09-07-14, 09:56 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-07-14, 07:42 AM by Kosmic Kartman.)
Hi Frosties
I wasn't ignoring you, I've not had a land line or internet connection since I moved to Suffolk on the 4th July.... BUT NOW I'M BACK!
As said, the best place to start is to go and hire one to see if he likes it. It's a physically demanding sport and you can get bettered and a bit bruised as the foccers that I took to to Buckmore Park recently will testify.
Alan Sherman said that the lighter drivers always had an advantage. This isn't always the case as heavier drivers can have more grip in the corners over lighter drivers but lighter drivers get more acceleration out of the corners. Swings and roundabouts. In the championship I raced in (100cc National Formula A for classic karts - classic for karts over 10 years old) all drivers were weighed and given seat weights to match the heaviest driver. The weights were bolted to the back of the seats. Also nowadays the new 125 karts have clutches but when I raced the 100cc karts were direct drive so if you span and stalled you'd have to bump start your kart... A right bummer if you had a load of weight bolted to your seat. It's been over 20 years since I raced in any kind of championship but I think the carrying of weights is still the case in some RAC MSA run championships.
If your lad does take it up there is a brilliant book called Kart-Champion on a Shoestring http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kart-Champion-Sh...0850770955 a bit dated but will still give an excellent insight of what you can expect re looking after your kart, set up, sprocket sizes etc. Be prepared to travel, sleep in the Transit (Guy Martin stylee), and spend lots of money as it's not a cheap sport any more.
Above all have fun and practice, practice, practice. I remember I used to go to bed at night with a stopwatch in my hand, visualising racing around the tracks and counting the laps off with the stopwatch. I was nearly always within + - one second of a real lap time. That will help with consistency. When I got to the 7 hour lap... that's when I fell asleep. :z
I wasn't ignoring you, I've not had a land line or internet connection since I moved to Suffolk on the 4th July.... BUT NOW I'M BACK!
As said, the best place to start is to go and hire one to see if he likes it. It's a physically demanding sport and you can get bettered and a bit bruised as the foccers that I took to to Buckmore Park recently will testify.
Alan Sherman said that the lighter drivers always had an advantage. This isn't always the case as heavier drivers can have more grip in the corners over lighter drivers but lighter drivers get more acceleration out of the corners. Swings and roundabouts. In the championship I raced in (100cc National Formula A for classic karts - classic for karts over 10 years old) all drivers were weighed and given seat weights to match the heaviest driver. The weights were bolted to the back of the seats. Also nowadays the new 125 karts have clutches but when I raced the 100cc karts were direct drive so if you span and stalled you'd have to bump start your kart... A right bummer if you had a load of weight bolted to your seat. It's been over 20 years since I raced in any kind of championship but I think the carrying of weights is still the case in some RAC MSA run championships.
If your lad does take it up there is a brilliant book called Kart-Champion on a Shoestring http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kart-Champion-Sh...0850770955 a bit dated but will still give an excellent insight of what you can expect re looking after your kart, set up, sprocket sizes etc. Be prepared to travel, sleep in the Transit (Guy Martin stylee), and spend lots of money as it's not a cheap sport any more.
Above all have fun and practice, practice, practice. I remember I used to go to bed at night with a stopwatch in my hand, visualising racing around the tracks and counting the laps off with the stopwatch. I was nearly always within + - one second of a real lap time. That will help with consistency. When I got to the 7 hour lap... that's when I fell asleep. :z
Some say that he eats habanero chilli peppers dipped in oil of capsaicin for extra bite and that his pyjamas are made from Nomex. All we know is, he's called Ad the Bad