Motorsport: LO Swiss Kart Championship in Lignières

On April 23 and 24, the 2016 Karting Championship kicked off in Pavia, south of Milan. Although kart races are permitted on closed circuits in Switzerland, only two of the six SKM races will be held in the home country, both at the TCS training ground in Lignières above Lake Biel: the first on May 21 and 22 in an anti-clockwise direction, the second on September 17 and 18 in a clockwise direction.

The aim is to have more races in Switzerland in the future
The Swiss Auto Sport Association (ASS), which organizes the championship, is aware of this problem. Races abroad are associated with high costs and a great deal of time, which is even more stressful for the children and young people involved in karting than for their parents and companions due to their school workload. In the medium term, ASS therefore wants to hold more events in its own country, especially as there are two homologated kart racing tracks in Wohlen and Lyss.

Larger racing fields pose a certain safety risk
In the case of Wohlen, the high costs, the old track surface and the restriction to Saturday as the race day are the sticking points, justifies ASS. The effort required for a one-day event is simply not feasible. Many club races and training runs are held in Lyss. A karting license course and the training of track officials are also held there by ASS. Despite the homologation of the circuit, the association sees a certain safety risk for larger racing fields. In addition, the infrastructure could reach its limits with the desired larger participation due to a lack of space. However, ASS promises that it is prepared to discuss possible solutions with track owners and those responsible in order to host karting in its own country.

www.motorsport.ch/kart
Photo: ASS