Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

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JStretch
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Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by JStretch »

I'd like to discuss our tire rules and race day format with the class.

Rotax Masters did not try the ROK format this year at the ABSO because of the tire rule we imposed which restricted each driver to having four new sets of tires throughout season. Overall, I really liked the tire rule and would vote for it to stay in 2021. I think helped make the racing more about driving ability and less about equipment, saved some of us money, and created a new competitive dimension to the racing: trying to be gentle on your tires while still going fast.

Our standard race day format is below and includes about 28 competitive laps (not counting practice):
Practice - 5 minutes / 5 laps
Qualifying - 6 mins / 6 laps
Pre-Final Race - 10 Laps
Final Race - 12 Laps

My personal experience with the Mojo D5 was that it safely lasted three race days (when using practice tires for practice) without significant performance loss, which is about 84 laps. I tried racing one set for a fourth race and performance sharply declined around 100 laps of use. Others may experience different wear rates depending on chassis, setup, driver height/weight, driving style, etc.

The 11 CKRC races had about 308 competitive laps in total (again, excluding practice). (The tire rule did not apply to the EDKRA races.) With each set lasting me three races, or 84 laps, four sets were enough for the season. Others may have had a different experience, and if so, it would be interesting to hear from them about it.

I've laid out my personal tire life experience to help with the topic that I mainly want to discuss, which is potentially changing our race day format to provide us with more competitive laps.

The ROK race day format is below and includes about 33 competitive laps (which is 5 more than our standard format):
Qualifying - 5 mins / 5 laps (sets the grid order for Race 1)
Race 1 - 6 Laps
Race 2 - 10 Laps
Race 3 - 12 Laps

Five additional competitive laps per races adds up to 55 laps over 11 races. A standard race day has about 28 competitive laps, so adding 55 competitive laps is equivalent to adding two full race days to the season.

In terms of tires, we would need to add one set to the allocation, increasing it from four sets to five for the duration of the season.

Practice days are plentiful; race days are a limited opportunity for us to race wheel to wheel, and I would love to see us maximize their potential.

The feedback from other classes who tried the ROK format this season was largely positive, but we would likely want to try it for ourselves before accepting or rejecting it. My suggestion is to try it for the first race of 2021 and then hold a class vote to decide on the race day format and tire allocation for the remainder of the season.

There may be concerns about not having practice for the first race, but I'm thinking that if you haven't practiced beforehand, five laps won't make a meaningful difference.

Who is interested in trying this out? Are there any other ideas about changing how we race?

Cheers,
Josh

phil
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Re: Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by phil »

I don't really like the ROK format, as it takes away the warm-up, which is essentially an equipment check, more than a practice. It makes for a lot more pressure getting through tech. If there is any mechanical issues at all, it can pretty much destroy your day. Running multiple classes compounds those issues. I am never able to make practice during the week, and it's not allowed on the Saturday evening of a double header, which left me with a grand total of two practice days this year, as most other weekends are either TAK, or AMRA. As always, I will just tag along with the majority, but those are my feelings on the subject. I also like the tire rule, and if I were wanting to buy an extra set of tires, I would probably rather use them for a full extra race weekend in Warburg.

Phil

Mariogim
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Re: Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by Mariogim »

Good morning to all. For myself, I do like the idea of more competitive laps in a race; however not having a 9 to 5 job and being away for days at a time, it can make it difficult to get a practice in before race days. I would tend to agree with Phil that morning practice is more for a shakedown of the kart and an equipment check and for these reasons I still would prefer the the morning warm up. Maybe a good compromise would be to do ROK format on day two of double headers, this way most racers will know the status of the kart from the day before. The tire rule is one that I endorse and have found that it ads an extra dimension to the racing. I did struggle to get 2 1/2 races out of a set of D5's as I am not as kind on my tires as Josh is. 5 sets for the season would be my choice.

Cheers
Mario

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John Kwong
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Re: Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by John Kwong »

Since the race morning practice is basically a warm-up/shakedown, we could possibly save some time by combining classes for these sessions. The track is allowed to have 34 karts on track at a time on race days.

