Karting: Start to the autobau SKM 2018
FULL FIELDS The 2018 autobau Swiss Kart Championship (SKM) kicks off in Pavia this weekend. Six events with a new six classes are on the calendar this season. Two races will take place in Switzerland. The number of participants continues to point upwards. The kick-off takes place this weekend at the international track 7Laghi in Castelletto di Branduzzo near Pavia, just [...]
The opener will be this weekend at the international 7Laghi circuit in Castelletto di Branduzzo near Pavia, just an hour's drive from Chiasso.
By the end of March, almost 50 riders had signed up for the entire 2018 season, more than in a long time. For the start of the season in Italy, the 100 mark has even been exceeded.
Home races in Wohlen and Lignières
Three more races will be held not far from the Swiss border in Vesoul (April 28/29), Mirécourt (June 30/July 1) and Levier (August 18/19) in France.
Kart races on circuit tracks are also allowed in Switzerland. As in 2017, two rounds will be held in Switzerland, one on the permanent kart track of Wohlen/AG (Saturday, June 9), one as SKM finale on the TCS grounds in Lignières in the canton of Neuchâtel (September 15/16).
At the request of many participants and teams, there will be no seventh race, thus guaranteeing a summer break from early July to mid-August.
New class OK Junior
The OK Junior will be introduced as a new class. These are karts with 125 cc displacement, direct drive, without front wheel brakes, minimum weight 140 kg. Eligible are young people from 12 to 15 years.
The other five classes are
- KZ2 (125 cc, 6-speed manual, minimum weight 175 kg, standing start, 15 years and older),
- OK Senior (125 cc, direct drive, without front brakes, minimum weight 152 kg, new from 15 years)
- Iame X30 Challenge (125 cc, centrifugal clutch, without front brakes, minimum weight 158 kg, from 14 years)
- Iame X30 Junior (125 cc, power restrictor, centrifugal clutch, without front brakes, minimum weight 140 kg, from 12 to max. 15 years)
- Super Mini (60 cc, centrifugal clutch, from 8 to max. 13 years)
Auto Sport Schweiz has high hopes for the introduction of the OK Junior.
Roland Leibundgut, coordinator of the SKM: "We are convinced that the new category OK Junior will turn out to be the optimal platform for young riders with international ambitions in the medium term. This development is already clearly visible in major foreign championships. With the new age and weight regulations, there is also a clear separation of the two OK categories."
All races live on the Internet
Another innovation concerns the now mandatory front spoilers according to the CIK regulations. In the international context, it has been shown that thanks to these spoilers, unsportsmanlike driving is curbed and the threat of time penalties has its effect.
Otherwise, ASS is sticking to the tried and tested. These include the qualifying sessions, which have been held on Saturday evening since 2017, the tire control with barcode, which was also introduced in 2017, and the live stream recordings of the final races on the internet.
