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GiuliAnO CiuCCi GiuliAni (Editor in chief) cggiuliano@vroom.it FAbinA A GAv A illuCCi (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 CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE H.Beaudette, BMKC P.O., BRP-Rotax P.O., G.Butterworth, Easy P.O., S.Gray, S.Huntley, LGM P.O., B.Malin, J.Mitchell, C.Norwood, D.Pastanella, REV, G.Robinson, SKRC P.O., G.Smith, TVKC P.O., F.Volpe, C.Walker, I.Ward SUBSCRIPTIONS info@vroom.it 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.
news 12
mondokart - News & Previews
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YoUr tkm GUIdE TaG on top... no drama T
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rotax max bEGInnErs tIps Fuel up
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bIG brothEr - 2014 tkm s1 scholarshIp Picking up the pieces
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talkInG to CIK vice President Kees van de Grint Enaam Ahmed
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FocUs Standing start at Super One Championships
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s1 cIrcUIt oF thE month Larkhall
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JUlY racInG calEndar
race 38
sUpEronE rotax sErIEs rd.1-2
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sUpEronE msa sErIEs rd.2, roWrah
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cIk EUropEan kF-kFJ champs. rd.1
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clUb 100 sprInt champs. rd.3
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lGm sErIEs rd.2-3
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EasYkart Uk rd.3
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bmkc sUmmEr champs. rd.3
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tVkc clUb champs. rd.2
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shEnInGton clUb champs. rd.4
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technical side 22
nEW Front FaIrInG moUntInG kIt bY cIk
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sos kart - brakEs 9
Picking up the pieces
BIG BROTHER 2014 TKM Following a rather tough opening round epilogue, Super One rookie Matt England moves to Round 2 of the TKM championship with a clear plan in mind. But will it work out…?
The opening round of the S1 TKM championship proved somewhat of an anti-climax for us. We were very familiar with the circuit, so it was an opportunity to get used to the time schedule approach that these events run to. There I was sitting on the back of the grid for my first S1 TKM final with my head in something of a spin. I desperately wanted to do well. But…because of the heat disasters we had ended the event almost at the bottom of the points table at our home event where we should have been banking points. My lap times were quicker in the finals than in qualifying. Qualifying is vitally important and I’ve got to get that better to put myself towards the front of the grid. As we packed up for home
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KM S1 SCHOLARSHIP we reflected on the weekend experience. We had found the weekend fairly straightforward with regards to procedure and in some ways a little easier than a club event due to the strict timing. On the circuit, I found most of the competitors I had raced against at club level and TKM Festival, so didn’t feel overshadowed in any way. And my Veloce kart and TAG engine were identical to that of the winner. When we sat down and thought back over our first Super One weekend at Sheny, we recognised that we had been well on the pace, but lost out as a result of me being maybe a little over-keen to succeed in what was my home event in the series. Now we were heading up to Rowrah at the other end of the country to a circuit we had never seen and a whole new set of circumstances were going to come into play. With a different type of circuit base for us at this event we had already trialled at home setting up the new awning. Much better to look daft in our garden rather than at a race track! We set off at lunchtime on the Thursday and travelled through the lakes to get to the circuit set in its very own quarry. By the time we had set up it was time to eat but when we headed out into the quiet country to find a chippy we discovered that unlike down south, places up there are few and far between – and open on limited hours. Friend and fellow racer Matt Allnut suggested we jumped in the car with him and use the sat nav to find a place to get some food. Lesson one learned and just underlining the benefits of friends within the paddock. Friday saw me heading out onto the track for the
Qualifying is vitally important and I’ve got to get that better... heading up to Rowrah at the other end of the country to a circuit we had never seen ... first time armed with some good initial set up advice from Tal-Ko’s Alan Turney. This was a very different track to those which I am used to like Shenny, Rissi and Kimbolton. A lot of kerbs to master, some to go straight over and others to avoid, and critical to getting a good time. I was pushing hard to find the right lines and casting a very careful eye over the experienced guys to find the little tricks that gain those last few tenths. I ran wide over the kerb on the outside at Paddock Bend and next thing I know was doing a 360 spin coming to rest just under where Alan was watching. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. Very surreal. So that was one kerb definitely to be avoided and as the day went on I began to find a pretty good natural flow to the circuit that was giving increasingly competitive times. Come Saturday and final practice I was right up there on the pace of my benchmark drivers also on Tal-Ko Veloce karts. For the first time this year to keep down costs everyone has to use slick tyres from the last round for all the testing. It works well. So come timed qualifying and I was on new tyres for the first time and they gave that littler bit of extra bite. I was fastest in a sector but then hampered by traffic before the end of the lap. Memo to self… must find a clean empty space on the track for my qualifying laps. In the first heat I was doing OK and making places until I ended up being the meat in a kart sandwich bump. Whatever the rights or wrongs it ended with another visit to the Clerk’s office, something that was definitely on my list of things to avoid after Shenny. The second heat was OK and I finished
