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| Features |
| Industry Insider: Robby Mott and Ribtect |
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 | | Ribtect's Robby Mott |
Aside from young and flexible drivers and maybe even the fittest of veteran pilots, after a weekend behind the wheel of a kart, your regular ‘Joe Karter’ normally feels the strain of a weekend at the kart track throughout a Monday morning a work. Karting is a physical sport and it’s often hard on the body, prompting even the toughest of us to work on ‘cushioning’ the blows. Foam and padding have been used over the years by many, all in a futile effort to help protect drivers from the rigors of racing. One innovative product was introduced to the sport in the late 1990s to help protect one of the most vulnerable sections of the body - the ribs. Veteran karter Robby Mott designed and developed the Ribtect Rib Protection Vest and it was an instant success, becoming an essential part of the safety equipment of countless karters.
The concept of Ribtect vest was derived following a rib injury that Mott suffered in the early 90s. Searching for a product that would protect him from the brutal forces of the kart in an upcoming race, he was unable to find a solution. As a result, motivated by his personal pain, Mott dove into designing and developing such a product. While the original prototype did its job, Mott would suffer another injury later in the season on the opposite side of his original injury thanks to the seat hitting into his ribs during high g-force sections of the track. The prototype was then revised to include full rib protection. After other competitors saw his vest, Mott received many requests for one of their own. By 1998, Mott launched the Ribtect vest to the karting market.
EKN: What were some of the obstacles that you had to overcome during the prototype stage of the original Ribtect and introducing the product to the karting market?
Robby Mott: The vest seemed to really work well and I wanted to show it to the karting community. We would travel to different races across the country, showing the vest to the drivers. On the grid, our Ribtect Girls would offer the drivers a practice run with the vest to check it out. It worked so well that they would buy it on the spot. Eventually, this created enough demand that the racer was asking for the Ribtect Vest at their local shop. The shops would call and want to become an authorized Ribtect dealer. In the beginning, I sold retail and through my dealer network. Once the dealer network grew, I stopped selling retail completely. For the last seven years, Ribtect has sold products through their valued dealer network only.
 | | The Ribtect 3 Vest |
The next evolution of the Ribtect was the Ribtect 2. The new design and tooled carbon fiber panels allowed for the vest to flex around the driver for better protection and comfort. The entire Ribtect 2 product was a complete upgrade from the original Ribtect. Following the success and looking to improve the vest once again, Mott released the Ribtect 3. The new vest had a new and improved outer panel construction with a purpose of being stronger and longer lasting while keeping the core philosophy of the original vest intact.
Many drivers across the country currently use the Ribtect vest, including 2010 Team USA Rotax Grand Finals team member Louie Pagano from Southern California. “I think the Ribtect is the best and it’s very comfortable. With the material being used, it seems to be able to last much longer than anything else. At a recent event under raining conditions, I was very active in the seat and putting a lot of pressure on the Ribtect. After each session, it looked and felt unchanged with no cracks. I think it's a great product and recommend to anyone who doesn’t have one.”
While looking at the development of the Ribtect, Mott discovered that the seat of the kart was a major factor for rib injuries. Learning how to custom mold a seat to the shape of a person, Mott began manufacturing the Ribtect Seat. The seat follows the same theory as the vest - take the pressure and impact to the body and spread it around to larger area. The seat looks and acts differently than typical karting seats and has become a popular choice for drivers in the Masters categories (ages 35 and over).
EKN: What year did you develop the Ribtect Seat?
RM: The Ribtect Seat was designed in 1998-1999. I learned how to shape and build seat molds during that time. I spent about three months shaping the very first seat mold. It took the following eight or nine months to create the other 13 sizes. I built the first 500 Ribtect seat in a garage in San Diego. During the three-month shaping process, I was thinking of a way to get a performance advantage from the seat. I came up with Ribtect’s ‘X’ pattern theory, connecting the chassis from corner to corner, allowing the driver to wind up the chassis, then help it launch off the corner from the energy stored in the seat.
 | | For younger drivers, the Ribtect Chest Protector offers added safety |
The very first day I tried the seat, I had a very interesting experience. This was at the Willow Springs kart track with 100cc power. The first lap coming onto the back straight, it felt like someone hit me off the corner. I mean, I was mad that someone would hit me that hard in practice…and coming off the corner! I remember turning around to find nobody anywhere near me. I drove into the next corner and felt like I shot out of a cannon. Needless to say, I was very excited that this ‘theory’ may have some truth. I went on to win the race that weekend.
