mattski

Hi,

I had my first experience of Karting last night with a 'team building' thing at work.

It was held in Streatham, London.

For anyone who hasn't been I can thoroughly
recommend it. Absolutely fantastic fun, and
a lot more physical than I had expected!

The problem now is that I have been bitten
by the bug and have started to look at the
price of karts and so forth. Of course I am
going to go a few more times before seriously looking but the bug is in there now.

Does anyone race karts, just as a hobby?
What are the sort of startup costs you
are looking at? I've seen some private
adds on

Hoppy

Mattski, I know a bit about karting. And yes, it's fantastic fun. I'll be happy to help any way I can. Here are a few points for starters.

You've already been on the karting.co.uk web site. There's loads of good information on there, especially for beginners.

Karting is dangerously addictive. Like a drug. (I'm serious!)

Costs range from expensive (ie £2-3k a season) to bloody ridiculous (£50-100k). And the better you get, the cost of competing rises exponentially. You will soon find yourself competing with drivers whose motorhomes cost more than your house.

Indoor karting is more dangerous than outdoor (make mistake, hit tyre wall [painful], bounce back on to track, get hit by following kart [very painful]).

Over the years, I've seen drivers with various broken limbs. But none of them was acquired karting! It was always football, rugby, or cycling accidents. That's not to say karting isn't dangerous, and indeed people have been killed, but outdoor racing is far safer than it looks.

Go to a local club meeting (there are dozens of clubs up and down the country) and get a feel for it and the various racing classes. Don't be afraid to ask beginner questions as you'll find people very welcoming. Just pick your moment, ie not when there's a lot of swearing and spanners flailing!

Seek out the club's Competition Secretary. The Clerk of the Course might think he runs the show, but actually it's the Comp Sec! She'll have most of the answers, or will direct you to an official who does.

If you want to give it a try, you'll need a good helmet, suit, gloves, boots, pass an ARCs test (easy), have a medical, get an RAC-MSA license, and join a club. From £500 upwards.

Oh, and a kart comes in handy, too! But there's a kind of arrive-and-drive class called Club 100 which races pukka 2-strokes outdoors. Maybe try that first.

Most of all, enjoy!

Hoppy

mattski

thanks for the info guys. I've experienced
my first 'injury' already... nothing major,
just a big bruise :O) Basically pushed
it a little hard, back end swung out, got it back, got wacked, knee + steering column=bruise.

Luckily there is an outdoor track literally
about 2 miles away from me, I'll go and have
a look at the Club 100 thing. Amazingly I
didn't even think about it until now.

I can honestly say it was the most fun I
have had with my clothes on, perhaps ;o)
I was amazed at how physical it was too,
I've got a whole new respect for racing
drivers now.

Maybe we should get a Scoobynet Karting
event arranged somewhere?

Andy Banks

Hi,

Dont know much about twin engine karts, got the impression they are cheap to run but not that extreme (two engines, 4 stroke?...more weight etc)

100cc 2 storke karts are fast, but since they rev to 18,000 the engines need rebuilding every 3-4 hours racing time - not much use if you just want to start as a hobbey. At lot of guys I know have several engines and seize them regularly.

I bought a 125cc 6 speed gearbox kart about a year ago. The only costs involved so far have been tires - and that obviously depends on how tidy you drive.

The engine rebuild is recommended every 50 hours, and they are much more reliable, much faster and have much much better brakes.

Max speed is about 85mph, acceleration is... I dont know but bloody quick.

With reference to the above comment re: brakes failing. I've had this happen to me once in a 100cc kart, and yes it hurts! Good thing about 125cc gearbox class is that they have two disc brakes at the front, and one at the rear. Much safer in my opinion, and the braking power is incredible. Handling is more like a car, with front brakes doing most of the work.

Gearbox is harder to learn, but that's part of the fun. But best bet is to try a few different types.

Cheers
Andy

AllanB

Used to do alot of karting but didn't get my own kart but was looking at this. When I was looking which was around 2-3 years ago it looked like a season would cost around 2.5-3K for a good cart in a good series. Had a mate who used to run his own cart and did very well and got to test for Formula Palmer Audi.

I gave it up after a few accidents , in particular one involving a twin engine cart, 90mph, a tyre wall and a snapped brake cable. It really , really hurst I can tell you. Sort of lost interest after this and seeing a number of people seriously injured at a bifg 24 hour endurance race in docklands.

Would be interested in doing it again at a very well run place.

AllanB

Hoppy

There are three basic types of kart, and several racing classes within each type. One way or another, there is something for everyone, from 8-year-old kids to 60-year-old lardies.

1) ProKarts. Twin engined 200cc Honda four strokes. Very heavy and relatively slow, but can be cheap and reliable to run. Good for enduros, and team racing with a bunch of mates can be a lot of fun. Makes it cheaper, too.

2) 100cc 2-strokes. The elite class for Jenson wannabees. Sprint racing (10-15 laps max). Quick motors and sticky tyres are mega fun, but this is serious karting - highly competitive. Cheating, dirty driving, parc ferme punch-ups and endless protest hearings can take the fun out of it. Even the so-called TKM 'economy class' is expensive. The international classes get ridiculous, as Andy says.

3) Gearbox. Usually the preserve of ex-bikers. 125 and 250cc 2-strokes. Can do 150mph! Relatively complex machines, almost like small cars (but don't have a rear diff, of course). Grids tend to be small and not all clubs run them.

Finally, there's another new class which is catching on fast. Rotax Max, one for Juniors and a slightly quicker one for Seniors. Powered by a 125cc water-cooled Rotax 2-stroke single. Single gear. Centrifugal clutch. Electric start. Well silenced. Wears grippy rubber.

Rotaxs are almost as quick as the fastest 100cc karts, but engines run for 30 hours between rebuilds, and don't seize in the meantime. It's still an emerging class (only two years old) but has a lot going for it - fast, light weight, cheap, reliable, can do both spints and enduros.

I'm thinking of having a go at this myself, racing enduros with my son. Bankruptcy here we come! (Again.)

Hoppy

Gizmo555

Mattski

Used to race endurance Pro-Karts for 5 years - basically bigger twin engined versions of your indoor kart. Was good for ~70mph at some circuits with right gearing.

Cheapest way is to get one of these with 3 mates and look at endurance racing. 6 hour endurance races are typical with some running 24 hour races - best one being at the Alain Prost Kart Circuit at Le-Mans.
Karts will last ~1.5 hours on a tank of fuel, so its time to swap drivers every 1.5 hours therefore 4 of you being ideal for a 6 hour race.

The unfortunate thing is that if you're going to take it seriously you need plenty of cash. When we started racing you could do a season for £8K (£2K each) which included all travelling, parts etc and consisted of 10 6 hour races and 2 24 hour races (Le-Mans entry ~£1500).

Costs have now risen sharpely and to compete at the front your looking at least 3 times that amount. Top Pro-Kart teams spending close to £50K.

If you're doing it for fun then thats a different story. I've got all the gear you need including trailer to drag it around in -and its for sale.

Yex

Waheeey,

More Karting fans on Scoobynet I race in the Canary Wharf Challenge Series using 100cc loony karts, two speeds very fast and stop . If anyone is interested have a look at

mattski

cool...

the pricing of your class sounds fairly
reasonable...have you got any more details,
do you own your kart?

I think it would be great if we had a Scooby karting bash...maybe for charity or something?

I know there is quite a large outdoor track near me, in Binley Woods, Coventry...may be worth checking out.

ta,
matt