15th November 2016

2017 KARTING AUSTRALIA NATIONAL COMPETITION RULES

In advance of the release of the 2017 National Competition Rules later this week, Karting Australia is today announcing the major adjustments to the 2017 Manual.

“There are minimal changes for the 2017 National Competition Rules from our 2016 edition of the Karting Australia Manual,” said Karting Australia Chief Executive Officer Kelvin O’Reilly.

“Naturally, the more that we work with our rules the more minor refinements that we find a need to make and they are predictably becoming less and less.

“I would like to thank the many people who have had input into and who have worked on our 2017 rules.

“It includes the members of our National Technical Committee, Sporting and Events Committee, National Track Safety Committee, Rule Change Review Committee and the Karting Australia staff before the Rules were reviewed again and ratified by the Board.”

A pre-publication edition of the 2017 Rules will be uploaded to the Karting Australia website later this week at the same time that the print version is placed into the pre-production phase.

None of the new rules will come into effect until 1 January 2017.

The significant changes for 2017 are:

• The upper age limit for Cadet/Junior Competitors is changed to the date of a Competitors actual birthday rather than the calendar year thereby serving to ‘equalise maximum ages’ regardless of the month of a child’s birth;
• A Participant’s licence introduced for the parents/guardians of Competitors under the age of 18;
• Social Licence (E Grade) will have the sub-grading of “A”, “B”, and “C” applied dependent upon their experience in the previous three years;
• MG FZ (Yellow) to replace MG HZ (Red/White) in the TaG 125 and X30 Classes;
• A Reduction in the number of essential Officials for Club Competition so as to make the organising of Club Competition easier;
• An updated list of approved helmets;
• New Club Competition procedures;
• New rolling start procedure for all State, Zonal and Club Competition levels;
• Confirmation of Rotax Tyres.

Competition Licences – General Rules, Chapter 4 Rule 15 A
RULE CHANGE

15. Licence Types Issued by KA
a) Drivers licences (Refer to Rules 18-22 herein)

(i) Cadet 9

• From a person’s sixth (6^th) birthday until the date of their tenth (10^th) birthday
  (Formerly: until the end of the calendar year of their 9^th birthday.)
  Conditions apply for a person between their sixth (6^th) birthday and seventh (7^th) birthday

(ii) Cadet 12

• For persons aged in the calendar Year of their ninth (9^th) birthday until the date of their thirteenth (13^th) birthday.
  (Formerly: until the end of the calendar year of their 12^th birthday.)

(iii) Junior

• For persons aged in the calendar Year of their twelfth (12^th) birthday until the date of their sixteenth (16^th) birthday.
  (Formerly: until the end of the calendar year of their 15^th birthday.)

(iv) Senior

• For persons aged in the calendar year of their fifteenth (15^th) birthday and over.
• Conditions apply for a person in the year of their fifteenth (15^th) birthday until their fifteenth (15^th) birthday.

These changes are reflected in the relevant places including the Class Rules in the 2017 National Competition Rules.

RATIONALE

• The changes serve to “equalise” the Cadet and Junior Competition Ages.
• They provide Competitors born later in the year the same opportunity as the competitor born early in the year. (If you were born on 10 December, the current rules treat you as being a year older than a person who was born one month later on 10 January. This removes that anomaly.)
• The alteration to the upper age limit for Cadet and Junior licence holders will provide equal opportunity for all Competitors no matter when their birthday falls in a year.
• Competitors able to remain in their chosen class until they reach the maximum age rather than the end of a calendar year (irrespective of whether the child may have been born in January or December).
• The new upper age limits provides a larger window to allow Competitors to move into the next age group.

Competition Licences – General Rules, Chapter 4 Rule 15 C
NEW RULE

c) Participants Licence (Refer to Rule 23 herein)

(i) For the parents and/or legal guardians of Drivers under the age of 18 years who do not hold a current Driver’s Licence
(ii) This licence is required to enable such parents and/or legal guardians to apply for a Licence upgrade and to enter a Driver who is under the age of eighteen (18) years into a Meeting.

DEFINITION
Participant’s Licence: A Participant’s licence is a certificate of registration issued by KA to a person who may be a member of an affiliated Club, but in all circumstances for the purpose of the Participant’s Licence the person shall be deemed to be a Temporary Member pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the Australian Karting Association Ltd Constitution. Such licence will be required by the parent(s) and/or legal guardian(s) of a Driver under the age of 18 years, if they do not hold a current Driver’s Licence so as to enable them to enter the Driver who is under the age of eighteen (18) years in a KA sanctioned Event and to apply for a Licence upgrade for such Driver.