the day feeling that we were pretty much on pace and looking forward to the finals on Sunday, though somewhat wary of the gloomy wet colder weather setting in. Given the gloom rather than fire up the BBQ, we headed off to the bright lights of Whitehaven for some grub and a beer. It was heaving with people and they know how to have fun! They don’t call it the lake district for no reason... It poured through the night and drizzled into Sunday which created a whole new set of conditions on a tricky track I had never set foot on in the wet. We were allowed a quick warm up session which would be a chance to at least learn my way around the puddles. But we were not quite up to speed on the regs which require you to use a spare set of wet tyres for that session. We went to parcfermé without and couldn’t go out. Not good. Both finals were in the wet, though the second was a little drier. I spent most of the time learning the best way around the puddles and my results were frankly disappointing. All the more so since Joe Forsdyke who was quickest in quali and won every race, was on exactly the same Veloce kart. We also saw though how situations can change so quickly. Simon Vercoe who had been leading after the first round, had a day of terrible luck and plummeted down the points table. And our dry pace had plummeted when it turned wet with no chance to test. So for the next round off to deepest Wales and the GYG circuit. Again a whole new track to learn. And I can’t speak Welsh, so that is an additional reason to keep out of the Clerk’s office!
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Putting THE mon 26
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talking to KEES VAN DE GRINT
With the international season officially underway, CIK vice President Kees van de Grint talks about the latest CIK activities, he announces a major technical innovation, and explains where concept of the new engine is going to take us. Report S.Murtas / Photos D.Pastanella
Before we go into the hot issues of the moment, we start with a soft topic, talking about the importance of promotion for a sport (potentially) for the masses such as Karting. “The biggest duty of the CIK is to support the ASNs in the promotion of the sport, and also support the single-make series as well as Karting in general. Another duty of the CIK is to provide ASNs with an affordable engine, simple to manage, that can be used in a CIK category for the national championship. And this is what we are missing at the moment.” Wouldn’t you agree that the CIK is also responsible for promotion with those who aren’t aware of the sport? “Absolutely, but this task falls primarily onto the ASNs. You see, when I was nominated as vice President, I immediately felt the need to restructure the way the CIK office operates, and also thanks to the support of the CIK President, it is now very efficient. But many things remain to be done, and one of such things is working closely with the local national authorities on the promotion of the sport. Because if the top is too big, and the foundation is not solid, the top will fall. It’s a long process, longer than I expected, but it must be done step by step, with the contribution of all, ASNs, manufacturers, racing teams, drivers, members of the press.” Over the past few years, the CIK has been making a big effort in pushing the Karting Academy Trophy as a promotional class, but it hasn’t
been taken up by the local national authorities at national level. Can you explain why? “The concept of the Academy Trophy is fantastic. It truly reflects the spirit of fair, close competition, with global participation. This year we will have one driver from Iran, which is quite unprecedented. But going back to your question, I don’t really have an answer, you should ask the ASNs as I can’t speak for them. What I can say is that the CIK strongly supports the Academy Trophy, it puts a lot of effort into it, as much as on all other CIK classes. And since the CIK can’t force the adoption of a category onto national federations, I really hope that when the new engines will be introduced in 2015, ASNs will follow the CIK.” If the CIK seems powerless vis-à-vis the national federations, in truth it’s not. And yet, from a logical point of view, the CIK is in there to follow recommendations that come from the national sporting authorities, and provide the sport with regulations that result from such recommendations. “The argument for the lack of support of KF at national (and particularly at local) level in the past few years has been that the class was too expensive and too complicated both for the engine owner and for the ASNs to carry out the technical checks. So CIK would expect that once such problems have been solved – and CIK is currently working very hard with the support of the major manufacturers in this direction - ASNs have no reason not to organize national championships for new CIK classes.”
