AKA Introduces 'Transponder' Flag
TweetThe AKA has introduced a “No Transponder” flag.
The new flag will be brown, with a large circular hole cut out of the centre. It will be shown to drivers who are not registering lap times on the CM:s timing system during a track session and instructs them to pull into the pits immediately.
“The hole represents something missing” an AKA member told KartSportNews, alluding to the missing transponder.
“It is tradition in motorsport to use flag signals to communicate with the drivers” the person said. “The more flags, the more things we can communicate.”
If a competitor has failed to fit their transponder, or it is not working, they don’t get scored and are disqualified from that section of the event.
“The reasoning behind the flag is that we don’t want drivers out there affecting other people’s race, when they are going to be classified as a non-finisher anyway. It’s just not fair to the others if, for example, they got crashed out.”
When it was put to the AKA rep that karting already has six flags that essentially do the same job (ie, tell the driver to return to the pit) and that this was just making the officials’ job even more complex, he shrugged and mentioned something about the starting gantry looking pretty and colourful.
The AKA can supply the new flags, but clubs are free to make their own. The size of the hole, however, will be strictly governed by a No-Go gauge.
The new flag rule comes in to immediate effect for race meetings as of today.
