British Superkart Association Interview

Another couple of videos from Autosport International 2014, this time Rosemary meets the British Superkart Association to find out more about this incredibly fast form of motor racing...



Then we meet Ben Davis and Peter Bennett who have moved on from racing SuperKarts to take on the Clio Cup

Daytona DMAX launches 2013 season

Daytona's DMAX championship is a great way to get into motorsport without the hassle of owning your own kart

The UK's most competitive hire kart series, the Vodafone DMAX Championship, is all set to burst onto the Tarmac for its fourth thrilling season.

 

After 2012’s sensational total of 1225 entrants, 60,000 racing miles, 10 rounds at 8 different circuits and six worthy champions, the 2013 series is gearing up to be the biggest and best yet.

 

Since it first stormed onto the grid in 2009, the Daytona Vodafone DMAX Championship has seen an unprecedented increase in competitor numbers year-on-year.  In 2010 an average of 55 drivers raced at each of the ten rounds – in 2011 that number increased to an average of 80 drivers per race and in 2012 a staggering 124 drivers on average entered each round – an amazing increase of over 100 percent in just two years.

 

So what is the secret behind the series’ meteoric success? 

 

Devised by the Daytona Motorsport Group in 2009, the Vodafone DMAX Championship was designed to offer a unique opportunity for serious drivers to compete in a professionally run series at a fraction of the expense of running their own race karts.

 

Daytona Motorsport owns and manages the superb fleet of state-of-the art DMAX karts and thus can guarantee a level, yet highly competitive, playing field at affordable prices.  Despite the reasonable cost, absolutely no compromise is made on performance; the karts are designed by World Championship winning manufacturer Birel and powered by legendary Rotax 2-stroke engines. With exceptional handling and agility, plus top speeds of up to 80mph, the DMAXs are unquestionably the fastest hire karts available in the UK today.

 

Jim Graham, DMAX Series Director is understandably thrilled with the success of the Championship. “Just look at the statistics. We had 1225 drivers compete in the 2012 Vodafone DMAX Championship in ten epic rounds at eight different venues,” he enthused. “This Championship offers the chance for serious kart enthusiasts – looking for the best in racing technology at the most affordable price – to enter a series without any of the hassle or expense of owning and transporting equipment. We have listened to the drivers and are committed to providing the very best run and most evenly matched Arrive&Drive championship in the UK… and by all accounts we have achieved this.”

 

Those wanting to ensure 2013 is a year to remember by being part of the Daytona DMAX success story are strongly advised to register soon,as places on the grid are filling up fast. Registrations can either be made via contacting Daytona Motorsport on 0845 844 5504 or by emailling: mark.wimblett@daytona.co.uk

 

Vodafone DMAX Championship Calendar - 2013

Round	Date	Venue	Circuit
1	17 February	Daytona Milton Keynes	International
2	17 March	Daytona Sandown Park	Grand Prix
3	21 April	PF International	Extended Circuit
4	19 May	Rye House	Full Circuit
5	16 June	Lydd	Full Circuit
6	21 July	Bayrord Meadows*	Full Circuit
7	18 August	Whilton Mill	Full Circuit
8	15 September	Red Lodge*	Extended
9	20 October	Daytona Milton Keynes	Cliff
10	17 November	Daytona Sandown Park	Alternate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(*new venues on the calendar for this year)

Autosport International 2013 : Johnny Herbert Celebrity Karting Challenge

Join Kart Force as they take on celebrity drivers with the help of former Stig Ben Collins in a 3 hour endurance race at Autosport International. Featuring interviews with Johnny Herbert, Ben Collins and former Premiership Footballer, Robbie Savage.

More Johnny Herbert coming soon.

Kartforce

1st KARTFORCE CHALLENGE CUP
SAT 20th OCT - LLANDOW

This weekend was a major milestone for KartForce.

The RAFMSA, together with the support of Silver Fox Karting and South Wales Karting Centre at Llandow organised this event to raise funds for us, the RAFBF and ABF. As it was such a huge success, this will become an annual event that will be the final race of the annual Inter Services Karting Championships.

It was an excellent day – fantastic sunshine and nose-to-nose racing. We entered 2 teams and even after several enforced stops due to mechanical problems, the lads came 12th and 18th.