ey where the mouth is Vroom UK
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SucceSSS Succe outdoeSS outdoe controverSSieS controver
A new way for Karting began at the opening round of the SuperOne Rotax Series. Aimed at cracking down on the numerous crashes seen recently across the country, S1 organizer John Hoyle put through standing starts to replace the classic rolling starts, sparking off controversy until facts outdid opinions...
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RepoRt S.MuRtaS / photoS C.WalkeR
FOCUS STANDING STARTS AT S1 Held one week prior to the
on their decision in time for the
opening round of the Super One
finals as multiple kart crashes in
Rotax Series, the British O Plate
the heats took many of them out
Championship at Rowrah saw
of contention, proving seniors
numerous first corner pile-ups with
wrong. Though opinions may be
thousands of pounds of damage
contradicting, with a handful of
caused and lots of unhappy
crashes over almost 50 sessions
drivers. Therefore, with almost 150
(heats and finals at Rowrah and
entries in four categories (Junior
Buckmore), the purist privileging
Rotax, Cadet Honda, Mini Max and
rolling starts simply out of tradition
Senior Rotax) present at Rowrah
ought to face the reality: at the
for the S1, each class was given
present moment, standing starts
the option to vote on rolling or
provide for a safer, cheaper
standing starts.
and more successful racing
If the Cadet, Mini Max and Junior
weekend for all. And who knows,
Max drivers voted overwhelmingly
the Super One initiative might be
for standing starts - later enjoying
an inspiration to all clubs across
two days of accident-free racing
the country to adopt standing
- the Senior Max drivers retained
starts as a way to increase driving
the rolling starts, only to go back
standards.
Here’s some of the comments we recorded in the past few weeks... Bill Sisley, Buckmore Park Circuit owner “Being a bit of a purist myself, I have to say that rolling starts are inbred in the discipline. But having seen the exceptional result of standing starts here at Buckmore for the Super One Rotax Series, I have to admit that it makes it a lot fairer.”
Colin Wright, ABkC Chairman (from ABkC Facebook page) “I was at Buckmore for Super 1 Rotax Series, I watched the standing starts and was really impressed with the apparent lack of kart damage, good to see so many actually racing and not in first corner incidents. Out of all the races I saw there were two that were a little "boisterous" but looked more like not getting off the line that caused it... certainly Above, Bill Sisley with JAG representative George Robinson. Top, standing starts at Buckmore for the second round of the S1 Rotax Series.
less incidents than many events we have all been to? Have to say although the standing starts are not as "exciting" as rolling starts, I did enjoy watching them, they were exciting in a different way and it did play into a new strategy of getting to the front. The big gain from it all was that the drivers got through the first corner and were racing... losing 20% at first corner serves no good to anyone and deprives the spectators of seeing some top drivers racing.”
