Does Weight Matter in Go-karting?
- redlodgekarting
- Jun 2
- 4 min read
If you’ve ever raced go-karts, or even just watched from the side-lines, you’ve probably heard someone say, “It’s no wonder they’re quick, look how light they are!”. It’s a common belief in karting circles that lighter drivers have a built-in advantage. But how much truth is there to that?
At Red Lodge Karting, our monthly Formula270 Championship brings together drivers of all shapes and sizes. With identical hire karts and a competitive field, it’s the perfect place to explore the question: does weight really make a difference in go-karting?
To find out, we’ve looked at real-world data from Formula270 rounds, comparing driver weight with their average lap times and race results.
Why People Think Weight Matters.
Before we get into the meat and potatoes, it's important we take a look at the science behind this theory. The physics are actually pretty straightforward. The lighter something is, the less effort it takes to get moving. Imagine an empty shopping trolley - push it from a standstill and it's an easy task. Now fill it with a big weekly shop and it becomes much harder to get going. It does sound pretty obvious but now relate that to a go-kart. A lighter driver would accelerate out of corners quicker and reach higher top speeds sooner on the straights. It's a sound theory.
Weight can also affect braking and cornering. A heavier kart would require more force to slow down and put more stress on the tyres, which would lead to slower cornering speeds. On paper, this sounds like a clear disadvantage.
But here’s the thing - while the theory is solid, real-world karting doesn’t always follow the script. Factors like driving style, consistency and experience can matter just as much, if not more, than a few extra kilos. This is particularly apparent within a group of relatively inexperienced drivers - your "average Joes".
This is where our data from Formula270 Championship comes in. With its equal machinery and split weight classes, it gives us a chance to see how much weight actually matters in practice.
How We Gathered the Data.
To properly explore the impact of driver weight, it's key to have a controlled racing environment and that's exactly what Formula270 provides.
Held monthly at Red Lodge Karting, it's is a competitive hire kart championship where all drivers race in 270cc karts. Since everyone gets the same machinery, it's truly the best representation of "driver vs driver".
To help us understand any patterns, drivers are grouped into weight classes based on their weight with all protective gear included. These are:
60–70kg
70–80kg
80–90kg
90kg+
We've omitted the 50-60kg class as there's a smaller number of drivers with a bigger disparity in weight between them, resulting in potentially anomalous results.
For this analysis, we’re only looking at rounds held in dry conditions to eliminate the extra variable of wet-weather grip and handling (we may explore wet results soon!). From each weight class, we’ve taken an average of the top five finishers fastest laps in each race result to make a fair comparison of competitive pace. By focusing on the top performers in each class, we aim to isolate the effect of weight rather than skill level.
The Results!
Now that we've set the stage with some theory, let's dive into the data collected from our Formula270 rounds to see how driver weight impacts lap times.
In our analysis, we compared the fastest lap times of the top five finishers in each weight class across all three heats in five rounds held in dry conditions. This gives us a solid basis for understanding how different weight classes perform in the same conditions, using the same machinery.
Unexpectedly, the graph shows a tiny difference between the 60kg and 70kg class, with a noticeable increase in lap time difference as drivers move into the 80kg and 90kg categories.
Here, we can see the average lap time for each weight class. The column on the right highlights just how much slower the heavier drivers were compared to those in the 60kg class.
Why are the Gap in Lap Times not Linear?
At first glance, you'd expect lap times to steadily increase with driver weight but in our data, the weight increase from 60kg to 70kg made almost no difference, while the gap between 80kg and 90kg was much more noticeable. So what's going on?
Two theories stand out to explain why the gap in lap times grows more dramatically between heavier classes, especially between 80kg and 90kg.
Theory 1 - Compounding Losses from Acceleration, Braking, and Cornering
In karting, performance isn’t just about straight-line speed. Heavier drivers experience a reduction in acceleration, longer braking distances, and lower cornering speeds. On a track like ours, with four key corners per lap, these losses don’t just happen once, they might even compound; A slightly slower exit speed from one corner means you'll arrive slower at the next braking zone, and the cycle repeats. Over the course of a lap, this adds up.
Theory 2 - The 70kg Class Is Just That Good
Sometimes, the numbers don't lie and neither does the talent. The 70kg class may show very little drop-off from the 60kg class not because weight doesn’t matter, but because the 70kg drivers are consistently fast. They might be more experienced, better at adapting their driving style, or just happen to include some of the best racers on the grid. In other words: they might be above physics!
Final Thoughts.
So, does weight matter in go-karting? Based on our data, yes, it does. But it’s also important to remember who we’re looking at: the top drivers in the Formula270 Championship. These aren’t casual arrive-and-drive racers, they’re some of the quickest, most consistent drivers at the track.
The fact that the gaps between weight classes are often measured in tenths rather than seconds speaks volumes about their ability to extract performance, whatever their weight. So while physics plays a role, it’s skill, experience, and determination that really keep things close. In karting, as in all racing, the stopwatch tells part of the story but the driver behind the wheel still writes the ending.
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