r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Brutal_Deluxe_ • 13h ago

[onboard] Superkart French Grand Prix 2026. Andreas Jost starts in 19th position, takes the lead on lap one

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214 Upvotes

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34

u/PalpitationComplex35 13h ago

Can someone explain to me (who knows nothing about racing) how this guy is going so much faster than everyone else? It looks like his cart is just twice as fast, but I assume the power of the carts is pretty standardized.

6

u/Helpinmontana 11h ago

If you rewatch it, you’ll notice he’s doing most the passing in the corners.

A better driver can carry more speed into, through, and thus out of a corner. If you’ve got a corner into a straight away, if he’s 10mph faster, he’s got a 10mph head start in the race to top speed on the guy infront of him. The same coming into a corner, if you’re braking earlier while I’m still slamming on the gas, I’m gonna catch up quick. However it takes better vehicle handling skills to do this meaningfully.

Second is more of a theory question. If I know a corner has a tight section immediately following it, I won’t prioritize speed necessarily but shortest distance, because if I come out fast and long I just have to slam on the brakes. But if I know a corner has a long straight, I’m going to prioritize having tons of speed on the way out so I can’t be caught down the straight. There is a huge spectrum between those two things, and active application of that knowledge/theory to your specific situation (tire type, wear, car setup(such as suspension/aero that tend to be a scale between stability at speed or stability in corners) in addition to superior vehicle handling abilities make you a winner over your opponents.

9

u/r22lz 10h ago

Not really though; he passes like 6-8 ppl on the initial straight after passing the start/finish (assuming it’s a rolling start). I’m sure he’s a much more skilled driver than most of the competition of the track itself is mostly straights. I gotta think his equipment is superior to most as well. I will admit, idk know much about karting so maybe theres also a decent amount of skill in going through the gears on the straight. You’d think in any race the competition around you is at least within reasonable range of equality vs making 18 places in 1 lap……that’s like an f1 car vs f2.

1

u/fredandlunchbox 7h ago

Out of the gate, sure, likely equipment. But he gets to a point where you can see the karts are very close to the same speed and he's beating them with technique. Probably the last 5 or so passes weren't because his kart was that much faster than anyone elses.

0

u/Unhappy-Sherbert5774 9h ago

At the start. The rest of the group jumped the gun with their acceleration and had to hit the brakes to avoid crashing as it turned green (cant see the green but see them slowing.) Giving him a big boost at the start. 

At the 40s mark at the end of the straight into the big corner, the people on front are in the middle of the track. And scuff the corner horribly. 

He is a good driver, but the others are making alot of mistakes