However, this was only part of what made this weekend so special. Ken Denscombe and Colin Lipscomb, owners of SilverFoxKarting had a surprise for us. We’ve raced against SilverFoxKarting a few times this year and they were so impressed by the lads determination and performance on the track that they decided to build us a brand new racing kart. This was supported by funds donated by Blewin Dolphin, who also entered a team and raced against us.

Many other companies contributed towards this kart so we have a long list of people to thank. Please see all the contributors on the image below.

This weekend was one we will remember for a long time. It means so much to get all this support and encouragement from so many people. The truth is, the lads don’t truly appreciate how much they’ve achieved in such a short amount of time, with very limited equipment and funding. So when we’re bombarded with all this sort of support it’s hard for to sink in that’s this is everyone’s way of showing their admiration and respect.

It’s moments like this that make us overflow with pride to be British. From all of us at KartForce, “Thank you!”

Kart Force: Alive to Drive race results

Even though weather reports stated heavy rain all day, all teams arrived on time, signed in, donned their race suits and the banter began.

Bang on time, with the efficiency that Daytona are known for, the race safety briefing started. As soon as it was over, drivers made their way outside to start the 30 mins practice and qualifying session. The track was dry and there was no rain, and the race started, again bang on time.

Up until the last drivers went out for their turn to put in a qualifying lap, “Team KartForce” was in Pole Position, but Pole went to “Wayne’s Team”, a team we created from individual drivers wanting to enter the race but didn’t have a team, led by Wayne Lidgbird. Had we known these guys were so good, we would’ve spread them out amongst the other teams - but our lads never shy away from a challenge!

“Team KartForce” started in 5th and after a terrible start we were down to 7th after the first lap. We remained in 7th until our second driver took over and consistently put in fast lap after fast lap, clocking our fastest lap of the race during his stint. He had the most fun as it was dry throughout his stint but he methodically made his way up the grid and got us back up to 5th place.

Then the Heavens opened and the rain came down, sometimes torrentially. The track was slippery and karts were spinning out, and lap times dropped for everyone. The more experienced drivers, like ex-European Champion Simon Nicholson from “Team Blue Lizard” who’s part of the Dino Kart Record (hyperlink to www.dinokartrecord.com) team aiming to break the existing 24 hr world record, shared their experience and knowledge with our lads and gave them plenty of useful tips.

Even though it got wetter and colder throughout the race, the atmosphere never changed. There was a fantastic yet healthy competitive spirit, but also an air of fun and camaraderie. As driver fought the elements and other drivers, the crowd cheered at every incident.

Our last driver was sent out for the final 30 min stint of the race and we were still 5th with a large gap to 4th place. However, as one of our most steady and consistent drivers, his lap times almost the same throughout his drive, he closed the gap and took 4th place. He continued closing the gap on 3rd place, but unfortunately wasn’t able to make it on to the podium.

For 2 of our lads, this was their first outdoor endurance race. For the other 3, this was their 2nd outdoor endurance race. Their excellent performance is testament to the fighting spirit of these lads, who even though they lack experience, their pure drive and determination pushes them to achieve these very impressive results – against seasoned kart racers. Once again, the lads have shown that you don’t need all your limbs to race on a level playing field with non-injured drivers – you just need British Bulldog Balls, and they have these in wheelbarrow-loads!

The lads want to send a special thanks to Josh Hill and Johnny Mowlem. Josh and Johnny have given their time to coach the lads and help them improve their driving skills. There’s no way the lads could’ve achieved the impression results in our last 2 races without the expert tuition that both Josh and Johnny have provided.

Our thanks also go to Charles & Jim Graham and their fantastic team at Daytona Sandown Park. Their support and enthusiasm ensured this event was such a great success.

 Our next race is going to be a very interesting one. The lads are stepping up a class and, for the first time, will be racing in a competition ProKart. On Sat 30th June we take on 34 teams from across the Army, Navy and RAF in the Tri-Services Karting Championships. This will be the first time a team of injured troops will have entered this event and we aim to impress our fellow service personnel. We’ll be practicing in the new kart throughout June so watch this space for news of our next race result.

The team are training for a world record attempt for the most ground covered in 24 hours using hand controls on their karts. Here's a short clip from on board the kart as the team practises.

Caterham appoints Karting series director

Laura Tillett

Caterham Motorsport has appointed 20-year old karting ace, Laura Tillett, to assist with development of the new karting championship it will launch in 2013.

Tillett, 20, was the first British female to compete in the ‘KF1’ World Championship, the karting equivalent of Formula One, following considerable success on the British scene.

