ABkC News October 2002 ABkC Seminars for Karting
Officials
The
Association of British Kart Clubs in conjunction with the
MSA have organised a series of seminars for ABkC club
officials and all scrutineers towards the end of the
year. These are for Clerks, club stewards and
scrutineers where training and advice will be given on
the new points judicial scheme as well as other 2003
regulation changes. But it is important to note
that our seminars are a supplement to and not a
replacement for the MSA Seminars which will take place
early next year, and are usually a requirement for
licence retention. Additionally at the
Tamworth seminar, there will be sessions for kart
timekeepers, competition secretaries and anyone who
operates the HSS Challenger transponder lap-scoring and
timing system. The dates and venues are:- Saturday
30th November at Guildford Saturday
14th December at Glasgow Saturday
21st December at Tamworth Any
non-ABkC club wishing to send officials may do so if they
join the ABkC beforehand. Their membership will
then be valid for 2003. However all scrutineers are
welcome. Details of the seminars is enclosed,
please return the slip sent to all ABkC clubs back to the
secretary no later than 23rd November. Please
try to send people to represent your club. Summary of changes to the kart regulations for 2003 There
will be a few changes to the regulations in the MSA Kart
Race Yearbook, known as the Gold Book, for 2003. Firstly
100 National! Following the outcry after the ABkC
and Super 1 proposed it would not be offered in 2003, the
Super 1 organisers have promised to offer the class
again. So the ABkC will keep the class regulations
in the Gold Book and fully active. However due to
popular demand the slick tyres are changing to Vega SL7,
although the current tyres with or without a GB mark can
be used until the end of March. The SL7 is the same
tyre that will be adopted for Rotax Max, and as a
concession the 100 National drivers only can use either
JAG marked tyres or GB marked tyres at club level.
But when run at national championships like the Super 1
the tyres must be marked GB. The same applies to
the Vega W2 wet. It is important to note that Rotax
Max drivers must always use JAG marked tyres. The
engine regulations for 2004 onwards will be discussed by
the ABkC and notice of change given, assuming the class
continues to be popular. Rotax Max
will have a change of slick to the Vega SL7, marked JAG
but despite a short lived misunderstanding about the
markings, the wet remains the same Vega W2, also marked
JAG. There is some tightening up on mainly
carburettor, needle and jetting regulations in all the
Rotax variants. For instance only the standard K27
needle will be permitted. The Rotax Junior UK
weight goes up to 143kg and Junior Restricted comes into
the Gold Book for the first time, now to be officially
known as MiniMax. The tyres in this class will be
Vega SL8, with W2 wets, all marked JAG. Weight is
135kg, number plates are yellow with black numbers and
the current Bridgestone tyres can be used up to 31st
March at club level. There are also some updates to
the Rotax engine fiche. There is a new exhaust
valve alignment screw, a new gearcover with a recess to
eliminate the possibility of fouling the starter and a
new silver plated big end thrust washer. All parts
are interchangeable on existing engines. The gearbox classes remain largely unchanged with a review on-going for 2004. The 250 International class is no longer offered by the ABkC for short circuit racing. The MSA British Championship class in long circuit will be offering CIK Superkart Division 2 in 2003, which is effectively the long circuit equivalent. The Rotax 257 single cylinder engine will be allowed in 250E for another year or can be used in five speed format in 250 National. Some new engines are permitted in 250E, including the option to have two separate 125cc engines or the twin SGM or FPE. In 210 National the short circuit weight goes up to 180kg. Weights
also go up in the Honda classes, with Honda Junior going
up from 142 to 145kg but the Honda Junior Heavyweight
remains unchanged. The Honda Senior weight goes up
from 172 to 175 kg and the Honda Senior Heavyweight goes
up from 187 to 190 kg. In both Honda and Comer
Cadets rev-counters and data-logging will be permitted.
