Winter Racing: The Ultimate Test
Winters in the UK are Treacherous, and I Love it!
Welcome to Terence Dove on Racing Drivers - This weeks edition is FREE. Listen to the audio where I talk this through in detail, and there’s a video explanation on bringing your tyres on fast at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!
Winter in the UK is the proving ground for a driver. The grids are packed, the competition is ruthless, and being quick isn’t enough. You need to be a great overtaker, a great starter, and—most importantly—you must switch a tyre on fast. If you can't, you might as well go home.
In normal conditions, you can be satisfied if a driver hits a competitive lap time at any point during a session. In winter, that isn't enough. Every single lap matters. If you reach your quickest time even a lap too late, you're in serious trouble. You’re a lap behind in tyre temperature, and over a race distance, that makes you slow and vulnerable—easy pickings for the rest of the field.
It’s not just about getting your tyres up to temperature. You need to do it faster than your competitors. If you don’t, you’re finished.
The Difference Between being Fast and Having an Undrivable Kart
Take Kimbolton as an example where I was coaching last week - It was below zero. A brutal case of a track losing all grip as the sun set, leaving drivers on slicks with ice-like conditions in the shaded sections. Some drivers adapted better than others, but one stood out—he simply could not stay on track. His lines were textbook. The only thing he did wrong was not overdriving. He didn’t force energy into the tyres where there was grip, and as a result, he lost all temperature. Everyone else was losing seven seconds a lap, but his kart was completely undrivable, unable to make it around at all.
This situation arises when:
The track is too dry for wets, but slicks are still quicker.
It’s so cold that a normal 'quick' driving style doesn’t generate enough heat.
Certain sections of the track are treacherously slippery, and without hot tyres, you either haemorrhage seconds or go off entirely.
The Solution: Drive Like a Maniac
The good news? These conditions demand that you drive like an absolute lunatic. If you want to be fast, you have to overdrive in a way that would normally be a disaster.
Your entire focus should be on distressing your tyres—force-feeding them energy until they cook.
Done right, this is exhilarating, satisfying, and beautiful.
How to Generate Heat: Your Energy Sources
Think of it in terms of energy. Your goal is to transfer energy into the tyres, and you have several tools at your disposal:
Engine Power – Wheel spin is your ally. If you’re lighting up the rears, you’re cooking them. More throttle, more heat.
Speed – Excessive steering angles on corner entry force the front tyres to plough forward, deforming them and generating heat. The more exaggerated, the better.
Braking – Instead of clean, straight braking, introduce slip angles. Get the rears sliding under braking, making the sidewalls flex and build heat.
Physical Input – You physically attack with steering input, speed of steering, speed of correction—sideways wheel spins require an energetic approach. It ain't just physics, but having this idea in mind helps. Every action you take should be about putting energy into the tyres.
The Out Lap: Maximum Attack
Your out lap is where you must go completely feral. Getting heat into the tyres is just the beginning. Every moment must be about adding energy. If you allow the tyres to cool, even for an instant, you are falling behind. You have to push them hard enough to keep that heat, forcing them to stay alive under extreme conditions. This is one of the few times where sheer aggression is not just useful—it’s mandatory.
Step-by-Step Guide to a Proper Out Lap
Pit Exit – Exit the pit, into the track and wheel spin. Light up the rears with immediate wheel spin. If you just roll out gently, you've already lost. Use some steering input to keep the kart from straightening too soon. The longer the controlled slide, the better.
Prolong the Slide – If the kart naturally starts to regain grip, don’t let it. Force a transition drift to extend the slide and keep energy flowing into the rear tyres.
Corner Entry – When you reach a corner, you will use excessive steering lock. You want to steer quickly and too much. You want to induce understeer by snapping the wheel to high lock before the kart can react, and you want it to plough forward. With steering angle and the kart ignoring that fact and going straight ahead, you are now cooking the front tyres. Good!
Corner Exit – As soon as the kart starts rotating, it's time to get the rears burning again. Use wheel spin to keep the rears working, maintaining energy, and slide out of the corner.
Straights Are Dangerous – A straight section is your enemy because it allows the tyres to cool. Keep energy going by throwing in controlled left-right slides. If the straight is long, find the balance—too much sliding might slow you down too much, but too little will cool the tyres too quickly. Every second you are not actively heating the tyres, they are cooling. You cannot afford that.
Heavy Braking Zones – Braking hard is fine, but braking hard while sideways is better. Flick the rear out under braking to flex the sidewalls and inject heat into the rubber.
Slippery Sections – When you reach low-grip areas, you have to keep putting energy into the tyres, or they will cool and become useless. The biggest mistake is being cautious. You need to work the kart aggressively. On entry, back it in on the brakes to generate heat in the rears and apply exaggerated steering to scrub the fronts and maintain temperature. Any moment of hesitation lets the tyres cool, making the next corner even harder. Keep the tyres working at all times.
Any hesitation, any return to conventional smooth driving, and you are cooling the tyres. Stay aggressive. Stay violent. Stay ahead. Keep them hot. Keep them alive.
Hot Laps: Balancing Speed and Heat Retention
Once you're up to speed, the game changes slightly. Now it’s about keeping the heat while maintaining speed.
Lean on the rear more than you normally would. A bit of controlled sliding will keep the temps up.
On the slippery sections, keep backing it in on the brakes and using excessive steering angles to prevent heat loss.
Keep It Lit!
Here’s a video showing how I would talk it through with a driver on the day, at Kimbolton in this example - it’s not a flashy production, just a pen and paper and me making funny engine noises again!
Thanks for reading
Terence