The Track
Basic Track-Guide
by Niki Richardson
Accelerating Coasting Braking
When starting out for your first time in a kart, the best thing to do is to take it slowly and build yourself up lap by lap.
Turns 1 & 2 (Conways & Henry’s Bend):
By the time we approach Turn 1 we’re going flat out. The corner can be taken flat out in the dry (just) so the corner is fast, but, as a beginner, you shouldn’t be attempting to take it flat out at all. This is especially important in the first few laps before the tyres have warmed up. Instead lift off the throttle and coast into the corner.
There is a change of surface which you can use as a reference to come off the throttle. Start by coming off the throttle some meters before the change of surface, and as you build up confidence every lap, try coming off throttle a little bit later and closer to the change of surface.
You’ll find that by coming off throttle (i.e. coasting) you’ll settle the kart and it won’t “feel loose” at the back end. This is a really good technique to control the kart in fast corners (which Turns 1 and 2 are).
Once you’re past the apex of Turn 1 (Conways) you can floor the throttle all of the way until the braking zone for Turn 3 (Hairpin 1).
Turn 3 (Hairpin 1):
You should be all of the way over to the left at the exit of Turn 2. Turn 3 is your standard hairpin. You’re going flat out again and you’ll need to reduce your speed a lot in order to be able to take the hairpin without spinning off or going too wide.
You should be all of the way over to the left at the exit of Turn 2. Turn 3 is your standard hairpin. You’re going flat out again and you’ll need to reduce your speed a lot in order to be able to take the hairpin without spinning off or going too wide.
For beginners, this is the first corner where they are really tested under braking. Brake in a straight line only. There is a change of surface which is where the quick drivers will hit the brakes hard. Do not try to copy them. Instead, note where the change of surface is and brake much much earlier (to start with).
On your first few laps you won’t have much grip so you won’t be able to brake hard, so again, brake much earlier and be gentle on the brakes.
As detailed above in the driver guide, every lap you should be trying to brake later and later, and harder and harder. Eventually, as you get more confidence you’ll be able to brake closer and closer to that change of surface.
Hairpin 1 is a really good place to build up your braking skills!
Once you’ve slowed down enough, coast into the apex, then accelerate past it and use all of the width of the track (i.e. let the kart go all the way to the left). You’ll then want to pull over to the right to get ready for hairpin 2.
Turn 4 (Hairpin 2):
You’ll be approaching Turn 4 (Hairpin 2) much more slowly than you did Hairpin 1. You should be all the way over to the right of the track by the time you need to tackle the corner.
You’ll only need to dab the brakes a little before coasting to the apex again. You should also try to apex late on the hairpin (i.e. your kart should be closest to the inside kerb slightly further along the corner) as this will give you more speed on the exit of the hairpin. The reason for this is that any extra speed you have on the exit here, you’ll carry with you all the way through the fast corners coming up.
Hairpin 2 is a great overtaking opportunity as drivers apex the corner late, and therefore turn in late, which leaves space for the overtaking driver to dive up the inside. However, if you’re a beginner try not to worry about overtaking and being overtaken. Just focus on your driving!
Turns 5 & 6:
The left/right chicane of Turns 5 & 6 are easy flat in the dry (once your tyres have warmed up) but as a beginner you may find coasting into turn 5 a help as you build up your confidence and speed. Be smooth on the steering wheel, and use all of the space on the exit of Turn 6. Just make sure you don’t drift into the pitlane entry!!
You’ll now be going pretty quick as we approach the most exciting part of the track – Symmes Sweep.
Turn 7 (Symmes Sweep):
Turn 7 (Symmes Sweep) is an awesome corner. It’s a downhill and very fast right hand corner which leads straight into Turn 8. Quick drivers will take Turn 7 flat (or nearly flat) but they will feel comfortable with the back-end going loose and will be able to control it. As a beginner, however, you should come off the throttle and coast into the apex of turn 7. By coasting the kart will feel a lot more stable.
You want to make sure that, as you exit Turn 7, your kart is positioned in the middle of the track as this will help you to take Turn 8.
Turn 8 (Pullmans):
Turn 8 is again a flat / nearly flat corner for quick drivers, but again don’t even try this is you’re new to the BUKC.
Instead, come off the throttle and coast into Turn 8. You’ll want to apex as late as possible in Turn 8 so that your kart is positioned nearly all of the way over to the left on the exit which will prepare you for a good line into Turn 9.
