Protrain Are Really Pros at Racing!

I seem to have been 'taken under the wing' of Protrain race team! They're amazing and very very good at what they do!

In 1969, Steve Chapman founded Protrain Race team and from there onwards, its gone from strength to strength! I now race with Protrain race team every month at Rissington's Race meeting racing one of their own Tyro Karts (No. 93)!

I greatly recommend Protrain Race team for anyone who is starting racing or someone who has a lot of experience as I guarantee that they will help you to improve your racing. They have helped me shave seconds off my time and I am slowly getting towards my target time at Rissington!

We All Start Somewhere...

Have you ever looked at a Formula 1 driver, and been like, I could never do that?! Well you can, everyone has to start somewhere, and two of the most iconic and well-known racing drivers started racing at local race circuits.

Jenson Button

Jenson Button started karting when he was eight years old and acheived a lot of success at a very young age! The video below shows him beating all the other drivers at the age of nine in 1989 (he is kart number 14)!

Jenson Button is now a Formula 1 driver and is very successful, however as a child although he won a lot of races he got into a lot of trouble as a young karter! When he started racing at Shennington Race Circuit, he got pulled in by the club chairman and was handed a ban for 5 races due to dangerous driving which put other drivers at risk.

The 'ARKS' Of Racing!

This entry is to discuss whether you need to sit an ARKS test or whether it is not necessary. I am currently racing a Tyro Kart which has its own class called 'The Tyro' and has been noticed by the MSA.

To race a Tyro kart you currently do not need to have taken an ARKS test which I think is a very good idea for people who are starting. For many other classes however you do need an ARKS test, for example, Junior Rotax and Junior TKM! An ARKS test consists of the driver being watched as they race around the circuit, the instructor looks for 4 things:

1. Safety
2. Speed
3. Consideration of other drivers
4. General knowledge of racing line

Once you have raced around the track the instructor will ask you a few questions to test your general knowledge of racing and knowledge of what the different racing flags mean and stand for.

Even though I am currently racing in a class that does not require an ARKS test, I am planning on taking it in May to ensure a smooth transition between Tyro and another class that requires an ARKS test.

"Size isn't everything..."

In this entry I am going to name some race circuits in the local area which I think are very good and list the distances of the circuit along with aerial pictures - I will also put a difficulty level on each circuit judging from what I have raced in order of 1 to 4 (one being least difficult and four being most difficult) however, difficulty depends on the driver's ability and style ...

Shennington Kart Club (above)

1018m Direct Drive Circuit

1211m Gearbox Circuit

Difficulty Rating: 1

Whilton Mill Kart Club (above)

1120m Direct Drive Circuit

Difficulty Rating: 4

Kimbolton Kart Club (above)

989.5m - Event 1

1049.7m - Event 2 

958m - Gearbox Track 

Difficulty Rating: 2

Rissington Kart Club (above)

970m Direct Drive Circuit

Difficulty Rating: 3

Can I Upgrade My Kart To TAG?

"Can I Upgrade My Kart To TAG?" is a question that I have been asked on several occasions, and I am sure that the answer of; Yes you can, will please many people!

This involves a few simple steps...

1. For this demonstration I am going to start with a Junior TKM engine (pictured below)

2. Purchase a kart battery with a simple 4 pin attachment (pictured below)

3. Connect the two, four pin cable together.

4. With the spare black cable coming out of the Junior TKM engine it can now be used as a rev monitor for a Mychron 4 (you need to buy a Mychron Cable and it plugs into the middle socket on the rear of the Mychron 4) - if you do not own a Mychron 4 you will have to buy a IEC terminal connector which plugs into the black cable and cuts the current off. 

5. This should now provide you with a TAG system, and a working Mychron 4 providing a rev meter and lap timer.

What is a TAG system?

I have had many messages and comments from people asking what a TAG system is and whether is it worth getting...

There are three types of starting systems that are common in karts:

Pull-Start Engine

• Pull start have many advantages; for example, starting them after a long break is very easy as it does not rely on a battery and most usually starts first time!
• However the main disadvantage is one that can cause many problems out on the race circuit; for example, if a kart (cadets typically have a pull-start engine) had an accident and span of the circuit, typically the engine would cut out for safety reasons. The driver cannot restart the engine themselves because they are not allowed to leave the kart, they then have to wait for a marshall to assist them, this takes time and can cause them to lose positions in the race.

Push-Start Engine

• Push-Starts have one main advantage; the fact that they start moving which enables them to gain speed very quickly!
• However I think that the disadvantages of a push-start engine seriously outways the advantages; for example, it is very common for the kart engine to not start on the grid which results in the driver losing many places in the race. Another disadvantage is if a kart had an accident and span of the circuit, typically the engine would cut out for safety reasons. The driver cannot restart the engine themselves because they are not allowed to leave the kart, they then have to wait for a marshall to assist them, this takes time and can cause them to lose positions in the race. Furthermore, I have witnessed drivers pushing their kart with their team mechanic onto the track to start the engine, attempting to jump into the kart and falling to the ground injured, and the kart behind running them over as they are travelling at such fast speeds.

