Acadiana Karting Association

All You Want To Know About Karting But Were Afraid To Ask!

(updated 10/09/03)

Thank's for inquiring about the Acadiana Karting Association. Following is basic information about karting and our club. Hopefully we will answer most of your questions and help in deciding where you want to be in the sport of karting. If you have any more questions, call your local contact listed at the end of this document.

ABOUT THE CLUB
AKA is a non-profit organization here in Lafayette. The track is located in Moore Park, just north of Lafayette. The club leases the track from the city.  Single membership is $50.00 a year. Raceday's are every 2^nd Saturday of the month. If you are a member you are issued a key to the track and can practice at any time. Membership also gives you a $10.00 discount on race fees. (Normally $25.00 a race day)

ABOUT THE TRACK
AKA's track is a 1/4 mile sprint track. The track has 4 left turns and two right turns. AKA's track is considered a technical track, one that has produced 3 national champions... Barrett Cousins, Micheal Kile and Evan McManus.

TYPES OF RACING
There are 2 types of kart racing in this region...

Sprint Asphalt Race Course (AKA) usually 1/4 to ½ mile road course... local tracks in Lafayette, Gulfport Miss., Jackson Miss., Katy, Tx and Dallas, Tx.

Dirt Oval - Local tracks in Ville Platte, Minden, Baker, Arnauldville and Abbeville, LA

Racing classes are determined by engine, weight and age. Thus you'll hear about 4-cycle Med, 4-cycle Heavy, and Yamaha med, 125 and 80cc shifters at AKA's track along with box stock, JR1 & 2 restricted and JR 2 unrestricted, and JR Stock. The youngest you can race is 8 years old. There are no age restrictions to practice.

WEIGHT CLASSES (May change without notice)

Box Stock - 225# - 10 yrs and under (1st year / rookie drivers)

Jr. Sportsman 1 - 250# - 8-10 yrs old (purple restrictor plate)

Jr. Sportsman 2 - 265# - 10 - 12 yrs old (turquoise/blue restrictor plate)

Jr. Stock - 300# - 12 yrs to 15 yrs (no restrictor plate)

Four Cycle Medium - 335# 15 yrs and over

Four Cycle Heavy - 360# 15 yrs and over

Honda 6.5 Boxstock Class - 375# - 15 yrs old and older

Yamaha 2 cycle medium - 330# 15 yrs and over

80cc shifter - 335#  15 yrs and over

125cc shifter - 375# 15 yrs and over

THE KARTS
Although racing karts have no suspension per-se, the chassis is still very sophisticated. There are front and rear track adjustments, front and rear ride height, front caster and camber, driver weight bias, tire pressures, toe-in and toe-out - some even have rear torsion bars. All these adjustments are to gain the maximum amount of performance out of the chassis for cornering. Modern karts are also skinned in lightweight fiberglass bodies that are designed to lessen the air drag for straight line speed and provide light downforce for cornering.  Modern sprint karts weights are approximately 145 pounds race-ready. 

Modern sprint karts are either driven by the Briggs Rapture 5 horse 4-cycle, Honda 6.5 horse 4-cycle, Yamaha KT100 2-cycle, 80cc and 125cc motocross motors and the rotax motor. The Briggs motor is called stock but allowed modifications such as air cleaner, crank and carb mods to accept Methonol fuel. (WKA rules) They normally put out 8 horsepower at 6000 RPM. The Yamaha 100 is also called stock but is allowed mods to get around 18 horsepower.

A clutch is needed in the Briggs class. The Noran clutch is a good entry clutch, but the Horstman clutch will be a must as your skills develop. The Yamaha class at present is a clutch class. The Horstman clutch is the preferred clutch. The Briggs clutch is a dry clutch, the Yamaha a wet (oil bath) clutch. The Honda class is a spec clutch, the Noran clutch.

A tach\temp gauge is needed to set up the kart and tune the engine. The preferred gauge is made by Digitron. It comes with or without memory.

