A Karting Clash of the Titans Showdown

Norberg vs Turney is a karting epic. Learn the coach's take on a spectacular race

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When you get the combination of giant consequences and giant drivers going head-to-head, you get fireworks!

This week I speculate wildly on two drivers in an epic battle - and conclude with something I desperately want drivers to understand. A golden nugget that can make a good driver, a magnificent driver!

There’s a titanic battle happening in karting right now, it’s both fascinating, and absolutely dripping with examples you can use to become a great driver.

I’ve only watched this race once, because I want to give you my raw ‘hot take’, rather than a more analytical, and most likely, lifeless version of how I saw it.

It made me realise something big, and if I watch it again, I might not stand by my original opinions, and therefore not write what I’m about to write (maybe that doesn’t make sense, but I’m going anyway!).

Watch this:

Here are two warriors at the top of their game. An alien winning-machine, and a talent spilling his heart out onto the track, and suffering for it, like a true hero.

To me its sheer beauty, a work of art in motion.

What the big deal - the top guys face off every weekend and tangle like this.

There is an atmosphere around these races, between Ryan Norberg and Joe Turney, that is uniquely intense and full of pathos. They really mean something, in a way that great races used to, with real consequences.

Here’s why:

1. High stakes - Money and a factory reputation are on the line

The Zanardi kart factory have decided to send their world championship winning works driver, Joe Turney, to compete in America for a season. I assume they want to win, and they want to sell karts. This will be costing someone a lot of money!

To see a return, they need to impress people enough to jump on their karts. If they do, the rewards will be high.

The potential downside if they don’t win: ‘not even the World Champion alien can win on this thing, why would I want one’ will be on everyone’s lips. It’s rare to see some factory led courage.

In other words, they have to win!

2. The rare opportunity to beat the world champion

If you want to prove yourself against the best, usually you have to travel to where they are. They don’t usually come to you. So for all the drivers on the grid this is a rare, or eve once in a lifetime shot, to prove your mettle against the best of the best.

3. Needle - a territorial dispute between alphas

If you aren’t that bothered about chasing the world champion, maybe instead, you are a little pissed that he thinks he can come into your back yard and take over!

In that case, you are wound up to teach this driver, and his factory a lesson!

4. Europe vs America

In racing, the Europeans and the Americans tend to do things a little different from one another. So you get these wonderful battles between racing cultures, like Ferrari vs Ford in the sixties.

In this case, the Europeans are sending their best guy to go and show the Americans how its done (which I’m certain everyone involved would flatly deny, and take offence that such an awful thing could be inferred!).

But it certainly feels that way to me, and I can’t see how that impression can be avoided, intended or not.

Now that creates real consequence, and not just for the drivers - people around the event will have taken sides, deep down.

Practical lessons from Norberg’s onboard video - incredible and deliberate steering delicacy

This video is a great example of how you can target ‘steering smoothness’ as a goal.