More Good LO 206 News

Is that GoPro or CMP? I know David has sold several down at CMP but I don't know if GoPro is selling the 206. It is breathing new life into the 4 cycle class down in Kershaw. The first two races have been really great.
 
The LO206 is slowly finding it's way down south. It's been accepted sporadically across the country and finds niches here and there where it really flourishes, while at some tracks it's still shunned. If the road course guys are embracing the 206 in the south, we can only hope that the oval guys are next. The deep south has long been the hotbed of dirt oval racing and right now it's primarily gone clone. For the blueprinted animal to recover, I really think the LO206 has to make it's presence known first as an entry level class that allows participants to start economically and not be caught checkbook racing with every latest part of the month (a-la clone.) As 206 racers desire to go faster, then they have a great engine platform to grow with, Pro-Gas, BP animal, and limited animal.

Here in the midwest, we see more and more clone guys getting on the Lo206 train as it continues to gain speed. It sure makes sense when you see all the drama bursting at the seems of the clone-debacle. We don't need more classes, we need more "stable" classes. The LO206 provides just that.
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
The LO206 is slowly finding it's way down south. It's been accepted sporadically across the country and finds niches here and there where it really flourishes, while at some tracks it's still shunned. If the road course guys are embracing the 206 in the south, we can only hope that the oval guys are next. The deep south has long been the hotbed of dirt oval racing and right now it's primarily gone clone. For the blueprinted animal to recover, I really think the LO206 has to make it's presence known first as an entry level class that allows participants to start economically and not be caught checkbook racing with every latest part of the month (a-la clone.) As 206 racers desire to go faster, then they have a great engine platform to grow with, Pro-Gas, BP animal, and limited animal.

Here in the midwest, we see more and more clone guys getting on the Lo206 train as it continues to gain speed. It sure makes sense when you see all the drama bursting at the seems of the clone-debacle. We don't need more classes, we need more "stable" classes. The LO206 provides just that.
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I agreee in most you say, and as I said I am getting a 206 though I am waiting since I will not race road course till after my summer break in Spain and on sprint I am racing 2 cycles, same for UAS on dirt. For stock classes on dirt you probably don´t want to 206 entering dirt tracks down South or IMO it might finish like the clone sice every local track in the South finish making their own rules. The blame shouldn´t necessarily been put on the clone engine itself, which was a great deal to run out of the box as it came, but on people. The 206 owes its existence to the clone, without the clone we might have never had the 206 as a sealed package. Now of course there is no way to stop the clone madness and nonsense. JMO
 
The LO206 will eventually overtake the "clone madness".
The Jr.LO206's are ideal for the youngsters classes.
No tech really needed after the race.....except to inspect the seal.

There was a tremendous surge in clone racing, when they were $99 and subject to tight regulation
and an inexpensive claimer rule.

Now that is all gone, and the LO206 stands head and shoulders, a more desireable option than any of the
clone mish mash.
 
The blame shouldn´t necessarily been put on the clone engine itself, which was a great deal to run out of the box as it came...
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Oh, I dunno...The engines were never built to be run "out of the box" to begin with (like the LO206.) The clone was simply another industrial replacement engine that was sold on the sole marketing platform of CHEAP. If the clone engine parts had any consistency at all, you wouldn't see all the hand-picking and sorting of "magically delicious" parts by engine builders, (something else that the LO206 addressed - ie you don't see guys hand-picking the better flowing heads -- they are all nearly identical on the bench!)
Racers will always be racers -- they will exploit every advantage in the rules they can find (engine or elsewhere.) If they can't work on the engines and spend money there, they WILL spend their money elsewhere in their racing budget (tires, ceramic bearings, etc.) You can't stop a racer from spending more money than the next guy, but you can take away the advantage of spending more on the engine (as has been seen over the last 5 years with the LO206.)



The LO206 will eventually overtake the "clone madness".
That's certainly one opinion and possibility (of which I'd sure like to see play out.) Not what I think will realistically happen though. My thought is that the clone will "self-implode" as I think we are already seeing. Once an importer specs out a new "improved" cylinder head/carb/crank/pick-a-part and has it imported, the demand for said part and price increases on the overall engine to remain competitive. This continual evolution of a completely blueprinted engine will start to cause "spin-off" stock engines (think Predator) that address the lack of cost control and ultimately lead to the clone's demise.
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There was a tremendous surge in clone racing, when they were $99 and subject to tight regulation
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Re: tight regulation...Was this EVER the case?
Personally, I think the largest failure of the clonies was a LACK of regulation from the very beginning -- something that Briggs really got right with their own set of rules from the very beginning of the LO206 program.

