Promising young driver Savva Solonchenko has plenty of experience both in karting and in race cars, and he shared his insights with us about the differences between these two disciplines.
Karting is the entry step into the world of motorsport, and it was no different in Savva’s case; however, a kart does not offer as many setup possibilities as a race car does. "For me, the biggest difference has been how much more setup work is involved. That said, it’s surprisingly similar in many ways — drivers are still not afraid to bang doors and race hard."
The fact that a kart does not offer such extensive setup options is also reflected in how physically demanding the driving itself is. For example, when it comes to the chassis, a kart lacks any suspension components such as dampers, springs, or anti-roll bars, which means the driver feels almost all the vibrations from the track very directly."I would say karting is more physically demanding because of the G-forces and how much you feel everything — kerbs, bumps and contact — mainly due to the lack of suspension."
Motorsport is, and always will be, dangerous, but he still feels that in car racing there is generally more respect between drivers on track. "People still race just as hard, but in cars there is generally a bit more respect and fewer unnecessary or reckless moves."
The transition from karting to racing cars is not easy, and a driver has to learn many new things. As a result, every single day on a race track is a valuable experience — but what are the biggest lessons Savva has gained so far? "For me, it was important to understand how slipstreaming works in cars and how you can work together with other drivers. Predicting how others behave on track is also a key part of racing in cars."
After a successful stint in the Ginetta Junior Winter Series, it has been announced that Savva’s next step in his motorsport career will be in the Fiesta Juniors Championship. What expectations does he have from this move, and what goals is he setting himself for this new challenge? "RCC has been by far the strongest team over the past few years, and with the programme we have lined up, we hope to be challenging for podiums and possibly the rookie title. That said, it’s still early days and hard to tell. I’m very excited to start racing with them, and this will be the first time we’ve had a full campaign with a genuinely strong overall package."
How successful this step will ultimately be remains to be seen, but it is certainly an important move in his career that will help him progress to the next level.
You can follow his entire motorsport journey on Savva’s social media channels. @savva_does_racing on instagram tiktok and YouTube.