Hard tires are fun. It was always a laugh in the 24hr seeing guys fly out of the pits and lock up into the first hairpin 
4 Likes
If people want to spend money, let them. Not required. Hereās the MG reds that won IKC two races ago that had an ungodly amount of time on them:
3 Likes
I wonder that myself. we race the tillotson series at orlando and the tire is the maxxis t4, which last for a long time and holds up well, but falls off 3 tenths or so after the first weekend it seems. As such, we are throwing away barely worn tires for a new set each race. Seems like a waste but if you are a front of the pack guy, it makes the difference between podium and 8th in a field of 20.
1 Like
Let them! Clubs can allow the use of two sets, and each driver can choose when to change over. If someone shows up at the end with fresh rubber and hasnāt raced there all year it would be an interesting challenge for them to go up against the others that have the advantage of more recent track time but may be on older rubber.
On our parking lot track surface, the MG tires seem to fall off dramatically.
1 Like
i think the hoosier r70ās have, at least among the drivers i mostly interact with, proven themselves as a āput them on and forget about them for the seasonā tire. lo206 classes, that is. i donāt really enjoy changing tires, so itās been kinda nice.
i hear that the mgās last a long time, but then i also hear that the mgās fall off in a few races. so iām not sold on their longevity yet. iāve only run one race on them, and it was on a used set the track sold me, and i got smoked. now i may have just gotten smoked cuz i sucked and it was the first race of the season, but i was pretty much a full second off previous times, which seemed like more than i should attribute to being a little rusty.
1 Like
The unofficial social forum is massive. One of the future local racers started a FB group for Pitt Race 206 racers to communicate and it has been a huge force in growth.
The track has asked to take it over a number of times but the admins have declined. And rightfully so - by the racers and for the racers.
1 Like
Yes absolutely. Do whatās best for your club racers, not the outsiders. You make it enticing enough for a new racer to join, you get them for ten races. Make it enticing for someone from elsewhere to come try your track, you get them for one race.
The only tire Iāve ever experienced that doesnāt reward being new in the first several cycles is the Mojo D2. It just works for club racing.
2 Likes
Social media seems to help with community stuff. Discords allow participants to have a resource for news related to series as well as place to congregate somewhat. I started one for GRX to get the league going.
Iāve always found these kinds of things helpful in that their utility extends beyond the confines of the club. We can use it also to talk about outside events, assemble teams for endurance races, etc.
GRX leans heavily on the discord to communicate league stuff and operational announcements, for example. The actual web site seems to be less useful.
1 Like
Tires are super tricky because the ābestā or at least most economical one will vary depending on the track surface. Of course there is the added element of financial incentives for clubs to adopt a particular tire. Totally understandable as tracks and clubs canāt operate on hopes and dreams, they need money to operate and make the races happen for us.
Facebook groups (and pages) can be great, the challenge is that the activity is lost in a sea of other non-karting stuff. So like anything thereās a tradeoff. I think itās fair to say for most clubs they are a net positive in terms of connecting the driver community and are an importatant entry point for newcomers. My only thought is that for club\event critical communication, a dedicated tool is the ideal way to go. But it needs to be an additional channel on top of social media and website comms.
So in the practical sense, itās a bit of a pain in the arse for clubs and drivers\parents to have to manage different platforms.
/edit Also: great discussion here with good ideas and perspectives. These kinds of āadultā conversations are what I believe make this community great.
So thanks for that.
3 Likes
Thatās the beauty of the Mojo over the Hoosier - itāll run within a few tenths of the Vega Red, you set it up the same as an MG Red and it lasts as long as an R70.
3 Likes
Many clubs have contracts and sponsorship deals with tire manufacturers/sellers. Itās hard to ask them for money, and then turn around and say we are limiting the amount of tires our club members can buy/use in a season.
Additionally, we will be responsible for tracking these tires? They would need to be scanned every time coming off the track.
1 Like
My club series (one of the two I race in) scans tires on the way to the grid.
1 Like
Something crossed my mind just nowā¦ One of the first days for a prospective racer can be as a marshall or other helper.
They get close to the action and also get to see what goes on behind the scenes. Itās a big plus when you have racers that understand what it takes to put a race weekend on, what the staff go though etc.
2 Likes