Holyyyyeeeee Sheep Shift

Thanks to all the great advice I got here and from other friends in prep for my shifter kart class, I had a great time. I never thought I’d be so happy to have a sore neck, arms and back!

First off, these karts are ridiculous. Ludicrous actually. The rate at which they accelerate, turn, change direction, brake, shift and generally hurl you about, is astounding. If you are looking for cheap thrills, forget about building a race car, go rent a shifter kart. They make my M3 feel like a 70’s Cadillac. :eyecrazy

In the first few laps, the kart was driving me. I was like the kid that just discovered candy and was let loose in See’s factory. I was just jamming on the gas, shifting and jamming on the brakes what felt like all at once, just loving the G-forces.

They say you aren’t trying unless you spin,…. well, let’s say I was trying real hard. Especially on my first lap coming down the straight, where I jammed the brakes and immediately found myself facing the direction from whence I came. After I figured out not to the jam the brakes, I graduated to spinning on turn-in. Once I started braking (hard) in a straight line, I started drifting out of every corner,… and of course spinning occasionally. Then once I learned throttle control, I was able to actually practice being smooth.

By the end of the day, I was linking corners and actually going very fast,… which I found to be much more rewarding than a D1 – style corner exits. Passing was allowed only under acceleration and I found myself lapping other drivers,… yeay :)

Here are some pics (vids coming). Let me know if you have any questions.

-R

The Shifter Line-Up
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny005.jpg

The Single Gear Line-Up
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny007.jpg

The Instructor
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny002.jpg

The Kart
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny008.jpg

The View
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny001.jpg

The Life-Saver
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny004.jpg

Me
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny003.jpg

The Instructor
http://www.haag-family.com/karting/panny002.jpg



Tom is the man!

Congrats, you got to drive one of my favorite kart tracks in the country.

If you think the Hondas were fast wait til you step into an ICC someday.. ;)

Sweet!!! Now all you gotta do is sell one of your bimmers, get yourself a shifter kart + older toyota truck, and come meet us over at Blue Max in Davis! ;)

how much

Awesome! Looks like a very nice track to drive on!

Hey, I just happen to have a shifter kart for sale!! You should buy it, it's on the cheap. Oh and it's brand new. See the race for sale section! :)

Sorry for the hijack.

Shifters are a total blast. They are fairly cheap to maintain, provided you invest the time to constantly nut and bolt everything. I'd love to keep my spare chassis, but I have a new motocross bike calling my name.

welcome to the dark side my son.

Tom is the man!

Congrats, you got to drive one of my favorite kart tracks in the country.

If you think the Hondas were fast wait til you step into an ICC someday.. ;)

Will I be meeting you in Oklahoma next weekend? :)

Actually no, Im opting not to do a full season... I'm doing New Castle, Shawano and Moran then using the rest of my resources to do Supernationals and a possibly a champcar atlantic test.

I'm excited to get this karting season started. Those Russell schools look like a LOT of fun, get those vids up if you have them.

Actually no, Im opting not to do a full season... I'm doing New Castle, Shawano and Moran then using the rest of my resources to do Supernationals and a possibly a champcar atlantic test.

Swift cars? They look insane.

Yea as you can see it was a complete blast, and the track is a beautiful facility. I'm glad I got to take advantage of having such a great track so close to me. I realy like the arrive and drive concept, as I was never very talented in wrenching things. I'm not fooled by the comment about karts being cheap,... a friend of mine who reaces (and is competitive) kind of just nodded when I guessed 15k to get started in the sport. Anyway, I'll likely do the advanced course this summer and maybe just do that every once in a while there after.

The vids are OK, and neither are of me, but the first one shows those who are not familiar with karts, how they are started (push by Tony in this case). The second is of the first group of shifters flying by. You can hear the cars accelerating and upshifting down the short straight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9OZYJK_e_Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y63II7PkNZk

looks like fun and a HUGE step up from those 'arrive & drive' karts @ most indoor facilities. ;)

shifter karts are where its at!!! 2 strokes...mmmmm.

Sweet!!! Now all you gotta do is sell one of your bimmers, get yourself a shifter kart + older toyota truck, and come meet us over at Blue Max in Davis! ;)

I need to bike over and watch you guys sometime. I'm afraid I'll catch the bug, though. :help