Young Rocco Simone earned a Top 10 finish in Micro ROK against tough competition moving up to finish 7th in class.
Overall, In VLR Masters category, Intrepid karts took all three podium positions with Martin Stone (Goodwood Kartways), Anthony Simone (Goodwood Kartways / NSM), and Cayden Goodridge (Goodwood Kartways).
For more details about how local racers fared against tough international competition, check out rokcupusa.com/
Keeping up to date with New Speed Motorsport’s father-son duo of Anthony Simone and Rocco Simone as they compete today in Round 1 of the 2021 Florida Winter Tour
It’s been a strange news week.
On Wednesday came the announcement that the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal had been cancelled. Considered one of the ‘world championships’ of kart racing, the event was scheduled to take place from January 23rd to 30th. Portugal has experienced a record-breaking surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases since the Christmas holiday. The small European nation of 10 million recorded 10,566 new virus cases, prompting a month-long lockdown of the entire country. Racing will have to wait.
On the weekend, the province of Quebec enacted an 8:00 pm curfew. At this time of year, there really isn’t much motorsports in Quebec. Entertainment facilities where large groups would normally gather, including indoor karting tracks, have already been shut down. But now, motorheads can’t even drive their trusty Subaru around town to pass the time. For context, Quebec has a population of 8.5 million residents, and reported 2,132 new cases on Wednesday.
Ontario’s 14.5 million residents were given a stay-at-home order by the Government on Tuesday, and the province reported 2,998 new virus cases today. Those of us living in Toronto can still drive our cars whenever we choose, although all motorsports are shut down by order of the province. Canadians interested in racing will have to go a little further south if they want to compete.
Florida has a population of 21.5 million (a little less than Ontario and Quebec combined) and the state reported 13,720 new cases of the virus on Thursday. That was also the opening day of the 2021 Florida Winter Tour!
The first round of the kart racing series runs from January 14th to 17th in Pompano Beach, Florida, continues in February on a temporary circuit in St. Petersburg, and concludes in March at Ocala Gran Prix in Ocana, Florida. 16 Canadians are racing this weekend, including New Speed Motorsports teammates Anthony Simone in VLR Masters and Rocco Simone in Micro ROK. Canadian teams who’ve made it across the border include Ben Cooper Racing, PSL Karting and REM – Racing Edge Motorsports. The other significant Canadian team competing is Goodwood Kartways! In addition to the father-son duo of Anthony and Rocco Simone, Canadian racers from the ‘home team’ include Jordan Di Leo and Cayden Goodridge.
There really is no consistent logic or reason to how provinces, states or countries decide when it’s OK to be open, or when a complete shutdown is required. From the complete lockdown in Portugal to the racing this weekend in the USA, these are confusing times.
Stay safe.
As I sit in my living room at home in Toronto, I’m unable to even visit a local indoor track for some fun. Yet I know that there’s racing in Florida right now. Daytona Kart Week just passed, and many Canadians are preparing to compete in the Florida Winter Tour.
Yet this week, Quebec announced a curfew, preventing Canadians from even leaving their homes at night. Do I really expect spring training to begin in March or April when we could be facing a lockdown and curfew in Ontario as soon as next week!
People are willing to do their part to stop the spread of ‘the virus‘. But when increasingly strict measures are being taken, it’s disheartening to read that Canadian public officials (even hospital CEOs) are themselves ignoring public heath guidelines. A member of the province’s COVID-19 science table, who helped draft the ban on non-essential travel due to the risk of COVID-19, went to the sunny Dominican Republic in December. Yet regular Canadians who are being told to stay home, go out only for essential needs and even shop for groceries only once a week are now facing a curfew?
I’m not one of those yahoos who thinks ‘the virus‘ is a hoax, or one of those misguided people who sees wearing a mask as trampling on their freedoms. I’m willing to do my part to stop the spread, but if Canadian leaders lose the public’s faith in them because of hypocritical behaviour … nobody will be willing to follow public health recommendations. They must lead by example!
I just want to see my friends at the track. Spend another summer with other racing families. The question remains if and when racing season in Canada will begin.
Happy birthday to our young New Speed Motorsports teammate Rocco Simone … Daniel Demaras’ ‘lil brother at the race track.
Demaras Racing made a quick trip up to Stouffville to check out the 2021 Intrepid karts, with their new and improved braking system. Seeing the place so desolate was kind of eerie, but laying eyes on the new Turn 1 wall for the first time made the trip worth it. Such a huge improvement.
