Well said Dean.
Where do I lay the blame? Fairly and squarely at the door of our governing body, and 'trade' associations that's where.
Rather than trying to make entry into karting easier and more accessible, they seem obsessed with introducing more and more petty regulation, don't get me wrong, regulations are required - once you are racing, but not as an obstacle stopping you from starting it in the first place. The starting karking pack and ARKS test are vastly over priced, personally I believe there should be some form of test, new drivers need to know and understand the meaning of flags, and they should be up to a reasonable speed, but the way the ARKS/MSA requirements are currently structured it is a barrier to people getting a licence in the first place.
Is it any wonder that non MSA racing (or Indi kart if you prefer) is gaining popularity, the powers that be should stop, climb down from their ivory towers, take a deep breath, and take a long hard look at why this type of racing is proving so popular, sure the recession is having an effect, but it's not the entire story, it is the lack of hurdles required to jump just to get your kart on the grid in the first place that makes it attractive. Crash helmet requirements are ridiculous (with the exception of the light weight helmets for children), why is it I can buy a crash helmet from my local motorcycle shop, and go race a 190mph superbike at Brands with it, but not race a 70mph go kart with it! Are you seriously telling me that all those who currently race in Indi Kart are using the same crash helmets as required if you race MSA, of course they're not, are they dying in their droves, of course they're not, it make a total mockery of the MSA requirements. Just because I'm over 40, why do I need a medical every year to keep my race licence, I'm not required to have a medical every year to drive my road car, there is infinitely more chance that I'll have a heart attack and plough into a bus stop full of pedestrians driving that! Please, I urge all of you, go read this article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorsport/2742902/For-the-guidance-of-wise-men.html it was written 6 years ago, it is as relevant now as it was then, perhaps more so. As others have said, this site is a joke, it is out of the Ark, it is old, slow and tired, it is more often than not full of bitching rather than a place of friendly informative banter, fortunately I found karting before I found this site, had it been the other way around, quite frankly I'm not sure I'd have bothered. Lack of information, surely this is where the ABkC should be taking the lead, have you looked at their website lately, it is nearly as bad as this one, finding any useful information on it on how to go about starting karting is difficult, the site is clearly aimed at those who are already involved in the sport. Oh wait a minute, about half way down the page is a link to "How to start kart racing" website why isn't this at the TOP of the page, not buried away somewhere. If you follow the link, it goes to a site based on the "Want to start Kart racing brochure" better, but far from perfect. But why can't I enter my post code into the site and it show me all the tracks within (say) a 50 mile radius and the classes they run, stuff like this isn't rocket science these days. Also like others have said, the trade could do better as well, when I was looking to start racing, I was looking to buy a complete package, I expressed an interest to a trader at the Sandown show, and had a test day cancelled on me 5 times, a couple of times at very short notice after I had taken time off work, needless to say, I ended up spending my money elsewhere in the end, simply not good enough. The MSA and ABkC need to get together and urgently review the barriers they are placing in the way of people (of all ages) competing, and COME UP WITH A SOLUTION, that doesn't involve huge costs, that encourages people to start the sport in the first place, that encourages people to STAY in the sport, and not simply see it as stepping stone up the motorsport ladder.
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