[JohnKing6]

="Raja RazmanProgressing from the jr class to the senior class and then staying in sr class for a few years is also a dead end.
This the most likely secnario for any 16-17yrs old driver.
what i am trying to say is we need tough and competitive races so that the drivers will learn how to race competitively.

I think we've all basically saying the same thing - young drivers need exposure to top class and regular competition. In Europe, they achieve that by staying in karting until they are 18-19 and then moving onto mega competitive formulas like british/european F3. In Malasia and the rest of Asia, there just isn't that kind of competion available - in karting or anything else.

But let's not beat up Malasia too much, Japan has a seriously competive karting and motorsports scene and still hasn't produced a decent F1 driver. Between all the Japanese drivers that have been guided into F1, they won the same number of GPs that Alex Yoong has - zero.

As someone else said, let's try to sort out the grassroots and see what happens. What we really need is a Lewis Hamilton miracle - I bet 50% more karts have been sold in the UK in the last 4 months than ever before

[Mikko Nassi]

But let's not beat up Malasia too much, Japan has a seriously competive karting and motorsports scene and still hasn't produced a decent F1 driver.

Japan has its own elite category racing though like SuperGT where drivers make a good living and often drivers aim to drive there rather than aiming for F1. Same goes for the US with Nascar (and before IRL/CART).

Lewis was exactly what the British karting scene needed because their numbers have been going down the past few years.

If the government is going to support this so call grassroot racing, then the duties should be reduced or abolished. That way it will make the sport very much cheaper

This has always amazed me here. There's a massive push to support motorsports yet a lot of motorsports related equipment is taxed at 40% or more.

[RocK]

Between all the Japanese drivers that have been guided into F1, they won the same number of GPs that Alex Yoong has - zero.

Wow. let hope we dont have any Japanese member here..

[CRG Asia]

In Singapore we're going to have to pay 20% duties for all kart chassis. The government is trying to get F1 in and yet having these kind of laws to go against its intention.

In Japan, It is extremely competitive in terms of karting. Their entries for events go into the hundreds and they receive tons of local community support.

And One point i have to disagree with is the Japan has got no good drivers. What about takuma Sato. True, he may not have been on the podium before. But he has got a team that has built surrounding his talent. He is extremely talented with tons of potential. if you were to put him in a Mercedes, i'm sure he'll do well. Maybe not as good as lewis hamilton, but around the standards to Alonso.

[RocK]

Im not a Sato fan, but he did won the British F3 in 2001. You dont get to do that if your not talented. He smart to move to England to pursue single seater racing there. Sato proved to be fast but very prone to crashes.

Why is Malaysian import tax for tyres that high?

[Jules]

The topic discussed is very interesting. Raja Razman came out on the price of tyres etc. I am an importer of kart, tyres and parts as well as the Rotax distributor for Malaysia.

Let me relate to you all the problems that I faced. Karts used to be duty free and only 10% ST is payable. Since the AP issues came into the picture, the custom dept now insist that all karts that was classified under motor vehicle REQUIRE an AP. If no AP then the tax payable for the kart is 25% + 10% ST. So in a case like this how much do you think a kart would cost? Is the government helping? Maybe someone should do something about it. I have been to the Customs and all they can say is go to the Finance Ministry and sort this out. The FM in turn chase you away.

On the price of tyres imported from Japan or Europe, the custom duty is 40% + 10% ST. For a distributor to make a small margin the retail price would come to over RM650.00 per set. Right now our Mojo tyres are retailing at RM620.00 per set with full duties/ST paid for. The euro to ringgit exchange rate is not helping either.

If the government is going to support this so call grassroot racing, then the duties should be reduced or abolished. That way it will make the sport very much cheaper.

For me, it is not the monetary gain that I am after since I could now retire and walk away from the sport but because karting is a passion for me over car racing and rallying. I would like to see the sport grow and that's why I have been helping drivers who are good but does not have the funds to race.

I would like to see more cadet drivers on the grid and is even prepared to sponsor a few potential drivers with karts. Any takers???

James Leong
Kartmore Racing Services

Bringing this topic back to the Malaysian context - I find James's comments very similar to what I see. Whilst he sees it from a dealer point of view, mine is from a karter purely AND YET, it is not surprising to see similarities on who we think can help this situation.

