[fsartono]

Hi .. I'm living in Singapore .. a couple of friends and I are interested in racing in the Rotax league .. some questions though:

- What's the initial investment like? ie what's the avg price of buying a kart?
- What's the avg running cost per race? ie tyres, fuel, etc.
- How do we get the Karting License?

Any other pointers for newbies like me would be appreciated.

Thx.

[Rolf]

There are several people from Singapore racing in the Malaysia Cadet,Junior,Masters/Veteran classes.

Cost of a new kart /engine depends on what chassis to choose.I have seen CRG and Swiss Hutless on this forum.I am sure they can send the corresponding infos.

I would also suggest you consider for the first year a used kart.

For tyres/fuel,you can calculate with around 400SGD per race,but don't forget mechanics fees in case you need this,hotel costs,spares and entry fees.Can run up to 1000SGD per race.

License can be obtained from the Singapore Motorsport Association (SMSA)

[RocK]

nice 1st post Rolf

[Rolf]

A few more comments for the newbies

Cost per race may sound a little high,but I can confirm it's worth every cent.
Races are well organized,Sepang is a beautifull track and the racing is high level.Particularly junior and senior races are absolut crackers.

I have raced in other countries with the same cost,but had less than half the fun I had this year in Malaysia.

Surely,next year will be even better.

[Mikko Nassi]

Hi and welcome Rolf and fsartono.

As Rolf said there are a bunch of drivers that come from Singapore to race in Malaysia - the "Rolf" group is actually 3 drivers that make the trip over to all the races.

Rolf covered quite a bit very well....

For initial investment you're looking at anywhere from SGD 2,500 for a cheap used kart+engine up to around SGD10,000 for a brand new expensive chassis and brand new Rotax engine. You should be able to find a good used package for around ~4000, you should buy an engine that's originally been bought in Malaysia - and if they have the log-book or Rotax "passport" with it that's a good thing.

Other than the kart you need safety gear which all up on the cheap comes at around SGD 1000 but depends on what you buy, the helmet alone can be over 1000.

Then you need some basic tools if you want to work on the kart yourself.

Like Rolf said SMSA for the license: http://www.smsa.org.sg/ they have entry forms there.

a couple of friends and I are interested in racing in the Rotax league

One option you have when you get started is to buy maybe just the 1 kart (say if it's 2-3 of you), and practice on that and then maybe do the first races with 1 guy driving and the other(s) as mechanic(s) - this way you can learn together at the start before you start beating each other on the track.

[fsartono]

thanks guys for your tips ..finally learning more about this sports and its exciting ... was looking around to buy a 'rotax kart' and finally learnt that rotax only makes the engines and that you need to purchase the chassis too :-p .. btw, does chassis play a huge role on how good the kart is?

anyway, i'll continue to look around for a 2nd hand 'kart that meets the rotax challenge requirement' ... my only reservation is that i'm so far away from KL..

am thinking of starting out like the folks at my-kart .. perhaps a 'singapore-version' group ...

any singaporeans here interested?

[CRG Asia]

Actually Rotax Does have the RM1 which is the chassis for use on the Rotax DD2 class.

[Ivan]

Hi I am also living in Singapore and searching for chassis and engine to race Malaysia in 2008.

Thank all guys here for your information. It is a good to hear from this forum that the 08 homologation chassis can still be used after 2008. Otherwise it is a pity that the 2nd hand chassis will be used for 1 more year only if we buy now.

1 kart sharing among 2-3 people is not a good idea, as the car setting and the seat size / position are different for different people. Racing kart is not the rental one. You will find it hard to drive if your seat doesn’t fit you, and you may not enjoy it if the setting doesn’t fit your driving style.

Look forward to starting new season in Malaysia.

[Mikko Nassi]

Hi Ivan welcome to Karting Asia, hope to see you on the grid next year!

Remember that it is possible that regulations get changed and old chassis are out but that would be a bad move imo and I don't see it happening at least in the Malaysian Max Challenge.

It's the same in club-level racing in Europe - you can run a 10-year old chassis without problem - it's only at the top level that you need the latest homologation chassis.

