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| February 24, 2009 News |
| EKN Trackside: Sodi Kart Expo International Show |
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The 17th annual Sodi Kart Expo International - North America’s largest kart racing industry trade and consumer show - took place this past weekend at the DuPage Expo Center, located just west of Chicago. The show marked the event’s return to the St. Charles, IL area after two years in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg. Though the number of companies present on the show floor was lower than previous years, visitors roamed the aisle ways on both Saturday and Sunday enjoying the opportunity to get face time with the suppliers of their favorite products.
Show organizers added a ‘Kart Industry Roundtable’ on the Friday before the show, giving people in the industry the opportunity speak openly about where karting is headed in terms of sales and marketing, manufacturing, the perception of karting in the eye of the public, and identifying ways to bring in new people to the sport. The roundtable was entitled ‘Challenges & Opportunities’, moderated by Craig Ellsworth (Sports Marketing Executive) and Marc Miller (Director of Brand Marketing for MRP Motorsport). Members of the panel included Ray Verhelst (Event Management Logistics), Marty Casey (TAG USA), Tom Bagley (Autobahn Country Club), Dave Alford (Director of Motorsports for Turtle Wax), Tony Stewart (CEO - Chicago Indoor Racing), Rob Howden (Owner - Howden Media Group/eKartingNews.com), and Diana Brannam (Jessica Brannam Motorsports).
Roughly 50 people were in attendance, with industry members from as far as California, Colorado, Texas, and New York joining members of regional and local organizations, as well as several indoor karting centers. The main focus of the Roundtable was not to solve problems of the sport but more to recognize the issues that those in the industry are currently facing. Some results from the many surveys released by RaceFanRadio, Rotax Max Challenge USA, and the World Karting Associated were revealed by Ray Verhelst. The numbers that he described were not surprising, but they will certainly be useful down the road for organizations and industry members.
 | The Kart Industry Roundtable provided a chance for members in the karting community to discuss openly the issues the sport is facing
(Photo: EKN) |
One issue that was brought up was the ‘barrier to entry’ – a term introduced by Tony Stewart. The indoor karting entrepreneur was very vocal during the two sessions and many in the audience took note of what he had to say. The same was said for Dave Alford, as being with a corporation that is very active in motorsports sponsorship, many listened in on his viewpoint of the sport.
Questions and subjects from the audience included the comparison to European karting to what we have in the States, the stability and consistency in the rules structure as they effect the cost of karting, working with high schools to teach driving safety and physics, indoor karting and its role with outdoor karting, the quality of outdoor facilities in terms of marketability, the karting ladder system and getting the sport in front of the general public.
The next two days of the weekend focused on the show floor as 12 hours on aisle time were open to the public over the two-day period. Chassis importers/dealers took up the most space. Led by show presenter Sodi Kart. Nearly every racing chassis model and rental karts offered by the French company was on display, supported by team members of California distributor and dealer G-Phactory. The new ST32BV that was driven by Anthony Abbasse at the SKUSA SuperNationals in November was on the floor and featured the new brake rotors offered by Sodi. The ST32 chassis focuses toward the TaG and KF divisions, while the new ST30 is the first 30mm chassis to be manufactured by the company, geared toward the lower horsepower classes and the Junior divisions. The Nordic chassis (28mm) and Mini 950 give the smaller drivers a choice in chassis for their needs. Also on display was the SR chassis (32mm), a new package focused primarily at the entry level consumers.
MRP Motorsport was in full force with their Birel and Monza models, including the Rotax engine line. The Birel CRY-31 for DD2 competition and C28-CJ with Mini Max power were on display, along with the same chassis model that won the Rotax Grand Nationals in Rotax Masters - the Monza ZY-32. Birel and MRP also promoted their indoor and outdoor N35 Rock Karts for arrive-and-drive or corporate outings at tracks across the country.
 | Sodi Kart, the show's title sponsor, had their full line of racing chassis on display as well as their rental kart models
(Photo: EKN) |
SSC East, distributor for the CRG chassis line, teamed with local dealer LSR Motorsports to display the ’09 chassis line. The new Bad Boy - similar to the Road Rebel - is the new line that Gary Carlton, Jonathon Thonon, and Michael Vincec will be piloting in the ICC class this year, as will the factory drivers in the Super KF and KF1 divisions. The Black Star (30/32mm) is focused more for the drivers running in the TaG, HPV, Yamaha divisions for both the Senior and Junior levels. The Dark Rider DD2 chassis, the same used the Rotax Grand Finals in La Conca in November, is the more popular choice in the United States. Another favorite is the Kali (32mm), which is more widely known, and the KT1 (30mm) for Junior racers. Their ‘Cadet’ model (28mm) was also on display.