The Cadet wet tyres will have to have certain code
markings on them. 2003 CIK
chassis will include the homologation of bodywork and
braking system. So if a driver uses a 2003 chassis
in JICA, Formula A or ICA then it will have to remain
exactly as homologated, bodywork and all. The rear
bumper must meet the MSA U.K. regulations, if not it too
will have to be changed. On older chassis the
bodywork can be as this year’s regulations. Because
of the heavier bodywork the CIK has put the weight limit
up by 5kg for all the 100cc and 125cc ICC International
classes. In the U.K. this only affects Formula A
and Intercontinental A where the weight will become
150kg. The carburettor restrictor remains in JICA
meantime, although there still remains the possibility of
further CIK measures to slow down the Juniors. Supplementary Regulations
Clubs
must be very sure to use the correct wording in the
Supplementary Regulations when referring to the Kart Race
Yearbook and other class regulations. A paragraph
has been added to the Kart Race Yearbook to show the
wording needed, which is: “A.4.1
All clubs must specify the
classes they offer in their supplementary or championship
regulations with a reference to the MSA Kart Race
Yearbook and their particular association’s
regulations, and have a reference to the source of the
class regulations if found elsewhere e.g. ‘TECHNICAL
REGULATIONS. MSA 2003 Specific karting technical
regulations apply together with the 2003 ABkC regulations
within the 2003 MSA Kart Race Yearbook and the SR’s
for the meeting. ELIGIBLE
CLASSES: All ABkC classes* plus ‘xx’ and ‘yy’
are offered, except that Formula ‘zz’ is not
offered. The regulations for all classes offered
may be found in the 2003 MSA Kart Race Yearbook. Additionally
Formula ‘??’ is offered under MSA Regulation
N.1.3, the class regulations are available from: (name
and address of class promoter).’ ” Xx and yy
refer to classes such as WTP Formula Cadet, or TKM
4-stroke, which clubs might wish to offer members. The
classes offered might just be 4-stroke, or just 2-stroke,
or a mixture, but they all must be specified here. Clubs
will also have to drop the usual standard paragraph about
allowing foreign drivers with EU licences, unless they
are holding a National event when professional drivers
holding a licence endorsed as such by their ASN may
compete, or the event holds NEAFP status (National Event
with Authorised Foreign Participation). Class regulations for 2004
The
steering group will be discussing possible changes to
classes including tyre suitability for 2004 at its next
steering group meeting. Proposals will be drafted
on the technical regulations for 125 gearbox e.g. how
many classes are needed, the placement of the rotary
engine, economy considerations and the possibility of an
ICC based class. Clubs or traders wishing to make
comments should have them to the secretary by 10th
November. Calendar and seeded drivers
The 2003
calendar for the ABkC championships is now available on www.abkc.org.uk.
Seeded drivers will be shown on the website as soon as
the championship organisers have made their results
final. In the meantime provisional results are
shown on the appropriate websites:- Super 4
– http://www.super4.co.uk/
Super 1 -
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/super1/ Super Two
- http://www.ratpro.co.uk
Membership Forms
The
membership forms for 2003 have been sent out. The
fees are not expected to increase. Please return
these to the secretary with payment at your earliest
convenience and thank you for your support. Nominations
for Office in 2003 and Annual General Meeting Please
send your nominations for the steering group members to
me by 10th November. Anyone nominated
should indicate their willingness to serve. Any
proposal for discussion also needs to be sent by that
date, seconded by another ABkC club. Time
permitting there will be space for informal discussion
after the formal part of the meeting at the Annual
General Meeting which is to be held at the International
Kart Show, Telford, on Saturday 23rd November,
starting 1.30 for 2pm. It is hoped to have a good
attendance of clubs. Remember each club has two
votes. Fee increases for 2003
The ARKS test will become £57 (plus VAT if appropriate), with a fee of £24 for the written test and £33 for the driving re-test. The Start Karting Pack increases to £35 from 1st December. MSA insurance per capita fees go up by about 10% to £3.65 for Clubman and £4.30 for National A and B per competitor. The National B Licence will be £22 and the National A £35. For full information please refer to the MSA website www.msauk.org news section. Back to ABkC Site Index | Visit UK Karting |
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