Does anybody race karts here?

[Justin B]

Just wondering if anybody on the forum races gokarts :D I have a CRG Kali and raced it in a 4 hour enduro at the Infineon kart track last year on Thanksgiving weekend. My brother and I were both in our first race with one more driver that had been racing for a couple years. We were running 2nd overall 3 hours in, 1st by several laps in the amature class. Two laps behind the TrackMagic team with Memo Gidley who later broke down badly but still managed to finish themselves. I believe we could have won if my frame held together I finally recieved a replacement Friday.
Here are some pics-
It broke here, if any of you race and notice I have front brakes, I took them off once I wore the first set of pads out -

The actual breakage, it was broken for a while obviously, tweaked enough to be permanantly pulled away. With my throttle cable on that side it pulled hard and broke off the weak link, a small brass fitting which actuates the throttle shaft. The breakage of that ultimately brought us into the pits and we were working on it until I noticed the failure. The crack started at the weld for the tab -

Thats me on the start(and my other two drivers), I qualified about 14th I think out of almost 30. First race with several pro teams, pretty good :) -

My first pass, before turn 1 I picked up about 4 or 5 spots :P -


My new frame :D It took a while but we got it free-

[808BMW]

How much does something like that run?

I've never raced them, but at our first autox they had a couple guys with carts. Looks like more fun that a jumbo box of viagra at a party in the playboy mansion.

[AndrewBird]

Sweet dude. I always thought that look like tons of fun. Been carting since a kid, but nothing like that. Just kids stuff. How fast do those things get up to?

[1985bmw325e]

some can go up to 80mph, even faster. I race gokarts once in a while, mainly for just recreational fun. And i'm not talking about the ones at miniature golf venues.

[Justin B]

Mine brand new cost close to $6000 I think. That included the roller chassis, which was like 3600 bucks because we had the 125 shifter chassis (beefier and comes with front brakes, which isnt actually used in racing in my class), Parilla Leopard 125cc (single speed) motor package $2300, digital dash, and some other little things. They can be had cheaper, but brand new thats actually not too bad. 125cc shifter packages get really expensive after that. There is a spec 125cc shifter class now called 125 moto, its actually a Honda CR125 engine on a gokart.

The speed varies, depends on what class. In my class they will hit about 75mph I think, no speedo on mine, although some people do have speed sensors hooked up to their dashs with magnet sensors on the rear axle. That speed might be pushing it though, but its very fast in a kart. The Pro ICC guys (super fast 125 cc shifters) I think will narrowly break 100 on the sprint track, I believe it is a 1/4 mile front straight.

[Justin B]

I was going to say for speed between like 20 mph or less to 100 but that would have been including the baby karts for like 5 year olds, or less? I dunno, theyre LITTLE :) lol

[S52E30]

The Bondurant race school here in Phoenix has the shifter carts and they advertise 0-100 in 6 secs and 0-100-0 in 10 secs. So thats probably the 125cc engines. i have been saving money to go but i really need to find the time. just too busy but i will drive them one of these days.

[Jon325i]

I would really like to get into karting. The most exposure I've had is indoor karting at RPM in Sacramento....and that's a far cry from the 125 Shifter class. I have toyed with the idea of going to one of those Russell karting courses out at Infineon one day....but its nearly $500 :shock: Despite the cost, it looks like the most fun one can have while fully clothed. Very quick, razor sharp handling and the ability to easily pull a couple of Gs in the turns. I can see why many professional racers in CART and F1 got their start with these.

I know there are other opportunities out there for someone like myself who is interested in sampling the 125 Shifter experience (besides the Infineon courses)....clubs, sactioned racing and forums like this one. And just like modding cars, karting can be reasonably affordable or so hugely expensive you have to put a kidney up on eBay to finance a couple seasons.

Jon

[Jand3rson]

Re: Does anybody race karts here?

What's going on here? Pre-race warm up dancing? :D

[E30godz]

i assume they run to the cars le man's style

[Justin B]

I laughed out loud at that! LOL Kinda looks that way doesnt it? :D

Yep, in that race anyway we did.

[Jand3rson]

It's a good pic anyway, I miss seeing the hills around Sonoma. :(

[george graves]

Do you run to the cart and then start it? I've never seen a "standing" start in karting before - only hear of it.

How compitive is the "125 moto" class. Are all the carts more of less equal despite the amount of money people have? I assume that a lightweigh class for all the skinny boys?

Use to run karts as a kid - so much fun. My only complaint was the short (15 lap) races (or "heats")


...

[Justin B]

The 125 moto class is pretty competitive, its spec, but still comes down to money in some areas like how often motor rebuilds are done and some other little things but it isnt nearly quite as bad as an ICC. One of the best classes is probably TAG whether its Rotax Max (sealed motor), or otherwise. Everything else is in one class with different weight penalties, most common though is the Parilla Leopard and BM Jaguar. You get all the Pro guys in the ICC class and theyre a nightmare to tune. Im not sure how widespread the moto class is yet, it is the first year for it at Sears Point.

Weights is an issue always under fire for whether it should be raised or lowered or have more than the current number of weight breaks. Right now in TAG anyway there is "Light" 360lbs and "Heavy" 390lbs. I am 90% sure that is the correct weights, and includes the kart and driver. The kart weighes about 180 lbs, so you can figure from there, lots of the small guys have to add lead anyway.

As far as standing starts go, for the enduro yes we ran to our karts and started them, and off we went. That is one reason why I picked up a couple spots, I passed a few legitly, but got a lucky break when someone that qualified ahead of me didnt start yet and was blocking part of the outside of the track. I got by him just before he started and had a clear shot for a few feet while everybody else was shuffling for position.

I dont know of any classes other than shifters that have a standing start in a normal race. Shifters line up on the grid, gun it let out the clutch and pile into turn 1 :) Actually theyre better than the TAG guys in the first turn. Almost every time there is a pile up somewhere in the field because there are just so many karts trying to win it on the first lap :shock:

Oh, and Ive been wondering since I joined...what the hell is the story with the picture you have in your sig? :shock:

[Brian 89 325i]

Hopefully im going to get into Karting soon. I need to get a kart. I was going to go for the TAG class too, It seems like more of a level playing field. Nice kart.

Brian