USA multi-engine TaG style class ‘a goal’ for 2008 in the UK?
By Karting1 ~ February 3rd, 2007. Filed under: Kart Racing News.
Ever since 2005 we have predicted that a muilti-engine TaG class would have to be introduced to the UK market. With single make TaG classes now filling the UK market – EasyKart, Biland, Rotax etc… – there is a worry that karting is fragmenting too much.
Graham Smith, secretary of the ABkC has suggested on the UK Karting Notice Board that ‘it is a goal’ to have a TaG class for 2008 to incorporate all the current generation TaG engines.
A TaG style class has existed in the UK for years called Clubman, but only until now has a TaG class been seriously thought about as a solution to the growing number of classes. Let us know your thoughts.
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February 3rd, 2007 at 3:44 pm
We should just have KF4, a class with engines all made to a different spec will never work on a large scale
February 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm
At a national level competition TaG wouldn\’t work because people will get overly competitive and ruin the point of it. But I thinks its great as a club level solution
If you are a club getting maybe 10-12 MAX\’s then having the support to implement a TaG class which would then introduce the possibilities of several other engines into the equation would surely be a good thing.
If you look at EasyKart. There are 40+ drivers in that doing a national series. They have chosen not to do Rotax and the club route. If clubs continue to have to pursue only Rotax then and single make classes they will suffer because they will not get the large grids. In a poll on the Karting1 forum several EZ kart, and rotax drivers showed interest in the TaG format. People are choosing not to do Rotax, just look at EasyKart. It\’s non longer the safe bet people thought it was. It is a very dangerous game for the ABkC to totally ignore EasyKart and other series….why have 5 grids of 5 kart when you can have a 1 grid of 25.
TaG could easily be a stepping stone into KF4. But KF4 on its own would be the nail in the coffin. I do not know anyone willing to shell out up to £2100 (at least) on a KF4b engine. I like the idea of KF4 and how it brings a single spec multi engine class into club racing….but its just not viable…
February 5th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Alan is right. At the national level TAG is too competitive. It will be ruined. Furthermore, no one has a good formula to level the playing field due to variation in performance. If you look at the Spec class (TAG) in America, anyone that wants to win uses a Parilla Leopard.
At the club level it’s good but still not great. The single make is the way to go. Unfortunately, you can’t allow too many different series to exist because you do water down the fields. Rotax must be there. ROK is a good bet too. They allow for all the kart shops to be involved because they are multi chassis formulas. Easy kart is great but one importer dominates in sales. If you have a non Birel shop, why would you push the series?
February 5th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
My problem with single make classes is that the 1. strangle the market 2. Over promise, and under deliver.
You only have to come to the UK to see the absolute joke the single make classes have become. We have special Rotax engines that go for thousands, and TKM is no better. Both classes are FAR from FAIR. By the very nature of competition and people, single make classes will breed competition in the form of more single make classes. So you get this fragmentation that divides karting, and slowly strangles it.
A muilti make single spec class i.e Formula A breeds competition within that class. That means you don\’t get fragmentation and a dilution of grids. This surely is the way to go. That\’s what i like about KF4.
I like TaG at club level because the average joe can pick a kart, and race. they don\’t have to go through the rigmarole of finding the exact engine and kart. And they don\’t have to go through the trauma of finding that the packaging says FAIR RACING FOR ALL, and find its not like that at all.
TaG at club level is not perfect, and that\’s it\’s advantage. It doesn\’t pretend to be perfectly fair unlike single make classes. There\’s no rubbish. From the start you understand the negatives and benefits from the class. It\’s a business principle – under promise, OVER deliver.
February 7th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Alan, I’ve pushed the multi-chassis, multi-engine formulas in the forums here in Canada to no effect. It is always the same thing, “too expensive” or “we’re not Europe, they’re rich!”
I’ve seen the same problem with Rotax engines here. I met a friend at our annual Kart Show last week. He happened to be looking at a CRG/junior rotax for one of his children. In the end, for the same price as the total CRG package, he opted for a “special” rotax motor from another shop. A $3,000CDN used rotax motor for club racing.
It is common for the best 4cycle Honda tuners to charge $2,500 to $3,000 for their “specials.” People will pay the price! For a 6.5hp Honda! Crazy
I’ll start pushing the K4 in the forums now.