Vroom Kart UK #003

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PRO RACING ON A BUDGET

BSA launch new 250cc engines

RACE TVKC WINTER SERIES

S1 CIRCUIT OF THE MONTH

SHENINGTON, THE FIRST CIRCUIT OF THE 2014 SUPER ONE CHAMPIONSHIP, UNVEILED BY OLIVER HODGSON

PHOTO C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)

W E I V

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AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL

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BRITS DO IT BETTER

THE SUCCESSFUL MOTORSPORT SHOW IN BIRMINGHAM FEATURES THE MOST GLAMOROUS KARTING PAVILLION IN THE CONTINENT

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KARTING, EMOTION & PASSION

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EDITORIAL

THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES

SALVATORE MURTAS N

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It might sound naive, but looking at it from the outside, this is what the

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British market looks like to anyone and anything that has to do with

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BRITS DO IT BETTER

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AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL

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KARTING, EMOTION & PASSION

motorsport, Karting included: a place with a huge, often unexpressed potential! A well-structured base of operators, a solid network of clubs

THE SUCCESSFUL MOTORSPORT SHOW IN BIRMINGHAM FEATURES THE MOST GLAMOROUS KARTING PAVILLION IN THE CONTINENT

ROTAX ACADEMY

and circuits, a glorious tradition, a set of institutions and governing

PRO RACING ON A BUDGET

BSA launch new 250cc engines

PHOTO C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)

bodies which, despite the political game they often indulge on, do not

RACE TVKC WINTER SERIES

S1 CIRCUIT OF THE MONTH

SHENINGTON, THE FIRST CIRCUIT OF THE 2014 SUPER ONE CHAMPIONSHIP, UNVEILED BY OLIVER HODGSON

unsettle the industry and the market in a major way – as opposed to what happens in other countries such as Italy for instance. This is what Karting in the UK can count on.

The impressive effort put up at Autosport International by several members of the British Karting industry is a clear sign that there are few determined actors, relentless driving forces at work able to provide the right energy, the sole British Karting needs. The success of the Karting Pavillion at the NEC was a comforting sight, one which had Karting next to Formula 1 and the best motorsport has to offer.

Many visitors, many stars and legends of 4-wheel racing, and most importantly a glimpse to the future, the very same future that today is represented by young kids, which Karting is so essential in attracting.

Sure, there is always margin for improvement, we can do better, particularly in strengthening that sense of community that Karting seems to have lost at times. Everyone, also in the UK, should start thinking and acting more as a member of a lobby (in the good sense of the word). We should all push in the same direction, plan on a single, grand scheme in order to intercept resources, which are there within reach yet today defy us because Karting is often viewed – even by the motorsport community - as a collection of various, small individual interests.

We can do better and we will do better, and this is precisely the reason why Vroom believes in the British market, and has decided to invest on it with a high-quality, specialized publication dedicated exclusively to the UK Karting scene.

So we do not care of the risk of sounding naive, it cannot deter us from being optimistic and from working with confidence, because British Karting deserves it, and needs it.

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CONTENTS ARCHIMEDE EDITORE SRL Via Mozart, 1 - 04011 Aprilia (LT) Tel. + 39 06 92 06 23 56 Fax +39 06 92 58 732 info@vroom.it - www.vroom.it

www.vroomkart.com

FEBRUARY 2014 - N. 3

info@vroom.it www.facebook.com/vroomkart twitter.com/vroomkart

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GIULIANO CIUCCI GIULIANI (Editor in chief) cggiuliano@vroom.it FABINA GAVILLUCCI (Executive editor) fgavillucci@vroom.it WALTER GUCCI wgucci@vroom.it SALVATORE MURTAS smurtas@vroom.it MARIA VERRENGIA mverrengia@vroom.it CARLA DILETTI cdiletti@vroom.it SPECIAL CONTENTS Maurizio Voltini

news 16

MONDOKART News & Previews

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YOUR TKM GUIDE Open low close high?

