e-KMI.com, the e-zine for the karting industry


CLICK HERE
 

International Karting Industry Buyer's Guide
International Karting Industry Buyer's Guide


Kart Expo International
ExhibitorInformation and Show Directions

 

 FYI
12-19-04
    IKF ANNOUNCES CHANGES IN IKF DIRECTOR POSITIONS
    Ontario, California — The President of the International Kart Federation announces changes in the Director positions. 

    John Motley of Paso Robles, CA will fill the remaining one-year term of resigning Director John Podlesni. John Motley has a long, illustrious career in karting, going back to fielding a kart for his daughter and continuing with a kart shop currently being operated in Paso Robles. John is active in road racing in Southern California as well as doing motor tech inspection wherever requested.

    Tye Smith of Hockley, TX, will fill the 3-year term of resigning Director Doug Cole. Tye is active, with his son, in Speedway racing in Region 4B and on the Grand National level. Tye is the IKF Texas Governor as well as the Coordinator for Speedway racing in the Region.
    The IKF Board sincerely thanks John Podlesni and Doug Cole for their contributions to the operation of IKF for the past years. IKF looks forward to John and Doug continuing racing with IKF in coming years.

    John Pence of Antioch, CA will fill the term unfilled at the last election. John fields a road racing shifter kart for his son in Northern California, is President of NorCal, the Region 11 association of Sprint track operators, and is the IKF Governor for Northern California as well as the Race Director for the sprint races at the Stockton Kart Club.

    Brad Swiggart assumed the newly created position of IKF Executive Director under a two year contract beginning April 2003. The Board would like to thank Brad for serving in this position, which expires April 1, 2005, and also for his six years as an IKF Board member. 

    The members and Board of the IKF are grateful to Brad Swiggart for his dedication, enthusiasm and tireless service during his tenure with the IKF. His commitment to the IKF and its members has been an asset to the organization and is greatly appreciated by the Board and membership. 
     
     

    FIRSTKART.COM SPONSORS SENIOR ROTAX DIVISION 
    Guelph, Ontario, Canada — In an effort to generate a greater brand awareness of the First Kart product line, firstkart.com has signed on to support the 2005 Formula Kart Racing Florida Winter Tour. The Guelph, Ontario based company will market their products through participation in the entire six race series and also sponsor the Senior Rotax division. 

    “After competing in several years of the winter championship and viewing the level of competition, I knew that we would have to be back in 2005 and what better then to bring some support to Formula Kart, Bill Wright and his excellent series,” explained Team Manager Tony Ventresca. “With more drivers competing for us in this year’s series then ever before, the Firstkart.com race team will hit Homestead in a big way. Several of our National level drivers will make the trek south for some ‘Serious Fun’” Ventresca also went on to add that the firstkart.com team will have drivers from the US, Canada, Columbia and Australia.”

    “We are pleased to have firstkart.com on board for the 2005 season,” explained Wright from his Florida office. “This year’s series is going to be bigger and better then previous years and with the level of competition being brought south as portrayed by First Kart, there is going to be some great racing action.”

    In other news, the First Kart North America squad is also working diligently on putting together a West coast race team for 2005. Team events have not yet been confirmed but will include the Stars of Karting Championship. Any interested parties and funded drivers are welcome to contact Team Manager Tony Ventresca at 519-824-4343.

    For more information on the First Kart North America, product sales, the race team and exciting dealership opportunities including information on how to get into kart racing please contact First Kart President Tony Ventresca at 519-824-4343 or visit them online at www.firstkart.com.
     
     
     

    KARTING INDUSTRY COUNCIL SPONSORS 2005 KART EXPO TECH SEMINAR
    Independence, Kentucky — Karting Industry Council (KIC) president Angelo Sodano announced today that the respected organization will be sponsoring a technical seminar at the 2005 Kart Expo International at the Pheasant Run resort outside of Chicago, February 26-27, 2005.

