The Thrashed Glossary

If you're new to racing you may well find people talking about things that you have no idea about. Rather than just standing there like a lemon, we'd like to help you with this informative (at times) glossary. Never again will you need to nod blankly at the other racers while they preach racing lines at you.

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Apex

Every corner has an apex and if you imagined drawing a smooth line from the outside of the track, touching the inside of the corner and then out wide on the other side you'd have a natural apex. Late and early apexing is the same thing but changes the shape of the curve - you might late apex to get a better line into the next corner.

Ballast

Heavy weights (lead or similar) that get added to your kart chassis either to achieve competition entry weight or to help balance of the kart.

Bored

A state endured by all racers between events. Or to be sensible about it, a very accurate hole drilled through something. For example, boring out a cylinder head would increase power output.

Camber

There are 2 types of camber. Road camber is the angle of surface between the centre and edge of a road. Tyre camber is the angle the tyre makes when leaning either toward or away from the kart.

Captain Slow

Someone in the same league as the infamous James May (Topgear). These people would pedestrianise the M25 given half a chance.

Chevrons

The raised and usually red and white chequered part of the track around corners.

Drift

Drift is the effect of sliding sideways rather than forward. If you went into a slippery corner at a high speed you might well drift to the outside of the track.

Four Stroke

Engine type which takes 4 piston actions to complete its cycle. Generally reliable and little maintenance required but won't be the fastest.

Grid Position

The order in which you line up at the start line, pole position being first.

Hairpin

Technically a hairpin is a corner that goes through 180 degrees, so if you were facing east before the corner, you'd come out facing west. Generally speaking a particularly sharp corner is referred to as a hairpin.

Lock (Left or Right)

Lock is the full extent that your steering wheel will go. Karts have a pretty quick lock meaning that one turn either way will apply maximum steering capability.

Opposite Lock

Usually used in conjunction with oversteer, this is the process of steering away from the direction of your corner, just for a moment, in order to correct the sliding rear wheels. Great fun!

Oversteer

The opposite of understeer. Whereas understeer affects the front wheels, oversteer affects the rear wheels. When you turn in to the corner and the front wheels stay 'on-line', the rear wheels slide towards the outside of the corner forcing you to apply 'opposite lock' to stay on track. Also known as an excuse for not remaining on track.

Qualifying

A timed track session where drivers best laps are recorded to determine grid position for the race.

Revs

Revs or RPM are the amount of revolutions going on inside your engine. You generally want to keep these high to keep good momentum.

Slicks

Tyres with absolutely no tread. Designed for maximum grip in dry conditions but they quickly lose it when in contact with water.

Slipstreaming

Before an overtaking manouevre. The car infront creates a small vacuum of air behind it in which the overtaking driver can gain an extra bit of speed to make the pass (also known as drafting).

Spanner

Polite definition; tool for nuts and bolts. More common definition; the idiot infront who keeps driving off track and bringing half of the gobi desert back with him.

Torque

The amount of force taken to rotate something, in karting this would be your rear axle.

Two Stroke

Engine type which takes 2 piston actions to complete its cycle. Tend to be faster but require much more maintenance.

Understeer

When you come into a corner and turn but the front of the kart runs wide, refusing to follow your chosen line. Often happens at the start of the race on cold tyres or if the kart is not set-up correctly. Also known as 'push' or an excuse for not doing well.

Wets

The opposite of slick tyres, these look like small versions of car tyres with heavy tread patterns. Good for racing through standing water but deteriorate quickly on a drying track.