Elite kart racing is a sport measured in thousandths of a second, and drivers, engineers and mechanics will spend countless hours (and nearly any budget) to find those elusive fractions
At a recent round of the British Karting Championships, a single second meant the difference between qualifying in pole position or in 46th place.
With tightly controlled technical regulations, arguably the single largest determinant of performance is tyre life. Although all drivers are on the same type, the lap time difference between qualifying in the morning and the final in the afternoon can approach one second, meaning this weekend’s race tyres are scrap by the end of the day.
On any given weekend, there can be upwards of 500 drivers racing at circuits around the UK, almost all of whom will need a fresh set of ‘boots’ the following week. Many drivers race every week of a season that can extend to 35 weeks a year, meaning that the accumulation of waste tyres is vast and unmanageable without a structured and organised solution.
Twyford Recycling, through Junior Rotax driver Jack Price and his father, have begun the task of addressing this enormous and growing challenge, launching a pilot scheme with the Forest Edge Kart Club in the South East, seeking to collect and chip this waste pile efficiently and in an environmentally friendly manner.
The early signs are good – teams and drivers enthusiastically delivered dozens of old sets to the waiting van on the first weekend – and the hope is that they can expand the initiative to more circuits across the country in the coming months.
Improving the environmental credentials of the sport is a priority for the governing body, Motorsport UK, and tyre disposal remains the largest problem on the journey to a sustainable future sport. The team at Twyford Recycling, the organisers of the pilot scheme and the Forest Edge Kart Club community deserve credit for tackling the challenge head on.
