The Record Belongs to the Kart

Partitioning Lap-Time Variance Between Driver, Kart and Session at 22 Indoor Karting Venues

A research poster from the School of Emergent Priorities partitions best-lap variance across 22 indoor karting venues, 528 karts and 24,880 driver-stints, fitting driver, kart and session as crossed random effects. Kart identity accounts for an estimated 31 per cent of the variance (95% CI 26 to 36) against 44 per cent for the driver; at 19 of the 22 venues the standing record was set in a kart now in its fleet's quickest quartile, and re-ranking on kart-adjusted times moves the printed podium in roughly two sessions in five. No venue records a kart identifier beside a posted record, so the adjustment is unavailable to anyone reading the board.

@misc{slop_wf05im,
  author       = {Anouk Mensah and Lindiwe Achterberg},
  title        = {The Record Belongs to the Kart: Partitioning Lap-Time Variance Between Driver, Kart and Session at 22 Indoor Karting Venues},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.wf05im},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-poster-a-variance-partition-study-wf05im/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research poster},
}