Kids' Karting Konundrum
Discussion
Before investing fully in all the gear I would get him a couple more sessions in a kart similar to the one you would like him racing. Make sure it's set up to series rules e.g. Ballast. And see if he can post competitive times.
I have seen quite a few lads and parents who think their kid is Gods gift because they weight bugger all or are just better than the parent in a kart and do well at arrive and drive only for them to get smashed once they have weight parity or come up against someone who can actually drive.
Just using myself as an example I can roll up to most arrive and drive or open events and be pretty competitive, got plenty of trophies for doing so but I have a friend who races and wins in TKM and he is about 2 sec a lap quicker than me around Milton Keynes. If I were to try racing in his series where most of the drivers are similar in ability to him I would be pretty far down the order and frustrated
Similarly seen tiny skinny lads who are quick but only due to their weight, once ballast is introduced they are well off the pace.
You seem pretty competitive so it's definitely worth confirming if your lad is really good enough to fight in a dedicated championship or if you would enjoy it more going to arrive n drive every now and then and mostly beating the general public
I have seen quite a few lads and parents who think their kid is Gods gift because they weight bugger all or are just better than the parent in a kart and do well at arrive and drive only for them to get smashed once they have weight parity or come up against someone who can actually drive.
Just using myself as an example I can roll up to most arrive and drive or open events and be pretty competitive, got plenty of trophies for doing so but I have a friend who races and wins in TKM and he is about 2 sec a lap quicker than me around Milton Keynes. If I were to try racing in his series where most of the drivers are similar in ability to him I would be pretty far down the order and frustrated
Similarly seen tiny skinny lads who are quick but only due to their weight, once ballast is introduced they are well off the pace.
You seem pretty competitive so it's definitely worth confirming if your lad is really good enough to fight in a dedicated championship or if you would enjoy it more going to arrive n drive every now and then and mostly beating the general public
Agree with the above.
I've been on a lot of corporate events and there's always the expectation (from others) that I'll win because of my background in karting, and I don't think I've been to one where I haven't won, with the exception of being knocked off track once.
Other peoples egos always grow when they realise that they're only a second or less off my times, even had some good battles. What they don't really understand is, apart from the fact I was about 4 stone heavier than them, was that there comes a point on these arrive and drive type events where you can pretty much drive round with your foot pinned the whole way round, it's only race craft which meant they were never going to get past.
Believe me, it's a whole other ball game when everyone's on or around the same weight limit and you're trying to get something round with 45hp and 6 gears, not 8hp. Even a TKM would scare most arrive and drive heroes.
What I would add though, is that if your child shows an aptitude for it early on then he's still young enough to learn, especially before the self preservation mode kicks in, all you need at those early stages is the potential.... I don't think you can expect him to be within a second of winning pace and kaibosh the whole idea of going racing if he isn't, wouldn't be fair at all.
I've been on a lot of corporate events and there's always the expectation (from others) that I'll win because of my background in karting, and I don't think I've been to one where I haven't won, with the exception of being knocked off track once.
Other peoples egos always grow when they realise that they're only a second or less off my times, even had some good battles. What they don't really understand is, apart from the fact I was about 4 stone heavier than them, was that there comes a point on these arrive and drive type events where you can pretty much drive round with your foot pinned the whole way round, it's only race craft which meant they were never going to get past.
Believe me, it's a whole other ball game when everyone's on or around the same weight limit and you're trying to get something round with 45hp and 6 gears, not 8hp. Even a TKM would scare most arrive and drive heroes.
What I would add though, is that if your child shows an aptitude for it early on then he's still young enough to learn, especially before the self preservation mode kicks in, all you need at those early stages is the potential.... I don't think you can expect him to be within a second of winning pace and kaibosh the whole idea of going racing if he isn't, wouldn't be fair at all.
Edited by Yazza54 on Tuesday 25th October 08:52
To be honest I don't see him as the next Lewis Hamilton, it is more that I am keen to find a sport for him that he enjoys and at which he can do OK. He cannot commit the time to it to become really good, even if he turns out to be very talented. Furthermore, I cannot spend a five figure sum on it, or give up a lot of spare time. I run two businesses and have other family commitments.
In which case try something like this:
http://www.castlecombekarting.co.uk/junior-champio...
oh and leave your own ego at home and let him have fun
http://www.castlecombekarting.co.uk/junior-champio...
oh and leave your own ego at home and let him have fun
13m said:
To be honest I don't see him as the next Lewis Hamilton, it is more that I am keen to find a sport for him that he enjoys and at which he can do OK. He cannot commit the time to it to become really good, even if he turns out to be very talented. Furthermore, I cannot spend a five figure sum on it, or give up a lot of spare time. I run two businesses and have other family commitments.
to be fair that's a pretty level headed approach to have. far too many people get sucked into the sport in the hope that they will be the next big thing and get duped into spending money with big teams. if all you want to do is spend time with your lad and have some fun then you can do that in karting on a relatively small budget. id echo whats been said above, get him into an arrive and drive kart at your local karting centre....see how he takes to it before you spend money on buying a kart....again you can do karting on a budget and do pretty well.
whats your local track? how old is your lad? (I only ask because If hes only a year from moving into juniors then maybe save the expense of buying a cadet for a year and let him do arrive and drive stuff and jump into a junior when hes old enough)
13m said:
To be honest I don't see him as the next Lewis Hamilton, it is more that I am keen to find a sport for him that he enjoys and at which he can do OK. He cannot commit the time to it to become really good, even if he turns out to be very talented. Furthermore, I cannot spend a five figure sum on it, or give up a lot of spare time. I run two businesses and have other family commitments.
