Newbie HELP Please
Hi I am interested in karting, At the moment I race motocross and am pretty okay. I have to make a decision this week to move up to 125. however as the cost of a new 125 is about 4K. and I have always really been interested in Karting I would realy like to try a kart, I have tried the onda powered ones but to be honest found them a bit boring. However i am told that as i am 16 this year i could get into something with a bit more go. Dad has said I need to make my mind up and whatever i can sort out i need to do it. So please if anyone can help I would really like to try karting to see if it is for me. I would not mind paying somebody to meet me at Llandow. this weekend or sonner would be great. Many thanks for any replies. Luke.

Luke, you say you're currently racing motocross and you're doing OK. Getting into another motor sport, no matter how cheap and entry level were it, will cost you more than getting on with the one you're in at the moment... Ultimately you're the only one that knows whether your heart is on two or four wheels. Starting karting, or car racing at competitive level does involve a steep learning curve, quite a lot of expense and most importantly a sizeable delay until you can restart competing. Having said all that, there's nothing all of us involved in Karting love more than hearing someone is willing to join our ranks. Have you been at a kart meeting? You mention the Honda powered karts aren't to your liking, you're of course referring to the hire karts I'm certain. And you are right, they are no where near as fast as the racing karts, but don't discount the Honda Prokarts, they can provide a lot of close racing and given that you're here because of limited budget you'll do well to look at the class closely! My personal advice is to attend a race weekend, see what is available, talk to as many people as possible and canvass as many opinions as you can, try to blag a drive if you can and take it from there. As you guessed from my reply, it isn't a quick off the peg process so you might be better off carying on this season in motocross if you want to continue racing, whilst at the same time starting to make inroads into karting. That's what I would advise anyone to do! Pay a visit to the track and ask for Ken, he runs a race team, mostly in TKM 4T and might be able to provide you with a competitive ride for you to try out. And if he doesn't have one for sale I'm sure he'll point you in the right direction! If not drop us a line and we'll expand further. Dan

As always, Dan is right. Come to Llandow, look and ask. There are plenty of people who will give you good advice. There are usually several second hand karts from different classes available. There is also a great little booklet, produced by the Club, for anyone who wants to know about starting karting. Describes the classes, requirements, costings etc. Well worth £2.50. Or, you can always ask Dan. Next meeting is March 16th, hope to see you.

Thanks for the replies, But have just organised a go in a Senior Max on Tuesday. Although I would not be able to race a senior max this year, It would give me a good idea and would be the kart i race next year if I decided I liked the sport. Luke

Well done to you! Jumping from hire karts to Snr Max! It will be disappointing when you get back to restricted engines but if you're not going to race this year (very wise) might as well carry-on driving one for the rest of the season. Be careful though, the Max is one of the fastest single geared karts out there and I'd hate to hear you've destroyed the guys loaner! Be careful on the first two sessions, might even be advisable to use a blanking plate or to jam the powervalve open until you get to grips with the engine's power and the grip in the tyres. Just be careful and have fun. Oh, and get someone to stand ready with a camera for when you come in first time! The grin is memorable! :lol: :lol: :lol: Dan

I'll try not to write this guy's kart off, although it is supposed to rain on Tuesday which should add to the fun (lol) :D I'll let you know how I get on. Luke

gd luck luke, just like K1 dan sed, jumpin from A&D karts to snr max is very far!! i went from A&D karts to mini max and i almosted fainted! i couldnt believe how much different it wuz! LOL!

Hi Just thanks for the help everone. I have since passed my ARKS and will be racing junior max, until i get my signitures then i will go to senior max, I am quite looking forward to it. I have only tried a senoir max cart, however i have bought a junior but had to put a restrictor in to run minimax this weekend at Llandow as there arent any juniors to race against.