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CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE ASI P.O., BHKC P.O., G.Butterworth, CIK P.O., G.James, D.Pastanella, Shenington P.O., G.Smith, TVKC P.O., C.Walker

SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS Autosport International at the NEC

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CLOSE UP Super One Rotax Academy

SUBSCRIPTIONS info@vroom.it

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TALKING TO Paul Platt

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT 24h Kart World Record

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FOCUS Shenington Kart Club

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S1 CIRCUIT OF THE MONTH Shenington

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2014 NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR

PRINTERS: GMG GRAFICA srl via Anagnina, 361 - 00188 Roma - Italy on behalf of Grafiche Professionali via Sequals, 4 - 00188 Roma - Italy Registered at Law-court in Latina N°714 date: 19.10.2000 © Copyright 2000 – all rights reserved.

RESPONSIBILITY: Unauthorized reproduction wholly or in part of texts and graphic material and translations of the same is forbidden unless prior authorisation has been given by publisher. All reports and illustrations received as contributions by the publisher will not be returned even if these are not published, and the magazine assumes no responsibility for their safety, even in case of rare examples. Neither does the magazine assume any responsibility for articles published therein or any errors contained. All articles published are without patent right; furthermore articles bearing a registered trade mark will be used at contributors risk.

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TVKC WINTER SERIES RD.2

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SHENINGTON WINTER SERIES RD.1

technical side 54

250CC ENGINES LAUNCHED AT THE NEC

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SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS REPORT S.MURTAS PHOTOS ASI, C.WALKER

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AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL

THE LAST

BASTION

HARD TIMES FOR MOTOR SPORT. With the classic MotorShow in Bologna, Italy, having to close down in 2013, Autosport International racing car Show in Birmingham, held on 9-12 January, remains the last stronghold in Europe for fourwheel motorsport.

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CLOSE UP

ROTAX ACADEMY

REPORT S.MURTAS PHOTOS C.WALKER

Do you want to race like a Pro without breaking your budget? The Rotax Academy for Mini Max and Junior Max is your option. Super One director John Hoyle and Rotax importer JAG have come up with a simple, cost effective solution that will allow Mini and Junior drivers to experience national level racing at a reduced cost.

We talked to Rotax sealing agent George Robinson who shared all the details.

PRO RACING ON A BUDGET Six races – running together with the Super One MSA series - entry fee, race and practice tyres, fuel, oil and engine hire all included in the fee of a fixed price of £5,000 VAT included.

This is the Rotax Academy that will run in 2014 thanks to the initiative of Super One director John Hoyle and Rotax importer JAG. The aim seems quite clear: everything is controlled, and there’s no risk of spending more money on engines, tyres and so on. Plus, it will be limited to 30 entries, in order to ensure enough track time and equal opportunities during the weekend.

Why did you decide to introduce this new format?

“The idea of introducing the Academy was to prove that we could produce really competitive racing at a reduced cost. There is a false perception that, in order to be successful, drivers have to spend an awful lot of money on engines, so together with John Hoyle from Super One we set to prove the contrary.”

WHAT YOU GET FOR £5K RACE ENTRY RACE TYRES RACE TEST TYRES RACE WET TYRES FUEL RACE OIL ENGINE HIRE FOR PRACTICE AND RACE FOR ALL 6 MEETINGS

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So the only thing drivers have to carry with them is the chassis...

“Exactly. They are free to run with any chassis they like, as for tyres, fuel, oil and engine we will take care of them.”

Any restrictions?

“We have sealed the engine. In Mini Max we’ve sealed the exhaust restrictor, the float chamber of the carburettor, so they can only change the main jet and the position of the needle. We’ve also sealed the ignition coil, the wiring limb and the exhaust system. All major components are individually tested on a dyno, so we test all

Top three finishers in the last round will be invited to the Super 1 awards dinner where fabulous prizes will be presented

where the best driver wins!

entries close on 14TH march

the engines to make sure they’re the same and then we use one engine to test all the carburettors, and one to test all the exhausts.”

