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Uber, you can?t really go wrong. The Rotax is an established program that has been around for years. I don?t know what class you are running but in Colorado the Sr Rotax can be competitive in the Sr Tag class. Forget about running the Jr Rotax in the Jr Tag class unless the rules change. They are apples and oranges. With Rotax you can run Tag or Rotax only classes.
The four strokes are the wave of the future and experienced tremendous growth this year. The Oral engine wasn?t even available until a little over a month ago and yet there were many of them at the Tag World Finals. We raced in the four stroke class in Monaco two weeks ago and there was more emphasis, spectators and energy around the four stroke class than the 6 hour enduro or the two stroke class. Personally, I think this is a good thing. The change from two stroke to four stroke in the off-road motorcycle market has been nothing but positive. That said, we still have a Rotax and a four stroke. Both are fun, reliable engines.
Your weight is not an issue. My driver weighs 120lbs with all his gear on. It just means you will have to put a LOT of weight on our four stroke kart. Being light means you can choose to run either the Oral or Vampire and still be able to meet weight. The Oral is about ten pounds heavier than the Vampire making it a less desirable choice for those who can?t meet the weight limit.
I can?t answer the question about having a light and heavy class next year but I would be surprised if there isn?t a split. This is the fastest growing class in Colorado.
Stop by and say hi at the swap meet. I would be happy to share more of what I know about both Rotax and four strokes.
Thanks Jim for the early notification. We got back from Monaco last night about 10:30PM. Jesse was hurting badly all week but he said he was ready to race today. As I look outside the window and watch the light rain/sleet/snow mixture fall I?m glad I don?t have to do a mad dash to prepare everything in the dark. We have raced 10 races in 10 consecutive weeks in six different series and I?m ready for a break!
Now I can think about blowing the dust off the skis and sharpening edges.
Cheers to all you throttleheads. :cheers:
Here is a quick update from Monaco. Today was a very fun day. The weather was awesome. The track started green but had some bite by the end of the day. The first of three practice sessions started about 1:30. Prior to that everyone was making last minute adjustments and getting everything through tech. Unfortunately for us, we learned just before the first practice was ready to begin that our helmet didn?t pass. It was not a problem at any US events including the Rotax Grands but they require different stamps here. We secured a helmet just as drivers were entering the track.
All-in-all, the Colorado guys did pretty well. Kyle Ray had the fourth fastest lap! Jesse was 8th , AJ was 10th , and Marco Ferrera was 25th. Another American, Natan Norenberg, from Minnesota was 15th fastest.
The second outing wasn?t too nice to some as a lot of people crashed in one of the turns where somebody made contact with one of the barriers which spilled water across the track. Without warning, drivers entered the corner at speed and lost all control. Kyle hit the hardest, breaking many parts and bending the frame. Brad helped straighten it and the team did some serious work to get the kart back out for the third session. Jesse, Marco, and Nathan also crashed hard in the same spot. Jesse said it was the hardest hit he has ever experienced ? and it didn?t even involve another kart! Consequently, the guys didn?t get many laps in. AJ was fast, breaking the top ten with the 9th fastest lap. Jesse was 17th, Kyle 20th, Nathan 23rd, and Marco 26th.
For the third and final session the local guys really picked it up. AJ remained fast with the 11th fastest lap. Kyle?s kart didn?t look like it was 100% yet but he posted the 13th fastest lap. Nathan was 21st, Jesse nursed a wounded engine (wouldn?t rev past 10k) into 22nd and Marco was again the 26th fastest.
Tomorrow we get a warm up session, an early morning qualifying session and a late afternoon qualifying session. Should be fun. All the guys I?ve talked to really love the track despite not often being able to see what is coming up (like water in a turn). The barriers make it hard to see and often severely punish just a light rub.
Rick, the pool scene rocks! :cheers:
Thanks Rick. It is pretty cool here. We walked the track today and it looks very fast! It has some serious elevation changes too. Today was about getting the karts ready. Tomorrow the drivers get three practice sessions. Jesse is biting at the bullet. He can?t wait to get on the track.
It was neat to see the Tony team assemble about forty identical karts today for the six hour enduro. They are using a ROK engine. Also racing will be the new KF3 class. I can?t wait to see how they do. I guess last year they blew up way too many JICA engines. It looks like the four stroke class will have a full field pretty evenly split between Orals and Vampires. I found one guy from the Vampire camp that spoke English. He thinks they brought about 7 drivers that can win. He thinks Oral only has one driver that has a chance. He doesn?t seem to think the Americans will provide any threats. I know five drivers that want to prove him wrong.
And he ran a bunch of them! 12 of 14 laps were 51.0x. AJ beat us in qualifying but Jesse also posted the fastest lap in both heats and the main. In each case Jesse?s fastest and slowest laps were within 0.1x. He has become very consistent.
