U18 World Championship - Karting's Moto2?
press release
International Karting is getting ready for a big first with the launching of the new CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship this coming weekend in Germany.
Open to 15 to 18 year-old Drivers, this competition bears a strong resemblance to the Moto2 category introduced this season by the FIM, the International Motorcycle Federation. With similar aims – cost reduction and promotion of the Drivers thanks to equal opportunities – the formula is almost identical, at least in spirit: single-make tyres and engines for everyone, allocated by drawing lots.
In Karting, Dunlop and Parolin go as far as placing their products at the disposal of all the Drivers on a free basis! Budgets have consequently been revised… downwards, to the extent of being four to five times less than those required in the other major championships!
In order to reach such a marked cost reduction, the CIK-FIA has also reduced the format of events to three days, limited the quantity of equipment (1 chassis & 1 engine per Driver) and frozen evolutions of chassis and accessories. A total of 70 Drivers have entered and represent no fewer than 24 nations.
Contrary to most other Karting World Championships, more often than not held over one single event, the “U18” World Championship will comprise three rounds: Wackersdorf in Germany on 25 July, Alcañiz in Spain on 29 August and Val d’Argenton in France on 3 October.
At each event, the programme will be reinforced by an Academy Trophy for 13 to 15 year-old youngsters. This Trophy has the following double distinctive feature: on the one hand, all the Drivers will receive their ready-to-use Parolin-FIM kart free of charge at each race; in addition, with as many nationalities as karts at the start (one Driver per country, selected by his Federation), the competition will somewhat look like a Nations’ Cup, with a fine representation of Asian, European, African and South American countries.
As a supplement to the Drivers’ performance on the track, a groundbreaking educational programme, called Edukart, will be an integral part of the menu served within the framework of these CIK-FIA “U18” World Championship and Academy Trophy. Edukart, which is presented as a quiz composed of questions and multiple-choice answers, aims at making young Drivers aware of issues related to safety, the environment and fair play, as well as the history of Karting and knowledge of the regulations.
Let us also point out that these two new Karting competitions will be the first, at the international level, to use a second-generation “E10” type bio-fuel.
More information on: http://www.cikfia.com/News2010/wackersdorf_u18.htm