[Charles Skowron]

 

“Competing Interests”, is a key issue. The lack of a strong governing body, replaced by many entities with their own business or self-interests, often at conflict with each other, and this is what you get.

Not that a strong governing organization would fix everything. Then all of the wrangling, fighting and political maneuvering would happen within that body, like it has in the past.

Anyone who still says “it’s the economy” is looking for excuses. Is it still a factor? Yes. But that is just a cover-up to the fact that the sport in many of its aspects is simply messed up.

 

[Charles Skowron]

I saw this track listed on an article titled “Top 10 Go-Kart Tracks in the World”, or something like that (which, incidentally, listed many concession kart tracks, and did NOT include circuits like New Castle, so I rendered the article as clueless and devoid of any credit).

Despite its complexity at first glance, this seems like one of the most boring kart circuits you can race on. If you look very closely, it often has the same pattern of turns repeated endlessly with minor variation: Right Hairpin-Left Hairpin- 90 Degree Turn… Left Hairpin-Right Hairpin-90 Degree Turn…90 Degree-90 Degree-Right Hairpin. And since the track layout frequently overlaps on itself, I can imagine getting lost very quickly on just where you actually are.

Maybe it’d make a good testing/shakedown circuit . But I don’t think I could finish a lap here without dropping out from apathy

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C. Skowron #15

[Charles Skowron]

Sounds more like a classic case of a pinched fuel line, that gets further pinched when you make a left turn.

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C. Skowron

[Charles Skowron]

In that case, an RLV R2 pipe is perfect if you are just starting out with a Spec Honda. From my understanding, the R2 has a much broader power band than other Stock Honda pipes, like the R4. Perfect if you are figuring out how to drive the thing.

In the earlier days of Stock Moto, the R2 was THE original, and only legal, pipe for the class. As a result, the R2 is legal at any race you attend, except for the SKUSA events of course (or any race that runs strictly by the book SKUSA rules).

Considering the problem many racers have been having with their R4 pipes cracking, why the governing bodies allowed other pipes besides the R2 in Stock Moto is beyond me. On the other had, adding other pipes besides the R2 is far from the worst parts inclusion the powers-that-be have legalized in this shifter class.

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C. Skowron

[Charles Skowron]

Just the finest example yet of the “Game of Thrones”-style turf war that has now developed among the various TaG engines (Vortex, IAME, Rotax, etc.) and importers; in their silly quest to gain the biggest share in the increasingly marginal pool of potential racers.

With all of the fragmentation in karting classes these days, someone ought to create a class to lump all of these similar “Touch-and-Go” style motors together….[/heavy sarcasm]

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C. Skowron #15

[Charles Skowron]

 

To me, that would be equivalent to requesting for someone affected with bubonic plague be allowed to board a crowded airliner.

 

The 2001 cylinder was an ill-advised quick-fix to a temporary problem, and letting it in SKUSA should never had happened in the first place.  You’ve seen the posts in the Shifter Karts section here, about the problems that arise when pushing a 2001 cylindered engine to the jetting limit.

 

Why should the other governing bodies that were smart enough to keep it at ’99 only do the same? More participants? It probably wouldn’t make much difference in numbers anyway.

 

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C. Skowron

CRG – spec honda #15

 

[Charles Skowron]

That’s interesting. Here I thought the reason that most national stock moto racers run the ’01 was because it offered more top-end power (or at least performance) than the ’99.

But what I’m gathering here is that the ’99 and ’01 offer the same performance basically. It’s just that there is more equality between ’01 cylinders than there is between ’99 cylinders.  In other words, less chance of getting a bum cylinder with the ’01s than the ’99s?

 

[Charles Skowron]

 

Didn’t SKUSA implement a timing plate a few years back, to put a halt on this detonation stuff from occurring?

[Charles Skowron]

It is a notable change. Aren’t Russell Karting the ones responsible in bringing IAME/Parilla to the US in the first place? And reading a press release from one of the former importers, this change was completely unexpected.

I don’t know if this is the right place to bring it up, but this new development ties into the trend that, at least on the national level, the late Tom Argy’s concept of TaG is all but dead. Now, instead of several engine manufactures competing for TaG supremacy on the race track, it’s several single-make TaG programs battling each other for a piece of the marginal karting consumer base.   

 

[Charles Skowron]

[quote quote=25464]A dual MC setup gives you an extra brake circuit in case one fails (i.e., if the rear brake line bursts, you’ll still have front brakes, and vice versa). I’m too new to karting to know if this is a safety requirement by many series, but I know in the formula car world it’s almost a universal requirement on safety grounds….

 

[/quote]

And you’d be absolutely right. The second master cylinder is required for shifters by everyone, for reasons of safety. For exactly the type of situation you theorized.