So at the races you will use a pooled system to allocate the engines...

“That’s correct. We will write an individual number on the side of the cylinder (sequence will be according to the number of entries) and when drivers draw a number, they will get the engine associated to it, which will be different at every race. So an engine that has number 10 one weekend, might have number 17 the following one. Together with the engine, drivers will be given the relative accessories box, which will also be numbered, so that we know which components each driver is getting. And at the end of the meeting, we know what to expect back from each driver. This way, drivers are very likely to have a different engine for every weekend.”

Aren’t you afraid of an overlap between the Academy and the Super One Championship?

“Not really, because with the Academy, drivers can decide to do one or two meetings without having to contest the entire series. What puts people off is the perception that to race at national level they have to spend a lot of money, and with the Rotax Academy we make sure it doesn’t happen. And also, the Academy can provide a very good way of trying the class in a national championships environment with a fixed budget.”

Besides the racing, will the Rotax Academy provide activities typical of an academy?

“We will definitely provide some other activities during each weekend for those who don’t have much experience at this level, but we will offer our young Academy drivers an experience similar to that of the national championship. Plus, the top three finishers will be invited to the Super One awards dinner where prizes will be presented.”

Is the Academy open to all drivers?

“Yes, except to seeded drivers who take part in the national championship.”

Any plans to have the Academy running also at Club level?

“It might be possible in the future. We could franchise it to our service centres so that they have a reason to attend the local meeting and run the program with rental equipment within the normal club level grid. And it would be a very good platform to introduce more people in the class.”

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TALKINGTO

PAUL PLATT

REPORT GRAHAM SMITH / PHOTOS C.WALKER

three times for

PAUL

We talked to 250 National Superkart driver

Paul Platt, who has taken the British title three times in a row on his PVP/Honda. He has raced karts without a break since he was 12 years old, he is now 34 and lives with his girlfriend and their dog.

GS: Is it unique winning this prestigious British title three times in a row?

PP: I am certain that I am the only driver to have won the long circuit championship three times in a row in 250 National, although John Riley did it four times, it wasn’t all the same class.

GS: So how did it all start,

you’ve raced continuously for 23 years.

PP: In 1991 we met with a chap called Adrian McDade, we went to watch a meeting and then he gave me a try in his Junior Britain kart at Three Sisters, I was 12 years old, now I’m 34. He was doing the Super One then and after racing at circuits like Rowrah, Wheels in Birmingham and Three Sisters I raced against Daniel Wheldon and Jenson Button in the Super One myself, graduating to 100B and ICA. I started with a Mach 1 chassis and Parilla TT75 and went onto a Tonykart from O’Neill the importer with a Faluga engine. But my Dad said we can’t really match the budgets of the top guys so in 1998 we went into 125 gearbox with a TM from AF Racing, still on a Tonykart. I won the rookie award in 1999 and in 2000 we did the Gearbox Masters.

GS: That was the championship that had some rounds on long circuit and some with Super 4 short circuit. So that was your first taste of long circuit racing?

PP: Yes, I had my first races at Snetterton and Cadwell Park and we decided to

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Paul at the British Superkart Association stand at Autosport International was curious to check the latest issue of Vroom UK magazine

concentrate on that, putting full bodywork on my kart but it didn’t work that well so in 2002 we went onto an F1 kart with a TM KV95 in 125 Open. It came together in 2005 I won the championship, and again in 2006, the first driver in a decade to get back to back titles, also getting the GP and in 2007 won the UK Cup so being the first driver ever to hold the three titles simultaneously. But the rest of 2007 was a bad year for us. The engines were getting a little bit unreliable so we approached John Riley of Redspeed to tune them and in 2008 won the GP and championship again.

GS: So how did the move to the 250 class come about?

PP: John Riley said that he wanted me to try 250 National, he said he would sort out a drive to see if I liked it. It was a PVP/Honda single prepared for Division 1, very noisy with open pipes and we went to Oulton Park and I said: “Yes, I like that!” So we took the kart home, stripped it down, changed the seat and went to Thruxton for the last round of the series but the kart was just not set up right and I swapped ends at 130mph at Church Corner, that was scary. But James O’Reilly helped us to find the right wing settings and it transformed the kart.