Way back in the '80's at Kart Gardens, we would run 2 practice sessions for seniors and 2 for juniors. They were about 20 minutes long and you could go out and come back in if needed. If you ran two classes, you would run one kart in each session or come in and get in the other kart to test it. We ran 3 10 lap race heats for 5 different classes and were done by 2pm as that is all the time we were allowed to have the track for.

With a little creativity and flexibility, I think we could get more out of the race day than the typical P-Q-PF-F format that we have now.

4 Sets of Tires: At a wear rate of 2.5 races you would be able to do 10 races and be just shy of doing the standard 11 race CKRC season. With a wear rate of 3 race days it gets you to 12 races. This doesn't count the set you would use for the AB Shoot-Out in Warburg.

5 sets should be more than enough and doesn't really cause any savings to be had as even the racer that gets better wear will probably buy that 5th set to seemingly be competitive.

These days with D5 tires and Rotax EVO motor being very equal for everyone, that leaves chassis set-up and driving as the primary differences. If you are not getting 3 good handling race days out of a set of D5's, I would say that some adjustments need to be made.

John K
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sanguinetti
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Re: Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by sanguinetti »

My opinion...
Personally I like the Rok format. I actually don't think it's going to affect the running order much if at all. The quick guys are still going to be up front. I think it just adds another competitive session which to me is a good thing, that's why I come racing. Would need to increase the tire allotment to at least 5 sets.
We have lots of time, Let's keep discussing it and then do the democratic thing and have a vote sometime before the season starts.

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Fred
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Re: Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by Fred »

9.2
phil wrote: Sat Nov 07, 2020 4:33 pm I don't really like the ROK format, as it takes away the warm-up, which is essentially an equipment check, more than a practice. It makes for a lot more pressure getting through tech. If there is any mechanical issues at all, it can pretty much destroy your day. Running multiple classes compounds those issues. I am never able to make practice during the week, and it's not allowed on the Saturday evening of a double header, which left me with a grand total of two practice days this year, as most other weekends are either TAK, or AMRA. As always, I will just tag along with the majority, but those are my feelings on the subject. I also like the tire rule, and if I were wanting to buy an extra set of tires, I would probably rather use them for a full extra race weekend in Warburg.

Phil just as a FYI This is why we don't allow practice on Saturday evening on a two day event. From ASN Regulations. The ROK Classes will also use this format again so if you are racing VLR it will be a standard .

Phil
Unauthorized Practice
During an event, the Organizer shall not permit any entered driver or kart, nor shall the driver or kart
participate in, the use of the racetrack at any time other than during the scheduled track sessions for
the competition entered. The only exception shall be for specific safety reasons and only with the
approval of the Steward(s) and/or Race Director.

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Fred
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Re: Tire Rules & Race Day Format for 2021

Post by Fred »

John Kwong wrote: Sun Nov 08, 2020 8:00 pm Since the race morning practice is basically a warm-up/shakedown, we could possibly save some time by combining classes for these sessions. The track is allowed to have 34 karts on track at a time on race days.

Way back in the '80's at Kart Gardens, we would run 2 practice sessions for seniors and 2 for juniors. They were about 20 minutes long and you could go out and come back in if needed. If you ran two classes, you would run one kart in each session or come in and get in the other kart to test it. We ran 3 10 lap race heats for 5 different classes and were done by 2pm as that is all the time we were allowed to have the track for.

With a little creativity and flexibility, I think we could get more out of the race day than the typical P-Q-PF-F format that we have now.

4 Sets of Tires: At a wear rate of 2.5 races you would be able to do 10 races and be just shy of doing the standard 11 race CKRC season. With a wear rate of 3 race days it gets you to 12 races. This doesn't count the set you would use for the AB Shoot-Out in Warburg.

5 sets should be more than enough and doesn't really cause any savings to be had as even the racer that gets better wear will probably buy that 5th set to seemingly be competitive.

These days with D5 tires and Rotax EVO motor being very equal for everyone, that leaves chassis set-up and driving as the primary differences. If you are not getting 3 good handling race days out of a set of D5's, I would say that some adjustments need to be made.

John K
9.3. Number of Karts on the Racetrack
The Supplementary Regulations shall determine the maximum number of karts permitted to be
simultaneously on the racetrack during track sessions.
The total number of karts on the track for practice, qualifying or racing is 36.

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