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Don,
Thanks for all of the great info. I am sure that there are other Fathers who I have talked to who are too shy to come straight out and ask for help. Those of you who have met me and Nicki know that I am not. I am still very lost…. 😕
We ended up having to go with a JR1 kart to be fair to the Kid Kart class. After watching her in the 80 comer, I do think that she is handling the kart okay and will get better with more seat time. She might be a little behind the power curve with more experience racers but the natural kid competition thing is really her best medicine to get her going. The kids and parents in this sport have been very helpful to us in getting her out there and seeing what the competition is like.
I still have a couple of questions and don’t want to be a pain in the a$$, but…..
How can you find out what the specs are for motors and karts for the Jr1 class? I get conflicting info between tracks.
Is there a shop that carries comer 80’s or the animal 2 in stock?
Now this question will start a bunch of stuff, but I will ask in anyway:
What track is best and safest for a beginning Jr1 racer? There I asked it!!!
Once again, I would like would like to thank people like yourself and Angie for sharing info to help new family’s get started.
John
Hi John,
Let me state for the recorded that these are my opinions which apply only to my family and me.>>How can you find out what the specs are for motors and karts for the
>>Jr1 class? I get conflicting info between tracks.That is a good question and one I would like to have a better handle on myself. That is why I wrote the Kid Kart guidelines and I am hoping that the powers that be will address this issue. I know they are very busy and I was hoping that a couple of former Junior 1 dads could help write something up. Now, to try and help answer your question, I have found that Brad at IMI tends to lead the pack regarding regulation and applying the rules.
>>Is there a shop that carries comer 80’s or the animal 2 in stock?
As far as I know no one stocks them within the metro area, but I know they would gladly order whatever you needed.
>>Now this question will start a bunch of stuff, but I will ask in anyway:
>>What track is best and safest for a beginning Jr1 racer? There I asked
>> it!!!To be honest like most things they all have their strengths and weaknesses. First I should say, we have never been on CRE’s track since they don’t race Kid Karts, but of the other three tracks we have been on, I like Bandimere for a couple of reasons. First, we live in Lakewood and so Bandimere is just 15 minutes away. Second, and most important to my wife, is the safety issue, Bandimere rotates karts out in similar classes and thus abilities which appease my wife and to be honest I feel better seeing my son out with other “slower” karts than with those fast shifter and TAG karts. Not that I am worried about TAG or shifter drivers abilities, but what if one of my kids decides to change lines when a shifter kart is fast approaching. (As I write this maybe, Bandimere has to do it this way, since the track is smaller, tighter and narrower than IMI’s, and as far as I know no track has had a serious wreck between a Junior 1 and Shifter.) I will add that Conner likes to practice at IMI too, since he can really put his foot in it for long periods of time. Finally, if you ask my children which track they like the best they both would say Grand Junction, but obviously that is just to far to frequently practicing on. If money is a bigger issue you can’t beat the pricing of CRE or IMI.
Just my two cents…
John and Don,
It has been stated that we are going to use WKA technical rules for the Junior classes and 4 cycles. Although they don’t run the Animal or Briggs flathead in Junior 1 type classes, they do have technical specs for the engines. Also for the Comer 80. This is going to be the starting point for our rules in this class. I am sure there will be some exceptions to those rules, as there have been in the past. Hopefully we can get those exceptions spelled out clearly so we all know what we are up against.
The best way to know what is going on, is to be at the meeting (soon to be announced) that will be open for racers to attend (usually held late January at IMI). At that point, all of the finer details should be hammered out, and we should all have an idea what the rules are for our respective classes. I am guessing that the general race procedures and regulations will also be annouced.
With the kind of discussions going on here, I sure wouldn’t miss that meeting if you want to have a say!Angie MacEwen
[email protected]Guys and Girls,
Thanks for responding…. Now, not to be a wise a$$, but I am an Engineer and I can’t help but wondering…..Isn’t there a “standard”??? I mean, this should be “black and white” somewhere. Don’t we have to conform to some sort of national or state rules? Shouldn’t everyone be on the same sheet of music?
