| We asked the Manchester and
Buxton Kart Club legend, and the archetypal average Joe
- Chris Kasch - what his thoughts are on KF, whether
he can afford to 'identify with professional karters', and if he
thought KF would be 'more adequate for newcomers'.
“I'm a little suspicious about it to be honest, and that’s
probably down to little snippets I've read about shortages of engines
and teams not be able to compete etc... Basically, I don't feel
like I know enough about it as a club driver and that’s where
the suspicion comes from.
Complete KF2 Package IAME/BRM - £4170
+VAT - Is it affordable, and is it worth it?
I kind of like the idea of having a recognised national class
that everyone can progress through, rather than this fragmented
nonsense we have at the moment that only succeeds in diluting grids.
But the cost element of KF really does worry me.
I used to race in Rotax for two years but got to a point where
I didn't feel like I could compete properly, mostly because of the
tyres (a little bit on the engines too). I race on a ridiculous
budget. I make my tyres last three, sometimes 4 meetings and in
TKM I can almost get away with it, that’s why I chose TKM.
It's cheaper to compete in TKM. The engine rebuilds are more often
than the likes of Rotax (and we're led to believe KF), but they
are cheap, and I can also have an engine that I know isn't too bad
compared to the top drivers.
What's happening with KF on the tyres? Are they going to be
sticky tyres that need replacing every meeting? Engine rebuilds...how
often? (and by that I don't mean silly claims, I mean how often
to be competitive), and how much? Also, will I have an engine that’s
competitive that doesn't cost the earth to get?
My fear is that us low budget drivers aren't going to be able
to race in this new series/format and if it takes hold then we will
be slowly squeezed out of karting for good. The worst thing is that
there isn't much information about to allay any of these fears,
probably because the governing body's don't know themselves if the
balance is struck correctly. It could be great, but experience tells
me that it will be cocked up and we'll be in a bigger mess than
we are now”.
Sam Murphy is 16, and a complete 'newbie'
to the world of karting. Has the CIK’s promise of
making karting more attractive to newcomers actually holding true
with guys like Sam? “With karting I haven’t really
paid much attention to it until the last few months. Only until
now at 16 I am starting to save up for a kart to be able to get
started in karting. With karting, it always seems to be a sport
for the ‘rich kids’, which hasn’t made me focus
on it as much as I could, as I’m not rich. Luckily for me
Buckmore Park is only 5 minutes away, which makes it easier to get
information on karting.
I have been seeing around websites and forums about a new class
called KF, I'm not actually sure on the whole concept of karting
classes as I am still learning but have heard that the KF package
costs £2k for just the engine. To me this is crazy money and
doesn’t attract me to the sport in anyway as I don’t
have that kind of money to be spending on a kart and most people
who are interested in starting karting wouldn’t either.”
Sam Blake is a driver getting ready to make the move from
TKM (one of the cheapest classes) to KF3. He says “Going
in to the last round of TKM Super 1 we fully expected to be staying
in TKM. Hearing the news of the new TKM regulations the choice to
move to KF3 was a no brainer. The prospect of competing in much
smaller grids will take TKM even further away from mainstream karting.
Sam Blake. Moving from TKM to KF3
Our main concern of moving into KF3 only occurred with the
initial outlay. The engines at the moment cost twice the amount
that a TKM would, but later in the year when the bare engine is
available it will bring the cost down. We rang Strawberry Racing
expecting the CIK chassis to be much more expensive than the TKM
chassis, but on studying the spec it is no more expensive than the
TKM chassis e.g. no stickers, no steering wheel etc... and furthermore
with £300 of the Tonykart, it was a very good deal.”
So, is KF going to save British karting, or kill it?
The jury is still out on that one, but I am optimistic that KF
could be the class that can stitch together currently fragmented
British karting. If KF thrives we could be in a situation where
karting is united across Europe, and possibly the World giving each
manufacture more motivation to promote karting as a whole, rather
than having classes competing against each other for numbers. However
the purchase cost of a KF engine is something we need to keep a
close eye on, as it could be the decisive factor in the success
of KF.
Alan Dove
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