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W E I V
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WILSON GETS S1 GLORY RULE BRITANNIA
BRITS RULE THE WORLD IN KF & KFJ
NERVE-WRACKING MSA BRITISH CADET TITLE DECIDER GOES TO TEDDY WILSON. BUT THE CROWN WAS UP FOR GRABS UNTIL THE VERY LAST LAP, WITH JEWISS AND EDGAR MAKING A GREAT CHALLENGE.
EXCLUSIVE
NON-CONFORM KFJ ENGINE AT PFI We tell you how it was done
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CONTENTS
www.vroomkart.com
OCTOBER 2014 - N. 10
info@vroom.it www.facebook.com/vroomkart twitter.com/vroomkart
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56 54
news
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12
MONDOKART - News & Previews
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YOUR TKM GUIDE Whose to blame?
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ROTAX MAX BEGINNERS TIPS Getting ready to drive
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BIG BROTHER - 2014 TKM S1 SCHOLARSHIP Smiling at the podium
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FOCUS Historic Karts at PFI
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CLOSE UP Fusion Motorsport
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NOVEMBER RACING CALENDAR
race
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SUPERONE MSA CHAMPIONSHIP RD.6
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SUPERONE ROTAX CHAMPIONSHIP RD.5
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CIK-FIA KF-KFJ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
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CIK-FIA KF-KFJ EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS RD.4
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ROTAX EURO CHALLENGE RD.4
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EASYKART UK CHAMPIONSHIP RD.7
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LGM SERIES RD.7
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SHENINGTON KRC CHAMPIONSHIP RD.9
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TRENT VALLEY KC CHAMPIONSHIP RD.5
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BAYFORD MEADOWS KRC CHAMPIONSHIP RD.6
technical side 26
EXCLUSIVE Non-conform KFJ engine at PFI
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ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE How to look after the chain 5
GALLERY PHOTOS D. PASTANELLA (WAFEPROJECT)
Three British drivers rule in KF and KFJ on the European and World stage. Lando Norris, Enaam Ahmed, and Callum Ilott get trained and dedicate their whole youth to be the best; their all-round preparation, training as professionals, honing not only their skills on track, but also their diet, their mental approach to the racing weekend, and their presence off the track. These lads have shown their extraordinary qualities, but merit has to be recognised also to the teams. Particularly outstanding RFM, able to win two World crowns in the same meeting after grabbing the European title with Ahmed only few weeks before. Know-how, competence, and dedication explain such overwhelming success. But success has been built over the years, throughout their experience in national Cadet classes, discovered and nurtured by dedicated professional teams. Rule Britannia is not a coincidence, and by the looks of it, it’s set to last for years to come.
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PHOTO: C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)
f
ocus
HISTORIC KARTS AT PF INTERNATIONAL
Contagious vibe TO ALL THOSE WHO WERE AT PFI DURING THE FINAL OF THE EUROPEAN KF-KFJ CHAMPIONSHIPS, THE HISTORIC KARTS BROUGHT IN BY MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH HISTORIC KART CLUB SENT A MESSAGE OF AWESOME, CONTAGIOUS PASSION FOR A SPORT THAT WAS AND IS NO MORE, BUT MUST RETURN TO INSPIRE NEW GENERATIONS. NOSTALGIC ROMANCE YOU MAY SAY, BUT THE DEDICATION SHOWN BY THE PROTAGONISTS AND THE ADRENALINE GENERATED WHILE THE HISTORICS RACED ON TRACK CERTAINLY DID NOT LEAVE ANYONE INDIFFERENT. REPORT G.SMITH / PHOTOS D.PASTANELLA (WAFEPROJECT) & C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)
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For once, drivers were not the main protagonists, as most of the attention was for these vintage beauties. Above, Graham Smith’s Zip Concorde/BM100 which dates back to 1968; left, James Mills with Robert Haynes’ 1988 Kali Laval/Komet K30 (135 cc). Opposite page, CIK Race Director and TVKC Chairman Nigel Edwards could not resist the temptation to take one these beauties to the track
J
ordon Lennox-Lamb, factory CRG driver, epitomised the spirit of the best years of kart racing when he wheeled out a 1988 Kali with a Komet K30 motor and set sub one minute times round the 1382m circuit. The kart was four stroking down the straights but Lennox-Lamb reported he just loved the feeling. The total weight of the kart and driver was only 125kg and quite possibly the times could have been got down to the 56s set by the top KF drivers. Although the engine was clearly four-stroking along the straights, it failed on the last lap. He was one of over 30 drivers with various machines from 1960 to the late eighties who were invited to demonstrate twice on the Saturday
