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The difference between the Rotax Jr and Sr is that the Senior engine has a power valve, and the Junior does not. The published horsepower for a Sr engine is 28.5hp vs. 20.4hp for the Jr (although we’ve seen slightly higher numbers for both on the dyno). For comparison, a stock moto puts out about 35-38hp and is typically 1-1.5 seconds a lap faster than a Rotax. It’s hard to directly compare the lap times of Rotax Sr and Rotax Jr karts… lap times are usually about the same, but the Juniors run at a lighter weight so it’s not a fair comparison.
I’ve met very few new racers that are discontent with the performance level of a Tag kart as long as they have someone to race against.
Another thing to consider is that driving a shifter is very demanding physically. As a motocross guy you’ll probably be fine, but shifters are definitely brutal on your body. Tags are much gentler which is part of the reason the Tag Masters class is so popular.
As for costs… Rotax parts are the most expensive, but also last longer than any other engine package. It requires very little maintenance. The stock Honda parts are super cheap and the engine is fairly reliable, but you’ll definitely do top end rebuilds more often than you will on a Rotax. Probably pretty similar over the long run. Leopard/Rox/etc parts are moderately expensive but in our experience require the most maintenance… so probably the most expensive in the long run.
You can find a good solid used Tag in the $3500 range. Used stock Hondas are kinda hard to come by, but tend to go for $5000-6000 when they do pop up.
The folks over at GJMS are great people.
Joe,
Yes, the air volume difference is noticeable. The LV wheels have similar grip to solid mags; more grip than the vented.Under the Shockwave tent:
Jeff Welch – S3
Greg Welch – S3
Jesse Runkle – Tag Jr
Thomas Waddingham (from TX) – S5AJ told me the other day he had about 10 guys coming from Colorado.
Will have to see how the points shake out, but 6,4, and 6 should mean a starting spot around 10th or so for tomorrow.
Tomorrow is a prefinal then a final, so he has one more chance to move up a couple spots before the main event.
He’s a ways back…
His kart was just staring to come in when two drivers pulled onto the track and cut directly in front of Greg in the fastest part of the track. Tore the kart up pretty good. Both of the other drivers were penalized for it (I believe one of them was the Zack Beard that was penalized 5 spots per David Cole’s post on EKN, but I’m not sure).
I think Greg ended up qualifying 23rd, so he’s got some people to pass.
Just talked to them. The slow group of Rotax Seniors goes on track for qualifying at 1pm our time. Michael Self is in that group because he was one pound underweight in the final practice session, so look for him to put down a quick time. The fast group (which Greg is in) goes on track at 1:20 our time. There is a line of thunderstorms approaching the track, so competitors have been asked to bring both slicks and rain setups to the grid.
They will have the first round of heat races later this afternoon, but they don’t know when yet.
@Mike Jansen wrote:
french? french? (notice how that word isn’t worthy of capitalizing)
I’ll have you know that being raised in England (my Mom’s home country but now a naturalized citizen of the US of A) and having many relatives still living there I have always spelled it that way. That would be British and not french. Get it straight snapperheads 8What makes you think the English have any idea how to spell English words? Sheesh, what arrogance.
The winner of the IAME Challenge race gets to go, and the highest finishing Leopard in TaG Senior gets to go.
@jibco wrote:
Sounded like Greg was second quickest in practice 2 B group. Then I did not hear him mentioned in the practice 3 results. Hope you guys are having a good day!
Yep, he was 2nd in group, 5th overall in the second round of practice. The faster guy in his group was on new rubber, Greg was on used.
They had not heard official results from practice #3 when I talked to them a minute ago, but by stopwatch Greg was fastest in his group.@Rick Schmidt wrote:
Are you guys running the proto type or the production chassis?
They’re running the production chassis. I’m sending off a packet today to the fabricator giving them the go ahead to make 9 more just like it 😀
Just got word that after the first official practice session, Greg was 3rd quick. Arie Ouimet, who finished 2nd last year, was fastest, followed by Micheal Self (who is pitting with us), followed by Greg. So far, so good.
Hey Adam,
The TaG Jr. and TaG Sr. galleries don’t seem to be working.
The photos are sick though. I haven’t seen many photographers manage to shoot from the side (rather than head-on) and get things to come out so crisp.
@D fresh wrote:
As I said before, it’d be sweet if there could be a CSC (or maybe something to replace the Greeley Grand Prix) race out there next year. I know its not really a “sprint” course, but I’ll bet it’d be awesome.
Racing a full-size track is fun. They’re really boring to just drive in a kart, honestly, but the drafting battles in a race are ridiculous. You can literally be a second or two off the pace and still run nose to tail with the leaders. The races almost always end two or three wide at the start finish line.
A big thing with racing on car track is safety. A lot of times, there’s just not enough runoff room for karts. Walls meant to stop 2000lb cars are not kind to 350lb go-karts. If Second Creek still existed, I honestly would not race on it again. But, from the stuff I’ve seen on High Plains so far, it looks like it could be a really safe track to race a kart on.