Daniel Clarke and I then both had our first seasons with Redspeed. In 2009 I won the Rookie Challenge Cup, and in 2010 finished seventh. For 2011 we got everything sorted out, didn’t finish the first race but came from the back of 38 karts to win the second with fastest lap.

GS: Success kept coming to you that year?

PP: A water hose came off in the second UK Cup race after I won the first, but I won both races at Thruxton at an average speed of 109.3mph and then I had to win every race to get the title, which I did at Oulton. And got the title again in 2012 and 2013.

GS: Have you tried Division 1?

PP: When we had the title in 2012 winning 7 out of 9 races I didn’t need to go to Croft, the last round, and John Riley offered me a drive at the European CIK round at Le Mans on an Anderson/FPE although the engine was older. I was well under the lap record in qualifying but that turned out to be only 9th fastest, it was so close but I got knocked off at the first corner and the kart was bent and broken. We got it welded up and fixed with older bits and I came seventh. I’d love to do more but its’ just the cost!

GS: Racing 23 years continuously in karts must be something of a record too, perhaps only George Robinson who started racing in 1968 and has raced every year since 1982 can beat it?

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

24H KART WORLD RECORD

REPORT S.MURTAS PHOTOS C.WALKER

A gruelling

With the new 24 hour Kart Guinness World Record of 1,081.66 miles, Lloyd de Boltz-Miller drove into the history books at PFi last 8th October. We spoke to the man himself about his exhausting, happy-ending challenge.

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mission

After setting the British and European 24 hour record back in 2009, and claiming the World Record the following year, Lloyd de Boltz-Miller found himself back on a mission when America’s Trey Shannon pushed the distance to 845 miles in 2011.

Let’s get the basics. What’s your karting background and why did you set for this challenge?

“I took up karting quite late when I was already in my teens. I’ve always been very passionate about motorsport, so I managed to move into cars and set my sight on the 24 hours Le Mans. But I had to make a name for myself and find sponsors that would allow me to fulfil my dream. And this is when the idea of the 24-hour Kart World Record came about. So after missing the world record in 2009 by 51 miles, I actually took it the following year despite having 11 hours of rain.”

Two years were devoted to planning this latest assault, with de Boltz-Miller determined to bring the record back to Britain. In 2012, Lloyd approached Crg and Iame to be his technical partners, in order to ensure top performance all the way through the 24 hours.

“The package – a CRG Black Star chassis and Iame X30 engine - worked flawlessly. We only had a single issue with a sticking throttle cable but my mechanics, Shaun and Russell Carter, replaced it in just 3 minutes during my ninth stop.”

How long did you train before the test? did you take up any specific training?

“You can understand that there is a lot that goes into preparation for this sort of challenge. In 2012 I had a shoulder surgery and I started training at the beginning of 2013 with the support of Strakka Racing and its performance program. We also went on a training camp, doing a lot of work on the beach and in the pool, specifically aimed at improving consistency. Also we did a lot of reaction training, very helpful to keep concentration.”

How did you choose the racing strategy and the number and timing of the stints?

“The team - made of 24 people between team manager, engineers, mechanics, time keepers and so on - and I based our strategy on the previous attempt, we did a lot of testing and that’s how we decided. But the strategy was also adapted to the distance that we set as a target, because we wanted to make sure to have a good margin on the previous record. We planned to run an aggressive strategy of 21 stints, as I wanted to be the first through the 1,000-mile mark. Also, it came to light that a disputed claim of 1,054 miles (set in 2012) may have still stood. As we couldn’t verify with Guinness, we had to adjust our strategy. This meant that for the entire 24 hours I was going to have to lap consistently in less than 34” and that my pit stops couldn’t last more than four minutes each time. My fastest lap on low fuel and new tyres in testing was 30” flat, so I had to drive the entire record almost like a sprint!”

