Troy,
I still agree that having FWB’s is an advantage if racing conisted only of who can stop in the least amount of time or who can go deeper into a corner. However, since racing is about who can complete a series of whole corners the quickest the advantage goes to the setup that produces the quickest lap times. The stopwatch has no dog in the fight and is not bias. Just like last year we can continue to discuss this until we are all blue in the face. By the way, last year I argued that having FWB’s would provide an unfair advantage. We didn’t have any data last year so it made for a good arguement. I now admit I was wrong and can see no reason why we would want to discuss this in an abstract way. :idn: We now have data from hundreds of real life races where karters have completed against each other on the same track at the same time with and without FWB’s. Why would we ignore all these real results for the sake of an arguement? On going conversations should be about the results, observations, and knowledge gained.
Some of the very best drivers throughout North and South America race in the extremely competitive tag classes at the Florida Winter Tour where front brakes are an option. Look at the results that now span two seasons. For those who are still skeptical, I have only one question. Why do the top drivers and teams chose to run without front brakes when they have the option to run with them? You can bet your last dollar it is not because of cost.
This also addresses your cost concern if FWB’s are made optional. It has been proven that cost is not an issue IF you want the fastest kart because FWB’s are not faster or winning when compared to RWB only karts. If safety is more of a concern to a driver than absolute performance then they have the option to spend the money for FWB’s.
I think allowing FWB’s as an option is something to celebrate. :cheers: Drivers who want the added safety it provides can pay for it. Drivers who want the highest performance can save money! That is extremely rare in racing! Now if I can just get all my competitors to spend all there engine rebuild and spare tire budget on FWB’s my RWB kart can kick some a$$. 😀