How to Analyse Kart Data — A Race Engineer’s Guide

How to Analyse Kart Data — A Race Engineer’s Guide

My Store Admin

Data analysis is one of the most underused tools in club karting. Most drivers buy a GPS lap timer, download their session, and look at their fastest lap. That’s a start — but it’s not analysis.

This guide is written by Aaron Harris — race engineer for Earl Bamber Motorsport, TekworkX, Matt Stone Racing, and Porsche Carrera Cup Australia/Asia-Pacific/NZ. Aaron has used data analysis at every level of motorsport, from club karting to Bathurst. The same principles apply whether you’re running a Rotax at your local track or a Porsche GT3 at Bathurst.

What You Need

  • A GPS kart lap timer with data logging — the Alfano 7 2T or Alfano 7 1T are ideal
  • Alfano ADA software (free, available for PC and smartphone)
  • At least two sessions of data to compare

Step 1: Lap Time Comparison

Start with the basics. Download your session data via Bluetooth 5.0 to the Alfano ADA app. Look at your lap time distribution — not just your fastest lap, but the spread across all laps.

A consistent driver will have a tight lap time distribution. A driver who is still learning the track or struggling with setup will have a wide spread. If your fastest lap is 2 seconds quicker than your average, the problem is consistency, not outright pace.

What to look for:

  • Lap time distribution — how consistent are you?
  • Where in the session are your fastest laps? Early (fresh tyres) or late (when you’re in rhythm)?
  • Are there outlier laps? Traffic, mistakes, or mechanical issues will show up as spikes

Step 2: Temperature Data

Temperature data tells you what your engine is doing across a session. On the Alfano 7 2T, you can monitor two channels simultaneously — for example CHT and EGT on a KZ, or water temperature and EGT on a Rotax.

What to look for:

  • Rising CHT or water temp — could indicate a cooling issue, lean jetting, or a blocked radiator
  • EGT spikes — can indicate lean conditions or ignition timing issues
  • Temperature vs lap time correlation — does your lap time drop as the engine warms up? Or does it get slower as the engine gets too hot?
  • Session-to-session comparison — if your CHT is consistently higher in the afternoon than the morning, ambient temperature and track conditions are affecting your jetting

The Alfano 7 2T is the only unit in this price range that lets you overlay both temperature channels against lap time in a single view.

Step 3: GPS Track Overlay

GPS track overlay is where data analysis gets powerful. The Alfano ADA software lets you overlay your GPS track map against lap time — so you can see exactly where on the circuit you are gaining or losing time compared to your best lap or a reference lap.

What to look for:

  • Braking points — are you braking in the same place every lap? Inconsistent braking points are one of the biggest sources of lap time variation
  • Corner entry speed — GPS speed trace shows you exactly how fast you are entering each corner
  • Minimum speed — the speed at the apex. Higher minimum speed = better exit = more time on the straight
  • Sector times — split the track into sectors and identify which sector is costing you the most time

Step 4: Tyre Pressure and Temperature

Tyre data is the next level. The Alfano TyreControl Junior 2 pairs wirelessly with the Alfano 7 (1T or 2T) via the Wireless/IR connection — no cables required. It logs tyre pressure and temperature data that syncs with your lap time data in Alfano ADA.

What to look for:

  • Tyre pressure build — how much does your tyre pressure rise from cold to operating temperature? This affects grip and handling balance
  • Pressure vs lap time — does your lap time improve as tyres come up to pressure, then drop off as they overheat?
  • Front vs rear balance — if front pressures are building faster than rear, your kart may be oversteering as the session progresses

Aaron’s Top Tips

  • Always compare like with like. Compare morning sessions to morning sessions, not morning to afternoon. Track temperature changes everything.
  • One change at a time. If you change jetting and tyre pressures between sessions, you won’t know which change made the difference.
  • Use a reference lap. Set your best lap of the day as a reference and compare every other lap to it. This shows you where you’re losing time consistently.
  • Data doesn’t lie, but it doesn’t explain itself. A spike in EGT could be lean jetting, a blocked jet, or a momentary throttle blip. Always cross-reference with what you felt in the kart.

Get Expert Help

If you want help interpreting your data or choosing the right data logger for your karting, contact Aaron Harris directly. Aaron is an active racing driver, race engineer, and MSNZ Licence Examiner with hands-on experience at every level of motorsport.

📞 Aaron Harris: +64 27 449 9654 | aaron@harriscomms.co.nz

Shop Kart Data Loggers

Back to blog