British Indoor Karting Championship unveiled

British Indoor Karting Championship unveiled

Tuesday 21st January 2020

British Indoor Karting Championship unveiled

Endorsed by Motorsport UK and open to all, TeamSport's national championship is the first of its kind



You know what they say: you wait for any opportunity to get into grassroots motorsport and then two come along at once. That's certainly the case today, as hot on the heels of Caterham's announcement that budding racers can now finance entry into its Academy championship, TeamSport has unveiled an exciting sporting prospect of its own.

The indoor karting firm has partnered with Motorsport UK to create a brand-new series for 2020, dubbed the British Indoor Karting Championship (BIKC). Doing exactly what it says on the tin, the BIKC is open to entrants from eight years of age upwards and has been devised to "recognise the level of skill and technique that exists within the indoor karting community."

Unbelievably, the series is apparently the UK's first nationally recognised indoor karting competition and, as such, is set to garner a fair amount of attention during its debut season. Anyone can put themselves forward to enter, though unlike the Caterham Academy, competitors will have to qualify by registering a fastest lap that beats the benchmarks set at any of TeamSport's 35 tracks nationwide. Those who do so will also qualify for the new K-I race licence from Motorsport UK.


Beyond that, it's claimed that the BIKC "has potential to open the door to future opportunities in racing" with the winner being crowned the inaugural British Indoor Karting Champion in their class. With separate categories for Cadet (8 - 11 years), Junior (12 - 15 years) and Teen (16-17 years) and then four adult divisions based on driver weight, Featherweight (up to 70kg), Lightweight (71kg - 79kg), Heavyweight (80kg - 94kg) and Super Heavyweight (95kg+) there are certainly plenty of chances for glory.

Dominic Gaynor, TeamSport CEO said of the new championship: "All of us here at TeamSport are thrilled to announce the launch of the British Indoor Karting Championship (BIKC). We see many talented and skilled drivers take to our tracks every year, and thanks to TeamSport's partnership with Motorsport UK, there will now be a National and recognised title for which they can compete."

Local track finals are scheduled for June, with eligible drivers progressing to regional finals in September and October, and the whole thing culminating in the BIKC Grand Final in November. If your New Year's resolution centred around getting into motorsport, it appears there will be no excuses in 2020 for not keeping it.



Author
Discussion

ridds

Original Poster:

8,191 posts

243 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
In the most unequal karts ever.....

No thanks.

Lt. Coulomb

202 posts

53 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
What about a 30st+ category?

blueacid

435 posts

140 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
Lt. Coulomb said:
What about a 30st+ category?
Ah, the 'bowser' category?

David87

6,648 posts

211 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
ridds said:
In the most unequal karts ever.....

No thanks.
Rental kart roulette is part of the fun. hehe

Also, it’s hardly like F1 cars or BTCC cars or whatever are all equal anyway. wink

BenLowden

5,968 posts

176 months

PH Marketing Bloke

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
I doubt I'll be quick enough to make a regional final, but any excuse to go karting driving

Who fancies a PistonHeads leaderboard with some prizes for the fastest karters on PH?

Glenn63

2,732 posts

83 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
BenLowden said:
I doubt I'll be quick enough to make a regional final, but any excuse to go karting driving

Who fancies a PistonHeads leaderboard with some prizes for the fastest karters on PH?
Great idea!

I have a teamsport local and go every now and then and as above the karts can be worlds apart, the other week I was nearly 4 seconds difference in lap times in each session with a different kart! Still going to go down and see about this though!

andyr53

613 posts

185 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
I was just at local teamsport at the weekend...did qualifying and 1 x 15min and 1 x 30min race.

Different karts in the 15 min and 30 min.

First kart was really good, gripped well and was quick.

Second one seemed to have no grip and bogged a lot.

I'd quite like to give this a go but it definitely is a luck of the draw with the karts!

super7

1,922 posts

207 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
A little bit of extra weight on an indoor kart can be beneficial..... Very slippery polished concrete benefits the heavier driver with additional grip in fast corners (so long as it's not tooo much extra!!!)

ntiz

2,328 posts

135 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
You can just see the track side punch ups as you get to the sharp end and get a crap kart. laugh

They should have betting on the post race fights.