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SUPer ONe rOTa OT X cHaMPIONSHIP OTa
race
Rnd.1 RowRah, 26-27th apRil Rnd.2, BuckmoRe, 17-18th may
reIlly rUleS IN SeNIOr The Londoner of the Strawberry Racing Team takes three wins and a 2nd place in the two finals of each round to lead the championship standings by almost 30 points. With over 140 drivers signed on and an increasingly international look, the S1 is at the top of its game. Photos C.Walker
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SSM Super One Rotax Series Round 1 by h.beaudette
A new season, and a new era of Super One began at the historic Lakeland Stadium circuit with the decision to abandon the traditional rolling starts in favour of standing starts. With 52 Junior Rotax drivers and more than 30 entries in Cadet Honda, Mini Max and Formula Rotax, each class was given the option to vote on rolling or standing starts. Despite concerns from several teams and the engine
suppliers about the added stress on clutches the Cadet, Mini Max and Junior Max drivers voted overwhelmingly for standing starts and subsequently enjoyed two days of racing with no first corner accidents. The Senior Rotax drivers elected to retain the traditional rolling starts for Saturday heats but after a multiple kart crash at the start of heat one they opted to go for standing starts for the two finals on Sunday.
SeNIOr MaX - Joseph Reilly last embarked on a full Super
Senior Max protagonists. Right, Kyle Fowlie hold the winner’s flag sided by Josh Reilly and John Stewart (also above). Opposite page, Reilly (23) takes yet another win at Buckmore after the double at Rowrah.
One campaign in 2009 and, five years on, thanks to much persuasion from Strawberry Racing, Reilly was reunited with the top step of the podium in spectacular fashion. When Reilly last raced, and won, in Super One, Jack Bartholomew was barely old enough to get his race licence but it was the youngest member of the Formula Rotax fraternity that
took the chequered flag less than a kart length behind Reilly in a thrilling second final that almost certainly qualified as the best race of the weekend. Having won both his heats Reilly had already defeated Australian driver the other heat winner Pierce Lehane in the first final and with potential rivals John Stewart and Danny Cruttenden both starting at
“I didn’t have much pace at the start, but it came on well towards the end and I was quite lucky when Lehane and Bartholomew came together,” John Stewart – Senior Max Vroom UK
39
Super One MSa/TKM SerieS rd.2
race
RowRah 3-4th May
eaSThOpe in charge The former U18 World Champion
takes charge of the senior British Championship after a majestic performance at Rowrah. RepoRt H.Beaudette / pHotos C.WalkeR (kaRtpix.net)
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Vroom uk
Above, Mark Litchfield (1) in a class of his own in KGP. Below, Alex Forward (4) dominates Junior TKM, just like Henry Easthope in the British KZ1 Championship (opposite).
One week after the Rotax and Honda arm of the Super One Series made their annual visit to the picturesque Rowrah circuit in Cumbria, it was the turn of the MSA/TKM classes. Following the initial furore and eventual success of standing starts the previous week, the organisers elected to continue with the new procedure for the MSA Cadet and club Cadet support races as well as the MSA British Senior Championship for KZ1, a
decision that was met with favourable reviews from all the drivers involved. In addition to the challenges of the circuit itself the drivers also had to deal with the vagaries of the Cumbrian weather with Saturday’s dry and pleasant conditions replaced by persistent rain on Sunday. It was also pleasing to see the KZ1 grid growing, almost exactly one year on from its debut as the British Championship class and
championship leader Scott Allen, who arrived at Rowrah leading the points on his self built newly homologated Jade chassis, had some added international competition to contend with in the form of Italian driver Simone Brenna, one half of the TB Kart concern that was now providing chassis to no less than three drivers.
