UK Karting - Notice Board (2-Stroke Karting) : Re: The future of karting in the UK

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Re: The future of karting in the UK
Posted by 'PennilessFather' on 29 Oct 2012 @ 23:26

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PennilessFatherJoined: July 2012
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I feel that one of the biggest hurdles is the sheer cost of the whole exercise. Having started 6 months ago with my, now 9 year old, lad in cadet karting, I have been staggered by the sheer potential cost of moving up to the next levels of competition.

I look enviously around the paddocks at the huge motorhomes parked up, with the latest chassis fitted with 'tweaked' engines and can only dream of being able to have that much expendable income to finance that level of racing.

Whilst I realise that some of these trappings are not necessary, it becomes difficult to imagine my lad being competitive on gear that was bought off ebay, no matter how good he is, when up against those that pay serious amounts of money to run with the top teams who have regular new chassis and access to the top tuners and engines etc.

I agree that it is not necessarily overly expensive to get into karting, but to continue and to remain competitive and run at the front is somewhat daunting. The Indikart series at Hooton is thriving at the moment, but even at the cadet and bambino levels there is a huge discrepancy between the amounts of money spent by those running at the front of the grids and those racing in the middle. I mean, is it reasonable for a 'standard' kart engine to run several seconds faster than the average, or for a bambino kart to be fitted with tyre warmers (not allowed now!!)? Whilst Bob has said that he wants to promote 'dad and lad' racing, I fear that many cadets will move to MSA racing rather than race in a series they never can win. The other option being that they just give up, which causes a decrease in grid sizes further up the classes.

With the country going through a serious depression, every penny counts and when an MSA ARKS test costs Ł80 + Ł40 for the 'applicaton pack' (don't get me started) + Track fee for the day, topped off by Ł16 for a PG licence just so that I can sign my lad on at a meeting, it is no surprise that people drift away from karting to pursue cheaper pastimes.

Those people in the more senior classes have other financial obligations which are all being squeezed at the moment and every penny counts. Daft fees and a high-handed approch from the MSA does not encourage people to cut back on other aspects of their lives to finance their karting.

My lad's passion is for motor racing and he reckons that he wants to make a career out of it. I will therefore finance him as best as I can - as a family we have had some great fun so far and met some really great people, this in itself is worth every penny and hour spent in the garage swearing at bits of machinery. However, I have made it clear that school work takes priority and if he wants to / is good enough to race at S1 or FKS level, we will need some serious sponsorship and that an allied profession such as engineering or design is the more likely outcome.

If club level karting could be run in a cost effective way, ensuring good, clean, even and competitive racing, then I think that more cadets would stay in karting and move up to the more senior classes in due course. S1 should be the top level to aspire to in this country, but perhaps there should be more bias towards talent and hard work, rather than hard cash.

Until the recession ends and more disposable income becomes available, I fear that it is likely that karting will continue to decline in numbers for the next few years.

On a final note, I have already agreed a 20% managers fee with my lad for when he is in F1 and he has promised to invite us to stay on his yacht in Monaco for the GP - although he did say that this was to make sure that his mum came to cook him a roast chicken dinner after the race !!!!

Message Thread:

The future of karting in the UK by 'deangwigan' (29 Oct 2012 @ 22:05)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'simog' (29 Oct 2012 @ 22:38)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Dunny' (29 Oct 2012 @ 22:42)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Chris34' (29 Oct 2012 @ 23:10)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Racing393' (30 Oct 2012 @ 12:44)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'davidmc' (30 Oct 2012 @ 12:54)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Racing393' (30 Oct 2012 @ 13:09)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'stemorton46' (31 Oct 2012 @ 17:21)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'buzzinrussell' (01 Nov 2012 @ 12:06)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Phitzy2' (03 Nov 2012 @ 9:34)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'PennilessFather' << You are here!

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Mullac' (30 Oct 2012 @ 0:40)

Re: Mullac by 'Chris34' (30 Oct 2012 @ 2:11)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'jamydonut' (31 Oct 2012 @ 21:13)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Phitzy2' (03 Nov 2012 @ 9:37)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Birel' (30 Oct 2012 @ 7:24)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Bucky' (30 Oct 2012 @ 8:26)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'kai' (30 Oct 2012 @ 8:37)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'sciroccokarter' (30 Oct 2012 @ 9:34)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'buzzinrussell' (30 Oct 2012 @ 12:11)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'RocketMan46' (30 Oct 2012 @ 12:42)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Racing393' (30 Oct 2012 @ 13:04)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'kai' (30 Oct 2012 @ 12:57)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'davidmc' (30 Oct 2012 @ 13:02)

Re: The future of karting in the UK - Clarity by 'deangwigan' (30 Oct 2012 @ 14:26)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Iwan' (31 Oct 2012 @ 13:46)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Jasper' (30 Oct 2012 @ 13:59)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'BombHead' (30 Oct 2012 @ 15:05)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Jasper' (30 Oct 2012 @ 16:40)

Re: Jasper by 'buzzinrussell' (30 Oct 2012 @ 15:09)