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FOCUS

SHENINGTON KART CLUB

REPORT S.MURTAS PHOTOS SHENINGTON K.C., C.WALKER

Shenington circuit and its Kart Club, one of the bedrocks of British Karting, boasts an impressive record: it’s one of the few venues that has always hosted a national or British Championship round, if not two, every season. And in the very early days of the discipline, it used to be a hotspot for international racing, playing host to one of the three World Championship qualifying rounds in the pre-CIK era.

With overall license numbers in a perpetual state of stagnation, and an evergrowing portion of karting enthusiasts taking the non-MSA route, Shenington Kart Club keeps faith to its hard-core, ageless MSA gene, strengthening its glorious heritage as a major hub of national karting.

We touched base with Club Secretary Graham Smith, who explained past, present and future of this piece of British Karting history.

Let’s start with Shenington’s actual state. How is it doing?

“You see, the original circuits were usually built on old airfields, the track laid out on concrete runways used by the airplanes, and Shenington, which held its first race in 1960, is no exception. This has restricted the layout, and the possibilities of changing it. So the circuit hasn’t changed in the past twenty years or so. The current layout with long straights, hairpins and the chicane in the middle dates back to the original design. In the ‘90s we put a new addition to the circuit with the Wilkins hairpin and Hangar corner which extend the circuit and made it more interesting, with more overtaking places. Recently, the committee has looked into making further alterations, but there could be some problems with planning permissions and with the costs of building good foundations.”

Besides the restrictions of the track, Shenington underwent some renovations over the past few years. In early 2000 the new Club House was build, a new mezzanine floor was installed in the race control adding a new upper storey in the

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scruteneering area, and more recently a new office for the Clerk of the course was added.

“Our next major project, which should start soon, is to build more showers (3 for gents and 3 for ladies), as they’re not really enough for major championship meetings. We’re also looking at installing the new CCTV system supplied by RGMMC and used at the Rotax Euro Challenge. PF International already installed it and they’re very impressed with it. Without forgetting our resurfacing project, which can cost up to £100,000, and we have to do it in stages. One third of the circuit was done roughly 7 years ago, and we have to put aside the resources to continue because it will not last forever.”

Above, few shots of Shenington taken by Maureen Magee in the ‘60s. Note the Starter, Tom Moore, standing on a chair. This 5H endurance race won

by Jack Barlow, Les Sheppard and Roy Mortard on No. 4 kart also saw the presence of Tony Dowe, F1/Le Mans car designer, standing next to Chris Imrun on No 2 kart, also with Irvine Jacobs. Steve “Bluebell” Morey, the owner of the pics, is in No. 3 kart with the Magee brothers pushing.

If most clubs have to hire the circuit from a commercial circuit operator, Shenington is one of the few clubs that actually owns the circuit. And if this allows more control on what to do, it also means that it also has to take care of all the expenses. Furthermore, being a non-profit company, Shenington committee has to reinvest all the resources in the circuit, the club and its activities.

And considering corporate karting is not a business priority at Shenington, all operations have to be funded by club events – race meetings, practice days and other racing activities - and its members.

“In the past we used to run some corporate karting, but with time we realized that it almost took over the racing activities, both MSA and club level. And we are purely a racing facility, aimed at those who own a kart and want to come to practice when the track is open. If we were to run corporate events, we would have to limit our club racing activities, and it’s not what we want.”

Your club is very active, with many events both at local and national level.

“At Shenington, we have 12 club races per annum (plus two Super One events, and one Easykart round) and the best nine races count towards the championship. We also have a Winter Series Championship from January to March in conjunction with the main championship. At the end of March we award the Winter Series trophies, so that those who want to concentrate on the SuperOne or other series can do it. We also have our annual SuperPrix & Historic

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TVKC WINTER SERIES

RACE

RND.2, PF INTERNATIONAL, 5th JANUARY

Winter Series The start of the new racing season came early in the year for PFI, but was fantastically supported by over 200 drivers.

