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Charles – Doug answered this question before, my filtered summary is that while the lap times may be close to Stock Moto, they’d be faster in different places so aren’t quite compatible (i.e., they’d need their own race in the CSC).
Doug – Don’t get me wrong, I like the concept too, but there are a few minor problems: they’re pretty expensive, the chassis can’t be used with any other engine, and they haven’t been around long enough to pick up used ones at a reasonable price (except for maybe some RM1’s).
My conclusion: An excellent class for Jim, Stacey, and others to run at the club level next year. Unless we have 15-20 already sold and waiting for a place to play.
Can’t wait to see the Shockwave DD2.
Back to the main subject. Who’s talking to Honda about parts supply for the next 5 years?
Nicole –
If you have a PS2, we have several games that you (and your Dad) are welcome to borrow to see if there are any that you like. GT4 included. Give me a call at 215-3093.
Richard, I thought you had me programmed in your cell… I’ll send you a note in a minute.
For anyone else, I’m not hard to get ahold of. It’s 970 215 3093 or kfreiburg”at”excite”dot”com. Especially if you’re new to karting (though I’ll admit that Doug Welch is probably a better choice).
Congratulations, Rich!!! That’s the coolest news I’ve heard in a long time! I bet you did it just to get back at Brad, too.
Stacey – I’ll even buy the carrot juice with a shot of wheatgrass.
George – I’ll bet there are tears of joy around the state because of your proposal. I’d love to see some kind of Colorado “Karting Industry Council” so we can focus on promotion of the sport with a true marketing plan. There is plenty of business talent in our karting community (how else could the racers/families afford it?) that is available, it just has to be pulled together.
The potential is huge. It wouldn’t take much to triple our level of participation, and be a (even better) model for the country.
And let’s not totally forget about Utah and New Mexico.
Thanks!
George, thanks for the update. Too bad they got all the dealers/potential buyers spooled up then didn’t deliver. And it’s really too bad they missed a whole season.
I have been a little suspicious about the long term viability of the spec shifter class due to parts supply, which got me thinking about TaG-style shifters. The DD2 and the EZkart shifter have the right idea, but only one of those actually exists.
Kirk, I figured you’d put in an excellent reply with that kind of bait, and you didn’t disappoint! Look me up if you come to the Bandimere CSC race.
George (or anyone else that knows) –
So whatever happened to the EasyKart shifter? Vaporware? Held in customs by Homeland Security? Bermuda Triangle?
Seriously, this was a very promising concept, but I can’t find any evidence on the ‘net that any really exist. I would think the importer would be a bit more forthcoming with accurate information.
Besides, the Karter has been quiet lately; we need a bit of controversy.
Before I moved to Colorado, I used to help organize a bicycle tour/race/expo in Hartford that attracted about 2500 people. It ran for about 7 years. A couple of times the city wanted to have it on Memorial Day weekend instead of it’s traditional week before. There were endless arguements and debates, mostly about how no-one would show up. That city looks like a ghost town on holiday weekends. I was one of the ones that was worried.
Guess what? Attendance actually went up. Didn’t make any difference at all.
Jon –
Hopefully you got to go meet the Gelles team anyway, as the Formula BMW pits were open to the public.
We had a pretty decent sized group go over, met (very briefly) with Bob Gelles, and talked with Marc Zartarian (KRT kart importer and father of John, one of Gelles’s drivers) for quite a while.
Found out what it costs to run this “feeder” series. 😯 😯
Hopefully we’ll be seeing one or more of our Colorado karters on one of the FBMW’s soon…8)
Thanks to all the families that made it.
Doug: Thanks for the assessment. How would you feel if the DD2’s were on the track at the same time as Spec Moto? Too slow?
My logic for the restricted 125 idea is that the current CR80’s are said to run 35 HP, and the Spec 125s about 38. A 10mm cut in carb diameter would be a 45% reduction in flow area, which should be enough to get the 125’s below the mod 80’s. They would need to be lower in peak power, as the torque curve would be much wider.
Clearly we need some actual dyno data to make an intellegent decision.
The other benefit, of course, is that the piston in a restricted 125 would probably outlast the world’s known oil reserves, and with all of their extra free time, the Jr. 80 dads (and moms) could go racing themselves.
On a related subject, we had the family Jr. Animal pilot try out one of Mr. Keesling’s Cadet Gazelles today, and he loved it. Have any of the MiniMax kids tried it? Are they close in speed?
