18-times Australian Champion, ‘Deadly’ Dave Sera, will return to competition at Monday’s Stars of Karting event at Todd Rd.
This will be his first competitive outing in Australia in five years – and he’s finding it tough!
Sera will contest the 125cc TaG class and admits he’s struggling to get comfortable on the super-grippy LeCont tyre and adapting to the driving style it requires.
“Having been out of the driver’s seat for so long, I haven’t driven these speeds since I was competing in the KZ category in 2016” he explained (TaG is about 1 second faster on LeConts than it was on MGs).
“The tyres are so grippy, combined with my height means two wheeling around corners is a lot more common.”
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He’s really having to take his own Kart Class advice of being smooth and in control and not over driving – see the full story in the latest Kart Class newsletter, below.
from Dave’s Kart Class Newsletter
Next week will be my first competitive race in Australia in 5 years at the Stars of Karting event at Todd Road, Victoria.
Having stopped competing regularly in karting back in 2017, I made a couple of appearances at the Australian Titles in 2020 before Covid hit.
There wasn’t a lot of difference back then. I was driving the same kart on the same tyres & I could quickly get back up to speed.
Since then, I’ve concentrated on running my Kart Class Race team, & coaching drivers both in Australia & Internationally.
In Australia, we’ve recently changed tyre compounds from the MG Tires to LeCont brand. A much stickier compound, with times being lowered by around 1 second.
In theory, this should be easier. A softer tyre, which has more grip to corner fast and limit mistakes.
But having been out of the driver’s seat for so long, I haven’t driven these speeds since I was competing in the KZ category in 2016. It’s a different style of driving to the TAG / X30 class I’m most familiar with.
Even the standard kart setup needs to be adjusted for me now. The tyres are so grippy, combined with my height means two wheeling around corners is a lot more common (and not FAST!).
A lot of drivers who used to be competitive (albeit have gotten older and less invested) have struggled to come to terms with a new driving style (straight braking, more roll time) with the grippier tyres.
Having decided about 2 weeks ago that I wanted to challenge myself against the younger drivers, Arrow Karts have put together their latest X7 chassis for me to compete.
I was struggling with race fitness and over driving. As I knew the times, I needed to be fast, I was reminding myself of the basics of being smooth and in control were the words I use to coach others.
Realistically, next Monday is coming around very fast. With only 85 laps of driving across a couple of days, I’m behind the 8-Ball with race fitness and still tuning the kart to suit my height with the extra grip.
But I’m not aiming to simply make up numbers, and know that once racing starts, it’s not about times, it’s a new ball game that experience will play a big part in.
This was a good reminder that karting isn’t an easy sport. It’s physical, mentally challenging focusing and memorising every point on the track and you need to be in-tune with the kart. Something that parents often forget when we’re expecting big things from young drivers to remember so much on-track.
Although I’m still a few tenths away from being competitive, I’ve really enjoyed being back driving and how it’s hard to re-master anything after a break.
Let’s see what happens next Monday now!
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