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Trying to choose between corner speed or rotation speed
Getting the car driving in a straight line as early as possible is what actually pays in a slow, tight corner. You can hold the chassis more settled and carry speed, or you can force more rotation, accept a lower minimum speed, and try to unwind the wheel sooner.
The rotation option only works if the driven wheels will take throttle while the car is still rotating. If they will not, you have just bought a slow exit. I am trying to decide which of those is the right default for club hairpins, or whether it is simply a function of what comes after the corner.
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A kart has no differential, so yaw only appears once lateral load transfer and the jacking effect of caster have unloaded the inside rear enough that the locked axle stops fighting the turn. An abrupt steer input to force rotation often completes that unload too quickly, the rear exceeds a usable slip angle, and the driven tires will not take throttle, which is simply a slow exit. Single-gear karts therefore default to a smoother, higher-speed arc so the lift is progressive and the momentum you cannot recover is conserved. KZ can enter deeper, accept a lower minimum speed, and recover on exit because power, gearing, and front brakes make late throttle actually usable.
Which of those is the right default for a club hairpin is a function of the kart and of what sits before and after the corner, not a universal rule. A tight radius, useful camber, short wheelbase, and a long following straight favor rotating early and getting drive in while the chassis is still yawing. A larger radius, long wheelbase, modest power, a polished or bumpy surface, or a short or placement-critical exit favors carrying mid-corner speed and unwinding later, and tire life can force that choice even when the faster rotation exists.
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