As mentioned above - I do believe the govt has a big hand in this. Associating a kart with AP is absolute nonsense and this vehicle ( the kart ) is purely for sports. Unfortunately as the prices of karts are still not for the masses - those in power ( govt n private alike ) think they can make a cut in between since their assumption is that the rich, can afford to pay whatever they command.

Well, the should broaden ther perspective and take the view that if we increase the number of karts sold - their cut will be bigger too....Of course, this point is relevant for the dealers and by the forces of natural competition ( NON MONOPOLY MARKET ok! ) - this will be kept competitive & honest.

The bigger the karting pool, there will be more clubs, more competition and also tracks.....all complementing each other.

With this, you can be assured that the karting champions we produce are indeed deserving local champions - not champs cos they can afford the latest gear and most of all, they are indeed DRIVEN & PASSIONATE about winning! I am sure, some of you can name individuals who reached top level racing and achieved nothing......no, I am not thinking of F1 only but look at Rallying, MotoGP, etc.

Of course, everyone invloved ie. AAM, MAM and the clubs should also play their part to promote this sport. Again, they should be mindful that the more entries there is, the more they stand to gain too - IN THE LONG RUN.

Seriously, our Malaysian karting is on the downhill and until ALL of us get our act together - we will lose more ie. look at our football team!

James - your offer to run some cadets is indeed commendable. We seriously do not have the next generation of karters if you look at our cadet grids.

When my son turn 6 - I will call you!

[Fazz Rahman]

great discussion going. i would like to give me 2 sens here.

i am with all of you in regards to spending more efforts in building the local karting scene. however, the key problem is COST.

i know a bunch of amateur karters who would love to progress further but limited by the COST issue. karting is not very cheap. especially for those trying to build a career and bring their children up (with some time in karting).

at the same time, i seriously hesitate going to the govt for help. i'd rather keep politics as far away from karting. don't want another malaysian football type fiasco. that said, there needs to be a concerted effort by the malaysian karting community and the governing body(ies) to explore reduction in import cost for (all - including rental) karts and related equipment/apparel.

so the key is (1) the corporate sector and (2) the governing body(ies).

what is need is this:

1. more karting clubs
2. cheaper cost to sanction races & obtain insurance coverage
3. building economic propositions for the corporate sector
4. building the amateur & rental karting scene to cater for needs (night racing, indoor, outdoor, in town etc) - alliance with corporate sectors and developers
5. breaking the "niche" tag - popularising grassroots motorsports - create a PR machine for karters + media assistance / alliance

the opportunity here is huge. youngsters nowadays not only hero-worship footballers... but f1 drivers too. but their parents are either (a) not racing savvy (except for us senior people in my-kart ); (b) do not have the money to burn.

more needs to be done to help this group.

[mym]

I would like to chip in also.

Relating the matter to the IT industry in Malaysia, PIKOM is the champion. When the government was trying to encourage the public to be IT literate, there were numerous dialogue between MITI and PIKOM. This was the forum used by PIKOM to influence the Government to abolished the tax on computer equipment.

In this scenario, the bodies involve in promoting motorsports in the country like AAM and the karting clubs and others should sit down together and make a proposal to the the government, in this case maybe MITI (AP issuance) and the Sports Ministry. From here, hopefully the ministries involved would be able to make certain justification to the cabinet or Finance Ministry to look at reducing the tax tariff for Karting Equipment.

Categorising kart equipment with motor vehicles sounds a little funny as kart is only used in the track. Look at the Cameron Highlands Farmers, they run their land rovers around CH without road tax. Why do you think this can happen?. Is it for cheaper vegetables? It's a matter of having a good justification and pushing the right button.

My 2 cents....

[Iskandar]

what if the kart comes unassembled, like if we order in from say...the US, and they pack it all nice in a wood crate with all the parts there, ready to race, but in kit form, with a nice manual to tell you how to put it together? would they still charge 20%?

[CRG Asia]

well for one if you do that, you shipping costs will go through the roof. Secondly for that, it will mean that you are assembling the kart yourself which means you will have to apply for a manufacturing lisence by law( Not that it is enforced) which will set you back about 20k a year. So in that case paying the duty will actually be cheaper.