KZ1 One year on from his dominant KZ1 debut at Rowrah, Henry Easthope repeated that feat in fine fashion against an exceptionally strong field, taking pole position, winning both dry heats and both wet finals to put himself right in the thick of the title hunt. Shenington pacesetters Scott Allen and Richard Palmer both struggled to maintain their flashes of race winning pace and so it was left to last year’s TKM Extreme Champion Will van Es to lead the chase. Although Allen snatched second from van Es in heat two the Andy Fairless Motorsport driver was a cut
Vroom UK
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race
CIK-FIA EUROPEAN KF & KFJ CHAMPIONSHIPS LA CONCA (I) 11-12 MAy 2014 - ROUNd 1
BRITS on the go If everyone had expected to see the same protagonists of the past season ruling the weekend - Nicklas Nielsen, Felice Tiene, Karol Basz and current World Champion Tom Joyner in the lead – they would have been wrong: two Brits Callum Ilott (Zanardi/Parilla) and Lando Norris (FA Kart/Vortex) instead cannibalized the first round of the European Championship from qualifiers through to the final. Report S.Murtas / pictures D.Pastanella
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Apart from Ilot’s and Norris’ brilliant performance in KF – the latter coming slightly short of expectations for few errors due to lack of experience – and Enaam Ahmed and Devlin De Francesco in KFJ, at the first European meeting we witnessed few trends that certainly aren’t positive, such us a line up grid of 67 drivers in the Junior class (being the class that gives access to international racing, we did expect to see a bigger grid!), and lots of contacts and unfair driving that resulted in penalties. Concerning the latter, the recent communication from the World Motor Sport Council that allows the CIK to give heavier penalties, at this point
KF finaL Callum Ilott (106) leads the KF field with Lando Norris (120) trying not to get edged wide round the first corner, having a look at Kari (129) on the inside. Below, KFJ podium.
P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
N 106 129 120 104 115 121 103 127 102 119 124 168 113 109 122 123 116 133 105 167 112 137 160 164 157 117 132 146 101 156 107 128 143 165
Driver ilott, ott, Callum Kari, niko norris, rris, Lando tiene, ene, felice hiltbrand, ltbrand, Pedro Van Leeuwen, Martijn nielsen, elsen, nicklas aubry, ubry, gabriel Basz, Karol Joyner, tom Sitnikov, nikita Lundgaard, Daniel Dabski, Karol norris, rris, oliver Pulcini, Leonardo Daruvala, Jehan Rossel, Kevin Mazepin, nikita Stupenkov, egor gor hodgson, gson, oliver fong ng Wei Jie, Julien Skaras, emil heinonen, inonen, Johannes Zhou, guan Yu Kjaergaard, nicolai Darras, Julien Lorandi, alessio okada, takuya Moilanen, aatu Xia, Yifan Maestranzi, Marco Marcu, Dionisios Puhakka, Juuso Marino, Sato
Nat GBR FIN GBR ITA ESP NLD DNK FRA POL GBR RUS DNK POL GBR ITA GBR DNK RUS RUS GBR SGP SWE FIN GBR DNK FRA ITA JPN FIN CHN ITA ROU FIN JPN
EQuIPmENts Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop CRG / TM / Dunlop CRG / TM / Dunlop Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop Kosmic / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop Tony Kart / Parilla / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Praga / Parilla / Dunlop FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Energy / TM / Dunlop FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / TM / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Energy / TM / Dunlop Kosmic / TM / Dunlop Tony Kart / TM / Dunlop Tony Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Zanardi / Parilla / Dunlop FA Kart / Vortex / Dunlop Energy / TM / Dunlop Kosmic / Vortex / Dunlop Tony Kart / TM / Dunlop ART GP / TM / Dunlop ART GP / TM / Dunlop Tony Kart / TM / Dunlop Top Kart / TM / Dunlop CRG / TM / Dunlop Kosmic / Vortex / Dunlop Praga / Parilla / Dunlop
GaP 25 laps +2.230 +2.979 +5.995 +6.195 +7.035 +7.406 +7.629 +8.442 +9.894 +10.255 +10.673 +11.335 +11.527 +14.466 +16.728 +17.702 +17.866 +19.248 +19.482 +19.865 +31.942 +42.649 +3 Laps +4 Laps +8 Laps +9 Laps +22 Laps +23 Laps +23 Laps +25 Laps +25 Laps Excluded Excluded
KF ChaMPionShiP StanDing afteR La ConCa (ita) P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
is right and proper. And, if on the track we assisted to some surprises, one thing is sure: OTK continues to dominate in the Junior class.