Re: Jasper by 'Jasper' (30 Oct 2012 @ 16:49)

Re: Jasper by 'buzzinrussell' (31 Oct 2012 @ 13:35)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Mullac' (30 Oct 2012 @ 15:37)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'kai' (30 Oct 2012 @ 16:07)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'bodger' (30 Oct 2012 @ 19:49)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'racingjase' (30 Oct 2012 @ 21:55)

The future of karting in the UK by 'positivekarter' (30 Oct 2012 @ 23:41)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Reg' (31 Oct 2012 @ 0:26)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Jasper' (31 Oct 2012 @ 8:51)

jasper The future of karting in the UK by 'positivekarter' (31 Oct 2012 @ 14:26)

Re: jasper The future of karting in the UK by 'Jasper' (31 Oct 2012 @ 14:39)

Re: jasper The future of karting in the UK by 'Discobob' (31 Oct 2012 @ 16:46)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Jasper' (31 Oct 2012 @ 8:53)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'PennilessFather' (01 Nov 2012 @ 1:02)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'richydehav' (01 Nov 2012 @ 9:48)

Re: anybody know how to set up an E-Petition ? by 'buzzinrussell' (01 Nov 2012 @ 15:36)

Re: anybody know how to set up an E-Petition ? by 'richydehav' (01 Nov 2012 @ 16:16)

Re: anybody know how to set up an E-Petition ? by 'buzzinrussell' (01 Nov 2012 @ 16:32)

Re: anybody know how to set up an E-Petition ? by 'SimonS' (01 Nov 2012 @ 22:35)

Re: anybody know how to set up an E-Petition ? by 'Tricky12' (05 Nov 2012 @ 15:37)

Apathy perhaps? by 'colin' (31 Oct 2012 @ 9:40)

Indikart association? by 'BanzaiBoy' (31 Oct 2012 @ 9:55)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'Jasper' (31 Oct 2012 @ 10:17)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'Jasper' (31 Oct 2012 @ 10:22)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'kai' (31 Oct 2012 @ 10:28)

What were the best years by 'RocketMan46' (31 Oct 2012 @ 10:51)

Re: What were the best years by 'Iwan' (31 Oct 2012 @ 13:47)

Re: What were the best years by 'mccarro' (31 Oct 2012 @ 16:57)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'cjm2009' (31 Oct 2012 @ 11:04)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'dynamax' (31 Oct 2012 @ 11:24)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'VanDiemen' (31 Oct 2012 @ 12:11)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'michaelg36' (31 Oct 2012 @ 14:40)

Re: Apathy perhaps? by 'Traxtar' (31 Oct 2012 @ 15:28)

OK OK So lets discuss how to fix it... by 'deangwigan' (31 Oct 2012 @ 15:54)

Re: OK OK So lets discuss how to fix it... by 'Berniewade' (31 Oct 2012 @ 16:47)

Re: OK OK So lets discuss how to fix it... by 'richydehav' (31 Oct 2012 @ 18:40)

Re: OK OK So lets discuss how to fix it... by 'Chris34' (01 Nov 2012 @ 1:04)

Re: OK OK So lets discuss how to fix it... by 'SimonS' (01 Nov 2012 @ 2:12)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'TCL' (01 Nov 2012 @ 6:49)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'NJB' (01 Nov 2012 @ 8:35)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'Jasper' (01 Nov 2012 @ 10:12)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'Aquila' (01 Nov 2012 @ 10:19)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'richardmcculloch69' (09 Nov 2012 @ 12:10)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'SimonS' (01 Nov 2012 @ 13:28)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'Racing393' (01 Nov 2012 @ 13:56)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'davidmc' (01 Nov 2012 @ 14:33)

Re: Information by 'Graham S' (01 Nov 2012 @ 15:37)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'Jasper' (02 Nov 2012 @ 9:15)

Re: Whinge, whinge, whinge by 'racingjase' (01 Nov 2012 @ 18:57)

Re: No trace by 'Graham S' (03 Nov 2012 @ 10:25)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'RichardB' (01 Nov 2012 @ 16:23)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Racing393' (01 Nov 2012 @ 16:43)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'colin' (01 Nov 2012 @ 17:32)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'davidmc' (01 Nov 2012 @ 17:59)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Traxtar' (01 Nov 2012 @ 19:41)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'stemorton46' (01 Nov 2012 @ 21:36)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Traxtar' (02 Nov 2012 @ 15:21)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'buzzinrussell' (02 Nov 2012 @ 16:20)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'davidmc' (02 Nov 2012 @ 16:58)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'SimonS' (01 Nov 2012 @ 22:19)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'Chris34' (02 Nov 2012 @ 0:36)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'mickypea' (01 Nov 2012 @ 17:40)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'buzzinrussell' (01 Nov 2012 @ 19:21)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'NickyW' (01 Nov 2012 @ 19:32)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'stemorton46' (01 Nov 2012 @ 19:44)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'buzzinrussell' (01 Nov 2012 @ 20:08)

Re: The future of karting in the UK by 'stevehf2' (02 Nov 2012 @ 16:31)

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