There will be 20 Trophy Karts in the country soon. I`ve put my hand up for one. I can`t wait, i mean my son can`t wait. lol. Hopefully we can get a category up and running as a development platform for the future.
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It`s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
DONT GET THE KART BEFORE THE ------ We need a younger entry level into Off Roading before the kids get involved in other motor sports like Motor cycles and Gokarts.(Age 7 or 8) Where do you invisage you will race these Trophy Karts and under what authority. In NSW we would have to convince CAMS or AASA, then to lower the age limits we also have to convince the Dept of Sport and Recreation. Racing would have to be on specially designed tracks for junior racing. Great ideas and keep going with them, as there is plenty of money out there to buy or make these cars.
Maurie Have a look at http://torc.com.au/ There a CAMs affiliated club racing motorbike powered buggies. At the moment they only race in Vic but their rules have been used in W.A at Harvey for demo events. CAMs are currently ratifieing the rules to be used nationally. (So far it's taken them 18months.) Once the rules are FINALLY finished trophy karts would have a class to race in through out Australia. The only thing that would need to be looked at is age restrictions. Even if you get the age limit lowered you'll still have a hard time get junior racers. Not many parents can afford 10k so little johnny can go racing and that doesn't include a driving suit, helmet or a trailer to get it to the track. you've better off with a cheaper entry level form of racing like what Torc does that will bring in the parents and as a result the kids get expossure to off road racing and can't wait till there 14 so they can drive to. If you can atract the "Big Kids" the little kids will follow.
I think there will be plenty of parents willing to part with the money one thing these cars have going for them is they wont be outdated like motor bikes or go karts I would rather my kids in one of these compared to go karts or motor bikes your Chris hutton
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It`s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission
Paul Simpson is in the process of getting all the components together and getting engineering approvals for the 1st batch of 20 vehicles, most of which are already pre-sold.
The australian versions are slightly different to the US version in that they have superior safety aspects, etc.
There is no "francise arrangement" with these vehicles, you buy it you own it.
They will be strictly controlled though and there is nothing that would stop anyone building one, but why would you? It would be very difficult to build one of these fully compliant to the chassis and safety regulations we intend to implement in Australia for a cheaper price than what they will be available for from Paul, considering the bulk quantities of components he has negotiated, etc.
The Technical and Sporting Regulations are in the process of being finalised and the whole concept has been introduced to the CAMS Board at their latest meeting which i think was last night.
The intention is to initially have a Junior age group from 12 - 17 years old and ultimately we are aiming to introduce a lower age group down to 8 year olds.
Hi all , aparantly darian smith ( from smithy's place at hyden) is also bringin in a few (5-10 or so) was chatin to him when the safari came through kalgoorile.
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were we're goin we dont need roads.
it's not the speed of life that scares me, it's the sudden stop at the end ,
Hi all , aparantly darian smith ( from smithy's place at hyden) is also bringin in a few (5-10 or so) was chatin to him when the safari came through kalgoorile.
Hey Jero! Howsit?
Are the US ones going to be legal for Aus though? Might be worth looking into before the $$$ get spent!
BTW mate, you've now got 5 different user accounts! haha!
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Green Sally up. Green Sally down. Lift and squat, gonna tear the ground.
The CAMS Board has considered the Trophy Kart proposal and given it's support, including the Licencing structure down to 8 year olds. We now have to finalise the Standing Regulations (basically a copy of the Stadium Standing Regulations) and the Technical Regulations and submit this to the next Board Meeting.
I have already advised before that the Australian version of the Trophy Kart will have stricter Technical and Safety aspects than the American version, so anyone considering bringing them in from the US may need to be very careful to ensure that they are acceptable for competition use here.
My young blokes are 7 & 5 years old, guess I better get my order in with the Simpsons...cant wait to get them racing! Will they have to have a trophy cart, or can we biuld them a small buggy (maybe similar to Schembri), or even a small class 5 car or similar?
l have a 7 and 5 year old as well and we have bought a quad to build them a buggy off ebay, but lam seriously considering going a trophy kart. A quick question to powers that be could these be run on the prologue track before a national round so as to get some open track experience for the kids.
