Have you ever noticed when talking to such a naturally fast driver that makes it look so easy when he’s driving, that when he’s driving, he’s telling you that he’s just doing it subconsciously, and it doesn’t even know what he’s doing. He’s just like becoming one with a kart, and it’s almost like the kart is driving on his own. So this is what I really describe as the feeling of becoming one with your kart. And that is something that many, many, many great racing drivers have explained, for example, like Ayrton Senna, he says that he kind of enters a state of like a tunnel, like when he was racing in Monaco and he was, like, about to lap Prost in the McLaren driving like one second quicker than than him and everybody else on track, he entered a magical state, almost like you had tunnel vision. He would just like car was driving on his own and and he would, he would really become one. And that’s what I as I believe is, is the number one indicator that you are just on another level, and if you can reach that, if you can get to that point, well, you unstoppable, my friend and I really wish you to to get to that point as soon as possible. So in this guide, I’ll answer to some of the most frequently asked questions about what becoming one actually mean. You’ll see that when you get close to this feeling, or when you get the chance and the luck to get to this feeling, you are gonna feel it, and you’re gonna be like, Oh, Alessio was right. It’s such a magical state.

So what does becoming one with the kart actually means?

Becoming one actually means that you are not noticing the difference between where your body ends and your kart begins. It’s literally like that. It’s almost like your back is glued to the seat. Your hands are glued to the steering wheel, your feet are glued to the pedals, which are glued to the frame, which is glued to the track. It’s almost like everything is falling into a perfectly synchronized machine that you are driving. But it’s almost like, I mean, it’s an extension of your body, and I really mean it, and for example, like I feel it mostly with, for example, the seat, the rib protector and my suit. For example, I noticed that when I feel really locked in in my kart, I feel like my my chest, my back and my rib cage is all becoming one with the seat and the rib protector. And I really cannot tell where, where one begins and one ends. So that’s really the magical feeling of drawing and becoming one with the kart, basically. And whenever you have that, it’s going to be special. It’s almost like if the you know the tennis player is, is not noticing where the the hand is ending and where the racket is beginning. It’s a bit like that. And I feel it’s it’s something that you’re lucky and privileged to to achieve only when you have a lot of experience, only when you have, you know, spent so many hours and days and races driving. And obviously it’s something that the beginners cannot really achieve. It takes massive amount of time and persistence, but when it happens, it’s just magical.

How do drivers develop a natural feel for the car?

Like, what do they need to do to get to this state of becoming one? And you know, well, to be honest, I don’t have a single recipe for that. I would be a fool to sell you a single tip on how to become one with your kart. I think it’s something that happens almost automatically after you spend enough days driving your kart. I mean, obviously it’s directly correlated. The more laps you do, the more races you do, the more aligned you are with your kart. But another way I would suggest you to accelerate this process, of course, is to make sure that your kart feels great. I mean, feels also comfortable. Everything feels great to you in in a way that, for example, like when you are doing the seat feet, you want to make sure that nothing is annoying you on the seat. Or, like when you’re doing the steering position, you want to make sure that your steering is falling exactly where you want to be, where you would hand your hands naturally, you know as well as your pedals, like you want to make sure that your pedals are exactly where you want them to be. And so if you, for example, drive for the first time the kart of a stranger, it’s impossible to become one without kart. I mean, I think even if you’re maxed up and like, you can become one with something that you have been used to. It, you know, it’s it’s almost like with a person you know, you cannot get familiar. Mean, you cannot have the full intimacy right away. You need to experience a lot of time before becoming intimate. So I think it’s like a bit of an intimate feeling between you and your kart that you have to develop and and, yeah, I mean, it just takes a huge amount of time together with it. I mean.

Make sure that your kart feels very, very familiar to you

And of course, if you have a great in a way, let’s say relationship, so that you have total comfort when you are in the kart, as well as it just does whatever you want. For example, like, if you’re driving a car that is uncomfortable in a way, that’s the seat is too large, or the seat is too tight, or the steering is too far, the steering is too close, the pedals are too far, the pedals are too close, or, you know, something is just not right. It’s going to be hard to to immerse yourself and connect to your kart. The same thing also goes with the kart balance. If you are happy and enjoy driving a car which is slightly over steering that has good rotation. Then anytime the kart is going to be under steering, so the kart is not going to turn, then it’s going to be hard for you to drive to your maximum and immerse yourself in that car. It’s because it’s just going to feel something foreign to you is something very strange to use, like you’re not going to be used to that. That’s why, for example, UCF one drivers that are used to driving a very fast car, like, for example, Hamiltonian Mercedes, has been so dominant for all those years. But then, for example, there the regulations change, and you have to adapt, and you’re not one with the car anymore, and you can see he’s struggling like he did in the last few years. And then, of course, sometimes when when a driver, not only the regulations change, but they change teams altogether. They’re a new environment, and so they struggle to immerse themselves and become intimate with that car or with a team. Because, yeah, it just takes time. Just takes a lot of hours and and as I said before, as if, as if it was with a relationship, it just you cannot expect that to happen and develop overnight, that sort of intimacy.

