Kart Technik

Ok. ok.  I know it’s 2010 already, but we never actually got a chance to reflect back in 2009.  Kart Technik’s 2 top contributors and top tuners had quite the year and they never even got a chance to be behind the wheel.  These guys are the real dirt underneath of your fingernails at the race track, but also the brains behind the race result.

Here is KT’s interview with them both.

KT=Kart Technik
KH=Kyle Herder
BC=Blake Choquer

KT: Blake and Kyle, you guys had probably the most awesome year of tuning , a dream year.  can you please remind us all of what you guys won and with who?

KH: Garett Grist and I team up to campaign Ontario’s Brian Stewart Racing Kart Championship (BSRKC) and the Canadian Nationals.  Rotax Jr. was our class.  And Garett and I walked away both championships. Pretty much a perfect year as we won both!

BC: This year was amazing as a tuner/driving coach. I had tuned for Phil Arscott at the US Nationals again where he had a very dominating performance to take the win and qualify for the 2nd time in a row for the Rotax Grand Finals. Bryce Choquer my younger brother who ran the Western Canadian Rotax Championship finished first and he will be competing at the Grand Finals for the first time.  Chad Grunow competed in the Rok Cup and won the championship. He qualified for the Rok Cup Finals in Italy.

KT:Wow, so many big titles in just a few months, do you care to share some secrets or advice for other drivers and tuners out there?

KH:  Testing.  But my rule is not to test the week of the race.

BC: I have to agree with Kyle. Testing is very important and working with the right people in a positive environment. My only other secret is a sick setup I use for the Tony Kart’s in Rotax.

KT:  In this day and age of karting, you 2 have proven it’s very important to have a seasoned tuner on your team, can you point out why?

KH:  Well for me the biggest thing is to be able to share my life’s karting experiences.  For younger up and coming drivers that don’t come from a racing background, they may lack some of the key pieces of knowledge to put together that win or championship.  So what I do is guide my driver through the race event and try to prep them for anything that may be thrown their direction.  Being prepared puts us a step ahead of the competition.

BC: Once again Kyle is spot on. I cant stress how important it is to be in the right environment as a driver. For myself I have 15 years of experience and have competed all over the world so I know exactly what the drivers emotions are heading into a event, practicing, qualifying, racing. It is my job to help them stay focused on their specific tasks and to let me worry about the rest. Being in a positive environment and using visualization and communication techniques can help the driver develop skills faster and achieve better results.

KT: What plans do you guys have for 2010?

KH: Haha, I’m already breaking my #1 rule of being prepared.  I’m not quite sure on what I’m doing next year.  Personally I’d like to keep racing myself and coach and tune on dates that don’t conflict with my championship.  Although if I got the right offer, I might be back on the sidelines winning races as a tuner again.  Life is rough isn’t it?

BC: The plan for 2010 is to have a team that will run the Westerns, Canadian and US Nationals. We have a great line of drivers that will be supported by BBR Karting and will be using Tony Kart’s. It is going to be a great year and I am very excited.

KT:  Well, very interesting.  I really hope the young kids of today’s karting can learn something from this.  Thanks for your advice and time.  Hope to do this again with you guys soon!