funny stuff

This is an e-mail from a customer who purchased a shifter from me earlier this year....he was having a little 'too' much fun around the neighborhood!

"Well Eric, looks like I’m getting faster. Had the pleasure of meeting a Jefferson County Sheriff last night in my garage with tools in hand after testing the kart with new jetting. He was pretty cool and said he understood that I needed to test the new set up. The engine is a kick in the pants. Taking it to the track next week. Thanks again for everything.

Pat"

gearing up for another saturday of lapping at ELKT. Should have 7-8 tag karts again. Thinking about throwing on some 'older' bodywork in case we end up racing before the end of the day! There is never a shortage of excitement at an ELKT race. Even if it is only pride and bragging rights at stake....

ELKT Practice day

A great day was had last Sunday. Weather was perfect, 7 tag karts in attendance and LOADS of track time! We turned over 100 laps before everyones arms were ready to call it a day. The Rotax ran flawless all day, some minor tweaks on the chassis gave me some improved lap times through the day....36.8's were the best I could get out of the kart. The MOJO tires are proving to be as long lasting as any tire I have used. I have 4 race days, and 6 practice days on a set...and NO reason for replacing them yet. The grip level has been consistent through each heat cycle thus far.

Two days advance planning, and we pulled together 7 tag karts at ELKT on a weekend that every neighboring track in the three state area had club races....something tells me that with NO professional track within a 3 hour drive from metro Detroit = a need for a TRACK!

Weather permitting, headed to ELKT for a practice day. Looks like we have 6-8 tag karts lined up...we are on the way to starting our own league! 20-30% chance of rain and highs of 72degrees are in the forecast.....

New TOY in the stable!

This is to pass the time on the long breaks between racing weekends!

Grosse Ile

The race at the Grosse Ile airport proved to be a short weekend for the TKZ team. We arrived on Saturday morning to see what we thought to be....well....less than desirable racing conditions. In an attempt to utilize two runways of the airport and maximize space, the racing circuit was very tight, not much room for passing, and in my opinion, rather unsafe. I decided to run a few practice laps and make the best of the track we had to race with. There was an incident on the first practice session, and a few close calls.....the next rounds of practice seemed to go O.K. On to qualifying...on my second of three laps I came towards the chicane section of the track to find a TIRE in the middle of the racing line (with no advance warning!), and on my third of three laps, had a slower kart pull from the side of the racing line into the middle of the track. After the qualifying session was complete (and no weigh in?) I found that the tire in the track was due to a flip that occurred on lap one. Whew! What a morning....

...needless to say, with the questionable race circuit, we decided it would be more cost effective and safer if we packed the trailer up and called it a weekend, with everything, and everyone in one piece. The one unknown variable in going to a temporary circuit is the track layout, and the thought behind the layout in advance. Not all temporary circuits are created equal!

Gingerman

A great weekend for racing at Gingerman is in the books. Great weather and large fields for the action at the 1.9 mile 11 turn road course outside of South Haven MI. The TKZ performance was respectable. I raced two classes on Saturday. Entering the stock moto in the CIK shifter class, and racing the Rotax with the tag class. The tag class had over 20 entries, and the CIK shifter with 30+ karts. The start of the tag race had me dead last by turn 1. A horrible start left me with a great challenge for the 30 minute race. I managed to work my way up to 3rd place by the end of the race. I landed a strong 10th place finish with my stock moto with the full modified CIK 125 shifter class....

I was only entered to race the tag class on Sunday. The fields were just as big for Sundays action...and I again finished 3rd in the tag 30 minute race.