Yeah I think Max would be a contender. He won the Supernats in 2012. That dude is a force to be reckoned with in a kart.
Speaking of Michael Schumacher, after retiring from Formula 1, and up until his skiing accident, he was a development driver for Tony Kart, which gives me huge respect for him.
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Best Iāve ever witnessed Max is. Itās a shame he left karts and we donāt have a sport which could keep hold of a driver like Max. Imagine how mad karting would be if we didnāt leak drivers like we do.
Agreed, it would definitely make for more action at the pointy end of the field. However, Iād also argue that the best drivers belong in F1, being the pinnacle of the sport. I think weāre lucky Max did as much karting as he did, considering drivers seem to make the move to cars younger and younger these days.
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I donāt agree. For me the best drivers belong in a sport thatās got the widest range of accessibility. And karting wins that by a mile. Plus I do think some of the best drivers are in karts right now. I think Max is exceptional, but everyone else on the grid is comparable to what we get in top-level karts (and elsewhere).
F1 can never being the ābest of the bestā due to its very nature. It actively works against drivers nowadays with prices tags like Ā£30,000,000 for a seat. Karting could be. Or at least closer to that. But alas, the way things work F1 will always be where the eyes look towards
I agree with all ofthisā¦ but to add a counterpointā¦ F1 is intended also to require the most skill.
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I would say F1, to play devilās advocate, if we go back to its origins (19th century France), was intended for manufacturers to show off their engineering skill rather than being the formula that required the most driving skill. Driving skill was a way to extract performance from the car, but not an absolutely foundational quality to the sport of motor racing,
I would say karting is the best āoverallā motorsport because itās the most accessible motorsport that also has the multi-manufacturer element. In terms of hybridization of these two aspects of the sport no other 4-wheel motorsport does it better. And in actualities we do ahve some of the best drivers on the planet racing karts. Thereās nothing particularly otherworldly about most of the F1 grid to me.
I consider rally drivers some of the best. They have to drive on dirt, gravel, and tarmac in dry, rain, snow, and ice. All while seeing a 1000 corners a few times, but not in the same condition as the last time. In addition they have to change their own tires, diagnose problems and do roadside repairs.
Who are the most dominant modern karting drivers? The few that I can think of who havent moved to cars and dont seem to plan to are norberg and travisanutto
Travisnutto has the potential right now. I assume KZ is next yearās plan. KZ is so competitive itās very hard for any team/driver package to steal a march there.
Danny Kerile was dominant for a few years winning the worldās and multiple British titles in X30.
The problem is the sport isnāt particularly good nowadays for offering true career opportunities for drivers. The last 20-30 years have been a bit self-sabotage with all this subservience to cars, when really we should have taken a different strategy.
That does bring up a questionā¦ whatās the end game for a Norberg? If not cars, what? Can these guys have a career in just karting that continues past their 20s?
I know Bas is older than many pros, for example.
USA may have different opportunities than Europe?
I think thatās very possible if you look at a career being outside of driving. Iāve noticed Davide Fore is doing a lot of coaching recently. Terry Fullerton did a lot of coaching (Maybe still does) and launched a chassis brand. Many drivers go on to start teams.
But in terms of making a career purely from drivingā¦ Iām not sure many have pulled that off, even in the Euro factory teams. Fore did that until his late 30ās but like I said it seems like heās mostly coaching these days, racing as the opportunity comes up.
Just like cars, being a driver as a profession is particularly challenging as the market is full of folks that will pay to race.
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Who could fault him? Iām all about KZ karts, but the opportunity to drive the worldās premiere race cars & being paid BIG money while doing it is a no-brainer.
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Spencer, you nailed it. Itās the money and fame. Very few people in the world can call themselves purists.
Every little kid dreams of being famous and rich, and unfortunately thatās what karting canāt provide. Canāt blame anyone for wanting to chase that when given the opportunity.
I get that, but as a sport I donāt think weāve really reached the potential we should have. The reality is we see 100s of drivers leave karting each year chasing a seat on the F1 grid which is average 1-3 new drivers per yearā¦ a high percentage of which literally pay to be there.
The point is only KZ (out of the current fornulas we have) , in the entire world of motorsport, has the capability to being the most insane level of competition found in any motorsport on the planet. We still have probably the highest pound for pound level of competition of any 4-wheel motorsport, but still, one can still bemoan the loss of opportunity.
The lack of bravery with how we present the sport is partly why eSports has been able to establish itself so confidently and now, I suspect, has more professional drivers than karting.
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Not surprisingly, e-sports resonates in a convenience-driven culture. What? You want people to get off their butts, sweat, & maybe get a bit of dirt on their hands? Pfffft.
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Urzi said it. Itās about accessibility; Cost, convenience, familiarity with games and the experience is relatable. Plus, there are very few that want to prep the week before, get up early, drive hours to the track, sit in hot sun for two days and then have something fall off in the Main or worst get wrecked in Heat 1. Not sure why I subject myself to such torture.
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A lot of people prefer to not face challenges, great or small.
This a bad result for karting, tho? Does sim detract from the pool of folks who take up driving in your opinion?
For me sim is what led to me karting, so I see it the other way.
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Hugely complex question. The short answer is I donāt know. But this question is aimed at a different end of the sport than I am referencing really. I think KZ karting, could be far better positioned as a professional motorsport than it currently is. eSports is better positioned because while it does make a thing of āsim to carsā fundamentally the pro level of sim racing is well established and provides good opportunities. This is particularly because sim racing attracts guys int he late teens and well into their twenties and realistically have almost no chance on the single seater ladder.
I just watch videos like the one posted and think how good the sport could be. Take the World Championship for example. Did anyone watch it? I know one person who watched it live apart from myself.