Matt
There were a lot of posts on here a couple of years ago about the same time of year. I was one of them, new beginner starting to get quicker, lost weight etc and then ribs started to give out. I didn't crack them but had two or three periods of six weeks where I did not drive because of them.
Things I found that helped.
A good rib protector. I had a Tillet and then went to a Sparco fibreglass one. Tillet did not appear to stop the damage, too flexible.
I bought some foam which is soft in normal use, but on impact it stiffens then relaxes, they use it in gliders. http://www.afeonline.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=421.
I also had the tillet rib cage fitted.
Most of my problems went away when I swapped from a Tony kart to a Wright. The big change was that my XL seat had to be shoehorned into the OTK, but slid in nicely in the Wright without strain on the seat.
I now race with the foam on the side of the seat and the Ribtec with virtually no problems.
I would make sure that all the heads of the seat bolts and sidestays are padded. I would also make sure that they are not pushing into the seat.
I also think that as your driving gets smoother you will put less strain on your ribs. You just got to get to that point.
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