Not the obvious, i.e. whether sharing tyre pressures and data expertise are available. But the really life changing benefits of choosing one over the other.
While I don't do a lot of karting -- I ran a couple of Margay Ignite events a few years ago, including the Indianapolis thing -- one benefit I immediately noted of running with a team was this: Karters get hurt a lot more often than car drivers. It's a big pain to fix a kart with a broken axle, but it's worse when you're already miserable from having been flipped onto your shoulders. Ironically, the same is true in BMX, from whence I came; the kids who had their bikes maintained FOR them were better able to show up for the next moto in good physical shape.
Yes, there are physical advantages when in a team. There are economic advantages to running on your own.
I'm suggesting that neither of those are the right reasons to base the choice upon, instead you should choose what situation can be used to make you a more formidable driver long term.
It is! I ran about mid-pack at Gateway, but back of field at Indy; being 80 pounds heavier than the average competitor, and 50 pounds above the Heavy category, didn't help me much :)
While I don't do a lot of karting -- I ran a couple of Margay Ignite events a few years ago, including the Indianapolis thing -- one benefit I immediately noted of running with a team was this: Karters get hurt a lot more often than car drivers. It's a big pain to fix a kart with a broken axle, but it's worse when you're already miserable from having been flipped onto your shoulders. Ironically, the same is true in BMX, from whence I came; the kids who had their bikes maintained FOR them were better able to show up for the next moto in good physical shape.
Yes, there are physical advantages when in a team. There are economic advantages to running on your own.
I'm suggesting that neither of those are the right reasons to base the choice upon, instead you should choose what situation can be used to make you a more formidable driver long term.
For sure!
Is the Margay Ignite series the same one they run at the Gateway Kartplex?
It is! I ran about mid-pack at Gateway, but back of field at Indy; being 80 pounds heavier than the average competitor, and 50 pounds above the Heavy category, didn't help me much :)
Yeah I think you'll be losing almost a second a lap with that extra penalty ballast!
In most cases I was about 0.4-0.6 off the front, but that gap DOES ADD UP!