The 206 owes its existence to the clone, without the clone we might have never had the 206 as a sealed package. Now of course there is no way to stop the clone madness and nonsense.
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I'm convinced the clone madness will stop alright. Well, maybe not rules changes, etc etc, but I think we are already seeing clone racers jumping off of the proverbial sinking ship. It will go the way of the West Bends, Macs, Piston Ports, Yamaha KTs, Tecumsehs, and many more. Karting has always embraced new engine packages and they seldom stick around as long as the venerable old flatheads.
It's quite amazing how much forethought went into the development of the Briggs Lo206 program. It addresses so many needs that karting needs for growth and stability that are so much lacking in the clone craze. It was not simply a knee-jerk reaction to lost sales to the Chinese.
 
The Fact w/Clone is that even its founders had NO idea 'Cheap' was gonna make them 'Rich'! That is the 'reason' for their problems in that they were totally un-prepared for their success!! IMO
 
I was speaking of go pro motorplex in Mooresville. The owners are really excited about the outlook of the class for short term but especially long term. I saw multiple new race ready packages being put together while I was there.
 
Go Pro? Really... I'm surprised. They didn't have a real strong turnout for their first race. Maybe we'll go up there and practice this weekend while the WKA is running Kershaw.
 
Believe me, the 206 if run on local dirt tracks down South won´t follow Briggs rules. Only good thing of clone was low price, and out of the box as they came they kept together pretty good and were not so slow. After that I agree, it was a mess. Too many interests and too much greed added to the mess combined to a weak base to create a modified racing engine. There are already people messing with 206 on certain asphalt tracks because of the lack of good tech. I won´t name any but I know it. Need to keep certain hands off the class.
 
What they need to do with LO206 in the south is
-Make it a claim class
-Tech it, tear it down
-Switch out motors random
-Keep the pay out lower (No 10k, 1k-500 max)
Keeps it simple, this predator motor they have at most of the track as an entry level is a joke. I'd love to see it pop up around here
 
S&MRacing said:
What they need to do with LO206 in the south is
-Make it a claim class
-Tech it, tear it down
-Switch out motors random
-Keep the pay out lower (No 10k, 1k-500 max)
Keeps it simple, this predator motor they have at most of the track as an entry level is a joke. I'd love to see it pop up around here
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Unfortunately IMO there is no way back from big money races down South. Now that doesn´t mean there is no room for local racing. One option doesn´t have to eliminate the other. 2 different concepts, 2 different type of drivers, or same drivers doing both when they want to or can afford them. Claim, well, clones were supposed to be a claim class and look what happened. Very few engines claimed, when claimed owners refused to sell and just moved to another track. Tech doesn´t work the moment tracks decide their own rules and allow changes, and that´s the way it is like it or not. For good and for bad each track is different. Drawing for engines might be good if engines belong to track or shop, otherways some won´t take care of their own one. I still think actual rules for 206 are very good where applied and controlled. Out of that I prefer to go open, like UAS, or a well set class like flatheads.
 
Tech is pretty simplified with the sealed bottom end. Just tech the top end when necessary. The 6100 rev limiter also keeps the benefit of a lot of the cheating to a minimum as well.

Im not a fan of claimer programs. Just follow and enforce the briggs rules. Also increase penalties for what is perceived as blatant cheating.
 
I agree with Gary also on the tech stuff. For sure with the 6100 rev limiter it makes hitting the gear and chassis set up even that much more important. Hey racing will be racing, sprint racing, dirt oval or what ever i'm for all forms of kart racing no matter where it is and what they all want to race for power plants. I have my preference, but what ever works for your racing program is good with me. I'm just glad to see the overall 4 cycle kart racing is alive and well and is on a growth pattern !

Steve
 
Maybe there's a misconception that the class is a non-tech/low-tech class because of the seals. This should NOT be the case. There is still solid tech to be done on these engines. Actually, the Briggs rules allow for less variance than typical sanctioning body rules for blueprinted classes (animal included.)
Now, the seals DO make teching much simpler and quicker, but good tech still needs to take place. Oh yea, and no Flintstone-esque dead weight tool to drag with you to the tech barn. ;)
 
I agree with both your last posts, Jimbo and Brian. Seal helps, but top end still needs to be teched, and cheaters penalized. Same people who started cheating with clones will try when they have to run 206 and if good tech is absent at local races they will force the rest of the pack to do the same to keep up with them.
 
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