and twice on Sunday. The sessions were split into 1960 – 1978 and 1978 onwards for the faster machines. The MSA Chief Executive Rob Jones was joined by two of his colleagues and Allan McNish, the legendary FIA World Endurance Champion and triple Le Mans winner to view the events. McNish is a well-known former kart racer and very knowledgeable on the current scene. Another great personality in the paddock was former F1 Ferrari ace Jean Alesi who was persuaded to sit in one of the historic karts. “I used to race an Allkart with a TG77”, he informed us before rushing back to oversee his son’s karting. Even
the Race Director Nigel Edwards was eager to try a period kart between his other duties, managing to fit his lanky frame into DAP No 77. Generations of the Mills family were present, they have the on-site shop and race team. Patriarch John Mills explained how his kart business started by accident. “I was racing MG’s in 1959 and got married so the racing had to stop so for something to do built a kart then found everyone wanted one the same. Eventually we had the Comet kart manufactured, built on Lincolnshire, and I did the design. Then we did the Blow
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CLOSE UP FUSION MOTORSPORT
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nother brilliant season for Fusion Motorsport is about to end with yet another fantastic achievement. 2014 will be remembered as the
MADE
season Fusion Motorsport has gone down in the history of the sport as the
TO EXCEL
first team in the last 16 years to have won the MSA British Cadet title with a chassis other than Zip – the Synergy, which we analysed in detail in our Close Up column in the previous issue. The season has definitely seen a very competitive opposition, but Fusion still managed to take home the British title with Teddy Wilson and the Open championship with Jonny Edgar, with the possibility to grab the LGM Series victory with two drivers. “This season has been one of the toughest to date, maybe even more difficult than 2009 when we didn’t win any title, as we had such formidable competition with teams and drivers line-up that have raised the bar giving us something to think about. It made us work very hard to stay on top, but this makes our success even more rewarding. And to have won with a chassis that we developed, the Synergy, also makes it very satisfying.” But this is just the latest milestone for Hazlewood’s team, as the success of Fusion Motorsport dates back to its inception. Set-up back in late 2003 from the fusion of two different teams (hence the name), Fusion Motorsport has seen through its ranks some of the most promising young talents of the British racing school. The likes of Oliver Rowland, Jack Harvey, Dan Ticktum and the recently crowned World KFJ Champion Enaam Ahmed were nurtured by the capable team managed by Hazlewood. The record of victories is just impressive. Twice SuperOne Cadet Champions with Oliver Rowland in 2003 and 2004, Fusion continued on a great series of wins concentrating exclusively on Cadet racing since 2005, season epitomized with Mackenzie Taylor’s SuperOne title. “We then added more
Fusion Motorsport, one of the most successful Cadet racing teams of the British karting scene, is about to close the 2014 season in style. We
successes already in 2006, winning the British Open Championship with Max McGuire, as well as many individual races but not the British Championship,” says Dan. A tough start to 2007 followed, due to a technical choice that didn’t prove to be winning, but the team recovered by the end of the season to claim the British KartMasters GP with Alex Walker and the runner-up title in the British Championship, ending on high.
touched base with Team Owner Dan Hazlewood, Fusion Motorsport’s heart and soul. REPORT S.MURTAS / PHOTOS C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)
“But we didn’t actually win our first British Championship, then known as Stars of Tomorrow, until 2008 with Roy Johnson. In that year he completely dominated cadet karting, not only winning the British Championship but also the SuperOne, the KartMasters, effectively pulling off a grand slam of cadet
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SUPER ONE MSA CHAMPIONSHIP
RACE
RND.6, F INTERNATIONAL, 13-14th SEPTEMBER 2014
v
NON-STOP EXCITEMENT FOR S1 CROWNS With three titles balancing on a knife edge, the MSA/TKM series finals were full of surprises, despair and excitement. At the end Teddy Wilson took the MSA crown for IAME Cadet, Arran Mills the ABkC National Junior TKM title and Joe Forsdyke the senior TKM Extreme. REPORT G.SMITH / PHOTOS C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)
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Mark Litchfield raced well but had already done enough for the Formula KGP title. Augmenting the entry were three support races, for Club IAME Cadet, Junior X30 and Senior X30 which attracted some big names and they had an especially epic heat two race.