Just questions from a brand new racing Dad….
John
Hey John……I asked a similar question earlier about engine spec’s. I was a first year kart dad last year and I got different answers to the same questions. I understand everyone want’s the best package for there kids so do I, but when your kid’s get bummed-out when they get smoked by this or that it’s tough we aren’t able to have several different motor packages to try so we ran a flathead Briggs. I feel a spec class should be a spec class and the kid’s and dad’s should understand that they are here to learn how to drive and have fun. I also understand that the more karts the better and with my kid’s they wanted to run the class with the most karts…….All in all we met a lot of great people and had a great time. So much so that we bought a second kart and will be running 2 classes this year.
Looking forward to this year
MikeyWOW, Did I open a can of worms or what. lol The reason that we went to the Mini Max is :
1- we are a dealer.
2- we really like the Rotax concept and the kids really like this kart with electric start and low maintenence.
3- You can buy a motor package run it with the restrictors until they are old enough to move to Rotax Jr. then they just take out the restrictors put the motor in a bigger chassis. Then when they are old enough for the Rotax Senior just change the cylinder and away you go. So that means you could technicaly run that motor for the rest of your karting life.This kart just made sense to us and we intend to promote it fully. We do however want to keep things fair and fun for all, but are not really sure what that takes. We saw the Briggs kids Kill all the Comer 80’s last year and no one complained so what do we as a group need to do to make it fair for everyone? Ban the Mini Max? I disagree,I think there are other solutions but we need to all work together to come up with an answer… ❓
John, yes there are standards for everything in Karting. The most popular are those of the major national sanctioning bodies: IKF, WKA, SKUSA and CartStars. You can download the rules on the last two. They all contain detailed rules on race procedure, protest procedure, driving, and engine and chasis dimensions and specs. The idea being to promote fair and safe racing.
Last year, the CSC (Colorado State Championship) series and three of the CO tracks ran the Junior 1 class per the IKF Super Junior 1 with the following exceptions:
weight was 240lbs
several types of tires were permitted
the Comer80 per WKA/IKF (the are the same) was allowed
the Animal per IKF section 715 was allowed
no restrictorsGranted these rules were not published with that degree of detail, but I believe the CSC is going to do so, and tech to them for 2004. The rules may change for 2004. As Angie said, if you have opinions you should come to the meeting. If not, expect the rules to be published on this website soon after.
I hope nobody has spent money on new engines prior to the formation of the 2004 rules.
Rod Whetstone
I think JR1 should run what they did last year, minus making ammends for things like the animal 2, and some weight issues. JR1 was very exciting to watch last year, the animal and the flathead raced really good. Although, things need to be done to make the K80 more competitive
Mike and Stacey (and anyone else who cares),
Mike: Thanks for your honesty, it sounds like I am a year behind you and I do hope that you understand what I am going through. I do wish that other parents would “Speak Up”.
Stacey: No offense, but at this stage of the game I don’t even know what a Mini Max is, but, it sure does sound cool!!!! I mean that your perspective on this package does sound great as long as it is fair to everyone in that class…….sign me up if it makes everyone happy and we are ALL operating with the same set of STANDARDS or specs.
I have been involved with all types of sports all of my life and to be honest this one has got me beat!!!!! I have never seen such behind the back trash talking about other parents, track owners and even children who I thought that this sport was suppose to be about. I do admit that I get iritated with certain people also, but I try to focus on my daughter really enjoy watching the kids on the track.
I was just told tonight face to face that the reason that I have so many questions is that I am not in the “INNER CIRCLE” of karting and that once I am I will be privy to all of the info that I need.
I was also told that I was just wasting my money and being stupid by going with a certain track owner because this track was being forclosed on and my daughter would not even get to race there this year.
