Making the MSA "A" licence harder to reach is a very good idea I think. If a driver had to gain more signatures say 18 and gain experience over 5 or 6 different tracks that could spread drivers to a few more clubs around the UK as they are learning.
I have raced and have run a team in S1 since 1987. In 1990 I had to race the S1 qualifiers in 100 britain and 100 national classes as I had raced S1 100 britain in 1989 and had been seeded and was automatically qualified for 1990.
I wanted to move up but didn't want to lose my 100 britain place which was the S1 rule at that time. So just in case I raced both classes on the same day and qualified for both classes and moved up and gave up my place for a new driver to go into 100 Britain from club racing.
If you finished in the top 4 in 100 National S1 you had to move up and go into Supers/FA which was the pinnacle and IMO still the best class and drivers we have ever had in UK karting.
It was as superb class with Cuff, Moniyhan, Brogan, O'Hara,Connelly, Spence. Franchitti, Game , Beasley's, Cotteril, Harris, Rennison, Hann, Melville Firman, Matthews, Simpson, Wright to name but a few - all having earned their place at the top of our sport.
Karting is at a critical point , running the birelart UK series I have to pay thousands of pounds to rent a circuit and we don't have enough circuits to choose from. We make sure we don't impact or take away a club day and im sure we help some circuits financial challenges with our contribuiton. But we run our series like no one else, we control the paddocks so its just for privateers and try to keep costs affordable whilst making it possible for any driver to win a race with the equipment they have.
For sure its not for everyone as it is a one make series but our drivers have a lot of fun , very competitive racing at the fraction of the cost and people in the paddocks all get on and actually speak to one another!
Clubs and circuits are under serious financial pressure at the moment and we do need to make karting more affordable with the emphasis on newcomers and not the constant recycling of the ever reducing competitors that we have - soon there will be more teams than drivers !
S1 should be the pinnacle of karting but it should also restrict the classes and entries in my opinion - a meeting of 150 to 180 drivers is more than enough or have one grid of all classes so that they make it more exclusive and harder to get an entry into the British Championships with a driver having to pay and enter all the rounds up front as a commitment and demonstration that they can actually afford to race at that level.
We really should have a vibrant UK club scene of kart racing with drivers aspiring to reach the British Championships and S1 on experience and talent, S1 should be where drivers hone and finalise their driving skills to perfection after coming up through the ranks at club level.
Whilton and PFI are fantastic clubs and have great facilities and are run very professionally and they fully deserve the success they are currently enjoying.
The reality is that the UK karting market currently has around 250 to 300 drivers that choose to race there and it would seem no where else and there is nothing wrong with that.
However I do think we lose drivers very quickly that cannot keep up with the costs/ teams that race at those clubs and go out of the sport before we know it without realizing there are other choices and options in karting out there whether its IKR, Club MSA , birelART UK series, F100, Retro racer , endurance racing, club 100 or D Max
The paddocks are so professional with all the teams and for me it is now very difficult to race and be competitive without a professional team - it is costly and nowadays there is too much time spent in the paddock and not enough time on the track ! You don't buy the best golf clubs and sit and look at them in the club house ! - well ok maybe in the 19th hole - the bar is acceptable !
In the end there is nothing wrong with people wanting to spend money , those that can will and those that cant wont - it is how it is but maybe as a sport the MSA/ ABKC should create a system that is more proactive for club racing initially so it is spread out a bit more with a system that helps the participation at club level whilst still delivering the best drivers into the pinnacle of S1, rather than them just choosing that and no club racing at all.
I love the sport of karting -it is my passion and if people want high costs less track time at big events then that's absolutely fine - but that's the reality - you buy a kart to race round the track and not to stand around in a paddock for two or three days.
There are lots of clubs and circuits that can deliver good amounts of track time - maybe try and visit them a few times this year and help them out too.
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Club Karting and British championship by 'Smokey' (19 Feb 2018 @ 0:01)
