Why Buy? (a ride, that is)
A few of the non racing types that I with which I interact can’t understand why someone would spend so much on go karting. Like most others in karting, I get the two basic questions. First, “how fast does it go?”. Second, “how much does it cost?” With a shifter the answers to both questions amaze the inquisitors. With the costs of buying and maintaining a kart at the top level, many have found it more economical to to pursue arrive and drive programs with established teams. For someone at my level except for the biggest of events it doesn’t always make economical sense. For little Jr looking to blast his way through karts and into cars it makes much more sense. That way instead of ponying up the cash for a couple of karts at each step of the ladder, dad either rents them or buys them at a discount from the team and flips them within a few races. In my case, though, I had a different reason.
I’ve been karting for nearly 8 years as a privateer. Not many, perhaps only a couple of karters are factory supported in the States. If that many. In other words, most of us are privateers. When I started karting in 2001 I was doing arrive and drives but with my own equipment largely because I wanted to shorten my learning curve and concentrate on driving. It was a big help in getting me started those first couple of seasons. Would have hated to do it alone and that may be one of the reasons so many new karters get frustrated and give up within a few years. You have to do your own wrenching and driving. Some are good at one, but not the other. Some are good at both. I am mediocre at both, though improving all the time. I understand the physics and dynamics of driving and car prep/setup. My execution much of the time is my limitation. That’s when I started looking at A&D.
Last season when I decided to return to racing regionally and limited nationals after not competing for a few years, I started looking at pro level arrive and drive programs for my semi pro class, masters, old and heavy. The programs I was most impressed with weren’t interested in me. Not that I didn’t have the money, I did. It’s just most of the were looking for someone more competitive or willing to commit to a full season at a price with which I could go race cars and stand to make at least some of that money back. I had a great conversation last year with one team principal when he asked how I thought I would do. My candor answer suprised him in that I was out to have fun and realized I wasn’t going to be anywhere near the front returning to sprint racing. I’d been primarily road racing all these years and it’s much more forgiving on a heavier driver and older body. Of course you have to be able to have the testicular fortitude to hold it wide open for the duration of some long straights at some of the best big car tracks in the world. That means that you’re over 100 mph, a few inches off the ground, in a nose to tail pack of six or seven karts for longer at a time than most sprint track lap times. It’s quite a rush.
During my time road racing I was able to attend some of the biggest road race events in the country. On several occasions though, I’d DNF due to a mechanical or not make a grid due to equipment issues. I saw arrive and drive as a way to avoid that. Ultimately I decided that I should go back and spend a season at the local club running a Rotax in the master class. In hindsight I wish I would have raced more in a non gearbox kart before jumping into a shifter. That (and training six to ten hours a week) were big helps this season.
The cost is something that at first looks daunting, but in reality if you find a good program it’s not too bad. It’s anywhere from US$500 to US$1500 per day depending on the program. That might sound like a lot but if you start factoring in the costs of running a large regional or national program as a solo privateer with no help, it’s more affordable than it looks. Particularly if you don’t have the right equipment for the class. For example, at SNATS XII by the time I rebuilt my equipment and hired professional help and rented pit space, it was only several hundred dollars more to rent a ride than it was to bring my own and thrash about with minimal help. I’m in a tent with five other shifter kart racers, four of them established national competitors, a good selection of spares and if needed, importer level support. For me it was that I could go on the cheap and risk not having fun and feeling like I flushed that money down the drain, or spending a little more and having the time of my life at one of the biggest karting bashes on the planet. It was an easy choice.
Tags: SNATS Race Things