In 2021 Goodwood Kartways will graduate 31 A&D drivers up to club level racing in TRAK competition. In the 12 years of the CRKC program’s existence, this represents the largest graduating class ever:
As off-season seminars begin, simulator training continues, and pre-ordered karts arrive from Italy, these new drivers don’t know how good they’ll have it in spring training without the infamous Turn 1 wall waiting for them.
The Motorsports division at Briggs & Stratton, LLC has released the Briggs 206 Rule Set for the 2021 racing season, effective December 14, 2020. The 2021 Rule Set returns to the tradition of minor changes which has led to the platform becoming the “go-to” engine for 4-cycle kart racers worldwide.
“We made great strides in last year’s update to clarify key components and secure our long-term growth and stability,” says Dan Roche, Director Motorsports. “This year, we took the opportunity to add a new RLV header for karts with the engine on the driver’s left side, and officially allowed quick-release throttle linkages and magnetic oil drain plugs. Outside of that, we added some clarity to the carburetor inspection process to assist our valued technical inspectors, that’s it!”
Rule Update: New RLV EXF5511 Exhaust Header Introduction
Recognizing the growth in left-hand driven karts, the new RLV EXF5511 is a complete kit that mirrors the standard and very popular EXF5507 in terms of design and structural support. RLV, the exclusive provider of exhaust systems for the Briggs 206 program, will distribute the new header through their dealer network. The current “candy cane” 5506 (now the EXF5520) may still be used in 2021, but will be under evaluation for the future 2022 Briggs 206 Rule Set.
Rule Clarification: Carburetor Inspection Process
While the Rule Set is not intended to be a technical procedures manual, Briggs Motorsports is leveraging the wide distribution of the Rule Set to assist technical inspectors in their efforts.
“We truly appreciate those in the tech barn who commit so much time and effort to ensuring a level playing field for 206 racers. Since many of them are volunteers, we wanted to provide a bit more detail in terms of the carburetor inspection process,” said Roche.
A cutaway illustration and a six-step sequence are included in the 2021 Rule Set to provide added detail and consistency.
“We’ve all had enough changes in 2020. The entire team at Briggs Motorsports is really looking forward to the upcoming season and we’re extremely grateful to the racers, families, crews, volunteers and other sponsors who help make 206 racing as rewarding as it is,” Roche concludes.
For the full 2021 Rule Set, visit www.briggsracing.com or download HERE.
The only part of Goodwood Kartways that ever scares you is Turn 1. The wall is…right there. Daniel Demaras has had his experiences with Turn 1. His first article for CKN told all about it:
There’s even driver’s eye footage of an incident at Turn 1.
All anyone can say is good riddance to the old Turn 1 wall at Goodwood Kartways. It will not be missed.
While a majority of kart racers have taken the checkered flag on their 2020 season, the team at Goodwood Kartways raced on in November both on track and off! Keeping busy throughout the month, mild temperatures allowed for a major construction project at the track.
Project consisted of removing and re-positioning existing retaining wall. The end result more than doubled run-off area from 10 feet to 22 feet! The re-construct provides the obvious benefit of 12 more feet of additional run-off for drivers as well as allowing for additional options with barrier placement. All major construction is completed, and hydro-seeding and barrier placement will bring a close to our latest renovation project.
The Briggs & Stratton Weekly Racing Series has a prize vault valued at just over $58,000, with sponsors such as RLV Tuned Axhaust, KartLift, Franklin Motorsports, Amsoil, Noram, EK Chain, Zamp, Hilliard and Briggs & Stratton. The top-100 drivers from each division will earn an item from the prize vault.
By finishing third in Canada, Daniel Demaras won an incredibly cool motorized kart stand from WinchLift.
The WinchLift LT is the first step to your kart handing system. Simply add a battery and you’ve got yourself a machine capable of lifting karts weighing up to 300 lbs with push button ease. The powder coated frame is fabricated from full 1.25″ steel tubing. A 2″ wide nylon strap is used in place of the typical winch cable and provides a reliable, safe, lift. The high quality 10″ flat-free tires have long life bearings that won’t wear out. Eight inch flat-free tires on precision swivel casters mounted on the rear of the stand provide rough terrain capabilities and turning ease. The large rear handle provides a comfortable platform from which to push your kart. Made in the USA.
Price USD $770.00 plus USD $104.00 shipping to the lower 48 states.
Demaras’ prize will be shipped to Goodwood Kartways by December 15th 2020. He looks forward to picking up the WinchLift LT (valued at over $1100 Canadian dollars!) plus his new 2021 Intrepid F4K chassis which he’ll race next season.
