Best 'arrive & drive' for a beginner?

[Matthew Nowakowski]

Hey everyone!

My name is Matt (living in Brantford, Ontario) and im new to karting and really excited to be getting into it, however im a total newbie to the sport. I figured I ought to get into an Arrive & Drive league before i go out and buy my own kart. I have a few questions that im hoping someone can answer!

1.  Would you recommend getting into one of these “arrive and drive” races before joining a series that requires i bring my own kart? I ask this because i want to know whether i would be getting a good bang for my buck in terms of getting acquainted with the sport…. im 26, roughly 200lbs and have driven quick go karts in the past, just never competitively.

2. Which Arrive & Drive program would u recommend?/ which one has a good reputation for quality of karts and facility?… From my research, i know of Cameron Motorspeeday’s program.. and also the Canadian Rookie Karting Championship @ Goodwood…. also, are there any others that im missing?

im looking forward to getting out there and begin racing, maybe ill meet a few of you at some point!

thanks in advance :)

Matt

[David Cole]

Welcome Matt. First off, don’t forget about our sister site, eKartingNews.ca – which focuses on the club and regional programs throughout the country. You are just a few minutes from our publishers home town in Cambridge.

Not sure about the program Cameron offers, but an Arrive-n-Drive is a great first chance to understand karting basics. If you want to take it to the next level, then you go club racing. Check out Waterloo Regional Kart Club at Flamboro. Big following and great place to get started in the sport.

David Cole - EKN Managing Editor

[Rob Kozakowski]

I think Ontario has some decent arrive and drive “leagues” these days – much better than Walt has described…

That said, the Briggs LO206 at the club level is arguably the best (most cost effective, and simple) option that has ever been available in “normal” club-level kart racing.  Check out WRKC or any of the other kart clubs in the area out – they should almost all be offering the LO206 at this point, (I know that Goodwood sells the LO206 package).  ekn.ca has links to most, if not all the kart clubs in the area.

[Matthew Nowakowski]

thanks for the great responses guys, looks like LO206 classes are offered at the tracks nearby my house. Are 2 stroke karts just considered more costly to maintain?  I read somewhere that 2 stroke classes bring higher quality drivers is this true?

question is, do i invest in a 2 stroker sooner rather than later?

 

[Jon Romenesko]

The 2-strokes we use in karting tend to be pretty high strung, so as a result you generally have to spend a lot to keep them running their best. They are racing engines after all!  And then there’s the fact that the faster classes use stickier tires, more expensive fuel & oil (and more of it), etc…

 

2-strokes have also been the norm for karting for many years, so they’re more widely raced across the world. It’s not really that they bring the higher quality drivers, it’s more that it’s what’s raced at the national/international level. I’d wager most of the people on this forum race a 2-stroke.  The LO206 is a great place to start, and if I had to do it all over again it’s where I’d start too.  It will give you an opportunity to work on your driving rather than trying to figure out how to tune a carb, rebuild a top end, etc…the learning curve can be very steep when you’re starting out, so anything helps.  if you find yourself looking for a new challenge, or a faster kart after a few years, that’s when I would start looking at 2-strokes.

GP10/CR125
S2 Semi-Pro Stock Moto - SKUSA Rocky Mountain ProKart Challenge

http://theslipangle.com/

[Matthew Nowakowski]

Thanks for the great info Jon! That pretty much nails exactly what I wanted to know! . based on what I can tell from posts around this forum I think I will be leaning towards an lo206 kart.. I’ll try and find a kart shop close by and hopefully get some info there too..

 

Another very newb question I have is.. Can chassis vary in shape and size within a single race or are most tracks pretty strict when it comes to what kind of chassis you can bring out?

[Rob Kozakowski]

Walt, I think some of the A&D in Ontario is a lot better than most of the stuff we are familiar with.

Anyways, Ontario has a great LO206 program right now, and it’s growing all across Canada.  The great thing about it is there is a big mix of VERY good drivers as well as plenty of guys just starting out.  Although it’s a great entry-level class, it also attracts a lot of experienced guys because it is so simple, cheap and fun.  It might be a bit slower, but it’s not slow, and everyone else is going the same speed anyways, so there’s good racing.  Point being, there will be someone at your level to race with, no matter how good (or bad) you are, which will make it way more fun than jumping into a Rotax and potentially getting blown away for your first season.

Walt’s advice about chassis is more geared to the US market.  Up here in Canada, it’s a bit different.  Get yourself a proper 4-cycle chassis, made to be run at 50″ wide with a lower hp engine, made for a sit up seat, CIK bodywork, and 6″ wide rear tires, rather than a 2-cycle kart, or a US-WKA-style “gold-cup” kart.

In Ontario, the bigger names in 4-cycle are (in no particular order) K&K, Birel, CRG, Tony, Arrow, Margay, OK1/Intrepid/Praga, and a few others.  You can’t really go wrong with any of them.  Check out the links on ekartingnews.ca to a lot of the dealers in Ontario.

[Walt Gifford]

You’ll get bang for your buck alright, they’ll bang the hell out of you. My advise get your own kart and race with pro drivers asap before those crappy arrive and drive into you league spoils your enthusiasm.

Check the local tracks and see if you can get into an LO206 program. Lots of good used karts out there.

Gif

FAA certified jet engine and aircraft technician,
Nicholson Speedway class champion 2001,
Yamaha KT100 Service Center,
41 years karting experience

[Walt Gifford]

Rob Kozakowski wrote:

much better than Walt has described…

Just curious if you’ve ever raced in an arrive and drive league with 360 bumpers. Not show up and rent a track session but a league. Some of the hardest hits I’ve ever taken in karting.

There are 2 kinds of karts in LO206, gold cup (4 stroke) full bodywork with 50″ rear track and manufactures cup (2 stroke) with CIK bodywork and 55″ rear track. Some places allow both and some only allow CIK karts. If you get a CIK kart you can use it to race Yamaha or TAG at a later time. When you go to the kart shop don’t let them talk you into Rotax, you can thank me later.

Gif

FAA certified jet engine and aircraft technician,
Nicholson Speedway class champion 2001,
Yamaha KT100 Service Center,
41 years karting experience

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