I saw in another thread you said you were close to PFI. (one of the best tracks in the country) Someone also said give Jay Shepard a shout (http://www.team7racing.co.uk/) i'll second that, he's doing good things getting people into karting. PFI also do a non-msa race meeting once a month for sealed 4 strokes. anyone spending 5 figures on that need their head examining. If you put your lad into their cadet class (8-13) then you'll have at least 3 years worth of racing/knowledge on that chassis/engine combo then he can go up to juniors (11-16) on a different type of chassis and an additional engine. It's a valid alternative to Trent Valley Kart Club which also runs out of PFI.
If you go under a team awning usually you can be as hands off or hands on as you want. From pure renting a running kart, mech + coach (the best way to spend lots of money) to just having them run a kart you own to just rent you awning space. Over time you'll need less and less from a team as you'll notice you can do stuff yourself or you'll find out way to make $$ savings.
But being in a social karting awning can be a great experience, for both lad/daughter + dad, especially if you find one that's less "serious motorsport" and more family/socially orientated.
Edited by ribiero on Tuesday 25th October 12:14
ribiero said:
I saw in another thread you said you were close to PFI. (one of the best tracks in the country)
Someone also said give Jay Shepard a shout (http://www.team7racing.co.uk/) i'll second that, he's doing good things getting people into karting. PFI also do a non-msa race meeting once a month for sealed 4 strokes. anyone spending 5 figures on that need their head examining. If you put your lad into their cadet class (8-13) then you'll have at least 3 years worth of racing/knowledge on that chassis/engine combo then he can go up to juniors (11-16) on a different type of chassis and an additional engine. It's a valid alternative to Trent Valley Kart Club which also runs out of PFI.
If you go under a team awning usually you can be as hands off or hands on as you want. From pure renting a running kart, mech + coach (the best way to spend lots of money) to just having them run a kart you own to just rent you awning space. Over time you'll need less and less from a team as you'll notice you can do stuff yourself or you'll find out way to make $$ savings.
But being in a social karting awning can be a great experience, for both lad/daughter + dad, especially if you find one that's less "serious motorsport" and more family/socially orientated.
PFI is about half an hour away and Jay is the instructor we used last week. Good guy.Someone also said give Jay Shepard a shout (http://www.team7racing.co.uk/) i'll second that, he's doing good things getting people into karting. PFI also do a non-msa race meeting once a month for sealed 4 strokes. anyone spending 5 figures on that need their head examining. If you put your lad into their cadet class (8-13) then you'll have at least 3 years worth of racing/knowledge on that chassis/engine combo then he can go up to juniors (11-16) on a different type of chassis and an additional engine. It's a valid alternative to Trent Valley Kart Club which also runs out of PFI.
If you go under a team awning usually you can be as hands off or hands on as you want. From pure renting a running kart, mech + coach (the best way to spend lots of money) to just having them run a kart you own to just rent you awning space. Over time you'll need less and less from a team as you'll notice you can do stuff yourself or you'll find out way to make $$ savings.
But being in a social karting awning can be a great experience, for both lad/daughter + dad, especially if you find one that's less "serious motorsport" and more family/socially orientated.
Edited by ribiero on Tuesday 25th October 12:14
ribiero said:
I saw in another thread you said you were close to PFI. (one of the best tracks in the country)
Someone also said give Jay Shepard a shout (http://www.team7racing.co.uk/) i'll second that, he's doing good things getting people into karting. PFI also do a non-msa race meeting once a month for sealed 4 strokes. anyone spending 5 figures on that need their head examining. If you put your lad into their cadet class (8-13) then you'll have at least 3 years worth of racing/knowledge on that chassis/engine combo then he can go up to juniors (11-16) on a different type of chassis and an additional engine. It's a valid alternative to Trent Valley Kart Club which also runs out of PFI.
If you go under a team awning usually you can be as hands off or hands on as you want. From pure renting a running kart, mech + coach (the best way to spend lots of money) to just having them run a kart you own to just rent you awning space. Over time you'll need less and less from a team as you'll notice you can do stuff yourself or you'll find out way to make $$ savings.
But being in a social karting awning can be a great experience, for both lad/daughter + dad, especially if you find one that's less "serious motorsport" and more family/socially orientated.
