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2nd September 2014

Whole of Sport Review Questions, Answers and Clarifications – Part 3 (Competition)

Q1 Will any other karting events be able to be held on weekends when National and State Championships are being conducted? WOSR Page Reference
A
  • No other karting events will be permitted to be conducted within a certain distance (that distance to be determined) of the host venue for a National Championship or National Series event on the dates that it is being conducted.
  • In a geographically small State or a State with low numbers of competitors and Officials, that may cover the whole State. Otherwise a reasonable ‘protected zone’ will be designated around the event in which no competing events will be conducted on those same dates.
  • This will be included in the rules when they are written and will be determined in conjunction with the host States.
  
Q2 Can I compete in more than one class in the Australian Kart Championship?  
A
  • It is not expected that this will be permitted.
  • A final decision will be made when the rules are drafted.
  
Q3 Do I have to enter the whole 6 rounds of the Australian Kart Championship or can I just enter one or two events?  
A
  • No you do not have to enter the whole Championship.
  • If you want to compete in a single event or just 2 or 3 events, then you will be able to do that.
Q4 If I win the round/s of the Australian Kart Championship that is conducted in each State, will I be the State Champion in that Class even if I haven’t entered the whole Championship?  
A
  • Yes you will.
  • In 2015 and 2016 none of the Australian Kart Championship Classes duplicate the classes that can be run at the State Championships, you will be able to race for and if you win, will be ‘crowned’ the State Champion for KA12, KA Junior, KA1, KA TaG, KF3, KF2, KZ2.
Q5 Why isn’t there a round scheduled for Tasmania, Western Australia or the Northern Territory in 2015?  
A
  • It is strictly a cost issue. These are the three most expensive States or Territories for the vast majority of potential entrants to participate in as a result of either distance required for travel or mode of travel required to get there.
  • Previously we have advised Karting Tasmania that we will work with them to try and secure funding from Tasmanian Events to make transport to Tasmania more affordable for karters so that (a round of the CIK Stars of Karting) a National Championship could race there.
  • The same will apply to the other States where high transport costs apply for a round of the Australian Kart Championship.
  • If a State or Territory Association wants an event on a regular or semi-regular basis we will work with them to approach Government to try and gain financial support for an event in that region that will reduce the cost of attendance for interstate competitors.
  
Q6 So, is it correct that under the old “Nationals” rotation system, the best that any State can hope for is for the Nationals to be run at one Club in their State every 7 years?  
A
  • That’s correct. E.g. The Newcastle Kart Racing Club hosted the 2014 Nationals. There are several other Clubs with tracks that could potentially host the Nationals in NSW. Under the old system it could be more than 20 years before Newcastle hosted a national Championship event again.
  • Under the new system, in most States they will have an Australian Kart Championship event every year.
  • If support can be created to reduce the attendance costs for competitors as indicated in Q5 above, the Championship will go to more States more frequently.
  • Modernising the Championship structure, in particular at national level will bring the Australian Kart Championship to the best tracks in each State much more frequently.
Q7 If my State or Club or an independent promoter wanted to run a stand-alone event and have it included on the National Calendar can we do that?  
A
  • Yes.
  • For the sake of the discussion, let’s say a Club or a State or Territory Association wanted to organise and promote an event. Let’s give them some fictitious names like: the “Yamaha National Cup” event or the “Western Australian Festival of Karting”, you could apply to have the event included on the National Calendar of events as either a National Cup (priority 4 event) or a National Trophy (Priority 5 event). The scope is then there to organise it, promote it, run it and make it into a special event.
  • It would become a protected event and even an annual fixture (just like the Lithgow ladies Nationals have become.)
  • The same applies with a State Cup level event.
 Pages: 25, 46
Q8 How much is the permit fee for State Championship events?  
A
  • The permit fee for a State Championship event will be set by each State Karting Association.
  • The Permit fee for the event will be retained by the State Association.
  • The event will be included on the National Calendar of events and the Permit will be issued by Karting Australia but Karting Australia will not receive any fee for it from either the Club or the State Association.
 Page 37
Q9 The WOSR does not recognise any “super heavy” classes at club level. Is this deliberate or an oversight?  
A
  • If Clubs desire to offer a Super Heavy competition they will be able to do so.
  • The intention is for Club competition to offer classes in which sufficient numbers of drivers wish to compete and have fun.
  • Karting Australia encourages Clubs to maximise the usage of the track on each day of competition. (e.g. it would seem unreasonable and somewhat silly for a club with large numbers of competitors to offer equal track time to any Class that is heavily under subscribed if they also have classes that are full or oversubscribed.
  • We would encourage the safe combination of classes so as to maximise the usage of the track. It will however be left to the discretion of the Clubs themselves.
  