I guess what I am asking is how do you know what is real and what is B.S. and when or where do find the application for the “INNER CIRCLE” of parents and track owners so that I don’t waste a bunch of money and my daughter gets to have some fun this summer????
I really thought that this would be a sport that could be:
1. As safe as it can be.
2. Fun for the KIDS and family.
3. And something to make our children more competitive in a fair manner.Maybe I missed the boat somewhere.
I am sorry if I am offending anyone, this is not my purpose I just don’t want to waste a bunch of money or time trying to build or do something that will get her disqualified or HURT.
Thanks, John
Rod,
Thanks for the info. Also, thanks for hooking us up this weekend, you know what I mean. Since then I have heard nothing but great things about you and your family.
Later, John
John,
The talking behind the back and off season trash talking occurs every season it’s just something that you have to get used to and then ignore.
There is no inner circle that is hoarding all the answers you need and vows never to let you in, no matter what you are told. Thats just, for lack of a better word, stupid. It simply comes down to the same thing it takes to excel at anything, time and patience. Don’t forget money, because after all, we are talking about racing here.
By the end of the year you will know who is full of it and who is not. It will also take a commitment by you and your daughter to decided if racing is something that you both want to persue, no matter the obsticles.
Unfortunately this means you have to put up with a great deal of things that don’t make sence to you or agree with your financial goals. Thats racing and part of the package you buy into when entering racing.Motor packages will come and go, classes will become popular and then become unpopular, kart shops will open and close, tracks will be built and then be consumed buy the houses or banks. If you love racing it won’t matter, if thats not something you can handle soccer may be a better choice.
Good luck with your choices and hope to see you at the track some time.
Josh,
Thanks for being candid and for the advise. You are right…
Soccer is probably out though….
John
@John Ferguson wrote:
1. As safe as it can be.
2. Fun for the KIDS and family.
3. And something to make our children more competitive in a fair manner.John,
Karting really is all those things. I have two sons that have gown up on the race tracks here in Colorado. We have raced at every one and have won races and championships at every one. There is no inner circle, but there are some who know more than others but most of us are more than willing to give you every bit of information we have. All you have to do is ask. I know that I have no secrets. I will tell you or any one else every thing we are doing and have done.
Many, many racers shared their information with me as we were learning and we are very eager to pass on what we know so that folks like yourself can enjoy this sport like we have. Karting has been very good to us and we feel very strongly about giving back to the sport.
This sport if filled with many, many great people. It is one of the things we have most enjoyed about karting, the people we have been fortunate enough to meet. It is my hope that in the coming year, we will be able to take what we started last year with the CSC and make it bigger and better. While I had hoped that we could get all 4 of the track owners involved, we can not. But we do have 3 of the 4 and we have a promoter in Steamboat Springs that are very eager to take karting in this state to a higher level. A series that encompasses just about every type of kart, goes to 4 different venues, yet involves minimal overnight travel, is unprecidented in karting. We are very fortunate to have such racers and promoters in our state.
I for one am very proud to say, I’m from Colorado, home of some of the best karters in the country.
Everyone…….I just wanted to say that I wasn’t in anyway trying to cause problems or make anyone mad, I just could relate to the pain of my first year. It’s all part of the learning curve, for some of use it’s a stright line up! The Rotax engine sounds great……yesterday was the first time I had heard of it and would like to know more.
P.S. After I figured out how much I had to learn I got better at asking questions. Doug at Shockwave Karting gave me some very good advise as did Rick Carrilli. This year will be much better.
Mikey
Everyone…….I just wanted to say that I wasn’t in anyway trying to cause problems or make anyone mad, I just could relate to the pain of my first year. It’s all part of the learning curve, for some of use it’s a stright line up! The Rotax engine sounds great……yesterday was the first time I had heard of it and would like to know more.
P.S. After I figured out how much I had to learn I got better at asking questions. Doug at Shockwave Karting gave me some very good advise as did Rick Carelli and Jim Harris. This year will be much better.
Mikey
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