IAME CADET – MSA BRITISH CADET CHAMPIONSHIP The most important appeal for young Teddy Wilson was deferred from the Rissington
round and held on the Saturday. He was appealing against a one lap penalty given when he retrieved the lead from team-mate Zachary Robertson and they collided, with Wilson finishing first and a much delayed Robertson only ninth. After studying TV evidence the new Stewards upheld the appeal and restored Wilson to the head of the points standings. Robertson, Jonny Edgar and Tom Wood displayed their speed in timed qualifying with the other main protagonist Kiern Jewiss in sixth and Wilson eighth. Jewiss had changed to a Zip for the weekend and it would be Robertson and Wood who
Left and opposite page, Alex McDade rules the last round of the MSA British Cadet Championship. Stopping only the 11th fastest lap in qualyfing, the Eclipse driver comes back with two brilliant performances to win final 1 and 2. The action was non-stop throughout the meeting, but Teddy Wilson (below) finally managed to come out on top despite Jewiss (GP), the toughest challenger of the championship. With the pass in final 2 (bottom) Wilson ultimately sealed the title.
took the heat wins whilst Wilson and Jewiss shared the second row for the first final. From the standing start Wood, Jewiss and Lewis Thompson broke away with Robertson about to leapfrog Alex McDade and tow him up to the lead trio. Wilson had a terrible first lap hung out round the outside of the second hairpin and dropping to tenth, from where he would start a superb fight back. Robertson leapfrogged Jewiss then relieved Wood of the lead, but only briefly as Jewiss jumped to the front, Robertson having a quick spin on the grass. Wilson had now joined the tail of the six kart train contesting the lead, and Jewiss was next to visit the grass, elbowed out coming
off the bridge. Everyone defended into the first hairpin. Jewiss was rather out of control and slide into Wilson, sending Wilson into a half spin and himself off the track. McDade won over Edgar, Wood and Wilson strung out behind. Jewiss was initially given a 5s penalty for ‘gaining an unfair advantage’ but argued no advantage was made so won his appeal and finished tenth. However his points deficit had increased to 9. For the second final McDade, Edgar and Robertson broke clear whilst Wilson had another horrible first lap. “I got a good start but just left out to dry at the first hairpin and tumbled down the positions,” he explained later.
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SUPER ONE ROTAX SERIES
RACE
RND.5 SHENINGTON, 23-24th AUGUST 2014
ONE TO GO AND THE HEAT IS ON In all four classes, had results gone a certain
way the title chases could all have been sewn up before the final round at PF International but as luck would have it, all four classes will go down to the wire. REPORT H.BEAUDETTE / PHOTOS C.WALKER (KARTPIX.NET)
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In the midst of a classic British ‘summer’ the rain held off for an entire weekend as the Cadet Honda, Mini Max, Junior Rotax and Senior Rotax drivers assembled for their penultimate round of the year. Off track the Super One officials got into the swing of the current Ice Bucket Challenge craze with nearly £300 being raised for Motor Neurone Disease although in the end it was only championship commentator Henry Beaudette who bore the brunt of the soaking… for now.
