Surely a more scientific approach is required. It always seems that those who are a bit over weight kick up a fuss to get a class weight raised. Very little consideration is given to the fact that added static weight (lead) on a kart can be a handicap just as being over weight (pies) can be. For younger kids we did a lot of testing and found that 2kg of lead gave roughly the same time penalty as 1 kg of pies. Obviously each class and to some extent each track will be slightly different because the penalty is in different places, lead - loss of handling(not just grip) and pies - loss of acceleration . Tyres make a big difference to the equation (much less difference in static weight penalty with very soft rubber) but unless this is considered when setting the weight limit, lighter usually younger drivers always end up with a disadvantage, especially in the wet.
|
|