I’m taking Jim Keesling’s sign-off request from Sunday seriously. Most of the suggestions are great, especially Doug’s, so I will build on those in a (hopefully) logical order.
Sanctioning: I’m neutral on this; if the new SKUSA give us bang for the buck let’s try it. If we stay on our own, we should be a higher-level, regional series, not sucking the club series dry.
Events: I’d vote for 6 events, one per track and Greeley. If things won’t work with CRE (and/or the track doesn’t get lengthened), include MMP. Maybe include them anyway. Keep the western Stars and Summer Shootout dates clear.
Class Structure: We need to reduce the number of races, not necessarily classes. Doug’s structure does that. We ran 12 races by my count last Sunday, and Doug’s structure would reduce that to 9. In that spirit, here’s some additional thoughts:
– Group 1: Kid Karts (Honda? Seems to be going over well)
– Group 2: Jr. 1 (engine TBD, but something that runs ~1:10 at IMI/GJ, doesn’t vary in power between engines, and lasts all season)
– Group 3: MiniMax. Would like to see TaG Cadet (per TaG USA) here also, should be just a touch slower. Separate class, same group. By the way, I’d go for a Club MiniMax chapter.
– Group 4: TaG Jr.
– Group 5: TaG Sr.
– Group 6: TaG Masters/Heavy
– Group 7: 80 Junior and 80 Novice. No real reason to delete 80 Novice, I really don’t see the disparity on the track between these 2 classes. Long term (maybe next year, definitely in 2008), we should lead the country (again) and change out the high-strung 80 Juniors (engines, not kids) for restricted 125 Spec engines, just use a 28mm carb.
– Group 8: Spec 125 Sr. and Spec 125 Masters/Heavy
– Group 9: Pro 125 and 125 Masters/Heavy
That makes 13 classes, but 9 races. To avoid speed disparities, each driver must have put in an official lap within some % (probably 3-5 seconds) of the polesitter to run in the final. Too slow, you’re out. Also, some groups could run together in practice only (at least groups 2/3, 5/6, and 8/9). So 6 practices (1.5 hours), 9 qualifiers (2 hours), 9 heats (2 hours), and 9 mains (3.5) hours. Start at 8, done by 6 (plus podiums) – sound reasonable?Driver Qualifications: New drivers should have done at least 3 club races before entering CSC (in other words, I wouldn’t qualify yet) and have the club race director’s approval to move to CSC. Pro 125, at least, should require a season in another class or club racing. Tracks should should require an intro-to-racing class before a new driver even enters a club race – another income opportunity for them, as well as coaches like AJ and Greg.
Club Racing: This is where the real work needs to be done. In general, club races should be the place to develop basic skills, race with less expense, and allow more varied (i.e., older) hardware to run. It’s pretty much this way already. Possible improvements:
– Rental classes (Jr/Sr). Seems obvious to me, a nice chance to make $, but I don’t think anyone’s doing it.
– Non-points classes. If someone wants to run their KT, let ’em. Limit the # of races they can run, don’t award a trophy, and make sure the kart is safe, but it’d be a good “try before you buy” method.
– Have a “Club Cup” inter-club event at the end of the year, for any club racer that’s done >5 events, say. Under the lights at The Track? A special event at Bandi? There’s a marketing opportunity here, and it would be more incentive for club racers
– If a class builds at the club level (like F200, or Rotax DD2, or wild rotary engines), they should go up for consideration in CSC. With specific limits (like a potential pool of 20 karts) stated up front. Like SCCA.
– And keep up the Rotax Max thing as a subset of the club races (no matter what I personally think about those engines, it’s a well-run series)General: We really need a coordinated marketing plan, with a goal of growing club racing by 3-4 times (there is an upper limit to how much we can handle with 5 tracks; it’d be nice to get there). Let’s at least do the basics right: websites that are up to date, “starting karting” webpages and handouts, published service prices from the shops and teams, booths at target events….we know the drill, but are only doing about 10% (by the way, the coolest thing I’ve seen this month is a picture of Mr. Keesling with kart on top of a Shell gas pump. Okay, 2nd coolest, after the free Denver GP tickets).
Keep in mind that nothing gets settled in this forum. It’s a great place for discussion, but once a rough concensus starts to form, it’s up to the current leaders, and those who step up to help, to fill in the details, sell it, enforce it, and make it real.
Hey! What’s this “real race car” stuff? He’s been driving a real race car for a long time now.
I’m sure he’ll be able to deal with those low-G force cars. Good luck!
