So this year I made my anual plan to hit MRP for a day of karting the day after the AMA Red Bud Motocross National race.
Instead of karting on my own I invited a few friends who expressed an interest in trying out an outdoor kart. So another 6 guys showed up for the day.
I have to say AGAIN! that I love the course at MRP. It has a Grattan like feel to it with is layout and elevation changes. It's just a fun place to run a kart.
Although we experienced a few up and downs throughout the day with the KT 100 karts, all in all we had a great time. Shaun and Rick did what they could to keep the day going despite numerous problems with the equipment.
Since most of the guys were new to this we started the day in MRP's ROK 4 stroke karts to get a feel for the track. I wasn't that stoked about these karts until we started running around in them.They don't have massive power, and yes the tires are hard compound, meaning low grip. The flipside is that they are a ball to race around in. Don't wear you out and a great way to get aclimated to the track after a while out of the seat.
Next up we got in to the MRP Freeline/Yamaha KT 100 karts for most of the day. I love these little tiddlers. They have reasonable grip (softer tires) and they offer a great experience. Most of the day was spent having fun in these guys.
Mid day and after we experienced a few problems with the Yamaha's, the owner of MRP rolled out his personal Breil/Rotax 125 for us to sample. Best of all is that he put zero time constraints on allowing us to run it. Although the seat was way to big for me, as well the peddle reach was way long it was a nice chance to drive what is without doubt the closest most will ever get to a formula one car. Serious speed and G force in the karts.
Let me tell you, the Rotax 125 is a serious eye opener and absolutely have to be on your toes to run one on the limit. My current plan is to purchase one of these this year with the intend to begin racing in the MRP Rotax masters or senior series and or running with the LSR team in Illinios next year. It looks like Karoline may join me and we are looking at getting two karts and a new trailer so we can enjoy this sport together.
If you love speed, I highly recommend karting as a reasonable motorsport to participate in (as compared to other motorsports). I suggest that you check out MRP (Birel chassis dealer) or LSR Motorsports (CRG chassis) if you are looking to get into karting. They offer a rental/test program as well as schooling. They also run a full race series every year.
A full and complete set of photos of the whole crew who came out for the day can be found on my MySpace page. CLICK HERE to head over there to view them.
Cheers,
Jim