In 2004, a new product joined the Ribtect family - the Ribtect Chest Protector. After learning of the unfortunate karting accident that took the life of nine-year old Caleb Maxwell, Mott investigated the need for chest protection for the younger drivers of the sport. Mott designed and developed the Ribtect Chest Protector - using the same attention to safety and detail that developed the Ribtect Vest - and introduced it to the karting world. Chest protectors have now become mandatory safety equipment by many of the kart sanctioning bodies in the United States and world-wide.
EKN: What is the primary purpose of the Ribtect Chest Protector and what injury does the product help prevent?
RM: The goal with this product is to prevent blunt force trauma to our children, making karting a safer environment. Caleb Maxwell passed away while karting due to blunt force trauma to the chest. When I heard about this…I began working on a solution right away. About two months later, I received a call from WKA stating that something must be done. I let them know that I had a prototype already and working on a better one. Working closely with SFI, the Ribtect Chest Protector was developed and used to write the current safety specs.
 | | To add to driver safety and performance came the Ribtect Seat |
Ribtect as a company has expanded into other karting products aside from the safety area. Ribtect has become the sole distributer for the Maxxis asphalt karting tire line. The Maxxis brand was founded in Taiwan in 1967 and it one of the largest and most respected tire companies in the world. Maxxis offers high-quality tire products for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, ATVs, trailers, lawn and garden care, and of course, karts. The Maxxis brand is well-known in the dirt oval ranks, but is now taking the sprint kart market by storm. A number of tracks have made the Maxxis brand their ‘spec’ series tire, with the 5” brand coming in two compounds for competitive karting (MH and HG3) and two for indoor/outdoor concession karts (HG1 and Raptor).
EKN: What brought on the deal with Maxxis tires?
RM: I met the folks at Goldspeed (importer of Maxxis kart tires) at the Kart Expo International show (St. Charles, IL) in 2007. The Maxxis brand is very well known in the dirt oval market and has been their main focus. Although they were selling some 5" asphalt tires, they did not have the time and energy to really get after it. I asked for them to send me some tires for testing, so I could make sure the tires were of good quality and that I would love to help them in the 5" market. This is when Ribtect was named distributor for the Maxxis 5" kart tire line. Now, we have a warehouse in Los Angeles and in South Carolina stocked full of Raptor tires, Maxxis HG1's and HG3's.
Mott not only markets his products, he also produces results on the track with them. Utilizing his Ribtect Vest and Ribtect Seat, Mott tied for the Florida Winter Tour Rotax Masters title in 2010. Mott doesn’t have any plans to hit the kart seat in the near future as currently it’s all business, but looking to the future, Mott’s personal goal would be to progress up to Daytona Prototypes.
 | Mott leading the Rotax Masters field at the Ocala round of the 2010 Florida Winter Tour
(Photo: Ribtect) |
Outside of karting, Mott is involved in kayak fishing. While living in Venice Beach for nearly 10 years, Robby would fish in the kelp beds of the Pacific, north of Malibu. The competitive side of Mott took hold of that hobby as well, entering into tournaments and scoring some wins in the process. His innovative mind went into action during that time as he designed, shaped, and built a gas-powered jet drive kayak. After selling the prototype to a manufacturer, production was halted due to EPA concerns with the two-cycle engine. After moving to Texas, Robby discovered flat fishing in water no deeper than six inches. Now, he is a dealer for Surfango power kayaks in Texas.
Mott and Ribtect are both moving forward for the future, striving to distribute new and innovative products or continue to evolve the safety standards for karting drivers while keeping in mind their mission to be one of the greatest safety suppliers to the karting industry. When the new products hit the market, you are sure to see Mott and the Ribtect Girls at a track near you. |
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