I race Briggs Senior at GoPro Motorplex, last race saw 38 entries with 21 preregistered. I just checked the entry list and there are already 28 preregistered for Saturday. If I extrapolate it looks like 45 karts isn’t out of the question this weekend. I guess it’s a good problem to have, but I gotta think the first few laps could be…interesting. Thoughts?
Don’t worry, I’ll be running a GoPro, bet there is some good footage before it’s all said and done.
Some tracks will split the grid.
Ideally the best way (if you run qualifying) is to have two randomly selected qualifying groups which the set the grids for two prefinals. The top half of each prefinal then compete in an A (or Main) final. And the bottom half of the prefinals will compete in a B (or consolation final).
The more the merrier. Few things in racing are more exciting, in my opinion, than getting the chance to actually race in a large field.
NCMP in Indiana got up to 50 Briggs karts (in one class) regularly a couple seasons ago, and the track seemed to handle the numbers fine. Go Pro may not be as long as NCMP, but it is still a fairly decent sized kart track. 40-something Briggs karts at Go Pro should still work because its Briggs 206 we’re talking about. If it were 125 Shifters, things may be a bit hairy, but the slower speeds of the 206 will make things more manageable.
Most karters could only wish to be able to race with so many other karts at the same time. Some can’t even get a grid of 4, nevermind 40. But if what past experience has shown me, the giant grids of karts won’t last forever, enjoy it while you can.
C. Skowron
^^^^^
Yep, those two things.
Track length is the main determining factor. Longer tracks can (generally) accommodate more kart without mishaps and trip ups over slower traffic. The full track at Road America (When it was a thing) often had around 100 karts out there at once.
Other things come into play are general driving standards, available staff to monitor the track and to a lesser extent, the proximity of the last turn relative to the starting line. It sucks to start a race around a turn and not be able to see the flagger.
I know in the UK (probably in Ireland too) it was length and width. So Three Sisters which i think was 8-10m wide and about 1200m long could host 34 karts. But like Shenny which i think was 6-8m and about 1000m could host 24 karts. Mondello Park ran like 60 something if I remember correctly from the one JICA race i did there.
Turns out the issues weren’t due to the field size, it was more related to the fact that the grid was set by a draw for the first race and inverted for the second. Points then set the Final. Someone towards the front got turned in Turn Four on the first lap and lots of carnage ensued. Other races seemed to go better.
Some rule sets (such as IKF) have a ratio of track length vs. number of karts allowed on the track. This can sometimes also be an insurance issue or one that is stated in competition rulebooks. I would examine the rule set used in your area.