TAG engine system

• A TAG engine system has many advantages; it does not require any assistance to start which makes the whole karting operation a lot easier. If a kart had an accident and span of the circuit, typically the engine would cut out for safety reasons. Using a TAG system the driver can restart the engine themselves by simply pressing the start system. 
• However the one disadvantage of a TAG start system is the fact that after not using the kart for a while, it can take a while to restart it again, but once it starts; it will work perfectly!

Personally, I think that the best system is the TAG system! The Tyro kart that I have started to drive uses a TAG system with two buttons, a starting throttle and a full engine cut out. 

It could've been worse...

I know what you're thinking...Oh god, he's ended up in hospital! He's broken his neck (well I haven't this time, I nearly have before, but thats a story for another day...) I'll explain all about the incident later!

So I arrived, although half-asleep, at 7:45, and quickly oiled my chain, lubricated the brake disk and checked the tyre pressures. I then headed out on a track walk to work out the best line possible for the troublesome Dogleg!

I did my three lap practise perfectly, there was no spins and I was consistently knocking out 55/56 second laps. Everything was looking good, and as I lined up on the dummy grid I was feeling quietly confident!

On the starting grid, The Tyro attracted a lot of attention, I have never been asked so many questions; "How many cc does it have?", "Top Speed?" and "What chassis is it?" All of those questions are reasonable, except the last one, it quite clearly says on the side of the chassis that it is a Gillard.

Anyway I got out onto the track and we set off on our rolling lap, once we reached the starting line we were travelling at a reasonable travel, as we passed the yellow line, everyone accelerated. I managed to cut Josh (No. 94) off and edge in front of him.

This was the final, the race that everything came down to, nothing even mattered anymore. I got to lap 4 in 3rd position, then it all happened. The bolt holding my fuel tank to the kart flew off, hitting my helmet and flying onto the track. I had to race the entire 8 more laps holding the fuel tank between my knees, therefore reducing my ability to break and accelerate. I soon realised that I wasn't going to retain my position of 3rd whilst I couldn't fully accelerate. So I let go of the fuel tank with my knees, removed my left hand which was tightly gripped to the steering wheel and hugged the fuel tank to the metal strip running to my engine.

Although the situation was far less than ideal I was getting through the race and I was holding 3rd position. Then, disaster struck again, the cable taking fuel to my engine slipped out of the top of my fuel tank which resulted in fuel starvation, which meant that I couldn't accelerate over 40mph. Due to this factor, Josh (No. 94) who had been in 4th position, overtook me. I got round the rest of the circuit (luckily there was only one lap left) and I finished in 4th position. At the end of the race I pulled into the pits, and all over my kart was leaking petrol, I was helped out my kart and I was soaking wet. The really weird thing was the fact that I hadn't noticed fuel on me for the whole race, I guess it shows how focused I was.

However, everything isn't all bad! At the end of the day, my mum decided to buy me my own set of race boots. They are Sparco boots and I am very excited to race in them next month...I've uploaded a picture of them below...

My First Race Meeting!

Yesterday evening I was invited by Steve Chapman to attend a Rissington race meeting a race a brand new Tyro. I jumped in the air and immediately replied with a yes, I mean who wouldn't?

The first challenge of today was finding Rissington Kart Club, it is located in the middle of nowhere, it is peaceful (apart from the continual revving of kart engines!)

After eventually arriving at Rissington - I was once again greeted by Steve's friendly face and a gigantic awning! I did a sort of excited skip into the awning, and was greeted by my kart, No. 93 ...

Its beautiful isn't it? When I first saw it I had to pinch myself to check that I wasn't dreaming...but sure enough it was real, this kart was mine! Its some kind of karting god! I walked around the kart, it had never been raced before and had only been built the day before. 

I slipped on a race suit, helmet, gloves and boots, and slowly wheeled my kart out onto the dummy grid. I hopped in and slipped down into position, I started the engine using the TAG system, and to the surprise of the surrounding Protrain Team, it started first time. However, the 5 other drivers karts did not start first time but after some serious revving we all got going! 

Tomorrow is the race day and today was just practise, we were using the full circuit and by the end of the day I was getting 58.34 seconds, which overall wasn't a bit time considering it was the first time I've ever raced at Rissington. However, there is a corner that gets me nearly every time, its called the Dogleg and causes me to spin pretty much every lap - if I could master the corner I could perhaps shave up to 3 seconds off my lap time. 

I'm going to sleep now as I have to be up really early tomorrow to head to the race day! Wish me luck!