    The technical seminar will address the rules, regulations and techniques involved with verifying technical conformance of Intercontinental A and Intercontinental C class engines and will be conducted by the widely respected motorsports technician, Scott G. Evans.  The technical director of the Snap-on Stars of Karting and US ROTAX Max Challenge series as well as chief scrutineer for Formula BMW USA, Evans brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the forefront of these two growing engine classes.

    KIC President Sodano elaborates, "We are pleased to present this seminar to further and broaden the knowledge base in these two critical engine classes.  Having Scott Evans conduct the seminar is just frosting on the cake, so to speak, as he has established himself as the most respected technical director in the industry and his continuing cooperation with KIC is a real feather in our cap."

    Registration for the seminar is available and ongoing by contacting Mr. Bob White at bwkic@msn.com or calling (859) 760-5850.  Cost for the seminar is $60 and it is scheduled to be conducted on Friday morning, February 25, from 9am-Noon.  A $10 discount is available for attendees of the 2005 Track Directors or 4-cycle Seminar presentations.  Participants will receive a certificate of completion and efforts are underway to establish an official certification from a nationally recognized board.

    Evans explains, "The popularity of these engine classes and indeed the international "recipe" for karting is growing in the States and all of North America.  It is critical to their continued growth that engine builders, track officials and competitors understand the rules structure and techniques involved with these engines.  I am happy to help spread this knowledge with the help of KIC for the betterment of the industry."

    Seminar structure will include a presentation of rules and techniques based on the International Karting Commission (CIK) regulations followed by a forum of question and answer where specific differences between sanctioning body rules can be discussed.  Participants will receive literature to follow along and retain as reference material.  The time allotted is expected to be under three hours.

    The Karting Industry Council, KIC is the oldest and largest trade association for the sport in North America.  KIC's goal is a simple one - to promote karting through leadership.  As an independent organization, KIC acts as a liaison between the karting industry, karting organizations, clubs and track owners.  KIC provides leadership and information to create a strong, stable karting community and clear paths for advancement of the sport.  Information about KIC's mission and programs can be found at their website at www.kartindustrycouncil.com.
     
     
     
     

    PHANTOM UNIVERSITY JUNIOR CHALLENGE IS WHERE BRAINPOWER MEETS HORSEPOWER
    China Grove, North Carolina — Success in any endeavor starts before any action is taken. Whether it is choosing the right setup for your kart or graduating high school or college: brainpower is the genesis that directs your efforts. At Phantom Racing Chassis we've pioneered a way to bring racing and academics together. It's called "Phantom University Junior Challenge." PUJC is now entering it's 5th year and it has already rewarded drivers with nearly $50,000 in prizes in it's first 4 years. 

    The Challenge has no entry fee and is open to all junior drivers riding a Phantom chassis in sanctioned races. Knowing that a sound education is the foundation for later success we added incentives. Drivers compete on state and national levels for a vast array of prizes: including a full-year Phantom sponsorship and academic scholarships. Phantom University Junior drivers compete both on and off the track. Each student earns points on both a scholastic and a racing level. The points are then combined to determine the winners. Mom and Dad can rest assured that the academic side is weighted heavier than track points. That means drivers have to hit the books. (Deadline Extended to December 31st)

    Beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year we've seen tremendous growth. In fact, enrollment has nearly double since 2001, jumping from 67 competitors to 121 in 2004. Having completed 4 seasons of PUJC our 233 participants have reaped the benefits in better grades and coveted prizes. In addition to racing/scholastic prizes, we also offer purely academic awards. Each year we also award the Top GPA winner. Last year's winner took home $5000 to start a college fund. Be forewarned, though. It has taken a 97.8% and two perfect 100% scores to claim this prize.

    In 2004 we introduced a new academic award category – Most Improved. This category will reward the student who has made the largest personal advancement in their academics from the end of the previous year to the end of the current school year. Our hope is that this will motivate and challenge all students, not just those that are already excelling in the classroom.

    For more details or to enter you may do any of the following:
    - Request complete details and a sign-up sheet at any Phantom dealer 
    - Contact us direct by calling 704-855-3165 
    - Fax us at 800-650-7344
    - Or check us out at on the web at http://www.pujc.com where you can find complete details and a printable registration form.
     
