How A Drone Helps You Learn A Track Faster

By Alessio Lorandi, 2013 CIK-FIA World Champion, KF-Junior. Updated on 22 October 2026.

If you’re trying to learn a new track, one of the coolest hacks you can use is to get yourself a drone, hand it off to your mechanic or to your coach or to your parents, and get them to shoot videos of yourself driving around the track.

By being stationary in each corner, you can literally learn from the outside what kind of lines you’re doing.

Why use a drone to learn a new kart track?

That is a bit different from the onboard videos. Of course you can learn so much from the onboard videos, from your Insta360 or from your GoPro. But the reality is that with the drone you can really understand a lot about the track as well.

Think about it. When you shoot a video from the top, you can literally see the track layout, the corner layout, whether the corner opens up, where the corner gets suddenly very narrow. You can learn all sorts of things.

Is a drone better than onboard video for learning a track?

It’s been very useful in understanding whether drivers have been early apexing, or whether the drivers are not using enough track on the entry and keeping half a metre from the white line.

To be honest, on the onboard videos you can’t really tell that much. When you go through an onboard video it’s not that clear how much track you’re using.

You can still sort of sense it, of course, from a GoPro or an Insta360, but it’s not exactly the same as when using a drone. So it’s much more clear.

What can you see from above that you can’t see from the seat?

You can also see the different grip patches from the top. You can see where it’s more black than in other places. You can also see the different track tarmac, sometimes you will see different layers of tarmac.

We just came back from a race at ACI Round 4, and it was quite incredible how different the track was from one metre to the other. There were so many different types of tarmac, and that made it quite tricky, because the grip level would be different all throughout.

Visually you would see three or four different tarmacs, and it would be quite tricky to drive and also to set up the kart.

And also in the wet, when it started to rain, it was going to be really hard to judge exactly where to place the tires so that there was still good grip available, despite going onto different surfaces of tarmac. There was some resin here and there, because of course the track was not that professional in terms of construction, so you could see that they had to put patches to fix the track.

All of that made it quite tricky for the drivers, and it was a bit random.

And I just feel that was very eye-opening to me. Some tracks even have different patches of grip based on different patches of tarmac surfaces, so it’s kind of hard to predict the grip level in all the parts of the track. That’s part of reading the track evolution over a weekend.

Can you fly a drone at a kart track, and how do you stay safe?

I’ve been using the drone for a long time. Of course there are some tracks where they really don’t want you to use it, even though, if you get a 249 gram drone, you don’t technically even need a licence for that.

Of course you have to pay attention not to get too close to the track, and occasionally you’ll have to use it outside of the track, just off the edges, so that they can’t tell you anything about it.

For safety, you don’t want any drivers to drive over your drone, or it to fall onto their heads. That’s important. You have to make sure you’re paying attention to that.

I heard that in some countries, like in Australia, it’s banned, I heard that from a driver. But here in Europe it’s not really banned, you can use it.

Of course, when the race comes, the race organisers most of the time do not allow you to use it. But you can still use it on the testing days. They’re normally quite loose on that, and you can do whatever you want, you still have to be safe, still not too low, and not create any situations of danger.

What should you look for in karting drone footage?

Going back to the initial usefulness idea, I just see so much from the drone. I can really see the whole arc, and how drivers are either opening up the lines or keeping them too narrow.

I like to really focus a lot on the entries, because remember, the entries are always the most important part of the corner. The exits are just a consequence of the entries.

If you are not using the track on the entry and you’re turning too early, well, most of the time you’re going to end up too wide on the exit, and you’ll have too much steering angle, and your exits are going to be slow.

So I always want to focus on the entries as much as possible. And then of course I focus on the apexes. I try to find the apex points, and whether the driver even managed to hit them. Sometimes it’s a double apex corner, and so I want to see that they apex both. If the phrase does not mean much to you yet, start with early vs late apex.

Then I also want to see where the drivers place themselves on the exit. Are they using all the track available? Are they giving up some track? Or are they using too much track and scrubbing speed for some reason?

Can drone footage tell a driving problem from a chassis problem?

I can really sense that. And I can see also the speed that they carry.

I can understand if they’re carrying not enough speed, or if they’re carrying way too much speed. Then I can see: okay, this guy just carried too much speed because he didn’t stop on the brakes on the entry. And that’s why he is sliding in the mid corner by the apex. Not because the chassis is sliding, but because he didn’t stop the kart and he tried to carry way too much speed.

