"I think we can all agree that something needs to be done to improve Karting numbers nationally"
Except for the fact that the numbers of those involved in karting have never been higher.
The problem is translating the very high numbers who kart into a large number who wish to participate in elite racing as represented by the MSA.
The majority karting do so through hire and drive, including the various forms of corporate karting. The numbers hiring and driving regularly are probably in the tens of thousands, one only has to go to Buckmore Park and see that they get full grids, more than 30 karts on the grid, more than once a month.
There is little incentive for the regular hire and drives to take up owner driver racing and almost no incentive for track operators to advertise this form of elite racing. The average club meet, even championship meetings, generates less profit than a corporate event on the Saturday morning, but takes up a whole weekend doing it.
And if there is little advantage in owner driver racing, then there is even less in MSA style racing which has a far higher cost profile and generates a disproportionately large and adverse commentary.
I think you are over estimating the value of one viral video. What is it about that idea that would persuade people who have never karted before to go down to their local track and start owner driver racing, rather than doing what many have done, hire and drive a commercial kart?
What advantage is there to track operators to persuade their customers, currently spending most of their kart budget with that track operator, to spend most of their kart budget with someone else?
As for the involvement of major companies, what is in it for them? A few years ago I used the resources of Hill and Knowlton, one of the largest advertising companies in the world, to research the idea of corporate involvement in karting.
They came back and said that in general karting was too specialised and too low-key and simply too grimy to attract main stream corporate involvement. There is nothing attractive about the average karting venue to persuade big business that taking their customers there would impress them. At one stage it was possible to offer the opportunity for involvement in racing, but the ARKS test, arguably designed to supplement the income of a track owner rather than improve driving standards, killed that off. Besides, many people find that the hire and drive market offers a better outlet for would-be racers without the dangers of over competitiveness in some owner-driver karters.
I applaud your intent, but I think you need to identify exactly how the sight of 1000 karts on the Top Gear runway is going to impress anyone. They aren't going to be going fast***, they aren't going to be doing corners and they aren't going to be racing. 1000 karts on an airfield, it's an attempt at a Guinness Book of Records stunt is the immediate impression I get, not an "Ooooh, I have got to give that a try".
*** Think about it, with less than 30 karts at a fairly slow speed, there are sufficient demonstrations of idiocy, accident or incompetence already shown on 'rolling laps', how fast do you think would be safe with 1000 karts. More, exactly what would you do if someone had a jammed throttle, or the engine died? A 1000 kart pileup, especially with injuries, isn't going to be good advertising.
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Save Karting - An Idea by 'TanglerTKM' (17 Apr 2012 @ 4:38)