The kart balance has to match your driving style

So yeah, the major advice I got for you is to

make sure that your kart feels very, very familiar to you in a way that is very comfortable, but not that you’re like sitting on a sofa and then you kind of fall asleep. No, it’s not that. I’m saying it has to be a fast kart, and so a fast car has to be kind of stiff, etc, but you need to feel that you have no pain or nothing is annoying you, etc, etc. So it’s very important. And at the same time, the car’s balance has to be on point with your with your driving style. Of course, it I mean, ideally, your driving style is the optimal driving style, for example. I mean, even though there’s no such a thing as an optimal driving style, I believe that a slightly over theory driving style is always a bit better than slightly understeering on the driving style, it’s always been like that. You know, when anytime you have a car that is under steering, you’re not basically going forward, but you’re going, like, sideways and and, yeah, just overall, it’s lower to drive an understeer a car most of the karts and cars that you’re going to drive. So that’s why I normally, I mean, recommend drivers to get used to driving a slightly over steering car. But that’s, I mean, topping for another day. What I’m saying is that okay, once you find the kart balance that you want, then ideally you need to chase that. Of course, you cannot expect your mechanic and your team to get the perfect balance every session. I mean, even if you get the perfect balance in one session, the next session, the car, the track is going to change. So you cannot blame your mechanic for doing something. I mean, it’s just the track that changed. So you cannot blame the track for changing. You know, the track is going to change, and so you just have to adapt to that. And there’s not much you you can ask anybody else at some point you need to kind of adapt. But of course, you can anticipate sometimes the changes, and the driver needs to help that. But, I mean, that’s again topic for another day.

Try to become one with the kart

But the whole point is that, yeah, you want to try to immerse yourself and try to become one with the car, try to become that intimate relationship, try to spend an extra hour or two every race, to try to really even like nailing the seat position, nailing everything like, you know, you may, you may want to change the kart balance. Okay, that’s again, becoming one like I noticed when, when I can do everything without that I want with the kart, then it’s almost like the kart is driving on his own. And again, that goes on hand with becoming one with the kart. And I couldn’t do that. I mean, if I had never spent the time to really work with my mechanic and trying to get the optimal setup, I probably would have never become one with the kart. So it’s the same, I guess, with their phone drivers. When you feel like, oh, they are cooking, you know, they’re at the front of the of the field, and they’re like, pulling away off a second lap we have seen race. La. That with pure domination. And you could see the drivers you know are pushing and almost like their their team managers are like, asking them to slow down, but they feel like the car is just driving on his own, because they just feel so comfortable and confident. So those are the moments where you feel like, okay, I became one with with my kart, and so that’s, that’s the goal, and that’s the feeling that you want to chase.

You cannot expect, on your first day on track, to be one with the kart

And I feel that this guy can, can help you for that. I mean, remember, try to, of course, spend a lot of time on the kart. I mean, you cannot expect, on your first day on track to to be, to be one with the kart. Then, of course, you want to make sure that you’re fully comfortable in the car, and there’s nothing that’s pissing you off or annoying you and takes away your focus when you’re driving. And then third, I would say that the car balance has to match your driving style, which ideally you have a fast driving style, but yeah, once you have all of these things, you will see that is going to be just a matter of time where you are going to become one with the kart, and you know when you’re going to be coming along with the kart, you’re probably going to be cooking at the front of the grid with pole positions and race wins, setting purple laps after purple laps. I am constantly believing that. So yeah, I mean, just give that a try. Next time you get on the track, try to spend extra time on your seat position, as well as your car balance. And you’ll see that once you do those things only, it’s just going to be quicker, but you are going to probably immerse yourself, and you’re going to feel what I explained to you, which is basically that you’re not noticing where your body ends and where the kart begins. So and that’s a very special feeling. Honestly, it’s like amazing. You will see it’s just priceless.

I hope this guide was helpful

So, yeah, I mean, I hope this guide was helpful. If you want more practical tips on how to find your lap time, you can join my six months training program. It is basically a exclusive membership with 600 plus pre recorded lessons, with all of my 20 plus years of experience in the karting world. But it’s only for a few drivers that I limit this because I want to make sure it’s, uh, it’s quite exclusive, so you can check from the link below whether there’s still availability. And besides that, remember that if you want some remote onboard coaching video analysis, you can sign up to my other service where I can provide a onboard video analysis for you, so that you can find laptop right away with my tips. So I hope that with enough experienc”mote onboard coaching video analysis, you can sign up to my other service where I can provide a onboard video analysis for you, so that you can find laptop right away with my tips. So I hope that with enough experience