So I’m in Illinois and I have been looking into karting. I was hoping on getting a ka100 but it seems like it’s just not popular in Illinois. The nearest place to me where I could race ka100s is badger kart club in Wisconsin. But driving 3hrs just to do 2 10 minute races just isn’t worth it to me.
206s are very popular it seems here so should I just go for that? Is there a ka100 scene here and I just haven’t seen it?
Note: I plan on mainly racing at Norway Motorsports park (formerly Concept Haulers) if I got 206
If you are new to karting the 206 is a great entry into karting. KA is also great, but if you have limited experience with a 2-stroke and there aren’t many karters to network with, it may be a steeper learning curve. Another option is to go with a KA and just focus on track time/practice. Maybe others will jump on the KA wagon if they see what you are doing.
Go 206. Much larger fields at almost any track you would want to ever visit. Decent offering of regional racing options. Much much cheaper to run. 206 is hard to overtake in and harder to be fast in. It rewards a smooth driver even more than KA does.
We did 206 for 2 years, 1 local, 1 local and regional. Then we went KA running mostly 2 regional series last year. It was a step up in driver and tuner skill required when we made the jump.
We have 3 double headers this season, so you could drive up and spend the weekend. Additionally, we are always open for practice on Saturday before our Sunday races. Many of our members that travel will come Saturday to practice and spend the night.
If you want the speed of KA, and worthy competition, you won’t find a better place than Badger.
@Tajino this sounds like a no brainer to me unless Norway isn’t that much closer than Badger. What @revolutionracing describes is tempting, but it’s still a long way to drive, and paying for hotels/sleeping in your truck will get old pretty quick unless you’re wealthy enough to have an RV/travel trailer toy hauler, in which case you probably wouldn’t be considering 206 anyway. It might be awhile before you make a friend who will let you stay at their house. I can tell you from experience that there will be days when you drive 3+ hours, unload the kart, discover a mechanical issue that isn’t fixable at the track, and drive 3+ hours back without ever turning a wheel.
I started in KA with only rental kart experience and it’s definitely doable, but I’d rather have the extra track time in 206 if my local club was 4-stroke only.
Thanks for that response. I was thinking about if I get a ka I would mainly practice and learn the kart at Norway and maybe race every now and then at badger. Maybe if there are enough people do a race at Norway. Or go for a 206 and be basically guaranteed a packed grid. I probably won’t kart this year maybe next year. I’m just looking for the future
Just make a smart chassis choice if you go with a 206 - don’t buy a 4 cycle specific chassis and then have to sell everything if you want to move to KA later. There are a lot of good chassis that will perform well in both classes.
206 is the perfect first year kart though - cheaper to run means it’s easier to justify more practice. And lets you put your funds to better use for stands, tire tools, rain equipment, etc.