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Moksy's Take On Kiwi Karting


by Ian 'Moksy' Branson 12 February 2013
 

On the 2nd and 3rd of February, I took advantage of an opportunity to race in Auckland New Zealand.  My host, Adam Davis, had received his new Azzurro R8 chassis but could not race it due to a broken arm. He invited me to take his place in the annual City Of Sails race held at the Kartsport Auckland Kart Track.

Friday practice was an eye opener when I first drove the quirky yet fast circuit in a clockwise direction.  Just when I thought I was getting the hang of it we changed direction.  Its then I remembered Adam telling me about the race format.   8 races over 2 days. That’s 7 computer drawn heats and one final.  All points count.  4 Heats  in anti-clockwise direction on Saturday, followed by three heats and the final in clockwise direction (normal) on Sunday. 

Moksy in the Azzurro R8
Above: Moksy in the Azzurro R8
pic - Branson/facebook

The class I was entered in was Yamaha Light (145 kg) which runs the KT100S putting out over 22 horsepower.  The Kiwis play a bit more with the engines and are allowed free exhaust.  To cut a long race story short, I managed to finish third for the weekend behind two very fast locals in a field of 13.

The racing was great and I met a heap of really dedicated karters who take their sport very seriously.  Thank you to Adam and Grant Davis for hosting Amanda and I for nearly a week. Thanks also to the Auckland Kart Club for allowing me to race.

Of great interest to me over the race weekend was the karting similarities as well as the differences between our two countries. 

At first glance you would think its much the same with a heap of 125s and Clubman karts, but look a little harder and you notice there is no such thing as a Yamaha J or X30 Leopard.

All the 125s are Rotax which are mounted on a wide variety of kart chassis. There were good fields of Rotax Light and Heavy which provided entertaining racing.

I asked what the juniors raced and was shown a Clubman with a can style exhaust. They call this class Junior Restricted and the motors put out around 14 hp.  There is also a Junior 100cc Yamaha which is obviously not restricted and then there is Formula Junior which runs either a Rotax J-Max or a Maxter engine.

Junior Restircted Yamaha KT100S with 'can' exhaust
Above: Junior Restircted Yamaha KT100S with 'can' exhaust

What about sub junior?  This spun me out.  Ages 7 to 12 running a Raket 100 engine that is not far away from the Comer BUT, the chassis has to be New Zealand made and is restricted in its construction - basic cable brakes, 30mm rear axle and a very simple front end with minimal adjustment. 

The Cadet racing was some of the closest of the meeting and very entertaining to watch.  After chatting with some of the dads I established that this class is inexpensive and simplistic in its approach to getting young drivers into the sport. 

Cadet Racket 100 engine
Above: Cadet Racket 100 engine

Cadet karter Ryan Crombie
Above: Cadet karter Ryan Crombie

As mentioned, the senior Yamaha classes have a bit more grunt to play with due to engine mods and a free exhaust. There doesn’t seem to be a huge gap in performance form one engine to the next so kart set up is your big winner here.

One other class was the Clubsport 120 which is an inexpensive senior class running the Raket 120 engine.  From what I can gather the performance sits a little bit below our Clubman class, but the engines last for ages with some drivers not touching them for up to 2 years. 

A few other interesting points are the fact that all classes at the meeting run on MG Reds.  Drivers are only allowed one engine change for the whole meeting and also one carby change.  Engines are sealed with a paint blob after heat 1 and that includes head, barrel, carby, TCI, air box, crank cases.  At the end of racing if you are required to have your engine checked, the driver or nominated person has to remove it and report to the techs where you dismantle your engine and present the parts to the Tech Officer for checking. 

Scrutineering is done the old fashion way with a tech officer going over your kart and pointing out the things that don’t comply.  You also have to present your helmet, gloves, boots and  CIK approved race suit which is required to have the drivers name on it. 

Bottom line, when the helmet goes on, racing is racing and I had a blast.  The Kiwis are motorsport mad and were great  to race with. I would have no hesitation going back and having another crack as I got to walk the Hamilton track which is awesome and I also had a skid (Sic.  Kiwi Talk ) on the Rotorura track which is the most modern, smooth and impressive track I’ve seen.

If you get the opportunity to cross the ditch and race, do it.  It's sweet as.

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