Today's karts use special kart racing tires by Bridgestone, Burris, and Dunlop and Maxxis. These tires are very soft, and the result is that they stick like bubblegum in the corners, but only last an expert two 45-min races - luckily they only cost $140 for a set of 4. AKA has applied a SL tire rule for our track that will not allow anything softer than a medium, or SL, compound in all but the shifter classes and possibly the 10cc class. We have been getting 3 to 6 race days out of a set.

Typical brake system consists one master cylinder in the back, feeding 1 big caliper and rotor for the rear axle as a whole. There are a few sprint karts now in our club that have four wheel disk brakes. These karts are in the 125cc shifter class. The front brake karts consist of two master cylinders. 1-front, feeding two individual calipers for the front, and 1-rear feeding 1 big caliper and rotor for the rear axle as a whole. On AKA's track, brakes don't play much of a part in the Briggs classes, but do a little work in 100cc, 80cc and 125cc class.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT

Kart racing is a somewhat peculiar form of racing in the fact that it's a mix of motorcycles and automobiles. Sure they have 4 wheels and the handling and setup are similar to an automobile, but that's as far as it goes. One of the most obvious signs of the motorcycle is the high-pitched screech of the two-stroke racing engine. Another more deeply rooted likeness comes from the fact that you wear your safety equipment on your person.

The most important piece of safety equipment is your helmet. The World Karting Association and IKF require all racers to wear a Snell 90 or better full face helmet. There are many different brands of helmets on the market that fit this requirement. Prices range from $150 - $500. You'll get what you pay for. A neckcollar is also a mandatory item.

Gloves protect your hands from flying debris kicked up by karts in front of you and are mandatory. You'll see a few different types of gloves on the track. There are special kart racing gloves made by companies such as Burris and Gearbox which are leather palmed with a padded fabric back. You also see Simpson autoracing gloves with the nomex back or moto-cross racing gloves. Heavy leather yard gloves are a substitute. They aren't pretty but will give ample protection.

Although a kart racing suit is not required by the sanctioning body, it is highly recommended. Most suits are made of a type of nylon material, either Cordura, or Entrant. You'll want to consider your options very carefully because one suit that costs $150 may offer considerably more protection than another suit that costs the same. Leather is another option that you may want to look at, many kart racers in Europe make leather their suit of choice. Generally, heavier is better. Suits start at $150 and can reach $350 for a custom, multi- colored masterpiece. A jacket and long pants are necessary if a suit is not worn.

Many kart racers wear auto racing boots/shoes by Simpson and Bell, as well as a few other brands. They offer good support, a good no-slip sole, and good feel of the pedals. Hi tops are recommended if you don't use the driving shoes.

A few other pieces of safety gear that you'll see at the track are flak-jaks, elbow pads, and nomex hoods or helmet skirts. Flak-jaks are plastic vests that are designed to protect your ribs and internal organs in the event of impact with something. Elbow pads protect you from bruising since your arms bang against the seat and engine sometimes when hitting bumps while cornering.

Obviously race-preparation can be included with safety. If you have parts falling off your kart while you're out on the track - a front wheel for instance, that wouldn't be very safe. Neither would a chunk of lead ballast for the guy in back of you. Never overlook anything during race-prep.

Racing karts have no rollbars and no seat belts. They can reach top speeds of 110 mph - often times within a foot of another competitor. (AKA's track averages 45 mph for Briggs, 55 for Yamaha in the long strait). Constant alertness is critical. Driving within your capabilities is a must: passing another kart under braking but spinning at the apex is a very good way to get T-boned; overcooking a fast sweeper and leaving the track at the exit is another good way to get an ambulance ride. We don't even want to mention touching tires with another kart. No Way!

