"Is there in the light of all this any inkling Of an increase in Driver Min weight Maxi from 80kg to 84kg to be inline with the rest of the weight to restrictor ratios."
traditionally, (ie it has happened every year up to now) the driver weights and kart weights have followed a three year cycle, they start off from a base weight on year one, year two and three they increase Driver weight by 2 kg and kart weight by 2 kg ie: a total increase in year three of 4kg and then they return back to the base weight. So if your kart weight is 174 this year then it is likely to be 170 next year.
The reason is that if there are minor complaints about one restrictor having an advantage if you are an exact weight (ie, someone who just makes the margin on one weight, might choose a lower restrictor and go for the lower kart weight) then this rotation helps prevent that advantage being permanent.
Apparently no-one can give notice of the change for next year because the MSA rules do not allow notice to be given in advance of the issue of the book.
But I would expect that the MSA will allow the process to be repeated again this year as they have for the last 10 years.
The one exception to that rule is that the lowest weight for Maxi stays at 80kg. The reason for this is because if a person (your friend) bought a green engine when the driver weight was 80kg. Then, when the weight had gone up to 82kg the next year, your friend would have had to change engine to a blue top. This way he does not have to change engine. However, the kart weight will have increased to 172 and he will have had to carry the extra weight in ballast and add another 2 kg when the weight went up to 174.
In any of the other categories, all the driver did was change restrictor, only where being put out of the weight category meant changing an engine was there the mismatch.
What does this mean for you? well if the driver minimum returns to 80kg (and you are 81 kg) then you can move onto a blue top restrictor at 170kg kart weight. You might then be more competitive against your green top friend on a silver restrictor also at 172. ( You should not be, that's why the restrictor exists, but there will be extra fuel available through the bigger restrictor which might alter your power curve)
Not long ago there was a back to back trial of Bluetop Blue restrictor and Green Top silver restrictor, done by Craig Copeland who is a better driver than most of us. The two restrictors produced exactly the same times around Clay Pigeon over a number of trial sessions. (The trial was done because Craig has gained a little weight and is now at that point where he could use either blue top or Greentop next year). The times were close enough to the lap record (faster than I can drive on my best day) to be a 'proper test'.
The difference was that the Bluetop produced consistent lap times within 0.1 of a second and the Greentop times were consistent within 0.6. Craig admits that given time he might have got more consistent, the power comes in slightly differently and he had made a few mistakes (!) but he didn't think that he would improve the laps overall, because the kart wouldn't do it.
He said that he would probably chose to race the Bluetop, because that inconsistency could lose him a race and he did not have the budget to do the extra meetings and testing needed to iron out the differences.
That kind of evidence, from a really good driver, suggests to me that there isn't that much difference in the overall performance of the engine.
|
|