KF Norris attacKs - ilott hits bacK A fantastic duel, Callum Ilott and fellow countryman Lando Norris fight hard till lap four, up to that moment they were both strong, with Norris getting prefinal pole, while Ilott was on final pole start. A fantastic duel, we’ll undoubtedly see similar action in future meetings with the veterans trying to slip in between them.
Protagonists
callum ilott Test of strength for the driver in force with Zanardi. He isn’t at all put off by Norris’ supremacy; despite having two wins and
N 106 120 129 115 104 103 102 121 127 119
Driver ilott, ott, Callum norris, rris, Lando Kari, niko hiltbrand, ltbrand, Pedro tiene, ene, felice nielsen, nicklas Basz, Karol Van Leeuwen, Martijn aubry, ubry, gabriel Joyner, tom
one 2nd place in heats to his credit, Ilott has to settle for the outside grid on front row prefinal. Not important, as his direct rival makes a mistake at the lights and gets taken by three rivals, as Ilott pulls away to lead and doesn’t look back, also stopping fastest lap. Things remain the same for the final, he resists his rival’s attacks during lap 4 and goes on to get a well-deserved win that puts him at the top of the overall scoreboard.
laNdo Norris He makes and unmakes; fastest in qualifiers, in three out of the four heats
Nat Ita QH Ita F GBR 9 25 GBR 10 16 FIN 0 20 ESP 8 11 ITA 5 13 DNK 7 9 POL 4 7 NLD 0 10 FRA 0 8 GBR 0 6
PoINts 34 26 20 19 18 16 11 10 8 6
(he wins them all too) and in the final; in prefinal he storms off from pole start but gets taken at the start and is 4th after the first corner, he makes up and grabs 2nd place. He is off to a brilliant final start, but on lap 4 he tries to take Ilott at the turn before the finishing line and drops
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s.o.s. kart INstrUCtIoNs F Hi lads! your “spiritual mecHanic consultant” takes a look at brakes and some idiocies seen around circuits Don’t forget that this column is especially for all those who have only recently stepped into our world of karting and therefore need to acquire simple but basic mechanical notions, which are fundamental for racing in a kart. Picture 1. An “old fashioned” braking system, as you can see the lock screws for pads are without a safety wire string: losing a brake pad could be quite harmful…
Picture 2. Here there is a wire safety loop: to make it you just need a few pieces of soft wire and put them through the holes on the screw heads.