The Tillett family is very well-known in the global karting world, as Tillett Racing Seats are the world’s leading supplier of race seats, rib protection and karting accessories.

Aspiring racer Laura joined Caterham last week and will spearhead the Caterham kart series project, announced at last month’s AutoSport International show in Birmingham.

Caterham Motorsport Manager, Simon Lambert, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Laura on board. Kart racing is clearly in her family’s blood and her expert knowledge of the karting world will be invaluable in helping us set up what will be a uniquely accessible championship.

“Laura will be working on every aspect of our planned karting series, from race formats to technical specifications and from race venues to organisational know-how.”

Kent-based Laura will initially be based at Caterham’s Dartford factory base.

Caterham unveiled its ambitions to run a karting championship at AutoSport International. With the recent launch of the Caterham F1 team and Caterham Motorsport’s existing 25 years of experience running low-cost, high-value one-make racing series, it now has the ‘ladder’ to potentially take young racing drivers from entry-level motorsport to the pinnacle of Formula 1.

Lambert added: “We want to make motor racing as accessible as possible to parents and youngsters to whom going racing might not have been feasible before.” 

Overdrive caught up and spoke to Andy Noble, Sales director of Caterham Cars at this year's Autosport show to talk about the Karting series, and also the company's plans for 2012 and beyond.

A Message from Kart Force

KartForce is an organisation set up to provide karting for injured troops.  We have designed our own hand controls that allow karts to be driven with 1 or 2 hands, on a totally level playing field.  This allow troops with injuries as severe as triple amputations to compete on a totally level playing field with non-injured drivers.

We set up regular karting sessions to introduce karting to injured troops and have now created a team to enter events all over the country and about to enter races for the first time.  Teamworks Karting have been great supporters and have very generously organised the fundraising races at their tracks. 

We invite everyone to come along and create a team of 5 drivers and race against the injured troops of Team KartForce.  If you can’t make up a full team of 5 drivers just let us know – you can join other teams.

Reading               Tue 24th Jan

The Message is clear!

Letchworth           Thu 26th Jan

Peterborough     Wed 1^st Feb

Birmingham        Tue 7th Feb

Arrive                   18.30hrs

Race Briefing       19.00hrs

Race Length         2 hrs

Teams                  8 teams—max 5 drivers/team

Entry Fee             £55.00/driver

Website               www.KartForce.org

Spectators also very welcome.  There’s a café/bar for refreshments and we’ll be selling KartForce t-shirts and other items – stickers, patches, etc.

Funds from these events will allow us to buy our first 2 competition karts so we can then step up and enter more competitive karting, as a team and as individual racers.  We’re getting a growing level of support from British racing drivers, which has been very welcome.  Aaron Scott and GT3 Racing contacted us to offer £1/lap in their endurance races.  Lee Mowle and his team, who won their class in Duabi 24 did the same and have generated further support for other teams.  These funds allow us to get more injured troops karting and show them they can compete on equal terms in mainstream karting events.

We’re also exploring some world record attempts for later in the year.

If you need more information please check out our website – www.KartForce.org – or email Dave on dave@kartforce.org. 

Caterham's Grass Roots Motorsport Programme revealled.

Caterham are certainly becoming much more surprising lately. Last year they surprised everyone by bringing out a car that is a world apart from their famous seven, this year they tantalised visitors to the Autosport show with a new grassroots motorsport programme. I thought that this would involve the Seven again... but as it turns out, the famous car maker is turning it's attentions to Karts...

Caterham Cars today reveals plans to add to its well-established motorsport operation, with new ambitions in the karting category.

Thanks to the new Caterham F1 Team and Caterham Racing GP2 squad, the famous British sportscar maker has already made radical extensions to its successful Seven racing formulae.

Now, the introduction of a Caterham Motorsport-run karting championship in 2013, with Caterham’s own designed and developed kart, will provide young drivers with the opportunity to take their first steps in a career in which it will be possible to progress from grassroots racing to the pinnacle of global motorsport.

The organisation of Caterham karting will benefit from the firm’s 26 years of experience in running low-cost, high-value one-make race championships.

Caterham Motorsport Manager, Simon Lambert, said: “We’ve built a strong reputation for providing terrific value for money in motorsport through great cars and a playing field so even you could put a spirit level on it.

“Now we’d like to use this wealth of knowledge and expertise in karting by establishing a cost-effective series that will combine fun, technology and great competition elements that we think are beginning to be overlooked in kart racing.