REPORT TVKC P.O. PHOTOS C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)

continues to grow The weather was not on drivers’ side for the 2nd round of the 2013/2014 TVKC Winter Series - round 1 was held in December - with strong winds and heavy rain causing problems particularly on Saturday. The following day, the track looked like a skating ring, but thanks to a slight rise in temperature and the use of special de-icer pellets, it soon was fit for action. The meeting also marked the UK debut of the Iame X30 Junior & Senior engine/class, with 9 Junior and 10 Senior drivers taking part.

IAME CADET – Enough entries to require a split grid meant that, as always, competition would be fierce! Two Timed Qualifying sessions showed that the second session was slightly quicker with Kiern Jewiss taking the pole.

Jewiss converted his pole into a Pre Final win while Tom Wood looked in great form as he dominated the second Pre Final. So onto the main Final with a drying track, it was a fight between these two. Jewiss led for most of the race always with the threatening Wood on 46

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his bumper. In fact Wood appeared to have something in hand and so it was with a few laps to go, he took the lead and went on to win by almost 2”. Lewis Thompson was also in strong form as he made the break with Wood and ended up with an excellent 2nd place.

Jewiss fell back into 3rd and had his work cut out to hold off Zac Robertson who finished a close 4th and Dexter Patterson 5th.

HONDA CADET – TQ is not very familiar to these guys – so it almost turned into an 8 Minute race! The BRK Team must have been delighted with the TQ result – Tom Canning on Pole and Mark Kimber on two! Jamie Rogers was an excellent 3rd fastest. In the the dice at the front was a real ‘cat and mouse’ affair between Myles Apps and an ‘on form’ Rogers, who used his head to great effect in the race and was always able to respond to the challenges from Apps. These two battled all the way to the line where it looked as though Rogers held it to the line, but a well timed charge by Apps to the line just saw him take the win (as confirmed

IT WAS A ‘CLEAN SWEEP’ FOR DEAN MCDONALD; FASTEST IN TQ, PRE FINAL WIN AND THEN A WELL CONTROLLED FINAL LED FROM START TO FINISH.

GAME OVER!

by the Timekeepers). Harry Thompson drove very well and despite a lowly TQ, managed to fight his way to a creditable 3rd at the finish.

MINI MAX – It was a ‘clean sweep’ for Dean McDonald; fastest in TQ, Pre Final win and then a well controlled Final led from start to finish. Game over! Lucas Vaus was his closest rival in the final and drove a strong race to claim 2nd. A little way back the dicing trio of Rory Hudson, Elliot Harvey and Thomas Turner had a great battle for the final podium spot which ended with Hudson taking 3rd.

JUNIOR MAX – A very strong entry list, and one with many potential winners! Fastest in TQ was Tom Harvey, who looked very comfortable in the wet. Stef Charalmbous

Above, Mini Max winner Dean McDonald (11); Jamie Rogers (20) leading on Honda Cadet final winner Myles Apps (O) and Harry Thompson (17).

Left, Iame Cadet winner Tom Wood (3). Top, Junior Max podium with Josh Skelton on top sided by Tom Gamble and Cameron Roberts.

Opposite page, Junior Max pole setter Tom Harvey (3) leads the field.

TVKC WINTER SERIES 3RD AND FINAL ROUND SCHEDULED ON 1-2ND MARCH

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TECH HUB

250CC ENGINES

AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL

SEES LAUNCH OF NEW

BY GARY JAMES

250cc engines At the recent Autosport International exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham the British Superkart Association unveiled three new 250cc engines on their stand.

The engines are being registered for use in the MSA British Superkart Championship for 2014 and are awaiting inspection by the MSA technical department at the end of January ahead of homologation for the championship.

So far there are no performance figures available as the engines have not been run prior to the MSA inspection but here is a description of UNVEILING 3 NEW 250 SUPERKART ENGINES AT what is on offer.