RATIONALE

• An entry for a race meeting is a “contract between a Competitor and the Organiser”.
  • Minors are unable to legally enter into a contract therefore they must be entered in an event by an adult.
• It brings the relationship between the Competitor/s and the Organisers and the requirements for Competitors to be bound by and observe the Rules into line with general expectations whereby parents/guardians must be responsible for minors rather than minors being responsible for their parents and/or guardians.
  • In simple language – if a parent breaks the rules, it should not reflect on their child’s record but on their own.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• There will be no cost for a Participants Competition Licence.
• You must be over 18 years of age to obtain one.
• If you are over 18 years of age and hold a current KA Driver’s Competition Licence, you do not need a Participant’s Licence to enter a child, legally within your care into an event.
• Obtaining the Participant’s Licence will be a simple online application through Karting Australia’s CMS.
• You will not be issued with a hard card but will receive a confirmation email upon submitting the correctly completed on-line application.

Competition Licences – General Rules, Chapter 4 Rule 17 (and Definitions)
RULE CHANGE

17. Licence Grading

• E-A Grade, E-B Grade, E-C Grade: Subject to previous racing experience and to these Rules, the applicant must have within the previous three (3) years held an A Grade, B Grade or C Grade Licence, are permitted to Compete in one (1) Class/ Division in a single Meeting each year using an E Grade licence.
  (Formerly a single grade of E Grade Licence [Social] was available.)

RATIONALE

• To simply allow higher graded previous Competitors (during the previous 3 years) to participate in Social karting in equipment for which they are appropriately licenced.

Class Rules Chapters 11 (X30) and 14 (TaG 125) Rule 7 – Dry Tyres
RULE CHANGE

7. Tyres

a. Dry

i) MG FZ Prime (Yellow) – Note: MG HZ Option (Red/White) is permitted to be used for Social karting activities.

(Formerly MG HZ Option (Red/White) for both Social and Competition karting.)

RATIONALE

• This change was requested by DPE Kart Technology (Australian importers of MG Tyres) and approved by the Karting Australia Board on the basis that the MG Yellow tyre has been more recently developed to increase its durability and performance and to reduce the physical load on the body of the Driver.
• DPE have conducted additional testing at multiple tracks across multiple Australian States that confirms the findings from KA’s initial tyre evaluation in 2015.
  • The MG Yellow may have less rubber than the Red/White after 150 laps but it is more usable at that stage.
    – Recorded drop off (new to old) of the Yellow was 0.3 seconds of lap time
    – Recorded drop off (new to old) of the Red/White was 0.6 of lap time.
  • DPE have advised that their testing shows that there is a misconception that the MG Yellow tyre life is considerably less than that of the Red/White tyres.
  • Their conclusions is that the move to the MG Yellow tyre will make the kart simpler to set up as it will provide better grip to match the power of the engines.
• The MG Yellow tyre with a superior average lap time to the Red/White tyre ensures that the TaG 125 and X30 Classes are in the appropriate performance band across our Competition Classes

IMPORTANT NOTES

• There is no price difference between the Yellow and the Red/White tyres
• The MG Red/White tyre is permitted for use for Social Karting (including unofficial practice).
• See the supplemental statement from DPE Kart Technology for further information on the change (Click here to view).

General Rules Chapter 7 Officials and Their Duties – Rule 4 b) Essential Officials
RULE CHANGE

4. Essential Officials:

(b) At Club level Meetings, the Minimum number of essential graded Officials must be:

(i)A Clerk of the Course.
(ii) One (1) Chief Steward. (Refer to Chapter 7 Rule 6 c))
(Formerly 2 Stewards were required for a Club Meeting)
(iii) The Clerk of the Course and Chief Steward must be Minimum Grade 3.
(iv) A Chief Scrutineer.

6. Plurality of Duties

(c) At a Club level Meeting, any other Official may act as a Steward for the purpose of the conduct of a Steward’s Hearing provided that the Chief Steward shall perform the duties of Chairman for the Hearing. Such other Official must not be a Competitor who is directly affected by the decision of the Stewards.

(New Rule to allow other Officials to sit in a Steward’s hearing with the Chief Steward at a Club Meeting)

RATIONALE

• To assist smaller Clubs to hold events more simply.
• The number of essential graded Officials has been reduced to 3 which must include:
  • Clerk of the Course;
  • Chief Steward; and
  • Scrutineer
• Any other Official may act as a Steward (alongside the Chief Steward) for the sake of the conduct of a Steward’s Hearing providing they are not a Competitor who is directly affected by that decision of the Stewards.

