1
Karting on Tue 22 Dec 2009, 7:31 pm
matthayeskarting
New Member
Hi
Alot of you on this forum aren't lucky enough to race. Alot of people can't afford to race cars at all. It's unfortunate that alot of people havent discovered karting as a alternative to racing cars. Karts are alot cheaper than a car and the racing is just as close if not closer. Karts are not toys, (I am not talking about your hire karts or arrive n drive stuff)these are proper racing machines with classes for adults and juniors alike. Karts reach speeds of over 75MPH also with gearbox karts reaching way above that and on long circuits up to 120MPH, this feels unbelievably fast when your sitting inches away from the ground!
You do need a MSA License to race karts, these are achieved by taking a ARKs test which includes a written and driving test and also a medical if you are over a certain age.
Karts are raced at lots of different levels. Starting with club level. Club level includes lots of different classes which all run seperate races but on the same day at the same track. Club events are held at the same track and tend to run 12 or 11 meetings a year. Race formats are usually 3 heats and a final. Club level is where you would be looking to start, alot of serious and acomplished drivers race at club aswell as international,euro and even world championships. Secondly there is national level or as it is called in the UK, Super 1. Drivers in each class competer to get the #1 plate on their kart which will be reserved for them to use wherever they race. The #1 plate is achieved by finishing 1st in the whole Super1 championship. Numbers 2 to 15 are also given to the places finished respectively. Super1 is very serious and alot of drivers race with teams. Finally there is world championship level which is very serious and alot of people make a good living out of it, racing for teams and developing chassis.
There are many good websites to help you get into karting such as www.karting.co.uk and www.karting1.co.uk especially karting1's forum, www.karting1.co.uk/forum.
To start off with you will need to see if you like karting, many teams will let you have a practice day in a kart for a price, they provide the kart and mechanic, teams such as: Spellfame www.spellfame.co.uk and Ziemelis motorsport www.ziemelismotorsport.com would be great to help you take that step. Teams can also guide you into taking your ARKS test too. Karting is a very level playing field with weight being taken into equation for example, there is a minimum weight in every class, if you are under you must add lead ballast your kart.
Once you decide that you like karting there are many classes and you can see which one would suit you, the most usual classes ran in the UK are:
8-12 year olds
Cadets:
Cadets have 3 types of engine that are run at club and national level. The most popular being Comer Cadet.
Comer Cadet 2 stroke: 60cc W60 Comer Cadet engine - Recoil starter
Honda Cadet 4 stroke: 160cc Honda engine
WTP Cadet 2 stroke: 60cc WTP engine
12-16 year olds
Rotax Minimax: Rotax minimax is a restriced Rotax FR125 engine, these engine are 125cc 2 stroke engines and are watercooled (Have a radiator). Rotax engines are sealed meaning that you cannot rebuild them yourself they must be sent off to a company that is ceritified to do it. Rotax dominates the UK kart scene at present.
Junior TKM: This is the class I race in. Junior TKM uses 100cc 2 stroke engines.
Rotax Junior Max: Rotax Junior Max is a restricted FR125 engine, the difference between this and the minimax is Junior max has more power and is for the heavier driver
KF3: The KF engine is used in the world championship as SuperKF, KF3 is the Junior version of the formulaee, not raced at club level but is at national and european and also world, also KF2 for the older driver.
16+
Senior TKM EXTREME: This is the same as the junior TKM class but with a upgraded motor for the senior drivers of 115cc
Senior Rotax: Non restricted 125cc Rotax engine
SuperKF: The class used for the world championship
KZ2 or ICC: 125cc reed valve engines with 30mm carburettor, these are real racing karts and are very fast, often ran on tracks such as cadwell park aswell as kart tracks
250cc or Superkarts: Raced at few kart clubs and usually on long circuit 250cc single-cylinder engines with 5 speed gearbox
I hope I have given you an insight into the karting world
Any questions just PM me
Matt
Alot of you on this forum aren't lucky enough to race. Alot of people can't afford to race cars at all. It's unfortunate that alot of people havent discovered karting as a alternative to racing cars. Karts are alot cheaper than a car and the racing is just as close if not closer. Karts are not toys, (I am not talking about your hire karts or arrive n drive stuff)these are proper racing machines with classes for adults and juniors alike. Karts reach speeds of over 75MPH also with gearbox karts reaching way above that and on long circuits up to 120MPH, this feels unbelievably fast when your sitting inches away from the ground!
You do need a MSA License to race karts, these are achieved by taking a ARKs test which includes a written and driving test and also a medical if you are over a certain age.
Karts are raced at lots of different levels. Starting with club level. Club level includes lots of different classes which all run seperate races but on the same day at the same track. Club events are held at the same track and tend to run 12 or 11 meetings a year. Race formats are usually 3 heats and a final. Club level is where you would be looking to start, alot of serious and acomplished drivers race at club aswell as international,euro and even world championships. Secondly there is national level or as it is called in the UK, Super 1. Drivers in each class competer to get the #1 plate on their kart which will be reserved for them to use wherever they race. The #1 plate is achieved by finishing 1st in the whole Super1 championship. Numbers 2 to 15 are also given to the places finished respectively. Super1 is very serious and alot of drivers race with teams. Finally there is world championship level which is very serious and alot of people make a good living out of it, racing for teams and developing chassis.
There are many good websites to help you get into karting such as www.karting.co.uk and www.karting1.co.uk especially karting1's forum, www.karting1.co.uk/forum.
To start off with you will need to see if you like karting, many teams will let you have a practice day in a kart for a price, they provide the kart and mechanic, teams such as: Spellfame www.spellfame.co.uk and Ziemelis motorsport www.ziemelismotorsport.com would be great to help you take that step. Teams can also guide you into taking your ARKS test too. Karting is a very level playing field with weight being taken into equation for example, there is a minimum weight in every class, if you are under you must add lead ballast your kart.
Once you decide that you like karting there are many classes and you can see which one would suit you, the most usual classes ran in the UK are:
8-12 year olds
Cadets:
Cadets have 3 types of engine that are run at club and national level. The most popular being Comer Cadet.
Comer Cadet 2 stroke: 60cc W60 Comer Cadet engine - Recoil starter
Honda Cadet 4 stroke: 160cc Honda engine
WTP Cadet 2 stroke: 60cc WTP engine
12-16 year olds
Rotax Minimax: Rotax minimax is a restriced Rotax FR125 engine, these engine are 125cc 2 stroke engines and are watercooled (Have a radiator). Rotax engines are sealed meaning that you cannot rebuild them yourself they must be sent off to a company that is ceritified to do it. Rotax dominates the UK kart scene at present.
Junior TKM: This is the class I race in. Junior TKM uses 100cc 2 stroke engines.
Rotax Junior Max: Rotax Junior Max is a restricted FR125 engine, the difference between this and the minimax is Junior max has more power and is for the heavier driver
KF3: The KF engine is used in the world championship as SuperKF, KF3 is the Junior version of the formulaee, not raced at club level but is at national and european and also world, also KF2 for the older driver.
16+
Senior TKM EXTREME: This is the same as the junior TKM class but with a upgraded motor for the senior drivers of 115cc
Senior Rotax: Non restricted 125cc Rotax engine
SuperKF: The class used for the world championship
KZ2 or ICC: 125cc reed valve engines with 30mm carburettor, these are real racing karts and are very fast, often ran on tracks such as cadwell park aswell as kart tracks
250cc or Superkarts: Raced at few kart clubs and usually on long circuit 250cc single-cylinder engines with 5 speed gearbox
I hope I have given you an insight into the karting world
Any questions just PM me
Matt
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