BRITISH SUPERKART ASSOCIATION

AUTOSPORT INTERNATIONAL The 3 new registered engines for the MSA British Superkart Championship class were unveiled at Autosport International on The British Superkart Association stand, where all 3 engines manufacturers had representatives on site to answer any questions.

These engines were on display for all 4 days and it was announced that the first public showing will be at the first Superkart test day at Oulton Park on the 18th February. Also on display at the British Superkart Association stand, the 2013 class winning Superkarts of Division 1 Gavin Bennett, of 3 times MSA British Superkart Champion Paul Platt and of 125 Open of Lee Harpham. Drivers and organisers were on hand to answer questions on how to start racing Superkarts on long circuits for the entire duration of the show. With a season costing as low as £5,000 - including buying a second hand outfit - it’s arguably the best pound for horse power motorsport category racing in the world.

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For more info visit www.superkart.org.uk

DEA

Well known for its successful twin cylinder Superkart engine used in the Division 1 class by CIK European Superkart champions Emmanuel Vinuales and Gavin Bennett, the single cylinder motor is hoped to bring equal success in the MSA British Superkart Championship for F250 National and also a revitalised CIK Division 2 class. Priced at EUR3900.00 plus VAT, the reed valve induction engines will be sold by DEA Technology Ltd (UK) and the standard

package includes cylinder head and cover, cylinder with a piston, crankshaft, balance shaft, crankcase and clutch cover, water pump, bearings, oil seals and exhaust manifold. The engine is designed with the carburettor mounted off the front, thus allowing a rear exit exhaust. So that drivers can utilise existing equipment, the DEA engine is designed to use the gearbox, clutch, ignition rotor and stator from the CR250 Honda engine. In a bid to keep costs down the DEA doesn’t come with CDI. “We decided not to make that as part of our ‘engine package’ as many drivers already have it and use it on their Honda engines. That also applies to the intake manifold, carburettor and airbox.” DEA have not included an exhaust, as they are aware that engine tuners would prefer to mount their own system. The design process of the engine took 13 months and now that it is reality the team at DEA hope that the results once the engine is on track will be justify the whole project.

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GARAGE

SEAT

How to adjust

REPORT M. VOLTINI

and mount the seat

With the good weather and the new racing season here, maybe there is a new kart too. One of the things that need to be done is mount the seat: let’s take a look and see how to put this indispensable “accessory” on our kart properly.

Spring is here, (the real spring, warm sunny days) and you can at last go back to enjoying a few laps at the circuit. Maybe we have a brand new kart to use for the new racing season. Or we may have bought a second hand one, but the previous owner wasn’t the same built as we are. In both cases, a new seat must be mounted on the kart. An operation that should never be underestimated, either because we could suddenly find ourselves on the asphalt, or because the position of the seat does determine that of the driver to, whose weight is important in positioning the barycentre of the kart and the repartition of weights between the two axis. Therefore, the position of the seat must be checked carefully, and changed according to our needs: for example, if our class mounts harder tyres, probably it is better to move the seat a bit further back by about one or two centimetre to guarantee more drive and stability.

Anyway, let’s see what needs to be done.

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1 REST

First, make sure that the seat doesn’t touch the round where the wheels are, to do this there are three tools like those seen in the picture, which moreover acts as a rest base underneath holding it for the next operations and leaving our hands free to work. Don’t forget though that the height off the ground is a “setup” parameter, therefore the seat is lifted either due to rainfall or if there is really little grip. Another thing, the supports must be right close to the seat: in this case too, there are special levers to use for “bending”, but maybe even a hammer (as long as it is made of wood resin) will do.

2 POSITION

As previously mentioned, the driver’s position is very important indeed, so that means the seat position is too. It has to be placed accurately in the right place. Usually, chassis manufacturers give the required parameters. The most important parameters for correct positioning

are height of the upper border compared to the axle and the distance of the upper borders from the cross member in front of the chassis, however height from the base and the distance from the steering wheel is also very important.

It is better to be patient and spend a bit of time to get all these measurements right, even if at times, it is a challenge.

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