[Andrew Coulter]

Are the L206’s still truly sealed? Can an engine builder get anything more out of them legally? Is blue printing still a thing of the past?

Has anyone seen a performance drop between a fresh engine and an engine that has some time on it?

Ive been away for a while and not sure how things are working now! Thanks!

[Andrew Coulter]

Agree with the comments above. It’s to the point that many participants do not willingly leave karting, more as karting drives them out of karting. Too many individuals/businesses trying to push the latest and greatest package, series, etc. down the karters throat for personal gain. It may be in their eyes, the best idea for the sport, but it continues to segment the sport. After personally spending a lot of time in the TAG class, i refuse to go out and buy a new X30 so it can be a paperweight in another couple years as well.

If I were to get back into the sport on a regular basis i would consider KT100 or L206 as they seem to be the most stable classes over time in the midwest. It’s not as fun as having the HP of TAG engine, but i would still choose the class with more entries and the closer more economical engines. How many different TAG engines are laying around garages across the US since 2000? It’s kind of sad to think about as that many more engines could be at the track on weekends. As far as the robopong goes.. i would think the entry numbers would be there in the L206 class. I don’t know enough about them to be able to say if they are reliable enough to run the distance of the robopong…

Just my two sense..

[Andrew Coulter]

Rooms found… thank you!!

[Andrew Coulter]

^^^ Listing updated ^^^

[Andrew Coulter]

Finally got a chance to watch it tonight.

My first impression:

What a freaking joke. There are (or used to be) families with  little money able to compete with families with no limit. Apparently i have been away for too long. What’s a tuner? You used to have to learn as you develop as a driver and as a team, probably the most rewarding parts of karting.

I will say my last impression (the last 3o seconds or so of the episode) makes you want to watch more. “This Sh*t doesn’t happen when your kids play soccer” haha probably best selling point of the whole episode in my opinion.

[Andrew Coulter]

RIGP is my all-time favorite race to run. Unfortunately, I haven’t ran the RIGP or any other competitive race the past two years due to funding.  For me personally, too many changes going on in personal life right now that need attended to. I did attend the RIGP the past two years as a spectator. I didn’t even enter the pit area this year, just watched from the outside. It was still a blast and the volunteers and spectators seemed to be in high spirits and were having a great time no matter what the entry numbers were.
I think Dave/Tim kind of hit it on the head. L206 and Yamaha had strong numbers. Clone did not but clone seems to be dying just as fast everywhere in the area. Maybe keeping clone on the schedule was the wrong decision, but last year the two classes were pretty equal on entries around the mid-west.

TAG and Shifter classes seem to be the main problem. I figured probably 50-70 entries were missing between the TAG/Shifter categories at least. Why that has changed in recent years is the question. Payout, the big team factor and emergence of other series might contribute. I fail to believe it’s street racing in general causing this. The lone star grand prix is still very new and drawing better entry numbers than the established RIGP. The lone star grand prix also draws some of the bigger teams. However, it seems that shifter racing has gained popularity in the south where it has not in the Midwest. I can speak from experience that there were a few years that made it difficult to make the race due to school obligations. The race lands rights around the time college students are heading back. Of course this is easier said than done, but I wonder how entries would look if BIG money is paid out to KoS and Tag Sr. for one year. If you can draw big teams in for that they will most likely run the support shifter/tag classes as well. The hype might draw additional entries to all other classes as well. I do remember this working a few years ago when TAG paid out 10k I believe it was. If you can double entries in these two categories while maintaining entries in Yamaha and L206, entries would be back on target and hopefully give the even a push forward. Too bad Honda and some of the big TaG engine manufacturers are not pitching in to make this happen.

[Andrew Coulter]

why is the live audio feed cutting out at the absolute worst times!?!?

[Andrew Coulter]

Thank you for the response and advice Tim.

I’m still interested to know the idea behind the WKA rotax and rmax legal carb rule as stated on the website? As well as the 20lbs additional weight?

[Andrew Coulter]

Here is my little critique on the 2013 RIGP (making it up as I type) :)

– For the first time in years I was on the other side of the fence. Although I still had a great time watching, it sucked not being out there where I felt I belong. Outside circumstances stopped me from competing this year.

– For the first time in years, I joined the spectators on the inside of the track and outside turns (didn’t even enter the pits). I’m very impressed on how passionate locals are about this race. You can tell the group(s) of spectators that have been coming year after year. The Popup tents, coolers and household names. Hearing the names of Musser, Lawson, Dittmer, etc from people not even directly involved in karting is pretty cool.

– Shout out to Gary Lawson for adding four more wins to his cv over the weekend. What’s even more impressive is what I witnessed on turn six after one of his victories. On the inside of the track (spectating as my goal was to watch this year from the outside looking in) Gary walked over with one of his victory flags and gave it to one of the kids that had been watching all day long. All I heard was the kid talk about the flag to everyone that walked up. Made the kids day.

–  Track times seemed faster than normal this year. I thought the inside barriers were much closer to the inside curves than previous years. Was this true?

– Roger and crew has done a terrific job building the 4 cycle and Yamaha classes back up to the level they should be. On the flip side, the shifter and TAG classes were dropping off. Is this due to payout, prestige, fear, cost, logistics? I have no clue. Both divisions had minimal entries but stellar drivers entered. If you haven’t yet, please give this event a try!

– It is very impressive to see “industry people” such as Howden and Cole compete in this race and have a blast doing so. If this event can pull these guys out, it speaks for itself. Anyone in the Midwest with a kart and a little experience should be at this race.

– Yamaha proved once again that is the backbone of karting with some of the best races of the day. If you missed it, check out Todd Bolton’s onboard of the Medium race.

I could go on and on, but I will take a break for now!

[Andrew Coulter]

Shayan,

Just throwing this out there. If you are up by Chicago you might want to give Viking Kart Products or LAD specialties a call and see what they have. Both are owned by great guys and have been around for a long time. Just thinking they might be more local to you as I’m guessing Norway would be your home track?

[Andrew Coulter]

Do you have any pictures of the other side? It looks very similar to a wild kart. Possibly an 07ish WildKart Fighter II model?

[Andrew Coulter]

I’m so bummed that i had to pull out this year. First time not racing the rock in years. I’m still driving up to catch the action on Sunday. Good luck to all!!

[Andrew Coulter]

I’m also in need of a room at the Holiday Inn for Friday and Saturday. Please PM or email me at Andrew.coulter89@gmail.com if you have a room available.

[Author]

Posts