WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:00 am
I’ve been into vintage karting for about 2 years- longer than some, less than others. Now, after seeing some of the recent threads on the VKA and REAR forums, I’m beginning to wonder where we’ll be in another 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years. In my brief experience, I’ve observed that vintage karting participants share a common interest for some very diverse reasons:
1. I had one when I was a kid, and the nostalgia has drawn me back to enjoy the good old days one more time- I don’t want to race, I just like puttin’ around the track
2. I couldn’t afford one when I was young but I’ve never forgotten the passion I had to own one, and now I can!
3. I’m a strict purist- I enjoy the challenge and sense of accomplishment in accurately and painstakingly restoring something 40 or 50 years old. If you run modern-day spark plugs, don’t come to our event.
4. The only real ‘vintage’ karts are rear-engined- if you want to run sidewinder, buy a TAG or a shifter and join the IKF
5. Rear-engine karts belong in the same category as Mancos and Yerf Dog yard karts. Sidewinders are the only true vintage RACE karts.
6. I never saw a go-kart until recently, but the adrenaline rush of going fast on a relatively fast, simple machine was too enticing to resist
7. I raced “back then” and I’m still motivated by the sense of competition racing without all the expenses and technical issues of ‘modern’ karting
8. I’m enticed by the sense of camaraderie I’ve experienced with other vintage karting enthusiasts
9. I don’t know, or care, about the history of karting (Duffy WHO?), I just love vintage karting as a way to enjoy something exciting with my family.
10. I’m a gung-ho racer who loves the competition over the detail of authenticity, and I prefer the run-what-you-brung attitude, even if many of the karts at an event are less than accurately restored to what actually existed back in the 60’s or 70’s. A class for sidewinders with Italian duals, modern clutches, fancy pipes, and 6” wide tires (aka Monsterkarts) is OK with me.
Personally, when I found the VKA and REAR websites two+ years ago and realized that there were guys running the kind of karts I’d obsessed over when I was 14, I got a great big lump in my throat and I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven. I fit comfortably into several of the categories above and I couldn’t wait to get into it. The nostalgia and camaraderie, the adrenaline rush, and the sense of simplicity appeal most to me, but I have a lot of respect for the guys who argue that “…if your Caretta ain’t yellow, it ain’t authentic vintage”. On the other hand, I also get a kick watching a good Monsterkart race, even if they aren’t authentic vintage. S’all good……
OK, I’m in the middle of the road, but ‘fellas…. the road ain’t that wide! As enthusiastic as we may be, there aren’t really that many of us and I have that awful feeling that if we don’t reach a middle ground and agree to some compromises in how we organize events, our sport could wither. We could even go as far as ruling that Robron or Bug repops aren’t really vintage, but if we did that, how many of us would want to invest the time and money in attending events with a minimal number of entries because each kart’s chassis had to be carbon-dated as part of the tech inspection? Or, if we abandoned a reasonable definition of ‘vintage’ and found most of the field comprised of shifter karts sans fairings, how long would your interest last then?
Most of us who are currently active in the sport aren’t kids anymore- we watched Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show and news of the Kennedy assassination LIVE! If we continue to splinter into little groups, with no tolerance for other opinions, what are the odds of a healthy future generation for vintage karting? And, do we really want to miss the chance to get us all together just because we have different ideas about how vintage is vintage?
There’s gotta be a middle ground!
1. I had one when I was a kid, and the nostalgia has drawn me back to enjoy the good old days one more time- I don’t want to race, I just like puttin’ around the track
2. I couldn’t afford one when I was young but I’ve never forgotten the passion I had to own one, and now I can!
3. I’m a strict purist- I enjoy the challenge and sense of accomplishment in accurately and painstakingly restoring something 40 or 50 years old. If you run modern-day spark plugs, don’t come to our event.
4. The only real ‘vintage’ karts are rear-engined- if you want to run sidewinder, buy a TAG or a shifter and join the IKF
5. Rear-engine karts belong in the same category as Mancos and Yerf Dog yard karts. Sidewinders are the only true vintage RACE karts.
6. I never saw a go-kart until recently, but the adrenaline rush of going fast on a relatively fast, simple machine was too enticing to resist
7. I raced “back then” and I’m still motivated by the sense of competition racing without all the expenses and technical issues of ‘modern’ karting
8. I’m enticed by the sense of camaraderie I’ve experienced with other vintage karting enthusiasts
9. I don’t know, or care, about the history of karting (Duffy WHO?), I just love vintage karting as a way to enjoy something exciting with my family.
10. I’m a gung-ho racer who loves the competition over the detail of authenticity, and I prefer the run-what-you-brung attitude, even if many of the karts at an event are less than accurately restored to what actually existed back in the 60’s or 70’s. A class for sidewinders with Italian duals, modern clutches, fancy pipes, and 6” wide tires (aka Monsterkarts) is OK with me.
Personally, when I found the VKA and REAR websites two+ years ago and realized that there were guys running the kind of karts I’d obsessed over when I was 14, I got a great big lump in my throat and I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven. I fit comfortably into several of the categories above and I couldn’t wait to get into it. The nostalgia and camaraderie, the adrenaline rush, and the sense of simplicity appeal most to me, but I have a lot of respect for the guys who argue that “…if your Caretta ain’t yellow, it ain’t authentic vintage”. On the other hand, I also get a kick watching a good Monsterkart race, even if they aren’t authentic vintage. S’all good……
OK, I’m in the middle of the road, but ‘fellas…. the road ain’t that wide! As enthusiastic as we may be, there aren’t really that many of us and I have that awful feeling that if we don’t reach a middle ground and agree to some compromises in how we organize events, our sport could wither. We could even go as far as ruling that Robron or Bug repops aren’t really vintage, but if we did that, how many of us would want to invest the time and money in attending events with a minimal number of entries because each kart’s chassis had to be carbon-dated as part of the tech inspection? Or, if we abandoned a reasonable definition of ‘vintage’ and found most of the field comprised of shifter karts sans fairings, how long would your interest last then?
Most of us who are currently active in the sport aren’t kids anymore- we watched Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show and news of the Kennedy assassination LIVE! If we continue to splinter into little groups, with no tolerance for other opinions, what are the odds of a healthy future generation for vintage karting? And, do we really want to miss the chance to get us all together just because we have different ideas about how vintage is vintage?
There’s gotta be a middle ground!
