Parity anyone ?

F

Flash-o-matic

Member
Results from last Saturday's Main at PKRA ( Phoenix,Az.). We normally have 8 racers in the class but when the gates openrd at 4 p.m. the temp was 117 deg., scaring away a few. ( or showing everyone who the crackpots are! ). When we left track at 10 p.m. it was still 107.
Anyway, it was racing as usual. If we had the usual 8 the finish line freight train would have been at least 6 karts long. Close racing !!
pos start no. competitor laps total time diff best time best lap best speed
1 47 Bernie Lacotta 18 14:08.994 45.531 4 55.347 mi/h
2 61 Eric Vanderford 18 14:09.176 00.182 45.501 3 55.383 mi/h
3 46 Mark Fellman 18 14:09.742 00.748 45.504 11 55.38 mi/h

.748 covered the field at the checkered flag
 
At PKRA our biggest class is World Formula. Very competitive with national level ( TAG / Shifter ) drivers comprising the upper echelon of the class. We run WF Med. at 365#, and WF Masters, over 40, 400# ( IKF rules / classes ) Class numbers are usually around 20 participants per race but there are more than 30 WF's in the area. We have had a high of 32 WF's at one club race.
The LO206 is new this year and is growing fast. LO206 Cadet ( Jr. 1) is the second largest class with more than 15 local racers. We run a 10 race Summer season, and a 10 race Winter season. The Winter season usually sees larger attendance for obvious weather related reasons.
A couple of us are headed to Sonoma, Ca. this coming weekend for the IKF 4 Cycle Sprint Grandnationals
 
Good stuff for sure, guys. One thing we're seeing, raising the bar too fast is a mistake. To expand on that, if we try to pull racers up to the next level of competition faster than their knowledge of the sport improves, those racers will lose interest. Measured growth, keeping the fun in racing, and the costs affordable is our growth plan. Organization, quality tech, and consistent rules shared from track to track is the premise to build on.
 
Right on the button Dan ! I just brought this up at our club meeting last night. When we started the WF class at PKRA it was an all 2 cycle club. The WF class was considered a beginners class. Guess what? The club is almost all 4 cycle now, mostly because of the close competition and very low maintenance cost ( compared to 2 cycles ). A newcomer can easily start racing in WF but ir's going to be awhile before they will be able to compete with the front runners.
I designed the LO206 Sr. class to be newcomer friendly. While the level of competition is high the time for a newcomer to get up to a competitive level within the class is much shorter than other classes. Like any other class, seat time pays the most dividends. LO206 is a very valuable tool to grow participation in karting.
 
Bernie
Please explain how you actually got the 2 cycle guys to switch to the WF.
Ps
See signature below.
 
Wasn't hard. They just noticed the significant cost difference and the closeness of the competition. While most were taken back by the slower speed in the 4 cycles all agreed that the speed was of no concern when you spend the entire race in wheel to wheel competition 10 karts deep ! All at a fraction of the cost, no weekly rebuilds on engine or clutch, tires last MUCH longer. The equality of the engines and the QUALITY of tech makes for happy racing. In all seriousness, the anger factor, often seen at race tracks is hardly visible as compared to the past. We have a pretty sweet operation going at PKRA.

P.S. Here is an invite to everyone to come out Oct. 23,24,25 for the 4 Cycle Super Showdown. WF and LO206 classes. Great format, great fun !!!
 
Jim- Interesting question. Explanations can be sometimes ineffective, leading others to draw conclusions based on what-they-think-they-know, or critiquing the presenter. My point, a soft-sell effort allows newbies, or even seasoned racers to draw their own conclusions. a few usually start a class, and the rest is up to the club to build on. If they cultivate family fun, at a low cost, it will grow. Most in the industry continue to chase the highest stream of revenue, neglecting the foundation of karting, that is club racing. Fix one aspect, and chances are, the sport will grow again. There's a great story a mid-west tech guy loves to share. Juan Pablo Montoya was in the tech barn w/ his son after a kart race. He told the lead tech guy "I can't wait until my son is old enough for cars. I can afford this stuff, but still, karting is way more expensive than cars". Tough to argue the point.
 
The 2 cycle guys did not convert to world formula at PKRA, they just stopped racing all together and pretty much disappeared. The new racers were introduced to karting by the kart shops using the world formula and 206 platforms. Currently I only know of one 2 cycle racer that races 4 cycle now. Sorry Bernie I had to speak up on this one. I am an old 2 cycle engine builder that has converted to building 4 cycles. Most building rules and concepts carry over from 2 to 4 cycle. I won't go into cost comparisons, but the costs are much closer than advertised. The 4 cycle clutches are definitely an advantage.
 
Bernie, Maybe you could claim a few shifter kart or TAG racers, but those classes never were popular here at PKRA. The hard core 2 cycle guys that raced Yamahas or KPV engines HAVE NOT CROSSED OVER to 4 cycle. Those racers have left racing completely. You know that's the truth. I will acknowledge this however, the Briggs program has absolutely destroyed the ROTAX program here at PKRA. I'm not looking for an argument Flashman, I just want to paint an accurate picture. I'm all for the 4 cycle revolution here and looking forward to the 2015 Showdown . Your Buddy TT
 
I've been in the scene enough to see that the 2-cycle classes are an F-1 style program, spin a small engine a zillion RPM and drop $1000+ twice a season for rebuilds because you have to run on the ragged edge of too lean to be a front runner. Add that to needing new tires every 3 events or less, $78 for 5 gallons of racing fuel, and have to upgrade to a new chassis every couple years to gain that 2 tenths through the zig zag sections and it's a rich mans sport like so many others. In 4-cycle we get 2nd hand karts, takeoff tires, mount up a clone/Lo206/WF and go have fun. Many drivers start out in 4-cycle and eventually move up into TAG or shifter. Many of us, me included, are old, injured, fat, whatever, and enjoy an opportunity for some good racing on a budget. I have to say its much cheaper than when I used to race 1/10th scale RC's on a competitive level.
 
rkcarguy said:
I've been in the scene enough to see that the 2-cycle classes are an F-1 style program, spin a small engine a zillion RPM and drop $1000+ twice a season for rebuilds because you have to run on the ragged edge of too lean to be a front runner. Add that to needing new tires every 3 events or less, $78 for 5 gallons of racing fuel, and have to upgrade to a new chassis every couple years to gain that 2 tenths through the zig zag sections and it's a rich mans sport like so many others. In 4-cycle we get 2nd hand karts, takeoff tires, mount up a clone/Lo206/WF and go have fun. Many drivers start out in 4-cycle and eventually move up into TAG or shifter. Many of us, me included, are old, injured, fat, whatever, and enjoy an opportunity for some good racing on a budget. I have to say its much cheaper than when I used to race 1/10th scale RC's on a competitive level.
Click to expand...

I'm in your camp !!!!
 
And I'm not trying to take anything from the 2-cycle guys, to be honest I'm from a dirt and street bike background and I'd love to race shifter but I'm too heavy and on a tighter budget than what I see here. My back is also in poor shape and I can't risk a crash at the higher speeds of a shifter.
Our turnouts swing vastly from one side to another, some weekends we've had 25+ karts in 4-cycle and only 1/2 a grid of TAG karts, other times vice versa.
 
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