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Enduro Karting

Life's Good

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Over the weekend I took part in a 6hr Go Kart enduro in Newcastle.
I have dabbled in these before(including a 24hr race a while back). With my kids getting older I’m finding a bit more free time & Newcastle was a toe in the water with a view to setting up a team with a few mates to run the rest of this series.
Tough going but thoroughly enjoyable.
 
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Parra

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How many drivers for a 6hr? What class? I used to race clubman heavy. Used the 100s Yamaha.
 

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How many drivers for a 6hr? What class? I used to race clubman heavy. Used the 100s Yamaha.

We had a team of 3 drivers and the plan was 35min stints timed around fuel stops. A tank of fuel does around 1.5 hrs (there is a minimum number of stops required, fuel stops are timed - all aimed at safety & keeping it for what happens on the track). One of our drivers left early so there was only 2 of us to complete the last 3 hours in reasonably hot weather. It was tough going but I managed to complete a 45 minute stint just to push myself.

The karts themselves are twin engine 6.5HP Honda 4 strokes that just run and run(low maintenance too). They dont have the accelaration of a 2 stroke but top end is ok - around 90kph. All the weight is at the rear so you are constantly fighting O/S or U/S depending on corner type. Hold the brake pedal and it will swap ends in an instant.
 

Parra

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We had a team of 3 drivers and the plan was 35min stints timed around fuel stops. A tank of fuel does around 1.5 hrs (there is a minimum number of stops required, fuel stops are timed - all aimed at safety & keeping it for what happens on the track). One of our drivers left early so there was only 2 of us to complete the last 3 hours in reasonably hot weather. It was tough going but I managed to complete a 45 minute stint just to push myself.

The karts themselves are twin engine 6.5HP Honda 4 strokes that just run and run(low maintenance too). They dont have the accelaration of a 2 stroke but top end is ok - around 90kph. All the weight is at the rear so you are constantly fighting O/S or U/S depending on corner type. Hold the brake pedal and it will swap ends in an instant.


I like the idea of timed fuel stops. Sounds like a pretty good class - those Yamaha motors screamed but they were hand grenades. Do you need a system to maintain weight between drivers or do you just all weigh around the same?
 

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I like the idea of timed fuel stops. Sounds like a pretty good class - those Yamaha motors screamed but they were hand grenades. Do you need a system to maintain weight between drivers or do you just all weigh around the same?

There is a minimum weight & the club does random weight checks through practice, qualy & race(times as well for equality).
Lighter drivers have to carry ballast to make the weight tho is in the form of bolt on weights(permanent resulting in the heavier driver carrying it as well)or a drop in weighted seat that you install or remove depending on driver.
 

Parra

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There is a minimum weight & the club does random weight checks through practice, qualy & race(times as well for equality).
Lighter drivers have to carry ballast to make the weight tho is in the form of bolt on weights(permanent resulting in the heavier driver carrying it as well)or a drop in weighted seat that you install or remove depending on driver.

I used to bolt on lead to make the minimum weight - figured it could be an issue with co-drivers, let alone the seat - you'd want a pretty good match.
 

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I used to bolt on lead to make the minimum weight - figured it could be an issue with co-drivers, let alone the seat - you'd want a pretty good match.
Our weight spread was about 10kgs. This being our first race let’s just say the club made sure we weighed in when our heaviest driver was at the wheel.
 

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I just got back from competing in back to back 6hr races at Port Macquarie.
I was lucky enough to team up with a fellow Simulator racer who happens to race 2 stroke karts. Miserable weather on Saturday created havoc & mixed up the field . My co driver should have had pole after lighting up the track in practice but we snapped the starter cord & missed qualifying. Starting about 3 from the back he carved his way through the field to lead after about 15 laps. He pulled out a 15 sec lead & had the other teams scratching their head about our pace(I was like a proud father pumping him up over the team radio). It went downhill soon after when he got taken out lapping a back marker which put him in the gravel. I then got in to experience driving on a wet track with slicks as we continued to battle mid field. At one point I aquaplaned on the main straight m(around 90kph)and was heading backwards into the tyre wall only to be saved by the mud pulling the car up & somehow getting me pointed in the right direction.
At around the 3.5 hr mark our engine seized dropping us way down the order. A 2hr fix to locate & bolt on a new engine was enough to get us back on the track & see the chequered flag.

Race 2 was a sh*t show all round. Running mid pack I then got in and was rammed off the track breaking the left front stub axle & watched my left front wheel roll down the track on its own. Lengthy repairs got us back out only for me to have the left front tyre deflate(slick, worn to the canvas). We got to the end again which is an achievement we were happy with given a few teams packed up & went home.
It’s addictive.
 

Parra

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You certainly carry some spares - tell me it was a borrowed motor or did you "run it in" racing?

Things have probably changed since the Yamaha 100S hand grenades though.

Great story. Karts in the wet are always exciting.
 

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You certainly carry some spares - tell me it was a borrowed motor or did you "run it in" racing?

Things have probably changed since the Yamaha 100S hand grenades though.

Great story. Karts in the wet are always exciting.

Actually, it was a 2nd hand motor I bought off a competitor for the princely sum of $80. He told me it had been sitting around gathering dust in his garage. It started first time! Gotta love those 4 strokes.
 

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We completed Rd4 in Canberra a few weeks back with another 6hr race. What a circuit! A downhill section into an almost flat right kink with a sliding left turn. Get it wrong & it’s gravel on the entry & exit. Get it right & you can’t wipe the smile of your face.
It was cold though. The track is out in the open & the temp never rose above 6 degrees. Into the wind & your fingers felt like they had been immersed in ice. I’d get out of the kart & run my hands over the exhaust to warm them up.
The experienced guys were telling me the track is a kart breaker. They weren’t wrong, bolts holding the engine, floor & bumpers all worked loose from constant bashing of the kerbs.
Oh & after 6hrs the race came down to the last lap.
Wollongong this weekend can’t come soon enough.
 

Parra

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I had a look at the specs for this class - looks very well thought out. Is Wollongong at the kart track or is it a street race? Pretty sure Wollongong used to run a street race for sprint karts. Canberra as well.
 

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I had a look at the specs for this class - looks very well thought out. Is Wollongong at the kart track or is it a street race? Pretty sure Wollongong used to run a street race for sprint karts. Canberra as well.
It’s a pretty good class that places most of the emphasis on preparation & strategy. Outright speed is obviously important but the races are so much more that that.
The Wollongong race takes place at Kembla Grange.
 

Parra

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It’s a pretty good class that places most of the emphasis on preparation & strategy. Outright speed is obviously important but the races are so much more that that.
The Wollongong race takes place at Kembla Grange.

I see it has grown a bit - used to be a very tight little track, heaps of fun.

The class your in has set drive ratios? No more changing front/rear sprockets?
 

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I see it has grown a bit - used to be a very tight little track, heaps of fun.

The class your in has set drive ratios? No more changing front/rear sprockets?
Actually, I’m not sure about the sprockets. I’ll check this out on Saturday & let you know.
 

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I see it has grown a bit - used to be a very tight little track, heaps of fun.

The class your in has set drive ratios? No more changing front/rear sprockets?
Finally getting around to this. The sprockets are all fixed. You can play around with clutch settings & springs in the clutch - basically means bite point can be altered depending on track. In fairness you run most circuits at a medium setting but say, Newcastle you go with a more aggressive setting as there’s a little more of a stop/start nature to that track.
 
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