“With progression possible through the Caterham ‘ladder’ right through to F1, Caterham karting will appeal to those looking to make a career in motorsport but, more importantly, our aim is to target the mass-market of parents and youngsters who would like to race in a competitive and yet affordable karting series which, until now, might have been an unachievable dream. Caterham is determined to make motorsport accessible to everyone.”

Caterham Motorsport established its first one-make championship for the legendary Seven in 1986 and now its UK operation alone features five fully-subscribed series, including the renowned Academy, which is unique in having created almost 1,000 brand new racing drivers since its inception in 1995.

Last year, the Company also unveiled its first sports prototype racer, the SP/300.R, designed to provide an extension for members of the Seven racing fraternity who wish to progress into higher-level sportscar competition. The SP/300.R will star in its own one-make championship starting next season.

More details about the kart series will be revealed in due course throughout 2012. 

First ever Historic Kart World Championships to be held at Donington Park.

We haven't featured kart racing on Overdrive - maybe it's time we did? - Much less historic kart racing. Which is an area of historic racing fast gathering pace. It seems strange at first to think of historic karts, but that's to dismiss karting as a whole as a sport just for kids learning racing with little importance beyond that, the fact is that Karting is an important motorsport, and fully deserves to have it's past and historic vehicles represented.

They may look a little odd, but the racing is no less competitive.

The 2012 Donington Historic Festival has been chosen as the venue for the first-ever Historic Kart World Championships, giving classic motorsport fans even more to enjoy on May 5^th and 6th as some 150 historic karts, including machines originally campaigned by Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna, join the action on a specially laid-out circuit using the Donington GP Loop.

The inaugural Donington Historic Festival, in 2011 – a major landmark in the resurgence of this hugely-popular East Midlands circuit – was characterised by truly spectacular racing action featuring over 300 historic race cars and drivers from around the world. The addition of the karts, and around 200 kart drivers from the USA, Australia, New Zealand and all over Europe, to the Festival’s thrilling mix of sportscars, single-seaters, classic saloons and mighty Group C cars should ensure that the 2012 event raises the bar even higher.

Festival organiser, Duncan Wiltshire, said, “We are delighted that the British Historic Kart Club has selected the Donington Historic Festival as the stage for the inaugural Historic Kart World Championships. One of our key aims has always been that the Festival offers a wealth of racing excitement and entertainment for spectators, and the karts will really add to that, bringing former World and British Champions, and some very special machines.”

Tickets on sale in plenty of time for Christmas

Tickets for the 2012 Donington Historic Festival – which would make great Christmas gifts – go on sale on November 4^th. Advance ticket prices have been held at the family-friendly levels set in 2011, at £18 for an advance one-day ticket and £30 for an advance weekend ticket. On-the-gate prices will be £25 per day and £40 weekend. Children aged 16 and under are admitted for free. From November 4^th, tickets can be bought via www.doningtonhistoric.com and through the 24-hour ticket hotline 0844 873 7355.

Small karts, big excitement

Among the stars already entered for this world-first is British Historic Kart Club Patron, the veteran racing driver Barrie ‘Whizzo’ Williams, who will race one of his father’s creations, a 1959 Fastakart/Villiers. Karting legends scheduled to appear include the 1967 World Karting Champion Edgardo Rossi (Switzerland) and 1978 World Champion Lake Speed (USA), plus former British champions Reg Gange Jnr, Bill Longden and Bob Phair.

Going kart racing in an open face helmet is NOT reccomended!

There will also be a strong contingent of lady competitors, including the current European Champion, 100cc vintage, Tania le Couilliard, British Champion 250cc classic, Claire Atkinson and the Dutch racer Miranda van Middendorp.

Significant karts taking part include the 1959 Progress in which Graham Hill won the first-ever kart race held in the UK. This will compete alongside the famous front-engined Del-kart/Suzuki that was part of the Donington Collection for thirty years; both karts racing for the first time in several decades. Ayrton Senna’s World Championship DAP kart – last raced in 1979 by the great man himself – will compete for Classic Class 1 honours, while former champion Peter Burgess will pilot the Martin Hines-built Burgess Special Zip/ Bultaco.

There will also be demonstration laps by some rare machines, including the very first kart ever made by Art Ingels and the Biagi 701/Bultaco, the creation of 1961 Scottish champion Paul Biagi.

For further information and Festival tickets please visit www.doningtonhistoric.com.