Franklin Motorsports from nearby Wisconsin was on hand with many products, including the Merlin chassis line, to show for the attendees. New products that they were showcasing include the Tillett seats and chain guards, Driveline lead weights, Tomar Engineering rear sprockets, and different colored 6mm fuel lines.
Kart Parts Unlimited, the importer and wholesaler from Arizona, were on hand with the new line of the Wild Kart chassis and components. The new Wildkart graphics go from the black base to a bright yellow, a much more visible look for the Italian line. One of their popular products is the new braided belt for water pumps. Many within the community have tried and tested with a high rate of success for the new product.
Another product making noise in the karting community is the new Ilmor ‘C-Flex’ Motor Mount. On display with a Parilla Leopard, HPV, and Yamaha engine, the billet mount features a floating saddle clamp that allows the mount to sit flat on any chassis. With four different models, the mount will fit nearly every engine on the market.
In addition to the many karting products they have offered to the United States racing community since 1986, American Power Sports (APS) is now the exclusive Bell Racing distributor for karting safety gear. The adult K-Pro and youth K-NXT lines were available for attendees to check out, all part of Bell’s new safety gear line-up. Staying with the safety concept, Leatt Brace was also at the show, fitting many young and older drivers with their Leatt Brace Moto-Kart brace system. QTM/Sparco also made the trek from California and featured a display of Sparco gear and swag along with the new Lico by Sparco line of suit, gloves, and shoes set at a budget-minded price.
 | MRP Motorsport was on hand with Birel and Monza chassis lines as well as the Rotax engine selections
(Photo: EKN) |
With all the talk of bringing a more affordable option to enter the sport of karting, the packages offered by the GatorMoto company out of Florida stopped more than one showgoer. The operation sells their Clone-powered Road Rat sprint kart package for under $1,500 turn-key and is a unique option for the new customers at the local track. Several tracks around the country run the package as a spec class, and the program is certainly taking off. They also provide an oval style kart and a Kid Kart package, both under the $1,500 price tag.
The indoor karting business has been well represented in the past at the Kart Expo. Including Sodi Kart and Birel, SSC East had on hand its Rimo Kart line and KISS Barrier system. The most recent line of the Rimo Kart is the EVO 5. The KISS Barrier system is used for both indoor and outdoor karting facilities. Also on hand, reps from the OSKAR timing system discussed their program with several indoor kart center owners, a package that provides electronic scoring for racers by giving them all of their lap times and the finishing order of the race and a continually calculated ‘Pro Score’ system which helps ranks drivers at any one facility. The system also offers tracks maintenance status for their kart fleet, a schedule template, and inventory module.
Also of interest to the indoor and outdoor enthusiasts was the announcement of the new Sodi World Series, which is a worldwide competition that will include focus on tracking results at Sodi’s partner tracks around the globe. Focused on their recreational kart line, the program will have two different classes in the Star Cup and the Masters Cup, the latter of which will be run using their new RX250 machine. An impressive series website will rank every driver based on their performances and a world championship is also on the docket. EKN will have much more information on this new program in the months ahead.
Sanctioning bodies World Karting Association and International Kart Federation were present to provide information for the many programs they offer throughout the country. They also spent a great deal of time discussing the sport, proof that these groups indeed wish to work with each other to promote and strengthen the sport. Regional programs such as the Great Lakes Pro Series released their 2009 schedule at the show, while the Rock Island Grand Prix - the world’s largest street race - showed video and images of their Labor Day Weekend event that is not to miss. This year’s race will be the 15th anniversary of the RIGP and their ’09 class line-up looks good, with the growing SKUSA S3 Stock Moto category taking center stage in the King of the Streets.
Friday night following setup and the roundtable the fifth annual Zaerodynamics Indoor Karting Challenge took place at the Chicago Indoor Racing facility in Buffalo Grove. 200 laps around the tight confines of the indoor track with nine teams competing in the under 30 group while five contended the over 30 division. VKP Franklin (Matt Bigos, Tommy Andersen) took the checkered flag for the victory, lapping the entire field. Zaerodynamics (Bob Zirves, Brian Zirves, Scott Evans, Mason Madej) came across the line second despite making extra driver changes with Wheels of Destiny (Tony Velez, Ryan Finley, Luke Blazek) coming in third. In the older division, Team Myrmidon (Matt Wilson, Chad Arndt, Rob Hoganmiller, Austin Kuhn, Justin Kelly) from Nebraska won by a full lap over P 1 Autosports (Kevin Kann, Tim Grainer, Anthony Lazzaro). Completing the podium was the eKartingNews.com/IndoorNewsKarting.com squad with Rob Howden, David Cole, moderator Marc Miller and guests Billy Tallichet and Jim Smith.
To view more photos of the show, visit the Official Event Page. |
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