I am with Richie?s and Tom?s comments. I respect those flying the safety flag and their concerns and comments but I still have not been convinced that FWB wouldn?t provide a performance advantage.
We all know how it works in racing from F1 to karting. Everyone is looking for an advantage or at what the fast people are doing in order to keep pace. If Ferrari or another team has a new aero treatment all the other teams are testing it and putting on their car. If someone in karting is winning on a regional or national level others consider the equipment for their next purchase even though it was more to do with the combination of driver, motor, kart, and tuner doing the winning. People can get the perception that it was the kart or motor or ????FWB. I?m sure that CRG and Swedetech sold some karts and motors because of what happened in Vegas.
This leads me to what happens if someone wins a few races with front brakes or even the championship in a class that allows it as optional? Wouldn?t it possibly give others the perception that there is an advantage with them? Would people in the class feel compelled to have them? Would newcomers to the class think it is necessary to have them? The price of poker just went up.
If someone at the Florida Winter Tour were to win I bet you would see more people running FWB. Greg and Doug, you mentioned that you run at the FWT with them for the extra safety margin but I can?t believe you would have them on the kart if it was detrimental to your performance in some way. You guys are going there to win, not just to participate.
What is the plan from here with this poll Brad started? Will CSC do its own thing on this issue or follow Tag USA (if it keeps the rules as currently stated)? Who is it that will make the final decision for what CSC will do? When would that decision be made?
We sure do not need a situation like what the Renault F1 team suffered last year. Time and money spent to develop a mass damper system, allowed to run with it for most of the season only to be told midway through that it had to be removed. I sure don?t want to see people spend the money for FWB to run part of a season or even just one season later to be told to remove it.
Final thought and you can shoot me on this one. If safety is the main concern behind the voting and a push for FWB shouldn?t in be made mandatory. After all, some people don?t like wearing seatbelts but it?s required not optional for your own safety. Right?