I think as karting has become more in the public eye and seen as a stsrting point for greater things the sportsmanship element has deteriorated. Certain drivers will punt you off to get past and certain techniques have been developed since plastics were introduced to do just this. It's not good driving it's a win at all costs mentality and some drivers can't stand the thought of a novice beating them and instead of looking at there own pace will just point you off.
The old "you were slowing me down is a classic line" if it's a practice day then the quick guy should give himself enough room to do his fast laps, if it's a race then tough luck sherlock, thats the point of racing, to overtake.
Driving standards are only part of the problem. The other is peoples complete lack of knowledge about karting and losing there way listening to the many different things told in the pit lane and spending unnecessary money. I do believe we need to look after novices to keep them in the sport. I am involved in non msa racing and while it doesn't carry the same credibility as msa it's really great to see good clean racing again. And it gives people an oppertunity to race on older equipment cheaply.
Sadly theres only a handful of circuits race non msa so most people will have to race msa where they will be racing against people with a similar mindset to themselves but they will also be racing against someone who believes they have a right to punt you off for being slower.
How many novices would pay someone a reasonable amount to mentor them, i'm not talking about big teams and awning space. I'm talking about someone dedicated to showing them basic kart set up, driving, pitfalls, how to deal with aggressive drivers etc.
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