Karting for six to eight years old. Many Formula One drivers started karting very young. But what can kids realistically learn between six and eight years old? This is a very common question that I receive all the time. And if you want your kid to succeed as a karting driver and perhaps as a professional race car driver, then the period between six to eight years old is a very important one, because that’s when they get started in karting most of the times and what that’s where they craft their skills.
In this guide, I’ll provide answer to some of the most frequently asked questions about this specific topic. So let’s get started.
Is 6 to 8 a good age to start karting?
I think it’s a very good age to start, because the earlier, the better in general. But sometimes when you’re four to five years old, sometimes it can be too early, because kids may not deal very well with the feeling of speed. So I think that feeling of speed may probably develop more at six to seven years old.
So I think as I started at about five and a half to six years old. Can’t remember exactly, but when I started about five and a half years old, I was, I believe, at the optimal time to get started, because it got me a full year of preparation before my first races in baby kart, and that was a great time to learn and to craft my skills.
The problem with kids starting too late is that if you start too late and you’re not compensating for the track time that the kids have managed to accumulate between, like, say, four to five years old when or six to seven eight years old when I started, then of course, you will be lagging behind, and I will always have to play catch up.
What skills can kids realistically develop at that age?
Well, at that age, of course, you are going to learn the basics, fundamentals of racing, which are, for example, the optimal racing lines, the braking technique, as well as, of course, you know apexes, so later apexes, earlier apexes, etc. So of course, I don’t expect the kids to be fully furnished racy drivers at eight years old, but they will be able to learn a lot, especially if they put a lot of effort and time into improving themselves.
How fast are karts for young drivers of that age.
Well, karts can reach up to 100 105, kilometers an hour. That seems quite a lot for kids of that age. And to be honest, maybe yes, but at the end of the day, when you are going flat out on the straights at that speed, you don’t really feel that. Of course, you can also limit the power or the top speed by, you know, changing different adjustments on the engine, for example, like changing the coil to reduce the limitator of the engine from, like, say, 14,000 RPMs, like 13,000 RPMs, or even to 12,000 RPMs. Or even, you could increase the sprocket so the basically the final drive ratio to reduce, basically, top speed.
How long should practice sessions be for these kids?
Each session can be between 10 to 20 minutes, and they can do even up to eight sessions per day. I mean, to be honest, the more they do, the better. Until they find themselves exhausted. You have to push their limits, and if they push their limits, they’re going to get fitter and stronger earlier than if they didn’t.
Should kids race immediately or just train at first.
I feel that kids should just train at first, because there’s no point to go into racing if you have not got the basics right. And it takes time. It takes practice time in a safe environment with no other kids around, with no pressure. So I think it’s quite silly, to be honest, to throw the kids in the arena without the proper practice, which is, to be honest, a pretty common mistake. A lot of parents do so before getting them to race. And anyways, being at the back of the group, try to get them first up to speed. That’s the number one priority.
How important is fun versus competition?
At this stage, I feel that fun should be the major aspect for kids. Of course, if they are not enjoying it, why should they do it? Of course, they need to understand later on that as soon as they move up between eight to 10 and 10 to 12, that’s when things get serious, and you move from just pure fun to actual competition, and that’s where you really want to compete at the highest level. That’s when the stakes start to rise, and that’s where the you know, also financially, it gets tougher. You need to obviously support the kid and in terms of school, so it needs to be kind of worth it, and the pressure starts to kind of raise up, but then the kid still needs to somehow enjoy it, and especially at the beginning, between six to eight years old, that’s the age when they really need to enjoy it as much as possible. We cannot expect them to treat it as a profession at six years old, but yes, when he’s about 10 to 12, he needs to actually start a treaty as a profession. But early on, he needs to enjoy it, because if he’s not enjoying it, it’s not going to perform.
What signs show a child enjoys karting
Well, you can feel that if the kid just wants to do more and more, he just doesn’t want to stop. That’s the case with me, and that was the case with my brother and with many other drivers I’ve seen in the last few years. I mean, when I got started like, I remember my dad telling me that he would say that I just wanted to continue and continue driving and, you know, every day basically, and drive for longer. So yeah, it was very special. But I believe that that’s the most important sign to notice whether the kid actually enjoys it. Of course, he needs to have, you know, a big smile on his face the first few times when he tries it. But at the end of the day, the thing that, really, I believe, tells you whether the kid actually enjoys it is whether he wants to do it again and whether he begs you to do it again. You know.