The licencing structure i have mentioned is specifically for the Trophy Kart class, it is not envisgaed to allow these younger ones to participate in our normal off road racing activities. Although ideally we will want to make it viable for say anyone over 12 year old who has a Navigators licence at the moment to automatically be eligible to drive a Trophy Kart, with of course the appropriate lecture and OLT stuff. This is what we envisage, what we ultimately are able to achieve within the CAMS licencing structure is yet to be determined.
The Trophy Karts will only compete on very short versions of track, maybe a short section of a prologue at a National Round as mentioned by Boss Truck and they will only compete as a group, not in with any other form of off road racing class. The Standing Regs for Trophy Karts is modelled on our existing Stadium Regs, as we envisage they will compete as basically a small scale version of a stadium race, maybe only 600 to a maximum of 1500 metres long for instance.
if they really want this as a entry level to off road we should be able to build them ourselvers not line someone elses pocket
Jeez mate, try and pay attention. Read my earlier posts. There is nothing stopping anyone building one of these Trophy Karts themselves, but there will be strict technical regulations, chassis compliance and safety aspects that any vehicle must meet to be accepted for competition. I can also assure you that Paul Simpson is not going to be making a whole lot of money out of this.
TD when and where will we be able to see some specs as l no l will build one for my kids and there will be a few other budget races wanting to do the same for thier kids.
Wolf you would be to heavy for the chassis metal can only take so much and with the extra bracing for you the power to weight ratio would be shot. And how do you think l know l broke the kids billy cart on the weekend.
The CAMS Board has considered the Trophy Kart proposal and given it's support, including the Licencing structure down to 8 year olds. We now have to finalise the Standing Regulations (basically a copy of the Stadium Standing Regulations) and the Technical Regulations and submit this to the next Board Meeting.
I have already advised before that the Australian version of the Trophy Kart will have stricter Technical and Safety aspects than the American version, so anyone considering bringing them in from the US may need to be very careful to ensure that they are acceptable for competition use here.
SO
Hey TD, So roughly how long does this take? Does this mean that next Board Meeting everything will be finalised and start racing next year? Sorry if I seem impatient! Also, just wondering if the Simpsons are watching this discussion, maybe they could post some more info and some pics?
I only managed to finish off the draft of the Standing Regs yesterday, which has been circulated to AORCom for comment. The Technical Regs are still to be finalised by others. It takes a little while to do all this as we generally have jobs to do, make a living, etc. The next CAMS Board meeting is not until late November i think and considering how it often takes a bit of time to get things through the system, we may be flat out getting everything ticked off before the end of the year. Bob Piper, who is the CAMS Board member with the Portfolio responsibility for off road is very helpful though and once we get all the regulations together, he may be able to push things through somewhat, between the official Board meetings. Paul Simpson has to get all the engineering tests and approvals done as well on the chassis. so it all takes a bit of time to put everything in place. Our intention is obviously to have everything in place for the start of 2008, or at least when racing gets underway in February/March. I am trying to keep you guys as informed as much as i can along the way, because this whole concept is a great opportunity to put in place a much needed Junior Development pathway for off road racing. If you want any info from Paul Simpson, contact him direct. Can't really tell you if he would be watching this discussion, i suspect not if you know the guy and what his line of work is?
TrophyKart.com will get you to the USA mini trucks, and the specs seem the same. Subaru engine, CVT auto etc. King shocks. MSRP US$6950 I could not find anything on the buggy type Karts. (My pet hates are the words Buggy and Kart, both horse drawn vehicles from the past!!) Lots of photos and movies. If the frame is the same as the proposed Australian car, the tube dimensions seem very small, but that is what engineers are for. (Leave it to the experts) Keep up the interest as these can add another dimension to our sport.
The engineering checks on the Australian version of the Trophy Kart should be completed within a few weeks hopefully. One important point to know is that the Australian Trophy Kart Technical Regulations will require the chassis to be of chrome moly. The American Trophy Karts are a mild steel chassis. The Australian version is also different in that it will have more cabin space and is also different in the mounting of the fuel tank and has superior seat and belt requirements. These things are all done in the interests of ensuring the Australian version is a safer and stronger vehicle.