New for ’06!

[Anonymous]

Welcome Jon,

Glad to see you’re joining us next year. Look on this forum as Rich Vito has offered to work with people starting out. He has a lot of knowledge and takes impeccable notes and records all of his sessions. He could save you save you a lot of time and dollars. I would also be glad to answer any questions you might have.

Happy new year, Rick

[Anonymous]

Jon,

Thanks Rick-right on!!! 😀

Welcome to Colorado Tag Karting! :cheers:

You will be joining a great bunch of guys (Tag-seniors, masters, juniors). It is the largest race group, with shifters a close 2nd. Everybody is very helpfull.

See my threads for the 2006 Colorado Tag Forum-you may want to join. You also may want to call me and we can talk. If not then try doing a search on this website and e-karting news and you will find a wealth of info.

My kart is stripped down to the bare chassis and I am about to start rebuilding it-the best way to learn your kart. I do it every yr.

Guys: Anybody thinking of having their chassis powder coated should call me. I found prices from $125 to $350. If we have multiple chassis I might be able to drive the price down further. It’s called bulk buying Power!

thanks-rich vito 303-772-0678

[Mike Jansen]

Jon,

Two tips you can work on now in the offseason:

#1 at the gym get a ten pound plate and stick it out in front of you shoulder height. Hold it out and “turn it” ten times to each side. Graduate up to a 45 pound plate or 35 if you aren’t that big or strong and build up those shoulders. They get tired and getting tired means you’re getting slow

#2 do some cardio work. Run or stairmaster for 20 minutes working up to as fast as your heart will allow you until your heart feels like it’s going to pop out of your chest, then give it that extra 10%. Getting tired means you’re getting slow.

The driving parts a piece of cake, see you at the track 8)

[Anonymous]

Hi Jon,

I am a know-nothing when it comes to Rotax and a know-very-little when it comes to karting as a whole. But maybe I can help you find some good information. Here is a web link regarding Rotax engines that has a couple of manuals you can download and print:

http://www.maxchallenge-rotax.com

Now, here is my disclaimer: I work for the Army National Guard and for some reason the Guard Bureau computer geeks will not let me onto that site. So I cannot guarantee that it is still a working web site.

You probably can?t go wrong by tapping into Rich Vito?s brain, and you might also contact Dave Galegor at http://www.g-rpm.com/ for additional info. Dave is a very smart engine guy who loves to talk about Rotax, and whose son, Bret, won a season championship in Rotax a few years ago.

Weight training is a great idea. I do the exercise for the shoulders that Mike talked about. One difference is that I use dumbbell weights rather than plates. I found that the dumbbell weights force your arms work independently. That way the dominant arm isn?t assisting the weaker one. I find a place where I can sit in a position as similar as possible to the one I?d be in while driving the kart, and I keep my hands in the same postions and about the same distance apart as they are while on the steering wheel. That way I can be sure that I?m working the same part of the arm and shoulder muscles that I use while actually driving. There are such things as ?quick-twitch? muscles and ?slow-twitch? muscles. Distance runners have slow-twitch muscles and sprinters have quick-twitch ones. So, you might also alternate rotating quickly and slowly because some corners require a relatively quick turn of the wheel, others require slower and longer duration turning.

When I first got into TAG karts and found that they pull more G forces than the 4-strokers my butt, hips, and inner and outer thigh muscles got pretty tired. So I suggest doing a lot to strengthen those parts of the body as well. Working the core muscles (abs, sides and back) can help a ton for overall fitness and do a lot to help avoid injury in the event of a crash. And Mike is right about doing cardio workouts as well.

A caution I would offer when it comes to weight training is to not get too pumped up and too strong because that will cause dynamic tension to build up in the muscles, making it difficult to be quick with the wheel. Good muscle tone and added strength is all that is necessary. Don?t go at it with the idea of coming out looking like Mr. Olympia.

Best of luck.

[Jon Romenesko]

Thanks for the replies/tips everyone!

As far as the workout tips that Pat and Mike suggested, i’ve been incorporating them into my routine for a while now. But, good call on the independent weights, Pat, that never occured to me! As far as training goes, this book has been great! I’d highly recommend it to anyone looking for a motorsports-related training routine. Lotsa good info in there. 8) Can anyone elaborate on the slow/quick twitch muscles? I’ve heard them mentioned before, and heard they’re important, but nothing beyond that.

Seems there’s alot going on regarding who/what our sanctioning body is going to be in ’06 (if any?)…so what do I need to do regarding registering my kart/number for competition? Or do i?

Thanks again, im sure the questions will keep coming. 😛

–Jon

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