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find the secret before these dare devils kill themselves crashing at the end of the next straight that they are racing along… Joking apart: why risk your life for a few pounds? Four appropriate pipes cost less than a ticket at the first aid dept in a hospital and a pair
Joking apart: why should you risk your life for a few POUNDS? I bet that most of you are waiting to hear some “pearl of wisdom” that will help him to improve his lap time…but no: let’s start with one or two hints that will allow you to go back to the news stand safely, next month to get a new issue of Vroom… you understand what I mean, so good luck! Here we take a look at brakes and all those idiocies seen on track during my, although brief, career as driver-mechanic. Let’s start with the most aberrant masochistic practice – a suicide that a “true” Sunday driver usually commits, a person who with just a few pounds, risking his own and the life of others, wants to “bring back to life” his braking system made with pvc pipes for compressed air and the relative rapid joint or normal connector… The reason for this practice is obscure to most but we hope to be able to
of crutches… and don’t tell me that you already have the crutches! Anyway, let’s go on with the technical explanations: first of all the pvc pipe for compressed air is originally made to be used only with compressed air and not for you to let brake oil pass through it, and with time this will change its physical characteristics and with time it will give in! Secondly: the pvc pipe is definitely more elastic than a specific pipe, which has a metal plait or a Kevlar one and this makes the brake pedal more “spongy” even if inside the circuit there’s no air bubble. Thirdly: the pvc pipe undoubtedly weighs less than the specific one but it’s certainly not the 40
grams less that make you slow down. So, considering that, all in all, a specific pipe costs less than possible medical expenses that you would have to fork out after a long straight, and that braking would certainly be more immediate and reliable, try to use a pvc pipe just for compressed air or, if you must, as a water hose for watering your plans on the balcony! Another practically suicidal thing, that has to do with the older and not “selfregistering” braking system, is the omission of a safety wire, (picture 1 and 2) which is made with a wire, between the screws that fix the pads to callipers: losing one of those screws could mean making the pad come out in part or entirely, with the usual outcome of the above mentioned traumas… The safety wire is to keep the screws in their housing preventing them from turning. These
FOR USE ... AND MUCH MORE!
by rev
Picture 5. Using some pliers to help you, remove the split pin and slip off the pin that locks the lever to the braking distribution frame. Then remove the screws that lock the master cylinder to the chassis without disconnecting the tubes.
Picture 3. It is a good habit to check if and how much the end o the screws protrude into the friction material: you have to bear this in mind to establish when they need changing so as to prevent them from ruining the disc. N.B. when you work with harmful substances like those present in the braking system it is always advisable to wear gloves: rather than rubber gloves, I personally prefer cotton ones with rubber on the palm: they are more comfortable if you have to wear them for a long time.
screws must never be screwed up too much and, before putting them in, check to see if and how much they penetrate into the friction material: this must be taken into account to establish when the pads require changing so that they don’t end up ruining the disc. (picture 3) Now let’s go on with a useful tip also for the more. Experienced drivers, those who burn up tens of litres of petrol per weekend and think that brake pads are the only things that wear out rapidly in a braking system Besides the “seals”, which evidently show when they have failed by allowing brake fluid to filter through there are two other very important components on the master cylinder and its pin. (picture 4) If the ovalness of the lever bore is no cause
for great worry, the same can’t be said for the pin. Wear makes the bearing surface smaller, sometimes considerably smaller. This reduction may cause breakage and so the “tip” is guaranteed, both whether if you have just one pump (100 TAG or KF) and if you have two (KZ). To prevent, or at least reduce wear of these components all you need is a bit of chain grease (molybdenum bisulphide grease would be ideal, but chain grease does the same job), and put some on every now and then after having lifted the pump protection casing. Don’t overdo with the spray and always wipe off the excess lubricant. To check the state of pin and lever wear either remove the lock (which could be a grub screw, a circlip for a split pin
Picture 6. Remove the pin lock, which in this case is a split pin but it could be an elastic ring or a grub screws.
depending on the type of master cylinder) slip off the pin (picture 5 to 11) or simpler still, check if the lever has free play while you hold the push rod pressed against the pumping element (picture 12); if the lever doesn’t have too much free play, hence wear, then you can clean and lubricate (lever bore, pin and push rod) and then reassemble, otherwise change them always for the original parts. Avoid using second hand parts coming from other brands: it might have a different lever ratio changing the stress at pedal and braking modulation. If the pin is held in its
Picture 7. Keeping the push rod pressed against the pumping element press the pin out of its seat.