     
     

    KART WEEK GEARS UP
    Concord, North Carolina — The world's largest karting event, WKA’s Daytona KartWeek, at historic Daytona International Speedway will be sponsored by Cometic Gasket, track officials announced.

    Daytona KartWeek by Cometic Gasket is scheduled for Dec. 26-30 at both the "World Center of Racing" and Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium. Both facilities will be transformed into big playgrounds as hundreds of go-karts will camp out for five days of exciting side-by-side racing.

    "We're excited to have Cometic Gasket come aboard as a sponsor for Daytona KartWeek," Speedway President Robin Braig said. "Every year we look to continue to grow the World Karting Association races at Daytona and the addition of Cometic Gasket as an event sponsor is another important step."

    Cometic Gasket is based in Concord, Ohio and has 15 years of experience in the production of shelf stock and custom gaskets for all forms of Motorsports including NASCAR, motocross, ATV, personal watercraft, road racing, drag racing and USAC Midgets.

    Daytona KartWeek by Cometic Gasket activities begin Sunday, Dec. 26 with the World Karting Association/Briggs & Stratton 4-Cycle Day at the "World Center of Racing." On Monday, Dec. 27, the Dunlop Tire National Road Racing Series World Championships presented by Elite Karting tackle the famed 3.56-mile road course and The George Kugler Manufacturer's Cup Series presented by Bridgestone & Margay Sprint Championships race on the infield sprint course, while the Briggs & Stratton Speedway Dirt Series World Championships also get underway at Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium.

    Many of today's racing stars competed in karting events at Daytona, including 2002 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Tony Stewart, 2003 NEXTEL Cup Series Rookie of the Year Jamie McMurray and 2003 NASCAR Busch Series champion Brian Vickers.
     
     

    NEWS FROM THE WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL (CIK)
    Monaco — During its meeting on December 10, 2004,  the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA announced the following decisions regarding karting: 

    Establishment of an Advisory Group— 
    The World Council approved the establishment of an Advisory Group toliaise with the karting industry. The Group will consist of Messrs MichaelSchumacher, Peter Kaiser, Peter de  Bruijn, Vittorio Loriga and Vincent Caro. 

    Sporting Regulations— 
    The decisions regarding the Sporting Regulations are aimed at introducing the first possible cost reduction measures. They consist in limiting from 2005 the equipment used for the CIK-FIA Championship, Cup and Trophy events to one chassis, two engines and two sets of tyres per driver. The decisions also include a limitation of the equipment used for free practice prior to each event - which is quite new within the framework of the CIK-FIA Championships. At the end of the 2005 season these measures will be assessed and reinforcing the limitations of the equipment will be contemplated. It will be possible to reach the objective of the single engine per event in 2007 thanks to the introduction of the new generation of 2-stroke 125cc engines. 

    Other decisions concern the international A license eligibility criteria for drivers (for this grade, results taken into account can henceforth extend over the 24 months prior to the application) and the possible use of a “Safety Car” within the framework of Superkart events held on long circuits. 

    The introduction from 2006 of a World Cup for the ICA category has also been voted, to be held within the framework of the World Championship meeting. This promotion of ICA will be accompanied by the mandatory passage of junior drivers in ICA before they can graduate to Formula A, the top category. 

    Technical Regulations—
    The decisions regarding the Technical Regulations mainly concern the drafting of the regulations of the future “long life” 2-stroke 125cc engines. The work of the CIK has been guided by the following philosophy: homologation of a basic engine which will meet the criteria of reliability and of sound and chemical pollution reduction, and which will be easy to assemble and to use; from one and the same engine, three sporting variants will be available and it will be possible to use them in the championships of the ASNs and of the CIK-FIA. The detailed list of requirements for these future engines will be available on http://www.cikfia.com. 
     
     

    END
     

Kart Marketing Group, Inc.
Post Office Box 101
Wheaton, IL 60189 USA
Telephone: 630-653-7368
Fax: 630-653-2637
Email: karting@msn.com

Copyright

Back to Home Page

Neatconcept, Inc