Note that in my original post I asked if it will be a crisis not that there necessarily was one.In my opinion for what that’s worth I believe that the aging out of the lifers WILL have an impact and a noticeable one at that.
The bigger question mark on the sport’s future is the steadily dwindling base of kart racers. No matter how good or bad your local scene may be overall the general consensus is that since the early 2000s we have lost over half of the participants that we had at the time and new blood coming in isn’t coming close to keeping up.
There is likely a societal element at work here as well and it may be the bigger issue and nobody knows how to address it. There’s two elements going on, first is the increased cost that has risen at an alarming rate. The success of the LO206 program is an indicator that more affordable racing makes it more attractive. But the LO206 folks can’t and in my mind shouldn’t be the single defining element of the sport.
Secondly the generation coming up that don’t know how to change a spark plug and aren’t interested in learning how is a huge problem. This will result in only the well heeled folks being capable of participating and the focus will more and more on the aforementioned high end clientele. I don’t believe there will be enough participants to sustain an industry that the sport can’t survive without.
Then again I could be full of it but the current spiral can’t be sustained. Without the passion of the lifers I wonder if there is anybody that can forestall the soul of karting that carried it for decades becoming a thing of the past.
No gloom and doom from me, just concern about the future of a sport that I have mysteriously dedicated most of my life to.
Greg Wright
Rapid Racing Inc.