner there is always a bit of danger of crashing, so usually it's best to try only if you got a run on the guy ahead through the previous corner.

Turn 8:

Turn 8 follows turn 7 almost immediately so you have to be quick to get back to the right side of the track after you exit turn 7. Take quite a wide line and aim for a late apex through turn 8 getting on the gas as early as possible. Depending on the kart you are driving and how it is setup the turn might only require a very small lift or quick dab on the brakes. If you can go through it flat then turn 7 has to be taken with a bit more care and focus on getting a good exit.

If you are in karts where braking is required for this corner it makes for a great overtaking place, with low risk as speeds are low and the other driver should see you as you leave your braking later and make your way past.

Turn 9:

In the dry this corner is as simple as it gets - flat out and minimum steering input to minimize drag. On the exit go out wide and stay on the gas and line yourself up for the corner at the end of the straight.

Turn 10:

Turn 10 follows a long straight so you'll be up to speed, but the braking distance is quite short because the corner is a fast one. Your aim is to complete all your braking in a straight line using all the track on the entry and get back on the gas almost at the same time that you turn-in. You want to be careful not to choke (run-wide) and have to put in more steering input on the exit to avoid running wide. Getting this corner right takes a while and the key is to get your turn-in point correct which will then lead you through the rest of the corner. If you get on the gas early but have turned in too much you'll have to adjust and that will cause more problems later in the corner. On the exit you should be able to go out wide just so that you almost touch the outside curb with your rear tyre on exit.

This is a popular overtaking corner but usually you will have had to at least get in the slipstream of the kart ahead and pull up alongside slightly before the braking area to make the move stick.

Turn 11:

You'll set yourself up for turn 11 by going close to the edge of the track on the right side and then you will have to brake while cornering during turn-in, so you should go a little easy on the brakes and concentrate on having the kart flow through the corner and then get back on the gas without running too wide on the exit, because otherwise you'll ruin your turn 12. Get close to the curb but only really use the curb if you have to avoid another driver.

Overtaking into turn 11 is done by getting a good exit out of turn 10 and then jumping down the inside coming into turn 11, and works most of the time, but it's also easy for the other driver not to see you so take care.

Turn 12:

Now as long as you didn't run out too wide in turn 11 you'll be able to take a wide entry into turn 12 and a late turn-in and depending on the kart you are driving a quick dab on the brakes or just a tiny lift should be enough to slow you down and then get on the gas very fast again to power down the long straight.

The time to overtake is by sticking it down the inside during the small moment that the driver ahead has to dab the brakes - if you get beside him on the inside there's not much that the other driver can do, expect get you back down the straight.

More advanced tips:

When driving with the rental karts maybe at a fun race with your friends in the 100cc karts - the start/finish line will actually be where the timing loop is in the middle of turn 10, you can see a cut in the ground where the timing loop passes. In qualifying you can gain a tenth or so by braking far too late for the corner at the end of your fast lap and cutting the timing beam and then running very wide almost into the tyre barrier - this is an advanced tip because it's quite easy to try to gain too much time and run all the way into the tyres and damage yourself and the kart, so be careful if you try this technique. At a sanctioned race meeting the timing system will be setup at the actual start/finish line before turn 1.

Comments:

I hope this track guide proves useful to those going to the track for the first few times or those that have been there a few times but are looking for some more tips, and particularly those that are just getting started in the sport! If you have any questions or comments about the Shah-Alam Kart Track Guide you can write to me using the contact form.

Don't know where the Shah-Alam track is? Check out the Shah-Alam Kart Track Info Page.

Photos on this page are by Peter Lim and Mikko Nassi. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are not to be used in any way without written permission from the photographer.