Q10 When will the 2015 National Calendar be published?  
A
  • September 2014 is the anticipated release time frame.
 Pages: 32, 38, 47, 51
Q11 With a State Championship in February I suggest we at least lock that date in so that all states can appoint a club to run the event and commence the organisation required for such an event. We can work on the remaining dates over the next couple of weeks  
A
  • We are working on the calendar dates now and will look to get then out as soon as possible.
  • Getting the highest priority dates (the earliest) confirmed quickly is a priority. This suggestion has considerable merit.
 Page: 51
Q12 Does this mean I have to travel more to compete in a State Championship?  
A
  • Probably not. The States will be able to organize their State Championship events within the overall national framework established by Karting Australia.
  • This is what has been said in the WOSR:
  • The State Championship will be held over 4 rounds unless otherwise approved by KA.
  • Ideally the dates will be the same across the country;
  • Competitors can only compete in their home state;
  • Different option for the format of State Championships should be permittedincluding:
    • Possible integration of non-championship series into the State Championship structure;
    • Trial and implement different point structures that the State may think is appropriate;
    • Any other options that suite the unique nature of each State.
  • If you look at the probable events on offer in each State there are already many state wide or zonal competitions that can be elevated in status to State Championship events
  • A single event of the 4 events can be allocated as the State Championship Grand Final.
 Page: 34
Q13 How do the changes in the review affect Club racing?  
A
  • The effect on Club racing will be positive.
  • There is nothing taken out of Club competition.
  • The new IAME and Vortex engines will be included in the current classes.
  • All current classes will remain eligible for competition.
  • If Clubs want to run super heavy classes and can form a class they will be able to do so.
  • Micro Max and Mini Max will be eligible for competition at Club level from the start of 2016.
  • We want to make competition at Club level more fun to do and we will be developing plans to assist Clubs to run race meetings more efficiently.
  • Our Superior Kart Clubs Program will be developed to assist Clubs to become more customer focused, safety 1st focused and member driven.
  • We recognise that a strong Club base is essential for the long term future of the sport.
 Pages: 41 – 45, 62 – 66
Q14 Why can children not practice on a weekday?  
A
  • It is a legal requirement in all Australian States for children (the school leaving age varies from state to state) to attend school.
  • It is the responsible position for karting to adopt to minimise the number of days that children spend away from their schools during the non-holiday periods.
  • It is well known that some children spend what any reasonable person would consider to be far too much time out of school attending kart races. We believe that this initiative will encourage families to maximise the amount of time that their children are in school.
  
Q15 Do I have to use a GoPro on my kart if I’m racing in the Australian Kart Championship?  
A
  • Competitors in major competitions will be required to carry DV cameras and make the vision recorded from them available for judicial review (not just when it suits a driver’s case).
 Page: 86
Q16 What are the new tyres that are going to be used in the KA12, KA Junior and KA1 Classes?  
A
  • We have not selected the tyres for use in the KA12, KA Junior and KA1 Classes of the 2015 Australian Kart Championship as yet.
  • Decisions on the new medium grip tyre for use in KA12 and KA Junior and the new high grip tyre for use in KA1 classes will be made in the near future.
  
Q17 What is the long term plan for tyres?  
A
  • Most of KA’s tyre contracts expire in the next 18 months.
  • It is the intention to align the expiry dates and terms for the tyre supply contracts used in all classes.
  
Q18 Will the first 5 karts in every class at every race meeting be compliance checked?  
A
  • No. It will apply only to National Championship, National Series, State Championship and National Cup events (in other words, major race meetings) where we have sufficient numbers of scrutineers and technical inspectors on hand to complete the requisite checks.
  • This will not apply at Club competition events as the personnel would not be able to cope.
 Page 53
Q19 How does a Pit Crew or Mechanic get a licence?  
A
  • The licence will be issued through the CMS.
  • The facility already exists in CMS for pit crew or mechanics to be issued with a licence.
  • It will only apply to National Championship (Australian Kart Championship) and National Series (Rotax Pro Tour) events.
  • The final procedures will be advised once the rules are drafted.
 Page 59
Q20 The report says that every Club race meeting must have a qualifying session with the 110% rule applying to Cadet 9 class only. Should this apply to all Classes?  
A
  • The 110% rule is purely a safety provision. At a minimum we feel that it should apply to Cadet 9 as the youngest and therefore more often some of the newest competitors in the sport.
  • If a Club or State felt that a 110% rule was needed in any class at any level of competition they will be able to apply it through Supplementary regulations.
 Page 44
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