A culture age-out: unfortunate there aren't more 30+ yr old drivers competing in senior classes

Club 100 isn’t 4 stroke. They used to use TKM engines, they use rotax max enignes now.

They still have a honda cadet category (which runs a Honda GX160 engine). There definitely used to be a large twin honda jnr and snr categories but I don’t know if they still exist.

Thanks. Yah I meant that the most visible thing to me is Club 100 which is 2-stroke. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen any 4 stroke UK karting on YouTube.

At NTK, there is a couple that races regularly. The Reidell Family has been racing for some time. The Dad does most of the tuning, while the son and his wife race. The son, ran both KT100 and LO206, while the wife ran only LO206. They have both since moved to TaG. She ended up winning the Double Header last race.

My wife came to a Big Pro Car event once, I think it was Petit LeMans. She loved the all the exotic cars and flare that came with them, but when it came to Karting, she has only been out once or twice and came away feeling like she wasted her day. I got her to try indoor electric karting once in between, but I think she was a little intimidated by the experience. Fortunately she has not ruled out the experience for our daughter yet.

I didn’t realize Licensing was so expensive in the UK. I can see how that would deter a lot of newbies to trying karting. Sounds like the cost of a license is near the cost of good used kart. It doubles your entry cost into the sport and if there is in annual renewal fee, then its an extra operating cost to boot. I have not seen this in the States or I would not have been able to start Karting when I did.

I’m going to put my hand up and say my class is an exception to the rule.

Pre-COVID saw a regular field of 13-20 karts, all drivers of differing ages.

I’m 29. But two of my closest karting mates, who race in the same class, are verging on 40. One lad we regularly race with is even pushing 50.

But on the other hand, we have a handful of guys in their late teens and another handful of guys in their early 20s.

Why do we get such a wide spread? My class is called Combined Light, meaning you can run either a KA100 or X30/Rotax with a restrictor.

It’s designed as an entry-level senior class and to be honest that’s what a lot of us are.

The younger guys have obviously come from junior classes and tend to lead the pack, but the rest of us are aware of our skill level and never take it too seriously.

I think these young guys quickly grow tired of the cut-throat driving in the main junior categories, and spill out into our class in search of clean racing and, obviously, a better chance of winning.

Symbiotically, we appreciate having a benchmark to chase and the pedigree these young guys give our class.

It’s a great class that balances cost and speed well, and that is another draw factor.

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Couldn’t agree more. Mine does come to the occasional race and practice…she goes upstairs to the sushi restaurant whilst I drive :rofl:

I’ll tell you something else also, those parents pushing their kids to be F1 drivers are the WORST. I’ve seen things that are tantamount to child abuse just because the kid made a mistake and lost positions on the last lap.

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That sounds like fun actually.

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This reference to the number of licences issued, not cost. Though cost has risen considerably since 1996.

This helps explain the American Revolution. Thank you.

Sorry, I misread your stats. What is the typical cost of a license in the UK these days?

Pre-Covid our local club numbers seemed like they were on the decline. There were just less people out on race weekends than in the previous year. To My surprise however, the last few races following the onset of the pandemic the club has seen its highest attendance of racers that I have ever seen.

Its a bit counter intuitive given the pandemic, but my guess is with general travel on the decline, families are heading to the races instead.

Took me a while to track down what the championship is called that is owner-driver 4strokes but here it is.

And how much time have you got to watch races, 12hr endurance or 24hrs?

Or an hour out of the 24hr race where it rains at 33mins, then really rains at 38mins

59 pounds to get the start karting pack which includes your first license. Then its anywhere between 45 and 89 to renew depending on the level of competition you want to partake in nationally. If you want to go international karting its between 134 and 220.

Aha. Thanks. Similar to Procup Usa endurance 4-stroke races. Did one of those at OVRP. Traveling 4-stroke enduros! https://procupkarting.com/

ARKS test too which is an additional 100 quid or so iirc

So, beyond the obvious revenue stream, what is the practical reason for levying govt fees on a privately run activity? Are UK tracks public?

Big thanks to OVKA and all who helped us get a new class formed:

100cc Masters/ Heavy for Ka100 390# and Yamaha KT (with pipe, clutch and weight regulations to be finalized) master age exemption is expected to be a 200# driver weight. Final details to be finalized at next rules committee.
This will be a great class addition for our club, and hopefully draw some new members. Pass the word, gonna be some great masters racing this year at G&J Kartway! See y’all at the finish line.
I’m 49 and going into my 4th year of racing ever. I have and do enjoy running senior ka100. I do however find comfort racing with guys that that think twice about stuffing a kart where it doesn’t fit, and also realize they have to get to work on Monday.

Hmm, maybe i can design some quick disconnect weights to run KA100 in senior and Master.

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Isn’t that the one that uses 2x Honda engines one for each rear wheel? The British Army enter a team, how I wish they had a kart team when I was serving :grin:

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Is it normal in UK to demonstrate to the assessor a minimum lap time to pass ARKS? So add track time, kart rental etc to that.

Here it’s the norm, I had to show I could consistently lap Al Forsan at 1:04.whatever before I was able to sit the test.

Licenses are issued by Motorsport UK, not UK government.

However these are only required to compete at Motorsport UK events. So if a track, club or championship runs on its own (IKR - Independent Kart Racing) they generally don’t require any kind of license so its happy days.

The excessive cost of Motorsport UK licencing has helped with IKR growth.

I see. But what is the rational (pitch) for the licensing fees? Are they supposed to support or facilitate or benefit the sport in some way?

Well, on paper there is a ‘judiciary’ that provides uniformity across the land for competition. I think that kind of thing is redundant in an era of single-make racing where distributers can regulate that, however there should be other benefits for clubs and championships (easier access to insurance etc…). I don’t believe Motorsport UK actually adheres to policies it sets out nor has particularly good regulations either. This is partly why we have a strong IKR scene here to. So for example one track might run a Motorsport UK meeting one weekend and an IKR meeting the other.