A questions only easy if you know the answer...and i dont
I was wondering if anyone would be able to offer some advice, i am looking to see if i could start racing a Llandow next year. However i am uncertain if i would be able to afford it. We have a Senior Max, Tony krypton chassie from last year and have the kit to go racing. Could anyone give me a rough price guide on the cost of racing? (apart from your sanity):wink: I know there are things like club membership and race entry fees , Arks test (how much are they?) I guess there are general wear and tear component costs such as, tyres, chains, sprockets, etc I am aware that there are people that are able to spend a lot of money to go racing and will have new kit to go racing, but i have been told you dont need new kit? Can you race on second hand tyres? so if anyone could advise me on the prices of the two sort of catagories: 1. The Expensive guide 2. The Might just be able to go racing guide. Im sure that if a karter is provided with all new kit then that is an advantage, but driver skill and kart set up are surely just as important..... I am ''hopefully'' going to get the kart set up to the correct weight (162kg)this holiday, and wanted to know what sort of times i should be looking at trying to achive? Sort of back to middle pack? (Im going to be using second hand tyres does that make too much of a difference?) If you have any tips or advice on doing this they would be greatfuly recived :) I think i need to add roughly 3 stone to the kart (or a small child) do i use fuel as a weight? Many Thanks Emma :roll:

Hi Emma - there are others on this forum who can answer the Rotax specific questions better than me but in the next couple of weeks Llandow will be publishing a 'New Karters Handbook' which is available at the track. Why dont you come down on the 18/19 August and have a look at the Welsh Champs and pick up a copy then? As for ARKS stuff - I think the ARKS Pack is 40 quid, the test is about 75 quid - to send off for your licence with the MSA is 24 quid. Llandow Clu membership is 40 quid (which you pay once per year) and then the monthly entry fee is 40 quid. As for tyres - for the first couple of meetings when you are on novice plates i'm pretty sure you can get away with using 2nd hand tyres although there are others on here that can give you more accurate advice as they race Rotax Laurie? DanK1?

Thanks for that Henry, I think I will come down to have a look and see how the circuit is driven properly rather than when i drive it :D

Emma, I race a Senior Max although this year I've only done 2 races at Llandow due to lack of funds and decision to visit other tracks as well. Last season I raced every month and after totting up I calculated that it cost me around £250/race-weekend. That includes entry fees, tyres, petrol, Nigel's burgers etc. These costs don't include the outfit, like yourself I already had that from the previous year, but does include the odd sidepod/bar, nosecone, rear and stub axles that I had to change as a result of race incidents. As a novice you'll get away with less than that, maybe £200/weekend as you're starting from the back and less likely to get tangled into 1st corner incidents (notorious in Senior Max). :evil: Happily though at Llandow ownership of Blue plates doesn't automatically mean attrition! Unfortunately the grids at Llandow are smaller than elsewhere so less chance of idiots with big pockets putting desperate diving moves and ruining other people's weekend. :evil: If you ever get the chance go and watch a race at Clay Pigeon and count the amount of chassis' that are being carted off in a wheelbarrow! :evil: The costs have gone up slightly this year so you'll probably need in the region of £300/weekend. Here's the cost breakdown: Club membership: £45 Race Entry fee: £40 Saturday Testing: £45 Petrol for racing: £20-30 Including testing Slick Tyres: £103-108 Wet Tyres: £125 Add food, petrol to and from track, consumables and race damage. You can reduce some of the costs by getting discount cards etc. but in the ballpark that's the reality. Tyres as you've noticed are the biggest share of the cost in Max. As Henry said as a novice you'll get away with 2nd hand tyres but the less running the better, preferably only used for the Sunday racing, any more than that and you'll be really struggling to get a setup. Llandow track does eat SL6's! :x As you might be aware the SL6's have a soft compound which means they wear faster. Most people buy a new set for Sunday which they'll use for testing the following month. :D Once you start getting closer to the times you'll want to get into that routine, until then you should be OK with what you can afford. As a rule of thumb in the right hands the difference between worn and new tyres can be as high as 1/2 to 2/3 second/lap. Even a novice will notice the difference to the tune of 1/2 to 1 second. As for times, in good conditions, with a strong young engine, the correct gearing (12/83-84) and correct jetting you should aim for mid to low 44sec. As you learn the track you should aim to drop below 44sec. I believe the track record is somewhere near 43.29sec, Henry can correct me there. But, and it is a BIG BUT, don't be put off by any negatives in the above! Racing is fun, :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: much more fun than only going around testing. My advice is: GO RACING! You won't regret it, EVER! If you find yourself stuck for cash one month you can always offer to Marshall that race and still stay on the track! Llandow (and everywhere else) will love you for that and you get the chance to stay close to the action. You miss one race, earn some browney points and come back the next month!

Thanks for that Dan, there's some really useful info in there. I went to LLandow Wednesday just gone, with a bit more lead added to the kart (takes the total to 12kg, i still need to add some more tho) and was lapping 47.06 :oops: , i was usings some SL7's, and was using the gearing 12/84. We were previously running on 12/86. I found that running the 84 felt jerky going up to where the power valve would kick in, is this normal? I also thought it seemed slower to accelerate? im not sure if i liked the gearing, do we all have to use this gearing? and if i say used the 86 insted of the 84 would i fall behind too much? what are the size of the grids in the class that i would enter? Do you think that 47 second laps are too slow to race? how much time gets draged out of you by following those that know what they are doing? Im planning on coming up to Llandow on the weekend of the 18th/19th to see if what im doing on track is anything like like the right stuff. Its just out of the family im the quickest, so were as they get the benifit of following me round i in turn have no one to chase, and have nothing to compare it to. Do you have any advice?

I guess the "jerking" you're mentioning is what we call skipping or jumping and it happens on tight corners with lots of grip. As the above mentions if that is the case you need to lose some grip at the back. And given that you're doing 47's and you're now using the 84 sprocket at the back it sounds like you're getting proper heat in them tyres and that might just be the case. I won't go into how you lose grip as there are lots of ways to do that and they all take in context the whole of the setup. At Llandow, in the dry, you need to "loosen" the chassis completely. I mean all torsion bars off, 3rd bearing off etc. On a good warm/hot day with reasonable tyres you should run between 9-11psi. 47" is not a bad starting point and would certainly get you past the ARKS. As a point of reference try putting the 86 back on and check your times again! You'll find that 47 moving towards 48 if not higher! You'll be very quick coming out of "Raymonds" and "The Hook" but you'll be losing time on that long "Hangar" and "Lancaster" straights. The key is in testing really, at Motors TV event this spring in the first Senior Rotax race the first two places were won with very lose Wildkart chassis running 12/82!!! I've tried 82 and I have the same chassis but I find I'm quicker with 83 so as you can see the proof of the pudding is in the testing! You should also make your kart up to weight before you start timing yourself properly and comparing with race pace. 5kgs weight difference can mean a lot in track time! Don't forget you can use the fuel as ballast as well if you run out of room to plant lead! Try 83 as well once you're up to weight! Best place to "hide" the biggest (max 5kg) lump of lead is underneath the seat between your legs, in between the forward mounting holes of your seat. Another good tip is to use lead flashings from builders suppliers, it can be folded and moulded very easily into manageable chunks! And you can easily bolt that on the floor tray! Have fun! Dan