Hey everyone,

I’m going to do my first Motorkhana event at this year’s Bug-in in WA and I was looking for some tips?

Going to take things very slowly and not take it too seriously as I’d hate to damage my car.

Is anyone else on here competing?

Heh - my biggest tip would be to just have fun !!!

I have a short term memory like a goldfish, a car that is purposely set up not to slide, and am known to be a a complete unco when it comes to doing handbrake turns... yet somehow I came 2nd in the Motorkhana at last year's Bug In. Unfortunately not going to make it there this year

My pointers would be:
- let Mal Dodd's tyres down... it's about the only way to beat him
- register late... having a higher run number will let you learn from others before your run
- have the test layout viisible in your car... sticky tape'd to the dash or bottom edge of windscreen is ideal
- be like a kid and "practice" the test standing up, hands mimicking the turns you will make and leaning into the corners. Yes you'll look like a goose, but I seriously doubt anyone will laugh and it will help your memory immensely
- not making wrong turns and hitting cones is WAY more important than going fast. Hitting a cone is I think a 2 second penalty, while missing a cone is considered a WD (Wrong Direction) and gets you the slowest time plus 5 seconds

Tip.........DON'T go in any event the involves using reverse gear.

Thanks guys.
An interesting point HappyDaze. I didn’t know there was such a thing until I looked up "motorkhana" in Wikipedia and nearly spat my coffee at the screen. I have enough trouble finding reverse in the car park (without hitting the passenger’s leg) let alone on a race track.

have a look at how flimsy reverse gear is and you will understand Greg's point.....

reverse is the gear that allows you to manouvre the car just enough to put it back in first

Another one......Tape the hand-brake button IN with masking or electrical tape, so that you can use the hand-brake, without it locking on.

Oh, you're onto the old "hitting the passenger's leg" routine.

Most of the best tips have already been covered here. Sides, as you well know it will take more than flat tyres to stop Mal from winning the motorkhana. He was running the same set of tyres for about 40 years so I don't think he believes in maintaining them!

Graham van der Hoek is often seen standing on the side of the track steering an imaginary car through the course before his run, and he's won about 3 SA motorkhana championships in a row now so it can't hurt.

HappyDaze is right about taping the handbrake button in as well, this is the best trick of all. Electrical tape will do it fine. I also have to slide the passenger seat all the way back, as I have non-VW seats and they're very close together in the middle.

Also, try to corner as neatly and as close to the cones as possible. Regardless of any extra speed you may carry, running wide will definitely cost you time. Clean and tight is the way to go.

Its a great fun day just give it your best shot

I haven't done one in a while, some more other tips are
1. tape up the botton the handbrake. That way its fly off and all you need to do is pull it up and let it go
2. to start with (unless you have had practice) try just doing circles, with handbrake for slow stuff only.
3. do the motorkhana dance, or work on patterns (thats how I work)
4. lift off coming in to get some bight then withr handbrake or power around
5. depending on setup and surface, there are lots of other tricks..... watch and learn.
6. don't wrong direction (WD) as its slowest + 10 secs(?), so even if you hit 5 cones, you will do better than someboy who WD. If need be, stop, look at your map and move on.
7. normally smooth and neat will bet slots of sliding and handbrake turns....

Have fun!!

From a previous winner of the wa vw club motorkhana my only advice (apart from the handbrake button, which is a goodun) is to enjoy yourself but make sure you don't hit any cones - loosing one fifth of bugger all time giving yourself a little room around the markers is better than losing 5 seconds for hitting one.

Oh, and victory donuts at 6500rpm are mandatory too !!!!

tip # 1 use a golf or a mini