So, I’ve raced WKA Road Race - A/C 100 class for a couple years.
In this class, the low-stall clutch is mandated, and in the books there’s an optional grid test of a 1” square bar that is placed in front of the tires…when accellerator is pressed to hop over the bar, the RPM must not exceed XXX rpm.
On race starts for a few races now, there is a competitor who gets rocket starts with obvious clutch slippage. This results in a substantial lead into turn 1, large enough to break the draft.
So, knowing this, and having been victimized on starts (I run legal, STOCK clutch, within intent of rules.) should I:
a) do nothing and hope for the best catching up with drafting partners (hey, I’m not a narc!)
b) protest after the race
c) ask for the on-the-books spot check rule to be implemented (racer could just do his thing after check?)
d) some option I haven’t thought of?
What say you? I’m all for dabbling in the gray areas, but this seems like outright cheating…. of course some say “no tech, not cheating!” but my conscience is more finely attuned than that…
An Illegal Kart cannot finish ahead of a Legal Kart. Worst case scenario is that you do protest this kart and it checks out 100% legal. Now you have a new, deemed legal, setup to emulate.
Do not lose a race over the fear of being vilified over a protest. In my experience (and there are a lot of protests in the SOLO world) protests either put the bad apples in check OR bring clarity to a regulation that may have been left open to interpretation (the latter doesn’t sound like the case here, but I’m just throwing it out there…)
I would protest for the officials to do the clutch check before karts leave the grid to go on track. Slippage like that could be gone by the time the race is done to where it may be illegal at the start and legal after the race concludes.
You say it’s an “optional grid test” , I assume you exercise that option on your own then? For your kart??
At the moment is this just a you thing or have you spoken to other guys in the class about it?? If you have a group of concerned competitors it may make it a little easier to speak up and have the guy tested.
If you don’t want to speak up the only other option is feeling good about your finish knowing your kart is 100% compliant.
Read once in FB that in the “good old days” when two drivers had an incident on track they let them fight. After that they never had problems ever again
Ok so was gonna post this on k(art) pulse but it make sense here, normally I’d try to convince @speedcraft about possible driving engagements we could consider as a competetive outlet, ya know, for bonding purposes.
However, he’s busy talking to AI and writing a bookie so instead I’ll try to entice you on a Rebel Scum adventure.Behold the two options for our summer getaway.
The Redbull Assisted Suicide 500
Or death by whirlpool:
You don’t have to surf to enjoy Dylan Graves lifelong journey to surf the absurd, the remote, the forlorn and the bizarre.
So the clutch test is optional to the officials? Meaning they may randomly check it? We used to be clutch tested every single session when KPV/HPV/Komet was around. On the rare occasion that the club would do a road race (Blackhawk or Milwaukee), I can’t ever remember doing a clutch test, and of course there were obviously a few guys greasing the clutch to get a better launch. I never did, and never won one of those races as a result, because just like you, I would lose the draft by turn 1.
If the tech officials aren’t doing the tech, then I say you should squirt a little WD on that clutch drum too. There is nothing to protest. You can’t just ask the officials to tear down someone else’s kart because you suspect they are cheating.
You could (and probably should) bring it up to the officials informally and ask for the clutch test to be implemented regularly. If they still aren’t doing the test, then you need should start doing what the others are doing.