PFI is about half an hour away and Jay is the instructor we used last week. Good guy.Someone also said give Jay Shepard a shout (http://www.team7racing.co.uk/) i'll second that, he's doing good things getting people into karting. PFI also do a non-msa race meeting once a month for sealed 4 strokes. anyone spending 5 figures on that need their head examining. If you put your lad into their cadet class (8-13) then you'll have at least 3 years worth of racing/knowledge on that chassis/engine combo then he can go up to juniors (11-16) on a different type of chassis and an additional engine. It's a valid alternative to Trent Valley Kart Club which also runs out of PFI.
If you go under a team awning usually you can be as hands off or hands on as you want. From pure renting a running kart, mech + coach (the best way to spend lots of money) to just having them run a kart you own to just rent you awning space. Over time you'll need less and less from a team as you'll notice you can do stuff yourself or you'll find out way to make $$ savings.
But being in a social karting awning can be a great experience, for both lad/daughter + dad, especially if you find one that's less "serious motorsport" and more family/socially orientated.
Edited by ribiero on Tuesday 25th October 12:14
13m said:
PFI is about half an hour away and Jay is the instructor we used last week. Good guy.
I've never met him, know nothing about him at all.However, "oh, your son looks like a natural, you should consider taking this up" is the first move in the "pay me lots of money to run him" game played by pretty much every karting team owner I met in the 8 years we did it.
Some Gump said:
13m said:
PFI is about half an hour away and Jay is the instructor we used last week. Good guy.
I've never met him, know nothing about him at all.However, "oh, your son looks like a natural, you should consider taking this up" is the first move in the "pay me lots of money to run him" game played by pretty much every karting team owner I met in the 8 years we did it.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
.
Seeing youngsters attending these events with the parents motor home, full mechanical backing and a spare kart was near impossible to compete with over a year.
It doesn't stop there!Seeing youngsters attending these events with the parents motor home, full mechanical backing and a spare kart was near impossible to compete with over a year.
Edited by ELUSIVEJIM on Monday 24th October 18:40
I'm glad to say that I was amused one time to be woken early in the morning, in my little one man tent, next to my road car, trailer and race car by the arrival of a coach next to me. Three liveried mechanics got out, unloaded the Radical, set up two shelters, one for the car and one for the field workshop. Then the owner arrived, in time for signing on and scrutineering, then his family, all in enormous cars that I had to ask to move, so I could take mine (not a Radical) to the scrutes. They were all lovely people, just with "considerably more money than I had", but with the same love of motorsport.
Each to their own! I can recommend introducing son to the joys of camping, or else one of those giant Lilos that fit in the back of your car.
JOhn
Not sure if your Local to me as I see Castle Combe mentioned in this thread.
However I have learn't / seen many of the pitfalls / challenges with Kids and Karting over the last 5 years we have been doing it.
Feel free to email me direct if you want any honest answers
Search Louis Harvey Karting on facebook you can see our progress there and what we have achieved so far.
However I have learn't / seen many of the pitfalls / challenges with Kids and Karting over the last 5 years we have been doing it.
Feel free to email me direct if you want any honest answers
Search Louis Harvey Karting on facebook you can see our progress there and what we have achieved so far.
Dudboy said:
Not sure if your Local to me as I see Castle Combe mentioned in this thread.
However I have learn't / seen many of the pitfalls / challenges with Kids and Karting over the last 5 years we have been doing it.
Feel free to email me direct if you want any honest answers
Search Louis Harvey Karting on facebook you can see our progress there and what we have achieved so far.
Thanks. I cannot email you however as you haven't allowed them. If you can do that please I'll drop you a line.However I have learn't / seen many of the pitfalls / challenges with Kids and Karting over the last 5 years we have been doing it.
Feel free to email me direct if you want any honest answers
Search Louis Harvey Karting on facebook you can see our progress there and what we have achieved so far.
alfie2244 said:
Channel 4 7pm.
It was interesting.The father with the least amount of money was doing it for his sons happiness. The son was very much into wanting to race.
The other two kids were going on about how happy it would make their dads feel which was kind of sad in a way.
Many fathers at Kart meetings are the ones who wanted to succeed but never got the chance and now the son must. The pressure this puts on the kids can be detrimental.
One nice touch was the father admitting at the end that he needs to treat his son like his son and not a racing driver.
If you want to succeed you do need someone pushing you. It is 100% effort and money to get a chance.
So many talented racers out there just do not have the funds to make it past Karting.
This is very frustrating if your child picks Motorsport. You need to have good equipment
Other sports is much easier to show talent without having the cash.
ELUSIVEJIM said:
This is very frustrating if your child picks Motorsport. You need to have good equipment
Other sports is much easier to show talent without having the cash.
Other sports is much easier to show talent without having the cash.
Ours was decent, but there was always someone with better. There is nothing more soul destroying than watching someone physically pull away from you in a straight line, especially when you know they aren't even a particularly good driver.
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