Braking is the first thing you do in every corner, so if your braking is weak, everything after it is compromised. A weak brake ramp-up, a lock-up or a weak trail brake costs you on corner entry. That compromises the mid-corner, which then compromises the exit. I call it the snowball effect:

Brake → Entry → Mid → Exit

That’s basic physics, and it applies in a car just as much as in a kart.

Why braking time loss is hard to feel

Most drivers can feel the time they lose on a bad exit, because the engine bogs down or the kart physically hops. On the brakes, the time loss is much harder to feel.

Let’s say you brake just a kart length too early, but with the correct initial pressure. The brakes might even lock up a little, so it feels like you’re truly on the limit. What you can’t feel is the extra 0.2 seconds it takes to get to the throttle pickup point. Or the 10kg less weight transfer onto the front tires that’s causing slight understeer on entry.

What good braking feels like in a rental kart

Honestly, there’s no single right answer. It varies with the balance of the kart underneath you and the track conditions.

My goal on hard-compound rental kart tires is to make the brake and throttle pedals do as much of the steering for me as possible, so the steering wheel is only used to fine-tune the rotation. This is known as neutral steer, and it only comes from staying just on the edge of micro-locking the brakes throughout the brake zone.

In my opinion, you shouldn’t think about mastering any other driving or wheel-to-wheel technique until you’re undeniably comfortable on the brake pedal. Set your snowball off on the right path, otherwise what’s the point?