So it’s very, very important to understand that. And I feel like with enough experience you will build up a second sense, where you can actually figure out whether it’s a driving issue or a chassis issue.

Most of the time it’s just a racing line driving issue.

Which drone should you get, and how do you make the battery last?

I got myself a DJI Mini 3 and it’s working really well. It’s super easy to use, almost like playing a video game.

You can get one on Amazon, a DJI Mini is about 350 euros. It’s not much, and you can start to play with it.

I suggest you get the integrated panel and not go with an iPhone. I’ve been using the integrated one. It’s a little bit more pricey, maybe 50 extra euros, but it adds way more control to the remote.

And make sure the drone is always charged up, because the battery goes super fast, and you don’t want to risk getting stopped on the ground right away because the battery is too low.

Where do you put the drone, and how do you review the footage?

Normally I like to place myself and just cover the whole corner. I don’t want to cover just a single part of it. I like to put the drone nice and high and try to cover the whole arc of the corner, so that it gets everything.

And then I like to review the drone footage with the driver, and see where they are making the right apexes, or whether they’re using the track properly, or whether they’re making mistakes by not using the track or missing the apexes.

So whether you have a drone or not, I hope you’re going to give it a try. But make sure you’re always safe and you’re respecting the rules of the track, so that no one gets injured.

What should you do before you drive a new track?

The drone is one tool. Before it, there’s the track walk. It’s super fundamental for drivers to make track walks, so that they can tell whether the track is dirty or clean, whether it’s grippy or slippery, whether the kerb is flat and you can use it, or it’s too steep, which makes it very uncomfortable to use.

You want to use all the track available that makes you faster. You don’t want to use the track just because the theory says so. That’s why doing track walks is extremely key, and I can’t stress enough how important it is.

And you should do track walks not only the first time you go to a track. You should do them again and again. You always have to relearn the circuit. You can always find hidden secrets about it, and you will get way better at figuring out all the nuances of the grip level, elevation changes, banking and the kerbs.

Track walks can also let you know in advance where the grip level is probably going to pick up, based on cues like elevation changes or banking areas. At Babyrace I like to make it a daily habit, walking the track or even running the track with the kids, either at the end of the day, in the morning or in the lunch break. We always try to spot something new every time we go to the track.

More on that in how to learn the line on a new track.

How do the other drivers help you learn a new track?

I would always suggest you to go for a track walk, watch onboard videos from other drivers and try to spot their lines.

Try always looking at the other drivers on the track as well. If you see someone slightly quicker than you, it may be something on their equipment, but sometimes it may be something on their line. So especially if it’s a new track for you, try to see what they’re doing. Are they trying something different? Are they using some kerbs that you were not using, or avoiding some kerbs?

The best way to figure out if something is fast or not is to check with the lap time and to check with the drivers around you. If they’re quicker, they probably have found something that you haven’t found yet. And always double check with your coach.

What is the goal of your first day on a new track?

Every day you should have a goal on what you work on. If you’re learning a new track, obviously the first goal is to get out there, drive around the track and find the reference points and the racing line. And then push your limits further and further, so that you go beyond the limit and then you get back to the limit.

Driving empty laps on a practice day is just a huge crime that I don’t want my drivers to do, and I don’t want to do myself. If you’re clueless of what you’re working on, those are wasted opportunities. More on that in kart practice day.

And that is where the drone fits, because testing days are the days you can still fly it.

What do drivers ask most about using a drone at the track?

Do you need a licence to fly a drone at a kart track?

If you get a 249 gram drone, you don’t technically even need a licence for that. But some tracks really don’t want you to use it, and when the race comes the organisers most of the time do not allow it. On testing days they’re normally quite loose.

Can a drone teach you a track faster than onboard footage?

For track usage, yes. On the onboard videos it’s not that clear how much track you’re using. From the drone you can see the whole arc, whether the driver is early apexing or keeping half a metre from the white line. You still learn so much from the onboards too.

What should you look for in karting drone footage?

The entries first, because the exits are just a consequence of the entries. Then the apexes, both of them in a double apex corner. Then where the driver places himself on the exit, and the speed he carries.

Which drone do you use for karting?

A DJI Mini 3, and it’s working really well. Get the integrated panel and not the iPhone, it adds way more control to the remote. And keep it charged, because the battery goes super fast.

If you want me to look at your lines corner by corner, send me your onboard for an onboard review. And if you want to work on your driving, your racecraft and your preparation for good, that is what we do in the 6 months transformation.