F400-4stroke racing- round 3 2012 Zwartkops Raceway

Wow! What an exciting and eventful day. 2012 round 3 at Zwartkops raceway started off with a beautifully clear day after a night of heavy rain. The competitors spirits were high and the atmosphere was electric.



The early morning practise started with the f200's and, with the still wet track being rather slippery, it looked more like a scene from "Tokyo Drift". Luckily by the first race the track had dried up somewhat and only a few karts were still sliding.

















Heat 1 was immensely fast for both the F200's and the F400's. The Prokarts joined the F400's in their heats, so it was a large and diverse field and great fun for the competitors to watch.







Heat 2 was bittersweet with Rogue Racing 2 driver Keagan Flipping his kart and dislocating his shoulder. Flipping a kart is not very easy and can generally only be done by the front wheel hitting another karts wheel, which is what happened in this case. The race was ended and all racing was halted for half an hour until the ambulance crew had returned.

Heat 3 went off without and hitch and the day ended well, with many teams achieving higher places then ever before.


My 2 favourites did very well with Allstar finishing in the top 10 for the very first time with a tidy 9th place and  Tripod  finishing 4th.

f400 - 4 stroke karting Zwartkops Raceway

F400 practise at Zwartkops. 

Prokarts

Oh yeah, bring it on!

Looking forward to the races this weekend where both the F400 contingent AND Prokarts will be racing at Zwartkops kart circuit.

If the practise runs were anything to go by, it looks like its going to be a very exciting day for all involved.

The circuit is just over 1000m long and a minimum of eight metres wide. The start/finish line is on the 180m-long 10m wide main straight, and is 90m before the first corner. The first two corners are 12m wide to reduce first lap congestion. A unique feature of the new circuit is the Bridgestone Flyover, where the circuit actually crosses over itself. The sloping terrain of Zwartkops lends itself to great spectator viewing points and promises the drivers a challenging roller coaster ride 

So if you love speed and racing and all round , good family fun, come join us in cheering on the teams, who knows, maybe you'll love it so much that next time I'll be cheering you on too.

How to get there

From Johannesburg

There are a number of ways to get to Zwartkops from the Johannesburg area.

The most common way is past Kyalami – travel in a generally Northerly direction along the R55 towards Pretoria West.(It is approximately 21 km from Kyalami to Zwartkops)

This road can become congested on big international race days.

From Johannesburg, get onto the N14 (Krugersdorp Highway) and head Eastwards. Take the R55/ Pretoria West off-ramp and turn left towards Pretoria West. Travel in a genrally Northerly direction on the R55 and you will reach Zwartkops Raceway on your left.

To avoid congestion the next best alternative route is through Erasmia. Travel in a genrally Northerly direction along the R 511 (William Nochol Drive).

This is the road that goes past Diepsloot (William Nichol R511) and becoming the M26.

As you get to Erasmia turn right at the Zwartkops Raceway signboard and enter through the Drive-In gate.

From East Rand

From the N1 take the Hans Strydom off ramp - travel Westwards on the M10 until the R55. Turn right into the R55 and Zwartkops is on your left + 3 km.

From Pretoria

Take Mitchell Street under the subway past the Old Power Station (on the left). Turn left into Quagga Road and travel Southwards past Laudium until you reach Zwartkops on your right.

How to Exit Zwartkops

There are 3 exits:

Exit 1: Exit DRIVE-IN Follow signs through the DRIVE-IN and then ERASMIA to the M26. Turn left to Sandton and right to Pretoria West.

Exit 2: RING ROAD R55 LEFT-TURN Take the paved ring road between the Skidpan and the 4x4 Track. Turn left onto the R55. At the robot turn left and travel on the M26 past Erasmia and then to Sandton.

Exit 3: MAIN GATE Turn left or right onto the R55

F400 karting- 4 stroke racing

                                                     Great fun for the whole family!!!!!!!

This sunday we spent the day at the Vereeniging Kart track watching Round 2 of the F400 Karting challenge. What a blast! If you love to race, love the thrill of speed and adrenalin then you have to consider this as an amazing new family sport.

F400 Starting line up at VKC

Training up the next Balwin

Balwin Family Team

4 stroke karting is a fast growing sport in SA, the great things about it are that firstly its fun, Secondly the whole family can get involved and most importantly it's affordable.




4 stroke racing is unique in that, the racing is run with only 4 stroke motors that are cheap and controlled to prevent cheque book racing and allow for fair competition. The classes are focused primarily at the F400 and F200 groups.  The classes are as follows ( thanks to Gary Balwin)

 

Classes 

F400  (Age group 15years to 55 plus)

This class runs the Honda 13hp motor. Designed for 1 or 2 hour sprint racing. The motor has certain controlled modifications bringing the power to 22HP at 5200rpm and the torque to 40Nm. Weight category is 175kg.

F200 Juniors (Age group from 7 to 14 years)

This class runs with a Hoffmann 212cc motor pushing out 12 hp and 19Nm torque. Designed for sprint racing of round 15 to 30 minutes. Weight category is 130kg. Sealed motors are issued with specific changes to the motors to improve performance but keeping consistency. Class is designed to allow for the children to start in this sport as a filler.

In the F400 races, teams consist of 2 to 3 drivers, which take turns to race their kart. In the F200, one driver will race their kart.

Balwin Family Team

 Each class has to compete in about 3 heats at each race day.
Many families compete in these races with the adults in the F400 class and the kids in the F200 class. It is a wonderful way to spend time together and to motivate each other.

Part of Team Mutti

 And best of all there are teams of all ages racing, even over 50's. It takes passion and commitment to get to the top though, as each team is in charge of its own karts maintenance during and after races.
Generally there is 1 race every month, at alternating Kart Circuits including, Kyalami, Vereeniging, Swartkops and Bloemfontein

Team Allstar

At  each race prizes are given  including trophies and medals and for the adults sometimes a shooter or 2. These prizes are not just for positions but also for team of the day amongst other more silly achievments.
The prize giving is always a laugh, with all the teams getting on well. I love going to these races and seeing these wonderful people having such a great time even after competing against each other all day.
At the end of each year, the results from all the races are tallied up and each team is given a new number, which they will race under as their kart number for the next year.

F200's going out to race

The Stig ( I think he's about 7 or 8 yrs old)

Tripod pushing their kart to the pits

Andrea crossing the finish line!

This sunday was an eventful day for many teams including one of my favorites Tripod Racing. It seemed that everything that could go wrong for them, went wrong that day, from engine troubles to loosing a wheel.

Tripod pushing their kart to the pits.......Again

 Tripod Consists of Andrea, Gregor and Murray

Tripod! No matter what, they'll cross the finish line.....even if they have to push!

sneaking the Kart through the pedestrian gate

with the help of the C.O.C

Murray! Exhausted after such a hectic day!