Having digested all the comments, this is the course of action I would have preferred:
In the morning, when presented with the kart, the scrut should have said that it was ok to race with it, provided all the other competitors agreed. However, whilst the result on the day could stand, no points would be awarded towards the Annual Championship. Personally, I would have been happy with that as the results going towards the Championship would have been the same as if he hadn't raced. Whilst I wasn't too bothered about the Trophy on the day, I would be miffed if any of the other competitors lost out on the Annual Championship by virtue of this round, when they had all spent time and money getting their karts up to regulation.
Unfortunately, the scrut is not the most approachable of people, otherwise we all could have come to some sort of arrangement.
Whilst I agree with a lot of what you say, Chris, rules are there for a reason. I didn't write them, Tal-Ko, CIK, MSA etc. did. My job as a mechanic/father is to make sure that my son's kart adheres to those rules and that all opposing competitors do the same. If we get into a scenario where we can pick and choose the rules, we might just as well do non-MSA.
The issue of whether a kart, a helmet, a suit etc. was legal last month is immaterial, as it is the regulations at the time of racing that matter. Next January I will have to buy my son a new crash helmet, not because it is damaged, but because the standard won't be legal on 1st Jan 2010. Will I be allowed to use his current helmet because he used it in Dec 2009? Of course not.
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