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International Karting Industry Buyer's Guide |
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| EYE ON THE INDUSTRY | |||||||||||||
| SOME
SERIOUS THINKING ABOUT DIRECTIONS
Ed. Note: The following appeared in Australia’s National Karting News sometime ago in a column called: “Gabriel’s Karting Kapers”. The content hits on key issues that affect karting in the USA and around the world. “It appears I hit upon some raw nerves when I mentioned that karting is getting to the stage where some competitors need a solicitor (lawyer) on their pit crews. A prophetic statement, especially for me as I got involved in a situation with my local club where they tried to use a rule to disadvantage (DQ) a karter and ended up in a legal brawl that has the potential to cost members a bag full of loot. However, the real story is in the global implications. Our rulebook is in need of (a) major overhaul if we are to stop arguments which involve expensive solicitors. As more and more legal battles unfold, the need is becoming more urgent. So much that karting is no longer just a matter o racing at the track. Following the racing, there are accusations, arguments and of course, the odd expensive legal battles. So much so that the focus is shifting to who can win the arguments not who can win the racing. Already there are jokes about certain competitors who, as a matter of course, arrive at (kart) hearings with legal representation. Most of us can’t afford to do that. Nor can we, as members, afford to support associations’ legal costs in counteracting alleged wrongdoers who have deep pockets. A little further down-track, I suggest we’d have to accept that herein lies a reason (one of several) for karting’s major problem: the turnover rate which is about 30% a year. Competitors already face a significant “learning” period and most who leave the sport never make it to the end of their “apprenticeship”. Unlike mainstream motorsports where new competitors make “very substantial” cash investments, and “expect” not to be competitive for some time, the cash investment in karting is much smaller and easier to walk away from when frustrations set in. Perhaps in the future,
I’ll look at several of the problems which contribute to this unproportionately
high annual “walk-out” level. However, you shouldn’t think for a minute
that the National Karting Council is not concerned with the problem(s).
Invariably, it is the first topic of conversation when the subject rolls
around as to what we can do to improve things for karters.”
END
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Kart Marketing Group, Inc. Post Office Box 101 Wheaton, IL 60189 USA Telephone: 630-653-7368 Fax: 630-653-2637 Email: karting@msn.com |
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