We would like to thank the countless people who provided encouragement, support and otherwise helped throughout the weekend. We knew we had a tough task. The professional GP team came with their A game and never let up. Every time they hit the track they got faster. We couldn?t leave a single stone uncovered as we worked hard to keep pace with them. We have the utmost respect for that team and the incredibly talented field of drivers. We know that race could easily have been won by any of the top four drivers. Had Marc been a little closer on weight he may very well have been unbeatable.
Now on to Monaco! Support Jesse, AJ, and Kyle as they take on the European?s racing through the streets of the city.
I agree with Sam. It was a great weekend, good weather, good operations and support from the staff, and good club turnout. How about those 4 Stroke Tag?s ? 10 top notch racers in Colorado?s fastest growing class. And fast too, with a couple drivers dipping into the 51?s.
Good luck to all Colorado drivers at next week?s Tag World Finals.
Rick, I wasn?t seriously suggesting 340lbs (but, man, wouldn?t that be fun with one of these motors). 😀 While 360lbs would be good for us I think the 425/375 split you suggested is more realistic. If I remember right, our Vampire package is about 10 lbs heavier than a Rotax package. This split is about 15-20lbs more than the Rotax (Sr/Masters) split and should allow a large number of drivers to be competitive in their respective weight classes. We?ll just have to invest in one of those electric kart thingies. 👿
I think big fields are way cool but only if speeds are competitive (Nationals, FWT, etc.). I agree that having two separate classes with more evenly matched lap times is way more fun to watch than a larger field where lap times are widely separated due to weight differences.
It?s so cool that we are even having this conversation. In just their first year of introduction, these new four stroke engines are becoming so popular we are discussing split classes. The thought that they may have the largest and most competitive classes at the upcoming Tag World Finals says it all. As I tried to say at the beginning of the year, bring on the four strokes! :cheers:
Congratulations to the entire team. You have a strong team even if 3/8 of them share the same name. 😆 I couldn?t believe how fast Sabre was going. Have you been feeding her rocket fuel?
Unfortunate events kept us from competing in the whole series this year but, as always, we had a great time making your event. The improvements to your facility are all first rate.
Keep up the good work.
AJ,
We run at 320lbs in the Jr Rotax class and I still have to put 20lbs of lead on the kart! Jesse is thin. But how fun would a Sr Tag motor be at Jr weight???
Since the weight for most of the “non-light” or standard Sr Tag class is 360lbs. A light class should be even less. How about 340lbs? 😀
:cheers:
I would like to see the class get really large (40+) before a split. However, if you are going to have a split, make it a true heavy and light split. At 385 lbs we will still have 65lbs of lead, nuts and bolts attached to every open spot on the kart as well as a completely full gas tank. 😥 It is better than 80lbs of lead but our kart will still be too heavy for two people to lift in the “light” class. 👿 If you are going to have a “light” class make it truly light – 360lbs or less! If you are going to establish a heavy class you are already accommodating the heavier drivers so please accommodate the lighter drivers. Better yet, and for the sake of bad backs and safety, establish a rule that limits the amount of lead that can be added to a kart, say 40 lbs.
For a LIGHT class I vote for 360lbs or a max of 40lbs of lead added to a kart. 385lbs is simply too close to the “accommodate everyone” current weight of 400lbs to be called “light.”
That’s my two cents worth. :cheers:
Jesse Toby is racing Tag 4 Stroke. There is a rumor running around that this class may have over 30 participants. Let’s hope so.
Good luck to all the Colorado drivers.
Both the DD2 and the new four strokes are rated at about 34hp. DD2 runs at less weight and has an extra gear so the advantage goes to them. If there were a four stroke light class (maybe around 360 pounds – hint, hint) than perhaps the two motors would be more comparable to each other. At the current weight of 400lbs the four strokes are more comparable with the Sr Tags (aprrox 32hp at 360 lbs).
Joe,
I think your criticisms have merit but keep things in perspective. Are there better TV productions ? you bet. And what do those productions cost? Millions of dollars. This was a local production where the cost had several less zeros than your mainstream TV productions. With that in mind and compared to any karting coverage I have seen to date, this was a huge step forward. Put it this way, I wouldn?t be embarrassed to show this to any of my non-karting friends. While they may have stumbled a bit here and there they did do a lot of things well. All in all, I still found it to be a great production that can be built upon. Don?t miss the roses because of the thorns.
Altitude did a great job! It was a good show with great camera angles, expert commentary and good flow. Kudos to Jim for having the foresight to plan this kind of coverage and for sponsoring the costs.
In addition to great race coverage the show presented karting in a positive light. It made karting feel mainstream, healthy and accessible to folks from all walks of life.
