What is a good class for me?

[carter west]

i am looking at getting started in kart racing. i am 14 and wonderng waht class would be best for me

[Nathan Fowler]

It really all depends on what you would enjoy. I'd suggest attending some of our practice days and get a good look at different karts. Hope to see you at the track!

[Ken Sullivan]

I believe that Rotax Jr. is far and away the best class for a 14 year old driver. We'd love to have you racing with us, and we would like to have more racers your age.

[Jason Frank]

I've been racing the same 125 shifter class for 5 years, so I am a little "biased" towards it. However, Rotax jr is an ideal class for people growing up in karting. The chassis is the same design throughout the Rotax field, so the only thing that changes over age groups will be combined driver/chassis weights and engine configurations depending on the exact group your in. Rotax jr's (I believe) are slightly detuned from the motors in Rotax international or masters. 125 shifters are very robust and accomodate many drivers, but age limits are in place (16 is the official age). The lap time difference around BTK for Rotax and 125 shifter is only about 1 to 1.4 seconds really, but the cost differences for new rotax vs 125 gearbox karts are pretty high. My advice is the same as Nathan's. Try to see some karts in action and dont be afraid to ask questions about karts. It will save you a lot of time and frustration to see everything up front rather than down the road.

Hope this helps some. If youre going to be fairly tall (over 6'2), then your kart should have an extended porch to accomadate leg length. Otherwise, a normal chassis will suffice. Im exactly 6'0 in a normal 125 shifter chassis.