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.