Karting

[mikester]

I haven't read the whole thread here but I just did a few hours at K1Speed in orange county on Friday and was thinking of starting a thread here to see if some of the socal brothers (and sisters) on the board want to meet up at the track in Torrance for a few hours.

I sucked too.

[URY914]

[Icemaster]

Whats the bedst way to get kids started? Both my boys have been asking to get into it after they came across my pictures of me racing.

The rental course I've been at lately has an age limit, neither of my kids qualify. We've got a local association, but can't seem to reach anyone from that group to ask a few questions.

Any suggestions?

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by Icemaster

Whats the bedst way to get kids started? Both my boys have been asking to get into it after they came across my pictures of me racing.

The rental course I've been at lately has an age limit, neither of my kids qualify. We've got a local association, but can't seem to reach anyone from that group to ask a few questions.

Any suggestions?

Where do you live?

[Icemaster]

Cincinnati.

[Jim Bremner]

Go to a few races, find a dealer or coach that's working with kids.

How old are your kids? is it for them? do they have the drive? Join a local track, some have open track days.

I wish my dad had done it for me.

I wish that my sons had the drive. 1 did but he had some anger issues that I wouldn't trust at the time. Now he's into baseball, and has grown out of the issues that he was having.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

I wish my dad had done it for me.

+1. There should be manditory karting near/in every metropolis for a start.
Probably save hundreds of lives every monday morning, and solve quite a few child/parent abandonment complexes.

[fluque]

Originally Posted by john70t

+1. There should be manditory karting near/in every metropolis for a start.
Probably save hundreds of lives every monday morning, and solve quite a few child/parent abandonment complexes.

This is absolutely right.

I'd add that when you do karting as a kid/teenager, speeding on the streets is not a temptation as it cannot compare to what you feel behind the wheel of a race preped kart.

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

I raced MX for several years and after my last injury, I hung up my MX boots due to having to work for a living. I took up kart racing even before my collar bone was fully healed. While carts and some other forms of racing on 4 wheels no doubt can be very physically demanding, motocross is much more physically demanding.

I agree, I think karting is great but MX is silly exhausting. There were times in the races I literally could not get my forearms/wrists to function...I had to drop my elbow to operate the throttle...funny but not a joke

The awesome thing about it was you were having so much fun with so much adrenaline flowing you didn't even notice you were tired in the traditional sense...you just noticed your body didn't work.

That being said I would love to get into karting with my boys, the mechanical side of it alone gets me geeked.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Icemaster

Whats the bedst way to get kids started? Both my boys have been asking to get into it after they came across my pictures of me racing.

The rental course I've been at lately has an age limit, neither of my kids qualify. We've got a local association, but can't seem to reach anyone from that group to ask a few questions.

Any suggestions?

My boys are 11 and 13, it's pretty expensive for the three of us but than again it's real good fun. The boys are already driving 270 cc karts, the oldest beats me.
I posted this a few months ago on RL.

Whenever I can I will take my boys to a karting circuit for a couple of laps, very enjoyable activity except for the fact that I cannot keep up with the 13 year old, the other son is about the same as me.
Anyhow, today we decided to go for a few laps on a local circuit here in the South of France and during a break we observe a fellow pulling-up in a tiny, old car with a trailer. We observe the guy unload and test his kart before he enters the circuit.
There, we should have known this as he was the only allowed to ride while he was on the track, the fellow displays an incredible amount of talent. I've seen some pro's at work but this guy really distinguished himself from anything I've seen before. Asthonishing.
After we were finished we engaged in a conversation with him, turns out he used to compete at national and European level. He explained his kart's technology and when I saw the the three digit number on his computer display, he confirmed that he topped out at 170km/h -110 mp/h.
When we walked towards our shiny car I thought it was time for the "Never trust appearances" lesson of life. This humble, friendly and very talented guy in his 15 year old Corsa was a perfect example.