MINI MAX Of all the class leaders Dean Macdonald came away from Shenington with the least amount of damage done to his title ambitions but the Scotsman still saw his main championship rival Alex Quinn slice into his points advantage. Quinn’s Coles Racing teammate Sam Pooley was fastest in qualifying by a mere one hundredth from Thomas Turner and Rory Hudson with Quinn fifth and Macdonald ninth but the Strawberry Racing driver took full advantage of a
Above, super weekend for BRK teammates Mark Kimber (GP) and Tom Canning (7) in Honda Cadet, the two switching P1 and P2 in the two finals. Left, Alex Quinn on top of MiniMax final 2 podium, sided by Scotsman Dean MacDonald and Thomas Turner. Good weekend for the Coles Racing driver, 2nd to his teammate Sam Pooley in final 1 by a mere 0”04 (opposite). In the MiniMax championship MacDonald (11)leads by 7 points over Quinn.
chaotic opening heat that saw numerous lead changes. With Pooley, Turner, Quinn and William Pettitt all taking turns at the head of the field Macdonald was able to shrug off a slow start and manoeuvre his way into top spot with two laps to go as Pettitt, Jordan Cane and Quinn tailed him home. Pooley and Quinn were able to keep MacDonald at bay in heat two, although the Scotsman finished a close third with the impressive Turner and 0 Plate winner Luke Wooder completing the
top five. Sunday’s two finals were marred by ‘defensive driving’ issues and the ‘two-lap’ rule brought in at the behest of the competitors whereby overly defensive driving with more than two laps to go before the end of the race would result in a penalty. MacDonald would fall foul of that ruling in final one for after watching Pooley
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CIK-FIA WORLD KF-KFJ CHAMPIONSHIP
RACE
ESSAY (FRANCE) 19-21st SEPTEMBER 2014
The young British driver, at his debut season in the category, beats all the odds and grabs unexpectedly the title that right before the prefinal seemed to be pocketed by Nielsen. He has the distinctive trait of a champion, able to be in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately it’s last time on a kart track. REPORT S.MURTAS / PHOTOS D.PASTANELLA (WAFEPROJECT) PROTAGONISTS
LANDO NORRIS The 2014 CIK-FIA World KF Championship certainly leaves a mark in the history of karting. An exciting weekend, with many battles and drama. Coming out on top, Lando Norris (FA Kart/Vortex), at his first season in the category after a superb run in the junior ranks. Lando has not the easiest time in adapting to the seniors, he lacks the impressive consistency shown in KFJ, but in the end is ready to take advantage of his main opponent’s disastrous prefinal with a mature drive in prefinal, and a commanding performance in the final where he also
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stops the fastest lap of the race. On the occasion he had the potential to finish 2nd in the championship: he was 2nd fastest in qualifying, won 2 heats to start 2nd in the prefinal next to Nielsen. From then on, he went back to the Lando we saw in 2013. He made the most of his experience in Karting, offered some exciting performance throughout, and he leaves the sport as a worthy champion. He has already set for his new experience in single-seaters.
NICKLAS NIELSEN He didn’t make the podium in the end, he also tainted his career with a foolish retaliatory manoeuvre when everything
had already ended, but he must be listed as one of the major protagonists of the weekend. Nicklas Nielsen (Kosmic/Vortex) has another defeat that sting in his record, but right before the prefinal he absolutely killed the competition. Fastest lap in qualifying (49”093), victory in all four of his heats with as many as 4” gap over the 2nd placed driver and fastest lap in each heat. What you’d call utter dominance. Then the wet prefinal start, Nielsen (Kosmic/Vortex) is first at the first corner, but finds Joyner (Zanardi/Parilla) trying to sneak on the inside and the two come in contact. Nielsen spins, and the field goes around him. Post race decision will decide for a non-
NORRIS PREDESTINED An outstanding final phase of the weekend for Lando Norris. The fast Brit is unmatchable when it counts the most... he can count on a very competitive equipment and brilliant team on his side. Below, the wet prefinal starts and drama ensues: Nielsen (2) leads at the first corner and Joyner (4) touches his rear wheel. The Dane spins and the field moves past him... another hard pill to swallow.
tries to hold on to it as Norris presses hard. He has to give in to his faster team mate, but 2nd place escapes him when he gets too weary of Mazepin reeling in. He ends knowing that the vice championship title could have been his.
OUTSTANDING
punishable race incident. From then on the light goes off, 19th in prefinal and 12th in the final, and another bitter end to his world championship dreams.