Technical Rules Chapter 7 Apparel Rule 2 Helmets
RULE CHANGE

2. Helmets:

Must bear a label indicating they comply with at least one of the following standards:

• AS/NZS1698
• BS6658 type A, BS6658 type A/FR (Not permitted for use after 31/12/2017)
• ECE-2204 and ECE-2205
• Snell M2005, M2010 (Not permitted for use after 31/12/2017)
• Snell K2005, SA2005, (Not permitted for use after 31/12/2018)
• Snell SA2010, SAH2010, K2010, SA2015 (Not permitted for use after 31/12/2023)
• Snell K2015
• Snell-FIA CMR2007, CMS2007
• SFI Specific 31.1A, 31.2A, (Not permitted for use after 31/12/2018)
• SFI Specific 24.1
• FIA 8860-2004 (Not permitted for use after 31/12/2020)
• FIA 8860-2010, FIA 8859-2015

(Snell K98, SA20000, M20000, K2005, SA2005, CMR2007, CMS2007, K2010, SA2010, SAH2010 are no longer permitted to be used.)

RATIONALE

• The list of helmets permitted to be used in Competition has been updated to bring it into conformity with currently approved helmet standards.

Competition Rules Chapter 5 Rule 7 Club Competition
NEW RULE

7. Club Competition

(b) Governing Principles

Club Competition should be structured to encourage participation at Grassroots level, provide Competitors with an enjoyable, value for money experience in a friendly and welcoming environment.
Any currently Homologated engine that has been Approved for use in Club Competition in these Rules must be permitted to participate in all Club Competitions.
Unless the track density is exceeded by the number of entries received, Competition is to be conducted in groups of compatible Classes – not in Classes and Divisions.

(c) Eligible Groups

(i) Competition, subject to track density limitations, should be conducted in Competition groups as follows:

a. Cadet

a. Cadet 9 – Arranged on the Grid at the rear of the Cadet 12 Competitors (or in stand-alone competition.)
b. Cadet 12

b. Junior (lower performance)

a. KA4

c. Junior (higher performance)

a. KA3
b. KA2
c. Junior Max

d. Senior (lower performance)

a. KA4
b. KA3
c. TaG 125 Restricted
d. TaG100

e. Senior TaG

a. TaG125
b. X30

f. Open Performance

a. KA1
b. KZ2
c. DD2
d. Open Performance (In accordance with Chapter 18)

g. 4 Stroke

a. Endurance Class (In accordance with Chapter 21)
b. Maximum race length of 60 minutes
c. Minimum of one (1) driver change during each race
d. Must have two (2) Drivers.

RATIONALE

• Club Competition should be structured to encourage participation at Grassroots level.
• There are too many Classes and Division to be able to successfully accommodate all of them in Club Competition.
• Any currently Homologated engine that has been Approved for use in Club Competition in the Rules must be permitted to participate in all Club Competitions.
• The use of approved State Regulations to govern Club Competition so that it meets the needs of each State Association will be of major significance.
• Unless the track density is exceeded by the number of entries received, Competition is to be conducted in groups of compatible Classes – not in Classes and Divisions so that track time is maximised and waiting time to compete is minimised.

Competition Rules Chapter 1 Rule 22 Start Procedures d) Rolling Starts, e) Standing Starts
NEW RULES

Rolling Starts at all levels of Competition will use the starting procedures used at Australian Kart Championship level in 2015 and 2016 and then at all National level events in 2016.

Standing Starts (for KZ2 karts) will be aligned with CIK starting procedures where a driver whose kart stalls is permitted to alight from their kart to push start the kart once the rest of the field has gone past.

RATIONALE – ROLLING STARTS

• The revised Rolling Start procedure has been trialled in the Australian Kart Championship and numerous other events throughout 2015 and 2016 with significant success.
• The most significant changes being that a formation line is to be used and the removal of the ‘Acceleration line’.
• Drivers are not permitted to accelerate until the start signal has been given.

RATIONALE – STANDING STARTS

• To align the procedures with CIK rules.

Rotax Tyres – Various Class Rules
ROTAX TYRE RULES

MicroMax
Dry: Mojo C2 (Was C2) Wet: Mojo CW

MiniMax
Dry: Mojo C2 (Was D1) Wet: Mojo CW

Junior Max (Trophy)
Dry: Mojo D2 (Was D1) Wet: Mojo W2*

Junior Max
Dry: Mojo D2 (Was D1) Wet: Mojo W2*

Rotax 125
Dry: Mojo D3 (Was D2) Wet: Mojo W2*

DD2
Dry: Mojo D3 (Was D3) Wet: Mojo W2*

DD2 Masters
Dry: Mojo D3 (Was D3) Wet: Mojo W2*

* Note: It is anticipated that there will be a change of wet tyre specification at some time in 2017 (as Mojo are ceasing production of the W2 tyre). Competitors will be advised prior to the changeover date of the transition arrangements for the W2 tyre.

RATIONALE

• The control tyres for the Rotax Classes have been updated following a request from Australian Rotax importer International Karting Distributors.
• These changes generally follow the progression of the ‘World Rules’ for Rotax Competition.

*NOTE* The above details are for information purposes only with no regulatory value. All Competitors are advised to familiarise themselves with the 2017 Karting Australia Manual when it is released in its entirety.