[Alex Ritchie]

what if the kart comes unassembled, like if we order in from say...the US, and they pack it all nice in a wood crate with all the parts there, ready to race, but in kit form, with a nice manual to tell you how to put it together? would they still charge 20%?

When the government changed the regulations a few years ago completely built up karts became duty free, but the customs rules were not changed for parts. I believe various parts are charged different rates. A couple of years ago I brought in a Tillet seat and was charged 40% + 10%..Ouch!

[James Leong]

A kart in unassembled form is classified as spare parts. Therefore the custom duty is 25% and 10% ST. A kart to be classified as complete and is to be entitled for full exemption except 10% ST must be assembled complete with tyres and engine. That's the law. Any other form is deemed to be parts. Hope this will help you all to understand why karts cost so much. It is not because the importer is making a lot of money but paying all these duties. As part of an International organisation we are not allowed to deviate from any form. All custom codes are listed on the invoices coming from Switzerland and we pay custom duties accordingly.

I would like to lower down the price of karts so that more drivers can have access to them but unfortunately our government is not helping in anyway. I do believe it is WHO you know and NOT WHAT you can do in this country.

James Leong

[Iskandar]

Ohh...Nows, I knows so i guess that rules out ordering a US kart...want spare part also have to pay 50%...CHEH!

[Raja Razman]

The topic discussed is very interesting. Raja Razman came out on the price of tyres etc. I am an importer of kart, tyres and parts as well as the Rotax distributor for Malaysia.

Let me relate to you all the problems that I faced. Karts used to be duty free and only 10% ST is payable. Since the AP issues came into the picture, the custom dept now insist that all karts that was classified under motor vehicle REQUIRE an AP. If no AP then the tax payable for the kart is 25% + 10% ST. So in a case like this how much do you think a kart would cost? Is the government helping? Maybe someone should do something about it. I have been to the Customs and all they can say is go to the Finance Ministry and sort this out. The FM in turn chase you away.

On the price of tyres imported from Japan or Europe, the custom duty is 40% + 10% ST. For a distributor to make a small margin the retail price would come to over RM650.00 per set. Right now our Mojo tyres are retailing at RM620.00 per set with full duties/ST paid for. The euro to ringgit exchange rate is not helping either.

If the government is going to support this so call grassroot racing, then the duties should be reduced or abolished. That way it will make the sport very much cheaper.

For me, it is not the monetary gain that I am after since I could now retire and walk away from the sport but because karting is a passion for me over car racing and rallying. I would like to see the sport grow and that's why I have been helping drivers who are good but does not have the funds to race.

I would like to see more cadet drivers on the grid and is even prepared to sponsor a few potential drivers with karts. Any takers???

James Leong
Kartmore Racing Services

i understand the problem for the prices of the tyres but please understand no tyres means no grip and no grip means wasting time on the track. so how?

[Raja Razman]

I would like to chip in also.

Relating the matter to the IT industry in Malaysia, PIKOM is the champion. When the government was trying to encourage the public to be IT literate, there were numerous dialogue between MITI and PIKOM. This was the forum used by PIKOM to influence the Government to abolished the tax on computer equipment.

In this scenario, the bodies involve in promoting motorsports in the country like AAM and the karting clubs and others should sit down together and make a proposal to the the government, in this case maybe MITI (AP issuance) and the Sports Ministry. From here, hopefully the ministries involved would be able to make certain justification to the cabinet or Finance Ministry to look at reducing the tax tariff for Karting Equipment.

Categorising kart equipment with motor vehicles sounds a little funny as kart is only used in the track. Look at the Cameron Highlands Farmers, they run their land rovers around CH without road tax. Why do you think this can happen?. Is it for cheaper vegetables? It's a matter of having a good justification and pushing the right button.

My 2 cents....

i related this to all.

i am pretty sure that somebody has got the rights to import kart at tax exmption prices.
that person has pushed the right button.
that is why we now face with AP and tax issues.
there only so many kart retailers out there, i am sure we can guess it out...right.
SO HOW LAAH?