Picture 4. Here are the “desired objects”: here wear is minimum, all you have to do is clean them with a brake cleaner, either petrol or the usual multi-use spray and then lubricate them before re-assembling. The lubricant is applied on the pin, bore and the spherical end of the push rod: don’t use too much grease and don’t forget to remove any excess grease.
seat with a split pin, have the common sense of changing it for a new one (if you buy one at an ironmonger’s it costs 2 cents..). What I have described so Vroom UK
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Donington Historic Motorsport Festival 2014
Report B.Malin / Pics C.Norwood
Karting History
Historic karting
continues to be one of the growth areas in motorsport and in glorious sunshine over the three
lives on at Donington
days of the prestigious Donington Historic Festival (May 3-5th) it was not difficult to see why.
he British Historic Kart Club’s relaxed attitude towards the public with a static display and sixtyfive karts put through their paces around the GP loop created a great atmosphere for an enthusiastic public. The long upward pull toward the main circuit with several karts across the track made an impressive spectacle with the 200/250cc gearbox karts providing a throaty roar as they moved up through the gears. Dating from 1960 until 1982 and powered by 100cc to 250cc engines, there was plenty of variety amongst the sixty five karts with three members of
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the invited Dutch historic kart club bringing along one of the more unusual, a Fortura/McCulloch. Ayrton Senna’s 1979 DAP kart was of course one of the stars of the BHKC’s display with some lucky people obtaining a photograph for their album. Senna’s kart now joins a kart raced by Roger Williamson, on public display in the Donington museum. Another interesting and rare kart on show was a Dale Sabre. A unique design for its time that found little favour with most karters, but one notable exception was Nigel Mansell. Tony Brinkworth had a recently restored 1963
Historic Kart Event Diary 2014
Above, one the legendary DAP karts of the Ayrton Senna era on display at Donington. Top right, the original 1979 DAP raced by Senna himself at the World Championships in Estoril. Top, the British Historic Kart Club team at the classic Coppa dei Campioni held in Jesolo, Italy.
Fastakart 77/JLO out for the first time and with Whizzo Williams and his father manufacturing Fastakarts, one that Whizzo was very interested in during one of his many visits. Another owner/ builder was Garry Bracegirdle. He and his father built JEB’s during the 1970s and Garry had two 1973 karts on show, a stunning 100cc example on static display and another on track. However it was all about track time, and this year with the British Historic
DATE
EVENT
LOCATION
June 7th June 8th June 13th - 15th July 19th July 20th July 25th - 27th July 26th - 27th August 9th - 10th August 9th - 10th August 9th August 10th September 6th - 7th September 13th September 14th September 27th October 4th October 5th October 18th - 19th October 25th October 26th November 29th - 30th
BHKC track day/RR practise RR Race day round 3 Display & Demo BHKC track day/RR practise RR Race day round 4 Display & Demo BHKC Display and RR Demo Display & Demo Display & Demo BHKC track day/RR practise RR Race day Global Cup Display & Demo BHKC track day/RR practise RR Race day round 5 Display & Demo BHKC track day/RR practise RR Race day Global Cup 2 Display & Demo BHKC track day/RR practise RR Race day round 6 Show
Llandow Llandow Shenington Revival Rowrah Rowrah Silverstone Classic Aberdare Motor Cycle Races Castle Hill Car Show Kimbolton TKM Festival Whilton Mill (provisional) Whilton Mill (provisional) Rissington Midland Champ. Fulbeck Fulbeck Blackbushe Spa, Belgium (provisional) Spa, Belgium (provisional) Buckmore Park (provisional) Tattershall Tattershall Kartmania (TBA)
Kart Club sharing the GP Loop with the Historic Rally Register and the Group B Rally cars, the public had constant track action for all three days of the festival. The Donington Historic Festival was just one of many interesting events on the BHKC’s calendar. Over May 16-18th the BHKC attended the Coppa dei Campioni in Jesolo (Venice) Italy, where more than 120 enthusiasts from 6 different countries displayed their historic equipment - the oldest being from 1959 – and took it to the track for an exciting demonstration.
BHKC next UK meeting open to the public is the Shenington Revival, 13-15th June, near Banbury. Details can be found on the official website www. britishhistorickartclub.com
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