Can’t decide if it will be the parents or the drivers though.

geeks

9,121 posts

138 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
I used to compete in a local championship at an indoor place who also hosted the BRKC setup by Bradley Philpot, raced against him a few times as well. I was always too heavy for the ballast equalising (karts were all ballast up to a 90kg driver weight and I was 110 in my kit) so I never really did that well however the karts were all identical in performance not once did anyone ever claim there was a problem with a performance difference and we were all allocated different karts each week. I never entered the BRKC stuff as I wasn't really talented enough even without the weight disadvantage hehe

It's a shame the MSUK one is linked to a brand known to have kart performance difference issues. Would have been good if they could have kept it more independent

Motormatt

484 posts

217 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
David87 said:
ridds said:
In the most unequal karts ever.....

No thanks.
Rental kart roulette is part of the fun. hehe

Also, it’s hardly like F1 cars or BTCC cars or whatever are all equal anyway. wink
Agreed roulette is part of the fun especially when the format requires regular kart changes between races but not sure how that translates into fun in an out and out fastest lap championship.
My most recent experience last November was of a 3 sec per lap difference on a 24 second lap between the fastest and slowest karts I drove. Getting in a fast one was how I imagine an LMP1 driver feels when cutting through a field of GTam’s, lots of fun!

ESD1711

390 posts

50 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
Motormatt said:
Agreed roulette is part of the fun especially when the format requires regular kart changes between races but not sure how that translates into fun in an out and out fastest lap championship.
My most recent experience last November was of a 3 sec per lap difference on a 24 second lap between the fastest and slowest karts I drove. Getting in a fast one was how I imagine an LMP1 driver feels when cutting through a field of GTam’s, lots of fun!
It’s only fun when you’re in one of the good ones haha! Some of the biggest hissy fits I’ve thrown have been in sub standard karts - it’s impossible to take them at all seriously with such variances. Only way it’s enjoyable is to see it as a laugh and not take it too seriously, which means they absolutely don’t lend themselves to any sort of competitive competition.

NGK210

2,867 posts

144 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
ridds said:
In the most unequal karts ever.....

No thanks.
Ditto.

aarondbs

843 posts

145 months

Tuesday 21st January 2020
quotequote all
This is the second year that I have run our United Rental System Karting Championship across 8 Teamsport Venues with the final to be at PFi in Grantham (a fantastic outdoor karting facility). We take 10-16 customer teams in different locations across the UK and take 1,2,3rd to the final. Teamsport have always looked after us. Karts are good, most of their venues have a bar (and serve pizza). I wonder if they stole the idea from us!!

Alan Dove

2 posts

58 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
"Unbelievably, the series is apparently the UK's first nationally recognised indoor karting competition and, as such, is set to garner a fair amount of attention during its debut season."

The British Rental Kart Championship has been going for nearly a decade.

Trev56

15 posts

118 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
There's little that can be done to stop difference in performance as a result of the karts being subject to different levels of abuse / damage on a daily basis apart from the quality of marshalling. If a kart isn't on track its costing ££ , this has to affect the approach when it comes to repairs and servicing. Smaller circuits will inherit fleets of karts from the flagships centres etc. Most amateur kart racers wont want acess to a licensed bar and pizza on site. Interesting concept but as others have flagged, a karting franchise is a poor fit for a competitive championship.

geeks

9,121 posts

138 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
Alan Dove said:
"Unbelievably, the series is apparently the UK's first nationally recognised indoor karting competition and, as such, is set to garner a fair amount of attention during its debut season."

The British Rental Kart Championship has been going for nearly a decade.
I pointed this out above, however as good as the BRKC is, its not MSUK recognised, so in that regard, they are correct.

Some Gump

12,671 posts

185 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
super7 said:
A little bit of extra weight on an indoor kart can be beneficial..... Very slippery polished concrete benefits the heavier driver with additional grip in fast corners (so long as it's not tooo much extra!!!)
Lol no.

Gilhooligan

2,211 posts

143 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
I did some of the BRKC (british rental kart championship) which was good fun. The disparity in the rental karts was pretty huge though on some of the older fleets of karts.
Indoor tracks tend to be quite tight so overtakes can be pretty difficult when everyone is of a decent standard. Don’t think I’d fancy travelling around the U.K. to just race on an indoor track.

Sandpit Steve

9,885 posts

73 months

Wednesday 22nd January 2020
quotequote all
Some Gump said:
super7 said:
A little bit of extra weight on an indoor kart can be beneficial..... Very slippery polished concrete benefits the heavier driver with additional grip in fast corners (so long as it's not tooo much extra!!!)
Lol no.
Ha, if there were any truth to that, then the grid of 40kg teenagers wouldn’t be quicker than most of the more experienced adult racers.

Great idea for a series though, especially the kadet and junior categories - the more cheap motorsport around, the better!