What are common mistakes parents make with young driver
Parents normally make the typical mistake of, you know, not giving the kids enough track time when they feel like the kids have the passion. So if the kid has the passion, I feel that you should do everything, of course, to kind of give him the chance. Of course, I understand that financially and the time commitments are very, very high, it’s not something that anyone can afford. I understand that. But if their situation allows to support him, then of course, I think that it would be great to support him. Another mistake is, for example, you know, either putting too much pressure on the kids and like trying to get him to perform too early on without remembering that at first he actually just needs to enjoy. And then another mistake is getting the kids to pick up bad habits, possibly by driving very bad karts that have strange behavior, or perhaps even just receiving bad coaching, either from, you know, a random coach that has never been on a go kart, or perhaps by the parents themselves, who also have not been racing drivers. So I feel that that’s another thing. You know, picking up bad habits through bad coaching is one of the biggest mistakes that kids can receive and parents make.
How quickly do kids usually improve at that age?
I feel that the initial learning curve is very steep. The kids learn very quickly at that age, especially if they get the proper coaching, they’re going to learn all the great things that are going to make them great racing drivers. That’s the period of time where they’re going to pick up most of the lessons, and then once they’re going to progressively start to be like 12, 1314, then it’s going to be like less of a learning rate. But the learning rate, yes, between six to eight, or even between six to 10, is just incredible. So the kids should receive as much yeah, track time as possible in that period. And, of course, the highest quality coaching. Because, of course, you want to ideally progress in the right direction and get the right type of coaching and high quantity of track them with quality, not just the quantity.
How often should kids practice each month?
Well, to get really good, I suggest the parents to take the kids to drive basically every week, at least once or twice a week, like on a weekend. I know that’s a complete life shift from a family perspective, but if that is the ambition, then that’s what I suggest for them to do, and that’s going to give them the right track time available to make their kids shop.
Is kart equipment important for young drivers at that age?
Well, I feel that the kart equipment is not that important, because you’re not really caring about the performance at this stage. You’re caring mostly about the driving development, which is what the kids should aim for at this stage. You know, the parents should not aim to get the track record every single time they hit the track. They need to realistically just expect the kids to just get better and better naturally. So I just feel that the parents should target that driver development, and therefore the equipment shouldn’t be the major goal. So of course, the kart should be just basic, like a standard go kart, either new one or a used one, but in a good shape. You know that it’s not going to teach the kid bad habits.
For example, If the kart has totally zero front grip, the kid has to turn the steering wheel so much, that’s going to be bad habit, because then he’s going to learn that he’s going to have to turn sitting a lot in order to make the car turn. But that’s not good or overall, if the kart in the rear has zero grip, and as soon as it touches the kart, it’s basically going to spin, then he’s going to learn that he cannot carry any speed into the corner because the car is just so unstable. So what I feel is that the kids just need to have the proper equipment in terms of just like basics to start and just to drive in a normal way, with great quality coaching and great quality. Training, but I don’t expect them to drive the ultimate best equipment, because that’s not what you expect. You’re not here to set track records between six to eight years old. You’re just trying to get the kids to accelerate their learning curve.
How can parents help their child build confidence early?
I think the most straightforward way to build the confidence in the kid is to simply get him to drive as as much as possible. I mean, of course, the highest amount of track time is going to correlate with earlier development and therefore higher performances. So, yeah, just getting the kid to drive, for example, 20 times in a month compared to driving just like once a month is going to get the kid so much better than if he literally didn’t do that. So, yeah, I just feel that you just need to get the kid to drive more and ideally, provide him some coaching from someone that is, you know, very experienced, as in my case, I could provide online, remote onboard analysis coaching, and that would be a very good way to kind of, you know, teach some good habits to kids early on in their career at this stage. We all know that karting should be mostly about learning confidence, Driver Development and pure enjoyment. We’re not going to put pressure on results.
You know, we’re not trying to set track records or win races. You know, of course, once they start to be eight and beyond, yes, the kids will start to be racing at competitive environments, and some sort of results are expected from them. But again, I think it’s going to be that kid expecting the result from himself, rather than the parent expecting the kid to perform. So yeah, just give that kid the time. Give him the track time, let him drive with no pressure, let him enjoy that. And you’ll see that sooner or later, it’s going to start to build up the confidence, increase the lap time, and just overall, start to be a faster driver.esult from himself, rather than the parent expecting the kid to perform. So yeah, just give that kid the time. Give him the track time, let him drive with no pressure, let him enjoy that. And you’ll see that sooner or later, it’s going to start to build up the confidence, increase the lap time, and just overall, start to be a faster driver.