I can’t think of any venue that would allow only one MC on a 125 shifter. You can check your local org. But it’s almost guaranteed they’ll say no.  

Note: This is for a shifter kart of 125cc capacity; if you have an 80cc shifter, the use of a front-brake system/second MC may be optional. Check with whom you’re racing with.

[Charles Skowron]

3 races within a month, plus July 4th, is a pretty tight schedule. But I know the date is inflexible. And everyone loves the track (it does look fun in a shifter).

If the drivers want to do it, and it seems like that’s the case, by all means you should make it happen.

I’m sure the WKC would love to have the extra entries as well. Not easy getting these races on full-size car tracks to happen. Take what you can get.

[Charles Skowron]

Those individuals claiming a push-button start unecessary have obviously never been to the track solo before.

In fact, I’m certain I’ve mentioned somewhere in the old forum that such a device would be a godsend to stock moto. I’ll admit, the TaG style KZs like the TM K9ES, IAME X30, Sonik Sport, and Vortex Rok, definitely had one plus over the Moto being able to start it with a push of the button. 

I know what Ray is talking about when they said this would be perfect for road racers. Having witnessed the task of a group of shifters lined up on the pit wall, trying to get push-started in a very small amount of space, and then trying to roll back into position, sometimes within a minute before the green waves.

[Charles Skowron]

I second that. This has been discussed before, and I’m glad someone (Hegar) took the initiative to make it happen.

It also makes the CR125 even more appealing next to all of these TaG-style KZ motors that have recently been released.

[Charles Skowron]

When the TM K9 ES first came out it was marketed as being equal in performance and reliability as a Stock Honda (back when the stock motos didn’t seem to be making the power levels they are now).  Later, the Sonik Sport Shifter engine advertised itself as being comparable with the standard KZ engines like the TMK9B and TMKZ10; same deal with the newer IAME X30 shfiter.

These “TaG KZ” engines aren’t regulated by the CIK like the typical KZ shifter motors are. The performance characteristics between the TaG KZs have the potential to be wildly different amongst each other as a result.

I looked around and found homologation forms for some of these engines. Although they weren’t from/for the CIK. The Vortex Rok homologation sheets I found were homologated by the CSAI, the Italian karting governing body, for their own ROK CUP series. The TMK9ES papers appear to be for TaG USA. I didn’t find anything for the IAME x30 Shifter, nor the Maxter MXE. What’s to stop them from making a spur-of-the-moment changes to their motors, since their not really regulated by any governing body?

I really like the concept of these engines, I like how they (theoretically) offer better reliability and longevity to their KZ brethren. I especially like the fact they have a push-button start feature like TaG.

But I can see the possibility of a real headache arising if you race them against each other, and the competition gets serious.  How to equalize engine packages that can be wildly different from each other, and worse, how to keep on top of things if these manufacturers come out with “updates” to their powerplants? It’s the same problem that has affected the TaG class since it’s inception over a decade ago, and it still comes up as a problem from time to time (see the issue with Rotax, IAME, and the SKUSA Springnationals) to this very day.

 

[Charles Skowron]

[quote quote=16545]DQ’s in Tag Sr. ???????????? like 10 drivers ????????? no explanation on My Laps[/quote]

 

 

It could be they crashed out, and didn’t bother to head to the scales at the end? I notice none of the Sr. DQs completed the full distance.

That doesn’t explain Ethan Wilson and Brian McHattie in TaG Masters however. I’m curious as to what happened there as well. A shame, Wilson definitely sounded like the happiest winner out of all the classes, judging solely by post-race interviews.

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C. Skowron

 

 

 

[Charles Skowron]

I think they are split up amongst the various brand importers around the world to re-sell. If not that, maybe one or several importers make a bid for the karts and then sell them that way.

I recall one chassis importer selling some Grand Finals karts a few years ago. Forgot which brand, and respective importer, that was.

[Charles Skowron]

No, it wasn’t a very nice representation at all.  Focused a lot on the risks of the sport, made particular reference to a fatal crash that happened three years ago, exaggerated some aspects (a Cadet Kart can go 70 mph?).

Sad thing is, apart from the exaggerations and embelishments above, is that the other sobering details from that article are actually true? I’ve never heard of a kid being literally belted by their dad after a bad result, but I’ve heard of plenty of cases of over-ambitious, psycho parents going nuts at the track if things don’t go the way they hoped.  Six-figure annual karting budgets? Yes. Select, ultra-expensive “works motors” Yup. 1/2 million dollar trailer-motorhome packages?  Those too.

And you can’t discredit the writer as being a hack with no knowlege of the sport. Alex Lloyd? Didn’t he race in Indycar recently? If it is that Alex Lloyd, then I would imagine he is familiar with the high-costs, irascible behaviors, and other negative aspects karting sometimes produces. Problem is, there’s not a hint in the article that you don’t need to spend $300,000, or even $30,000, to race a go-kart. More importantly, the fact that you don’t have to be 8 years old with career aspirations to race in F1 or NASCAR, to race a kart either.