Turn 9 (Paddock Bend):
You should be all of the way over to the left hand side of the track if you’ve taken turn 8 properly. Brake in a straight line (as always) from the left hand side of the track and then coast towards the apex. As soon as you hit the apex floor the throttle and use all of the track of the exit as you head up Damon Hill.
Turn 10 (Garda):
The corner at the top of the hill (Damon Hill) isn’t the fastest corner approach but given that it is up hill you can brake a bit later than you would normally. Having said that if you brake too late you’ll find the rear of the kart going loose as the hill levels out.
So, brake early and in a straight line, then coast towards the apex. You’ll want to apex quite late again as this will give you a better line through Turn 11 which is crucial if you want to carry speed up the hill towards the start-finish line.
Turn 10 is a great overtaking opportunity because of the late apex and the tricky previous corner. Expect to be overtaken here by the quicker drivers!
Turn 11 (Senna’s Chicane):
Turn 11 is easy flat so just take a little inside kerb and then let the kart drift all of the way over to the right on the apex. You’re now looking up the hill and building up lots of speed as you head towards Turn 12 – Cafe Corner.
Turn 12 (Cafe):
Turn 12 is an easy flat out corner for quick drivers (once their tyres are warmed up).
Again, as a beginner, come off the throttle and coast into the corner and once past the apex hit the throttle. You must be smooth on the steering wheel in Cafe corner (as with all fast corners).
As you get more confidence, you should try to coast less on the entry. You should be able to build up to taking Cafe nearly flat out. Whatever you do, do not panic and hit the brakes in this corner (you should never brake in a corner)! Instead if you feel you’ve got too much speed, simply come off the throttle and stay smooth on the steering wheel. If you do brake mid corner, you’ll spin off straight away and you don’t want to do that because…
Cafe corner is a blind corner! You can’t see around the corner until you’re on top of the corner, therefore if you spin out here, there is a high chance of being smashed into by other karts. Therefore a) Don’t spin off and b) always look out for and obey the yellow flags especially so in this corner.
Once you’ve made it through Cafe, use all of the track on the exit. You’ll notice the quick drivers running their outside wheels over the kerb. Feel free to do this but just be aware you need to be very smooth and in control otherwise the kerbs may unsettle the kart forcing you in a spin
Finally:
As a general rule, you should be very smooth with the steering wheel through the fast corners. Try not to the yank the steering wheel as it will likely cause the rear end to lose grip and you’ll spin.
In slow corners (such as the hairpins) you will find that you can be much harsher with the steering wheel without going into a spin.
Buckmore is an awesome track! Enjoy 🙂
ADVANCED Track-Guide
by Niki Richardson
Accelerating Coasting Braking
Buckmore Park for me, is like an old rickety rollercoaster which is such great fun with its variousuphill and downhill high speed sections but it’s also rough and bumpy in places which makes it a very physical white knuckle ride!
Turns 1 & 2 (Conways & Henry’s Bend):
We’ll start the lap from no better place than at the Start/Finish line. So we’re quickly approaching Turn 1 (Conways) and the KEY here is to hook up the apex at Turn 2 (Henry’s Bend) and that means a little blip of brake on entry to Turn 1 will help keep the kart stable and this will also allow you to keep a nice tight line as you power through Turn 2.
Turn 3 (Hairpin 1):
So you should exit Turn 2 over to the far left before a very short straight then you’ll head straight into Turn 3 (also known as Hairpin 1). Turn 3 is your standard hairpin and is your first real overtaking spot on the track so of course late, hard braking is important but you don’t want brake too late as you’ll overshoot, run wide and a big chunk of lap time will be lost. Just make sure you hook up that mid corner apex before letting the kart run gently wide to the edge of the track before heading straight back over to the right for Turn 4 (also known as Hairpin 2).
Turn 4 (Hairpin 2):
Turn 4 (Hairpin 2) is arguably one of the most important and most difficult corners on the track! If anyone asks me for advice at Buckmore, it’s usually because they are struggling with Hairpin 2! My advice is keep it simple and don’t over complicate it! So, on entry have a little dab of brake then turn in and aim for a slightly late apex which mean you should be going over the last part of the inside kerb and that will help you straight line the exit and therefore get a good run down towards the flat out chicane. Again, Hairpin 2 is a great overtaking spot as the door is left wide open on approach.
