go-karts

[volvorsport]

id deffo do a kart up a hill , im contemplating selling everything just to do karting .

[les998]

I have raced Karts years agow, Long circuit, even the full GP circuit at Silverstone.
And i would rather go up Doune Hill Climb in a 250cc Superkart, than my Single Seater, just my thoughts on Karts on a Hill
And i would feel just as safe in the Kart as i am in the Single Seater with my six point Harness.

[tombrown]

I have long thought that a 250 Superkart class would be a great addition - low on cost and high on spectacle. Run as a seperate catagory like the bikes are - maybe the bike boys (NHCA) would be able to help organising it?
Being a seperate class I cant see any single seater drivers getting upset, and the spectators would surely love it!
If there are enough interested competitors I cant see why it should not happen.

[tombrown]

There is a round of the MSA British Superkart Championships at Castle Combe this weekend. Go and watch if you can - they are awesome to see!

[The Voice]

As I said earlier, I am at the European Superkart round at Assen next week and would be more than happy to chat amongst the lads there about doing a non-Guernsey/Jersey hill if one of the venues was prepared to host it say in 2011. Even if we just had a few who were interested to run as a demo I'm sure it would be worth having them.
I don't think it would spoil any event and i'm sure everyone would enjoy watching them.

[Hasta]

Originally Posted by The Voice

As I said earlier, I am at the European Superkart round at Assen next week and would be more than happy to chat amongst the lads there about doing a non-Guernsey/Jersey hill if one of the venues was prepared to host it say in 2011. Even if we just had a few who were interested to run as a demo I'm sure it would be worth having them.
I don't think it would spoil any event and i'm sure everyone would enjoy watching them.

There is a bit more history to this subject that you should be aware of . When 'pseudo' karts ran on the hills way back there were some serious safety concerns. All the safety feature of the hill were designed around 'normal' cars.
Karts pose additional problems and what is correct for a car is bad for a kart or more specifically bad for the kart driver.

There are some hills which I suspect are 'safe' for karts, and some which would need a considerable amount of extra barriers, resurfacing to smooth out the bumps , etc. Note the 2 hills that do run karts are actually public roads that , as far as I can tell from driving up them in my road car, are like billiard tables compared to the Finish straight at Shelsley.


Hasta

[Rescue Dude]

If anyone is serious about this they can always telephone Red Leader and get info from the horses mouth, so to speak.

In the meantime I shall price up some shovels.

[tombrown]

I dont think the "safety issue" would be too big a problem - It is usualy wheeled out by those who dont want to see karts in hillcliming, not because of any insurmountable safety issue.
They are allowed on the Channel Island hills, and have a street race in Peel, Isle of Man (that realy does have some obstacles- Bumps, Kerbs, Houses, the Harbour Wall!). They were also demonstrated at Prescott a few years back. Plus the hills where the bikes go have been ok'd for Sidecars to race on, which probably pose similar risks.

I seem to remember that Karts such as the Trackstar were banned on technical grounds (wheelbase), not for safety reasons.

Run them as a stand alone class - like the bikes - and I dont see a problem.

[Hasta]

Originally Posted by tombrown

I seem to remember that Karts such as the Trackstar were banned on technical grounds (wheelbase), not for safety reasons.

It may have been a convenient peg to hang it on.


Hasta

[chavectra]

From the amount of discussion this thread has generated I'd say there would be a fair amount of interest in Karts on the hills again. I remember seeing the Trackstar at Pembrey and dont see any issues in using them in sprints as most sprints are on smooth circuits. Some hills would be more difficult. An association with the Bike boys may be an answer ??

Wet driving would be more of an issue as they are v tricky to control as it is. Although top flight Gearbox Karts may well set you back 10k plus, and budgets even bigger to run them, the hills would make a good home for older, uncompetitive karts whilst offering excellent value for money.

I've always thought a class for prokarts would make cost effective fun. Twin engined, bulletproof Honda with centrefugal clutch, fast enough to get the adrenalin pumping but nowhere near as fast as superkarts so safety would'nt be such an issue. In a class full of them competion would be relative and ultimate speed not so important. There a loads available for around a grand too. I'd be happy to try one

Just a thought