That being said it's better to buy a ~2 year old used chassis with a 2011 homologation end-date just because it'll probably be in better shape and you don't save that much in comparison going for a 5+ year old kart.

1 kart sharing among 2-3 people is not a good idea, as the car setting and the seat size / position are different for different people.

That's a good observation, it only really works if the drivers are all about the same size/weight, otherwise you have to buy three seats and it's only 1-driver per practice day which is a hassle.

One additional option for first-year karting drivers is to approach a kart-shop to ask about their arrive-and-drive pricing. You don't buy the engine or kart but you can have one set-aside only for your use and you pay a certain amount for the year + the races + practices days. The kart is transported and stored by the team so it's as simple as getting to the track and hopping in the kart.

[fsartono]

newbie question: what is homogelation mean?

[Mikko Nassi]

When a chassis/brakes/suit/tyres/lubricants/track/engines are homologated in short what it means is that they are approved by the CIK-FIA for use in competition.

For example with suits the manufacturer has to send in samples that have to pass certain tests - if they pass then they are "homologated" and the manufacturer can put the homologation number on the suits and they can be used in competition.

[Rolf]

For Ivan and the Newbies :

I always thought it would be nice to have a pub in Singapore where you can talk about "late braking" and other kart stuff.

From time to time I go Friday evenings to the Irish Pub,right next to Orchard Towers.

If am there,just walk up and ask a question about karting.I will be more than happy to give a few insights (and get a beer paid in return )

[fsartono]

hi rolf .. mika mentioned that he'll setup a karting singapore forum for me .. once that is up, fellow singapore-residents can organize meet up sessions, race sessions, etc. ... can't wait to get this community up and running ...

[James Leong]

I have read with interest on comments by Fuji and Ivan regarding taking part in the RMC 2008. You are most welcomed to the RMC as I have grouped Singapore and Malaysia as one unit to get the drivers to go to the World Finals. If there are enough drivers in Singapore alone - minimum 15 to a class, then you can have your own RMC - Singapore! I will get a seat for you in the WF but otherwise you join with Malaysia.

To enter for either the RMC Singapore (if there is one) and RMC Malaysia, you must have a Rotax Max engine. The engine must be standard and not modified in any way. The engine must have been purchased from an Authorised Distributor. By authorised distributor I meant that the person must be authorised by Kartmore Racing Services to sell Rotax products in Singapore. If you have purchased an engine that is not from the authorised distributor or dealer, example engines from Hong Kong, Australia or Switzerland etc you will need to pay a one time fee of RM2000.00 or Sin$870.00 to make your engine legal to enter RMC, AMC and also Rotax races in other countries.

You may ask why we do this? The reason is very simple. We spend a lot of money organising the RMC for the rotax owners. The profit from engine sales goes towards the cost of organising the events. If you buy an engine from elsewhere which we do not make any money at all and you take part in our series, then it is not fair to those who bought the engines from us. Dont you agree with this? This practice of charging is world wide with all the Rotax Distributors. So my advise is - buy your engines and parts from authorised distributor/dealer and not from anyone who claims that they can supply you. Remember that engines purchased from authorised dealers or distributor carries a warranty. Should your new engine goes wrong due to parts damage etc, we will replace them FOC for you. However this is applicable to only engines purchased from us.

We have a direct link to Rotax and we can check an engine to find out who, when and where the engine was sold through the serial numbers. This will be checked when you register for the race.

For used chassis, I would recommend you contact Ray Kong at 019-3336110 as Swiss Hutless has many used chassis for sale at good prices.

James Leong
Rotax Distributor for
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

[RocK]

You are most welcomed to the RMC as I have grouped Singapore and Malaysia as one unit to get the drivers to go to the World Finals. If there are enough drivers in Singapore alone - minimum 15 to a class, then you can have your own RMC - Singapore! I will get a seat for you in the WF but otherwise you join with Malaysia.

as for Bruneian drivers holding Spore license, does it qualified as Spore driver or Brunei driver?

also, minimum 15 drivers to a class, any minimum round per year? Thanks