PITSTOPS

When to Pit and what kind of stop to make, are vital components of your Race Strategy. Every event will have Supplementary Regulations, and those regulations will detail how many Pit Stops and Fuel Stops you need to make during the race.

Details on the various types of Pit Stops are listed below.

The most basic form of Pit Stop, this is when the kart enters the pit lane and drives through at no more than 13 km/h (the maximum speed allowed under SEK QLD Rules) without stopping. Pit stops usually have a ‘delta’ time for the transit through pitlane and this will always be confirmed during Driver’s Briefing and often noted in the Supplementary Regulations for each event.

For SEK Endurance Racing, a Drive Through is counted towards your number of Pit Stops, provided it’s been undertaken during the period in which the pits are declared ‘open’. Again, this is detailed in the Supplementary Regulations (for example, at most events the pitlane is closed for the first and last 30 minutes of the race).

It’s important to remember however that there are limits on how long a driver can remain in the kart for any given stint (no more than 60 minutes). It’s also worth noting that if you exceed the ‘minimum’ number of stops dictated in the Supplementary Regulations for each event, you’re essentially giving up valuable time for no return. For this reason, most teams develop a strategy that ensures they do only the minimum number of stops required. Also consider that a drive through should be (all things being equal) the fastest type of pit stop you can make, as you’re not stopping to change drivers or to fuel. This is important to consider when forming a strategy, and the top teams will often have ‘spare’ pitstops as part of their overall strategy to use at their discretion. Some of the reasons you’d employ a drive-through Pit Stop include:

TRAFFIC

Catching a large group of karts who are fighting for position. You will likely be slowed down as you try to pass them, so utilising a Drive-Through stop if you have one available can be an effective way of minimising time loss

SAFETY CAR

If you see an incident, debris (think Bathurst 2019!) or breakdown and believe a Safety Car or Virtual Safety Car period may be called, this can present an opportunity to ‘bank’ a pitstop and regain track time/position when the field bunches up behind the leader prior to the restart. Be wary though and apply serious discretion: get it wrong and you could find yourself a lap down.

STRATEGY

Another reason to do a drive-through is to ensure you complete the required number of pitstops during a race, with the minimal amount of impact to your race time. Be considerate of this when developing your race strategy, as the ‘minimum’ number of pitstops required is generally more than is required (albeit you still need to do the minimum). This is how many teams have stops they can ‘bank’ for use when it suits them best, rather than when needed for fuel or driver changes

A “Driver Change” pitstop is exactly that, a pitstop where the team changes drivers. The maximum driver stint time (the length of time any driver can remain in the kart in a single, continuous period) must not exceed 1 (one) hour, and each driver must have a minimum 20-minute break between each stint. Driver changes are necessary as part of your overall race strategy. 

To complete a driver change, the current driver of the kart must enter the pit lane safely and transit to the driver change area (this is signed and always highlighted during the drivers’ briefing) at no more than the 13kph pit speed limit, before coming to a complete stop. Only once the kart is stationary may the current driver exit the kart, and the new driver assume control. When the new driver is seated in the kart, the kart then exits the pits (continuing to observe the mandated pit speed of 13kph) before safely returning to the circuit and resuming their race. Driver changes can take place during normal race stops and may be combined with a fuel stop, however they cannot occur during a drive-through penalty, nor when the kart is in the pitlane for a weight check under racing conditions. 

Self-explanatory purpose for stopping, however the process is an important one from both a Safety and Competition view.

One critical thing to note is that Teams MUST provide a minimum of one person to assist with the refueling process when their team is stopping for fuel. The Fuel Marshall (who will be designated in the Supplementary Regulations and also introduced at Driver’s Briefing) must be informed of your intent to stop for Fuel in advance of you entering Pit Lane.

SEK QLD runs a dedicated fuel rig for the purposes of refueling, and this will be set up within the pit lane precinct, with clear signage and barriers designating its location.

To undertake a fuel stop, competitors enter the pit lane as per any form of stop, observing the mandated maximum 13 km/h speed limit (and time delta). Unlike a drive-through or driver-change stop however, to undertake a Fuel Stop competitors will need to:

Drive their kart into an available fuel bay

Turn off both engines

Exit the kart and press the button (which will be shown to you prior to the event) on top of the ‘traffic light’ timer adjacent to the Fuel Bay. The light will change from Green to Red, which indicates the timer is activated (each Fuel Stop is timed – current time is ~65 seconds) to ensure parity for all teams during the process and maximise safety

The driver must then stand beside the fire extinguisher whilst the kart is being refueled

The Team Assistant then needs to remove the fuel cap and advise the Fuel Marshall on the level of fuel required

The Fuel Marshall will complete refueling, after which the Team Assistant must refit/tighten the fuel cap

The Driver may only be reseated in the kart after the fuel cap is refitted

Once the driver is reseated, the engines may be restarted

The Driver must remain stationary until such time as the green light is lit, indicating you may drive out of the fuel bay

Once Refueling is complete and you have safely exited the Fuel Bay and rejoined pitlane, you are free to either rejoin the circuit (after transiting the remainder of Pit Lane at no more than 13 km/h) or to undertake a Driver Change.


Generally only required in races of long durations (greater than 12 hours) or in changeable weather conditions, a Tyre Stop requires you to enter pitlane (at all times observing both the 13km/h speed limit and prescribed ‘delta’ time; before turning off your engines and removing the kart from Pitlane (to the Pit Area) before you can commence changing tyres.

To save time, particularly if you’re a team with less than 3 participants, most teams ask for support from other people to help lift the kart onto the trolley and to support them during the tyre change process. Teams will generally use one (or 2, although we’ve even seen 4!) impact drivers to allow them to quickly remove the wheels, replace the wheels (with new tyres pre-installed) and then refit the wheels and tighten wheel nuts.

With 3 stud/nuts on each wheel, tyre changes generate a lot of action and create a lot of pressure and excitement as teams rush to complete the task swiftly whilst minimising errors and time lost in the pits.

Once the wheels are replaced, the kart is returned to Pit Lane, the driver returns to the kart, engines are restarted and you exit pitlane (again observing speed limits) to rejoin the race.

Sounds simple, but it’s often plagued with errors as teams make frequent mistakes in their haste to get back on track.

Handy Tip: Having a spare set of wheels with tyres premounted (whether for wet or slick tyres, which take different rim types) is critical, the time loss would be substantial if you tried to replace tyres alone and remount them to the same rims.

It may be necessary to pit due to a mechanical issue, or potential breakdown. If the kart is still running/circulating, you may decide to pit for quick repairs. If any form of tool is required to do this, the kart must be removed from Pit Lane (refer to the SEK Rule Book for details). If it’s a situation where a zip tie or race tape will help you ‘MacGyver’ a solution, then you can do this during a regular stop without removing the kart from the Pit Lane.

Regardless of whether you enter the pits under your own power or are recovered by your team during a Safety Car period, if your kart has broken down, your stop will be counted towards the total number of stops you’ve accrued during the event.