WHAT DOES IT COST ?
Kart racing, although it's probably the most affordable type of autoracing, is by no means cheap. Someone who is thinking about getting into autoracing should know from the start that it's a high-tech business and many components on the racer need to be serviced regularly. Some of these parts are more expensive to service than others. Let's have a look at the equipment that you'll need to get started. The costs are estimates, but are reasonably accurate.

Helmet  

Fuel can            

Yamaha Fuel, 5 gal

Spark plugs (5)  

Fire extinguisher 

This list should get you to the front gate of the track with nearly everything you need, assuming that you have some way of getting the kart there. You'll also need a reasonable set of metric and SAE tools to work on your racer with.

GETTING STARTED AT THE TRACK
So you've picked out a kart, an engine, all your safety gear, loaded it up and are ready to set off to the racetrack. Wait, there are still a few other things that we shouldn't forget.

You'll need a 5 gallon fuel can to mix your racing gas and oil in. Don't forget your tool box either, and make sure and throw in a good tire pressure gauge. Another thing you should never go to the track without is a stopwatch - especially rookies! Racing is a sport of time, and if you can't keep track of time, you can't tell if you're improving. A pushstick is a tool that lets you push and steer your kart around in the paddock, your back can get quite sore bending over to push a 18" kart around the garage area. Since Yamaha racing engines have no onboard starter, you'll need one of those, they're hand held and electric powered. Probably the last thing worth mentioning here is a kart stand, basically this is a folding framework about 30" tall that you put your kart on to work on it.

When you arrive at the racetrack find yourself a pit space and get registered. You will be provided with a wrist strap that must be worn to be allowed in the staging area. This is your insurance policy for the weekend - hopefully you'll have something else to compliment it. If a friend or family member needs to be in this area, he can purchase a pass for a minimal amount (usually $3.00). After you get all your paperwork it's time to get your kart teched. Don't get nervous, if you read your tech manual and did all your prep work right you'll breeze right through, don't forget your helmet and pass. If there's anything wrong the official will tell you and you'll just have to go fix it and try again.

So you swallowed your pride and went to the novice school with a few other racers and even a couple of spectators and it was worth it. At this point you're going to be either totally lost or ready to go. Totally lost means that you didn't do your homework before you got to the track. On the other hand, nobody expects you to have all the answers your first time out. If you still have any questions, about setup or anything, ask your instructor, or a racer that you're pitted next to. It's hard to find a kart racer that won't help.

You learned what a entry, apex and exit are, what all the flags mean, you maybe walked around the track, or took a ride in a pickup. They explained other protocols associated with the club as well as the track and now you're ready to take a few laps. OK, fire it up. If everything's looking good then hit the track, but take it easy. Rookies should take a lot of laps carefully exploring the capabilities of the kart and themselves. It makes no sense to blast into some corner and spin and stall the kart and spend the rest of the session standing behind the barriers when you could be out on the track PRACTICING! You'll improve faster if you nibble your way to speed rather than gobble your way to broken equipment or worse, bones. I think I've gone about as far as I dare in this segment, except to say, use the stopwatch.

If you keep your nose clean and refrain from collisions and off-track excursions, you can see that a few sacrifices, a big tax refund, and a few paychecks saved away can get you into what may be one of the last motorsports where winning has more to do with what you have, rather than what you bought.

I hope that any of you interested in racing karts have found this article informative as well as helpful in making a decision to go racing wheel to wheel where nearly all top auto racers got their start.

Many thanks to Steve Scott for allowing me to take his article and adapt it to this club.

Brent Mosing

AKA Vice President

Other contacts:

Acadiana Karting Association 103 Jean Baptiste Dr. Lafayette, LA 70503

AKA Website address www.cyberspeed.com/aka

Robin Ardoin - President - e-mail rardoin@centurytel.net phone - 337-662-6012

Brent Mosing - Vice President Lafayette contact 984-0357H e-mail brentm@frankscasing.com

International Karting Association

World Karting Association at USA (1) 704-455-1606, they'll send you an information packet. -