Which is what I dislike the most about this story, I understand this is a human interest story and was never meant to be an “Intro into Karting” piece. But nevertheless, it’s just another article on karting repeating a theme that EVERY outside media article, or PR release about kart racing seems to say over and over ad nauseum, and NO ONE, except maybe this site, seems interested in correcting:  “Karting is a sport for kids”.

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C. Skowron

 

 

 

[Charles Skowron]

I believe it’s because the WKA is recognized as the official United States liason to the CIK-FIA; like ACCUS is to the FIA when it comes to car racing.

Since the KZ2 class at the SuperNats is officially scheduled CIK calendar (at least I think it is), a CIK license is needed to compete in it. So, since the WKA is the American contact to the CIK, they would process all applications for CIK licenses. Despite the WKA not holding a KZ shifter race in years. 
 
   Whoops, nevermind. David pretty much explained it already.

[Charles Skowron]

(Michael Taksa wrote: )…Looks like they did end up shortening the race because of darkness, also last year the race was one month later in the year, meaning one hour or so less daylight time…

I remember last year’s race all too well. Standing in the middle of the track in the darkness, wondering how all the drivers going past could see.  

John and Mark Gaydos, Roman Binder, and John Sullivan all posted a qualifying time too. I’m guessing they got caught in the usual attrition in the Pre-Final.

[Charles Skowron]

Michael, I’m sure they’ll be posting the results on Mylaps pretty soon now. But in the meantime, I happened to follow the race live on Race-Monitor, and got a screenshot of the results just as they finished.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77869101@N04/9887170645/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77869101@N04/9887190674/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/77869101@N04/9887194064/

 

However, these results are UNOFFICIAL. I wasn’t there, and I have no idea if there were any changes to them after the fact.

It was probably the right move to put everyone in one group this time, despite contemplating splitting them up beforehand. It seemed like there were some big delays in the schedule and they JUST beat the darkness (and the rain) with the Shifter final. Had they split them, it might had been NJMP 2012 all over again.

And I’ll agree with everything Steve has said about the series above. I regret not going to more races this season.

 

[Charles Skowron]

(Brad Johnson wrote: )
Musser at the Rotax Grands?

Yup, that’s the one.

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Chuck Skowron

[Charles Skowron]

In all honesty, you may be doing it sort tongue-in-cheek. But you might not be the no-chance-in-winning underdog you may think.

In my 15 years of following karting, the single greatest upset in a kart race I have read about. A real case of a true underdog, with limited resources, racing in a high-profile national event, going up against bigger, stronger, much better supported and funded competition, and winning.

Happened back around 2002. And he did it with an old, bent, beat-up, mid-90s Tony Kart.

Anyone want to guess whom I’m referring to? (Hint: he won another high-profile event very recently).

In any case, I too will be interested to see how the old kart matches up against the much newer competition. Personally I’d like to see you do well, just to prove that you don’t need the latest, greatest, model; with $700 ceramic rotors, or magnesium everything, or one-million different adjustment options, in order to get a great result.

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Chuck Skowron

 

[Charles Skowron]

Since it’s just been released in theaters in the U.K. some reviews have come in from there (along with a few early ones in the U.S.), and so far, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

As of now (Sept. 14), the Rotten Tomatoes rating is at an astonishing 97% “fresh”.  There are still, of course, a lot of people (and critics) yet to see it. But this bodes well that we won’t see a dud.

BUT, then again, I clearly remember the reviews being just as positive when the Senna documentary was released two years ago. I bought in to all the praise and expected much of the same from my view as I headed to the theater.

And when it was over, I came out of it pretty underwhelmed. So this time, I’m holding judgment and keeping pretty reserved until I actually see the film myself.

 

 

 

[Charles Skowron]

You guys think simple booing  is rowdy and irascible by the Monza  crowd?

Go to 2:19 in this video to see how the Tifosi handled “The Enemy” (which to them, is any team in direct competition with Ferrari for the championship at that point) exactly 30 years ago:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym-b-lLXcwQ 

And that was only in the race. The story goes that, during a Renault pre-race test session, locals were sabotaging the Monza track for Alain Prost (who was leading the championship at that point) by placing oil and straw on the race surface.  How valid that tale might have been, I don’t know; but I could believe it if it was.

[Charles Skowron]

One thing I forgot to mention. The Cr80 is viewed by many as a great motor but it does have an Achiles’ Heel: the stock 3rd gear inside the transmission. It has a reputation for failing, so if you source the Cr80 from a bike, they recommend swapping the stock gear with an aftermarket one.

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Chuck Skowron

 

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