47 replies to this topic

[MaxAndPaddy]

A serious thread woohooooo me!!

Teenage son is into Karting, hes a member at an indoor Kart spot which if I'm honest hes got a bit bored with - not that he doesnt love going just that he pizz's on everyone there and has outgrown it a bit.

He qualified sneekily (only 15) for the Red Bull Kart Fight and did pretty well to say he'd never been in a 2 stroke before

We took the kids of to the Center Parks at Sherwood and theres a karting spot near by called AMEN Karting, so we took him. Within 20 laps he was within 200ths of a second off the track record in those karts. The guy there said GET THAT KID COMPETING!!

No idea where to start

Advice pleaseeee!!!

[jb93]

No idea, sorry! But wish him all the best!

I think a few members on here have experience and might be able to help you out though...

Edited by jb93, 27 February 2013 - 06:31 PM.

[MaxAndPaddy]

Good start

[MaxAndPaddy]

From duffman:

there's loads of kart tracks and cups in Yorkshire. I'm sure there's a Kart track in Harrogate that runs seasonal competitions/trophy's which is a cracking stepping stone to bigger things. I know its a big step BUT have you thought about getting him into a junior class race series like the saxmax or, if you've got more money or sponsorship, Ginetta juniors.
I'll have a look as i'm in harrogate tomorrow with work.

[MaxAndPaddy]

Mr Artful Dodger:

Ginetttas are generally rich boy championships:P

Don't know of they still run it but the British / european caterham championship is a real winner. Proper cars/ people and of course proper hard driving and racing.

[MaxAndPaddy]

Noah:

Off topic but some advice about 15yr old.:

I was hopeless in school, Failed everything bar, Business Studies, Music, ICT and Resistant Materials and Maths. I wouldn't worry though, every one has their own place, some just are not suited to academia. He'll find what he wants to do, he may end up wanting to do something like Harrison, working at a Race Team.

[TylerW53]

Find your local Kart track, go see a few races and speak to some people and see if your son can go ut in someones kart to see if he can keep up with lap times on a practice day. If he likes it go about buying a kart. Chassis wise you want a TonyKart. Engine depends what class you want to do. At 5 you could do Junior Rotax which is for 13-17 year olds and have a 125cc unrestricted two-stroke engine. Or you could wait untill he is 16 and do Senior Rotax which is for people who are 16 plus and have a 125cc unrestricted Rotax engine with a power valve. When you have decided what class you want to do and bought a kart and engine you can do your Arks test. Just remeber the rules and flags and then your away!

[MaxAndPaddy]

I'm still choking on £30k a year

[duffman]

Agreed, the Ginetta's tend to be populated by rich kids BUT if you look at the stats of who wins, or finishes very well, its usually the guys that have won scholarships or kids that simply want it more who's parents aren't minted but worked hard and found some sponsorship.

Plus there's TV coverage which attracts rich kids as track fillers, track fillers just make you look better lol.

[MaxAndPaddy]

Find your local Kart track, go see a few races and speak to some people and see if your son can go ut in someones kart to see if he can keep up with lap times on a practice day. If he likes it go about buying a kart. Chassis wise you want a TonyKart. Engine depends what class you want to do. At 5 you could do Junior Rotax which is for 13-17 year olds and have a 125cc unrestricted two-stroke engine. Or you could wait untill he is 16 and do Senior Rotax which is for people who are 16 plus and have a 125cc unrestricted Rotax engine with a power valve. When you have decided what class you want to do and bought a kart and engine you can do your Arks test. Just remeber the rules and flags and then your away!

Ive looked a few times at tracks in N Yorks and there isnt that many outdoor ones, alot have recommended the outdoor spot at Middlesbrough?

[iTomKart]

Ring around places like Litchfield Motorsport, Paul Carr Racing and www.ziemelismotorsport.com to sort out hiring a kart at a proper MSA track like PFi, Whilton, and Buckmore and see how he goes. If he still loves it, sort out an ARKS test, get him a license and go racing!

[MaxAndPaddy]

The Red Bull Kart Fight was at Buckmore.....a longggg way a wayyyyyy

Great track though

[iTomKart]

Find your local Kart track, go see a few races and speak to some people and see if your son can go ut in someones kart to see if he can keep up with lap times on a practice day. If he likes it go about buying a kart. Chassis wise you want a TonyKart. Engine depends what class you want to do. At 5 you could do Junior Rotax which is for 13-17 year olds and have a 125cc unrestricted two-stroke engine. Or you could wait untill he is 16 and do Senior Rotax which is for people who are 16 plus and have a 125cc unrestricted Rotax engine with a power valve. When you have decided what class you want to do and bought a kart and engine you can do your Arks test. Just remeber the rules and flags and then your away!

Ive looked a few times at tracks in N Yorks and there isnt that many outdoor ones, alot have recommended the outdoor spot at Middlesbrough?

Rowrah is about an hour away in the Lakes and is one of the best in the country

[duffman]

I'm still choking on £30k a year

Racing isn't cheap nowadays. I used to race years ago, and it was expensive then, the rewards rarely met the outlay (monetary wise) but the bigger you go the bigger the prize money, eventually you'll break even, once your breaking even your good enough to go pro lol. 30k is cheap, i think the clio cup averages around a million to start up and race, around 250k a year there after.

amature cups like the MR2 cup and the hyundai coupe cup can be run at around 10k start up and 6-8k a year there after. not many talent scouts attend these even though so its hard to move on and get sponsorship

[MaxAndPaddy]

It would be best if some nice Karty TMF'er met us somewhere and spent some time with him