We really enjoyed taking our lad to Hooton over the summer this year whilst both he and I were learning alot. However, it did become apparent that there was a serious discrepancy between engines in the Cadet class, with the front runners disappearing off into the distance on a regular basis, running several seconds a lap faster than the 'mid-field'. Scrutineering was limited to checking basic safety and weight only, with no apparent engine checking. The scrutineer had enough to do checking weights at the end of each session.
The kids running sealed engines tended to be of similar speed which did result in some good racing. However, the overall result was fairly meaningless and it did become a bit disheartening for the lad when he realised that he was never going to out-gun the front runners, no matter how well he drove.
If you want a good introduction to racing (in cadets) at a reasonable cost, then the series is great. However, if you want to race on a realtively level playing field then it would seem that MSA club racing is the better option.
The more senior groups did seem to have closer racing from what I saw, with a more 'dad/lad' or hobby karting mentality, which the series is really aimed at. There were a great bunch of people there, with only a few who thought that they were in F1 or something!
With the cadet grid seeming to get bigger and bigger each month, Bob (the track owner) needs to be careful that he doesn't become a victim of his own success. Splitting the cadet grid into 2 stroke and 4 stroke classes on separate grids might be a good idea for a start, or alternatively running modified / non-modified or restricted / non-restricted engines as they seem to do in the Bambino class, although again running them on separate grids.
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