Clothing and Updates

Well, we've started with your head and how important that is and the neck region. Now let’s talk about clothing. There are different rules for the different types of go kart racing but my feeling is more is better than less. Some rules state that you need only wear one piece jump suit style suits but you have to think about what is around you in the kart. Remembering that between your legs is the fuel tank and to one side is the motor and possibly a radiator (if you’re running a water-cooled kart). What would you want to be wearing if the fuel tank erupted or the engine blew up - something that is made of cotton or something that is fire retardant? In particular for the male drivers there are certain things that need protecting from fire and therefore I think that fire retardant is the best way to go. These days there are some really great go kart suits for reasonable prices and they don’t need to be dry cleaned.

Now the serious information is out of the way. What have we been up to – well the asphalt/bitumen twin is back together and had its first run for over a year. To say it went like a rocket would be an understatement – only had a couple of minor teething problems but I’m not sure if that was just blasting the cobwebs out of our minds or the kart (probably both).

We have a big year here in Western Australia with the state titles running at our Cockburn track on the 1st to 3rd October 2010 and then 6 months later, they will hold the National Titles at the same track so we are getting prepared for that. Unfortunately however the 200cc open class will not be running at the National Titles because it’s not considered a class since it last run at the National Titles at the Eastern Goldfields Go Kart Club track in 1999. Anyone who was present at the 1999 National Titles will remember the class as it put on the most spectacular display both on and off the field.

Anyway that’s it for today. I will try and keep you posted. Also if anyone is interested I am currently putting together an e-book on go karting and how to get started what safety equipment is best so will keep you posted on that too.

Keep smiling and enjoy the speed.

Well where to go from here...

Now you've decided on what type of racing you want to do.  Go to your local kart shop or even your motorsport equipment shops and have a chat with the people there.  If they don't have what you need they can point you in the right direction.  In Australia there are unlimited resources to be found in every capital city and on the web.  Even reading your national or local kart magazines are a great resource.  Don't forget however, every kart shop has their preferences so do your reseach before spending your money.

Now I do have to touch on something that I have spoken about previously which is really important and that's safety equipment.  Previously I spoke about helmets now here in Australia all karters to required to wear neck braces.  There are so many different types it is important to get one that is comfortable for you.  You can get round ones, horseshoe ones and now you can get these super slimline moulded neck braces designed specifcally for karting.  These are important because you have the weight of your helmet currently only supported by you neck and what these neck braces do is take some of the pressure off your neck and should you have an accident they also prevent your head from travelling too far backwards or forwards preventing major neck damage.  So remember your heads important and so is the thing that supports it.  Next time I will talk about what you wear.

So until next time - keep well and keep safe and enjoy every minute of your day.

PS if you want to have a look at some good racing please have a look at the following weblink.  Keep an eye out for kart numbers 69 and 96 because thats my brother and myself (I'm 69) and its the final of the 200cc National Dirt Kart Titles in South Australia - what a wicked weekend.

http://dirtkartracing.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=200austitle09&action=display&thread=684

The Next Step

Ok now you've considered your head and how important it is, well next you have to think about the rest of your body. The racegear you have to wear depends on where you are racing and the rules associated with that type of racing. The important thing to remember is motorsport is dangerous and if your not wearing the right safety gear then you are more than likely going to get hurt more than you would if you were wearing the right gear.

Deciding on what type of racing you are going to do be it on the dirt on road racing (bitumen) well depend on a number of factors and these include what tracks are close to you and what you can afford. In Australia there is a huge difference in pricing for licencing and race meetings between racing on the dirt and racing on the bitumen (see www.aka.com.au for bitumen racing or http://www.communitywebs.org/~AIDKA/ for dirt racing). Then you can get in contact with your local track secretary and have a chat.

So until next time - please let me know if you have any questions or want to know something specific and I should be able to help.

200 cc twin Engine Go Kart

To say we might have an idea of what we are doing can be proven in the fact that only a couple of weeks ago we managed to win the Western Australia State Title Bitumen Titles with our 200 cc water cooled twin engine go kart.

So lets continue on.

There are many things to think about when looking for a go kart and the first is how much money do I have that I can spend. Because it can be quite an expensive sport if you allow it to be however we are proof that you can still have a chassis that is a couple of years old (or in our case a chassis that wasn't originally designed for the class i.e. a single engine chassis converted into a twin engine chassis) and can still be competitive.

So you've got a chassis now what - well now you need to look at what class you want to run and every country is different. In Australia you can start racing at 7 and then age is no limit. So depending on your skill level depends on what type of motor you would buy. Most countries now have motors with starters and clutches this makes it easy if you are going racing without help because you don't need someone to push you.

Now once you've got to this point you should now be looking at safety equipment i.e. race suits and helmets. A lot of people think that because you are only racing karts that you don't need a lot of safety equipment but you have to remember that you only have a small amount of distance between you and the ground and there is no body work to protect you. Most importantly think about helmets - ask yourself one important question and that is:

"What is my head worth - do I need it to function"

and then look at the helmet you are going to buy - maybe spend a little more on that than you were thinking about because ultimately it is going to be the one thing that comes between your head and the pavement.

Go Kart Racing as an Art

Many people think that racing a go kart is for children!!

What they don't realise is there is an art to this sport. Everything from what tyre pressures to run to the type of fuel all the way to what the driver wears is important as this can affect how the kart handles and what speed you can get out of a kart.

Also it depends on what surface you are racing on whether it is dirt or bitumen can dramatically affect how you drive and how your kart handles.

Children can start as young as 7 years old here in Australia and after that age is not a factor. They even have an over 40's class and in some clubs they even have a class solely for women. Ultimately it is not how old you are or your sex but how you race that makes the difference.

We will be posting different ideas to help people to get a better understanding of how to race a go kart, how to set it up and how to get sponsorship so that it doesn't cost so much.

Our latest creation is a 200 cc twin engine go kart - one is water cooled for the bitumen the other is for dirt racing.