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For those of you who are getting ready to submit your membership for Rotax RMax challenge. If you select the Mile High Challenge as your home series, you can practice at The Track @ Centenial right up till the start of the Grand National. All other series can not practice at The Track for the three weeks prior. One thing to point out, Mile High challenge members can only run the circut backwards to the direction the Grands will run.
There will be a Mile High Challenge, details are still being worked out including how to alot the slots for the Grands. Tech for the series will be run as close as possible to the national stuff so that our racers are prepared as best we can. I can tell you that all MiniMax drivers and DD2 drivers who meet the minimum number of races in every series in the country get to go. They are trying to build these classes and right now, there is no need to limit the numbers. Junior, International and Master will need to qualify through their local series by the rules the local series sets up.
To those who have been to the Grand National, you already know the level of competition. To those of you that haven’t, holy cow. These guys are really good!
We will be doing a chassis seminar this winter like we did last year and we will go over preperation of the kart for these sort of events.
@Curt Kistler wrote:
And with Welch & Cario spouting off how fast they are ……
But can the two goof balls keep it on the track for 3 hours??????????
I bougt two of them about 5 or 6 years ago. They are still on the orginal batteries. Then have been dropped, scrapped across the pavement till the case is half worn through and they still work great. Most places charge big bucks to rent them for the weekend. We have been spoiled here in Colorado with cheap or free transponders.
Why don’t we just pick our own positions? They did that for a race we did in Tucson last year and it was fun. For the most part, the fast guys lined up in the front and the slow guys lined up in the back. Since we’re not running for trophies, what does the finishing postions matter? If we’re just racing for racing, we most likely we will line up in the back.
The two Mikes bring up a very good point. A race at CRE benefits us front range guys but certainly puts it to the west slope guys. From that stand point, maybe we should stick with the ‘Boat.
I fully understand wanting an intermediate class for those kids coming out of kid karts. MinMax and novice 80 are quick karts and many kids should not make that jump. However, I do think that if a kid is qualified to run in a particular class (age, weight) they should be allowed.
I was at Steamboat last week and saw that they have added paving to the parking lot. Unfortunately, they did nothing to the existing lot. What they did was pave what we used for pit area the last few years. So they could move the pits to the south end and that would at least give us some new pavement to drive on.
We have more laps at CRE than any other track in the state. I still recommend it to new drivers who are looking for a place to learn how to drive a go kart. My main concerns are related to safety. The track is very narrow. There is really only one safe place to pass If a driver is not a gentleman, there will be contact. A driver who is 2 seconds slow can hold up another easily by making only one move about the start finish line on the front straight. It leads to frustration and is inherently dangerous.
In general, I’ve seen a disturbing trend towards blocking. I guess our drivers have been watching too much F1. In CRE’s current configuration, if we allow one move, it could get ugly. I personally like the old SKUSA rule on blocking. Blocking is defined as any deviation from the accepted racing line to prevent a pass. If we adopted such a rule, it would make the racing at CRE safer.
The only reason I like lower weights is that I’m getting lazy in my old age. Plus, my back don’t like it much either. We normally run at 365# and we usually have 35# on the kart. When I saw this talk about 375 or 400, I thought, holy cow. We could have seat failure from all the lead attached to it.
In an endurance race, its all about keeping it on the track. The lighter weight could have an advantage on tires, and drive line wear. But then again, a driver who slides the kart around will ruin tires regardless of weight.
In a straight up sprint race, the weight would be a huge factor, we all know that. In an endurance race, we certainly won’t be running at max all the time. Rather, we will pick a lap time that is quick, but not excessive and try to hold it. Good preparation of the kart and drivers who are gently on it will win.
@karterdad wrote:
You know their should be a minimum weight.
Ok, how about 350? The kid just doesn’t gain no matter how much he eats. He moved back home and my food bill doubled and he still only breaks the scales at 140#.
The main thing to look for is flat spotting on the under side of the chassis. The components may look great, but if the frame tubes are flat spotted, the frame is gone. A small amount of flat spotting is normal and not of concern. But if the flat spotting is more that 3/8″ wide, I would steer clear. The main places to look is under the waist and under the rear bearing hangers.
In my experience, I usually see that you have to put so much money in a used one to replace components to make it reliable, you would be better off buying new. Tht is not to say there are not good deals out there. Some equipment is very well cared for and if the guy is getting out or changing classes, you may well get a ton of spares for free.
@CameraCourage wrote:
Oh, one more question, can a 4stroke motor go in any chassis? If not, what is the difference between Kart Chassis for 4stroke vs 2stroke?
Depends on the motor. The new versions drive on the outside and they will will fit on most chassis. The inboard drive engines like the Biland, need a chassis with clearance between the back cross bar and the axle sprocket. The back cross bar in the frame is on an angle on most chassis and therefor inboard drive engines will not fit. A 4 cycle frame has this bar in straight.