Turns 5 & 6:
Now we’re heading towards the very fast left/right chicane of Turns 5 and 6. As mentioned before, the chicane is flat out so all you need to do is hit both apex’s and be ultra smooth in order not to scrub any excess momentum and before you know it, you’ll be arriving at Turn 7 (Symes Sweep).
Turn 7 (Symmes Sweep):
Now we’re heading towards the very fast left/right chicane of Turns 5 and 6. As mentioned before, the chicane is flat out so all you need to do is hit both apex’s and be ultra smooth in order not to scrub any excess momentum and before you know it, you’ll be arriving at Turn 7 (Symes Sweep).
Turn 7 (Symmes Sweep):
Turn 7 is my favourite corner on the track, it’s downhill and is a very fast right hander which leads straight into Turn 8 (Pullmans) which then in-turn leads straight into Turn 9 (Paddock Bend). All these corners work together and you should start with leaving your turn in for Turn 7 a fraction late so that you take a slightly later apex which allows you to exit in the middle of track which sets you up nicely for Turn 8. Like I said, Turn 7 is FAST so you may wish to dab the brake mid-corner just to keep the kart from drifting sideways.
Turn 8 (Pullmans):
So as we exit Turn 7 in the middle of the circuit, we want to turn in for Turn 8 nice and late so that we get a really late apex which sets you up perfectly for Turn 9 as you’ll be positioned over to the left. Again, like Turn 7 you may wish to dab the brake pedal if you feel that you’re sliding too much but ideally, it should be taken flat.
Turn 9 (Paddock Bend):
Turn 9 (Paddock Bend) is a very important corner as the exit is very much uphill (Damon’s Hill) so any mistakes made will really affect your lap time! So on approach, have a hard quick stab of brake before getting on the gas as you turn in, taking a little inside kerb and then importantly, straight lining the exit as you run up the hill towards Turn 10 (Garda). Remember, any mistakes made through Turns 7 or 8 will most certainly affect your approach to Turn 9.
Turn 10 (Garda):
So we’re approaching the final sector of the lap with one key corner to go….Turn 10! Turn 10 has an uphill approach so you can really attack the braking zone. Again, like most corners around Buckmore, you’ll want a late apex as Turn 11 (Senna’s Chicane) immediately appears on the exit so a quick and aggressive stab of brake is needed on entry before turning into the corner running the last part of the inside kerb a little bit which will allow you to exit the corner in the middle of track. This line is exactly where you want to be as you’ll need minimal steering for the easy flat-out Turn 11. Remember though, Turn 10 is so so important because you should be flat out from here all the way through Turns 11 and 12…….and all the way up to Turn 1 so any mistakes here will really affect your momentum as you run up the hill (Herbert’s Rise). Again, Turn 10 is a great overtaking opportunity.
Turn 11 (Senna’s Chicane):
As mentioned, Turn 11 is easy flat so just take a little inside kerb and then let the kart release off the bend, running wide to the edge of the circuit carrying all that momentum up the hill and towards the final corner, Turn 12.
Turn 12:
Turn 12 is also flat out in normal racing conditions so on approach, keep over to the right hand side to open up the corner as much as you can, then turn in with minimal steering and run a little inside kerb before letting the kart straighten up and run over to the outside kerb before crossing the Start/Finish line to complete your lap of Buckmore Park!
Key Corners
- Turn 4 (Hairpin 2)
- Turn 9 (Paddock Bend)
- Turn 10 (Garda)
Overtaking opportunities
- Turn 3 (Hairpin 1)
- Turn 4 (Hairpin 2)
- Turn 9 (Paddock Bend)
- Turn 10 (Garda)
Location
Buckmore Park Kart Circuit,
Maidstone Road,
Chatham,
Kent,
ME5 9QG
UK
How to get there
Leave the M20 at junction 6 and head up the A229 towards the M2. The circuit is signposted towards the top of the hill and you leave the A229 to go up the slip road before turning left into the Buckmore Park complex. Follow the signs to the circuit once inside the complex.
If approaching from the M2, leave this motorway at junction 3 and go straight on at the roundabout to cross over the A229. On the next roundabout, turn left into the circuit following the signs for the Buckmore Park complex/Kart track.