NIKITA MAZEPIN The Russian on Tony Kart/Vortex makes it to the World Championship podium with two consistent performances in prefinal and final, but the final has to be his masterpiece. He starts well, within two laps he’s 3rd behind Norris who moves up to the lead shortly after. The Russian hunts down Daruvala, harassing him all the way through only a couple of tenths behind. The last lap is riveting,
Daruvala tries to close the door at each corner but Nikita’s killer instinct prevails in the end.
JEHAN DARUVALA His weekend has been anything but smooth. The RFM driver’s pace can potentially project him into the top-5, but a bad heat drops him down to 15th for prefinal start. The wet conditions seem congenial to him, after the first lap he’s already in the top10, and by halfway through the race he’s shadowing Kari for the top-5. In the final he has a superb start, moves to the lead and
Potential title contender Callum Ilott (Zanardi/Parilla) shows his motivation is still high after winning the European crown. Third fastest in qualifying, twice 2nd and 3rd in the heats are ruined by a DNF in the third heat. From 11th on grid, he finds himself tangled up at the start of the prefinal and is forced to retire. His final is brilliant: 7th after the start from 32nd on the grid, he races most of the final in 5th, to snatch 4th in last few laps, less than 1” short of the podium. His teammate Tom Joyner is also a top contender. Third after the heats, the Brit is the main obstacle to Nielsen’s effort, but in all fairness he has the merit of winning the prefinal due to a superior pace with rain set-up also stopping the fastest lap. He fades in the final, worn out in the last part of the race.
KF FINAL P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 24 27
N 3 24 15 1 9 23 11 8 4 74 64 17
Driver Norris, Lando Mazepin, Nikita Daruvala, Jehan Ilott, Callum Van Leeuwen, Martijn Rossel, Kevin Basz, Karol Tiene, Felice Joyner, Tom Chaimongkol, Sasakorn Webb, Harry Hodgson, Oliver
NAT GBR RUS IND GBR NLD DNK POL ITA GBR THA GBR GBR
EQUIPMENT FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop Kosmic / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop CRG / Parilla / Dunlop Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Kosmic / TM / Dunlop
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GAP 25 Laps 2.893 3.265 4.204 5.383 6.299 6.545 7.893 8.805 11.053 34.648 3 Laps
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on the technical side HOW TO LOOK AFTER THE TIMING CHAIN
IT HELPS TO PULL THE CHAIN! … and not just when you go to the toilet! Joking apart, drive to the wheels is a very important mechanical element, simple but fundamental, and if it betrays us due to our lack of experience or lack of attention, it can really ruin a race, and not just that, it can cause lots of other things too. So here is some advice to help you, so you can get to know more about it and learn how to carry out maintenance and adjustments. REPORT AND PICTURES: MARCO NATOLI
WORKING PRINCIPLE
As everyone knows, a roller chain is a traditional chain made up of several links, internal and external ones, which are joined with steel pins riveted on the surface of the external plates. Around the pin, there is a bush placed in the internal link. The bush is enveloped by the roller. The chain can turn on the toothed wheels (pinion and rear sprocket), because the internal bush turns respect to the external one and vice versa. In fact, the pivot is joined to the external plate, the bush to the internal one and, relative movement is practically pivot and bearing motion. Instead, the roller is the element in contact with the gear teeth that go both in the gaps of the internal links and those of the wider links. The roller, free to turn around the bush, reduces the friction between the tooth and the longitudinal element of the chain: in fact it glides when it goes in and out of the pinion teeth and sprocket, where a fixed element would drag and increase wear. The larger chain (428 pitch) as used in the geared classes is joined into a circle with a connecting or joining link, also known as a master link, which can be opened by means of a spring clip; however in the smaller chain (219 pitch), the one for the 100cc or Tag class, you nearly always use a normal link, thus getting a “closed” chain that has to be opened with a special tool. You put the lubricant in the space pin/bush and bush/roller, especially the ones with O Rings. 74
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Details of a chain where you can see the bushing (“rollers”); in the comparison between 100 cc sprockets and 125cc sprockets with 80 and 28 teeth, you can see that is the first had a pitch which was the same as the second it would be enormous: the drawing of a part of a chain with and without o-ring.
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