News

Guest writer Laurence Curran had a go in the kart yesterday

KF Clubman is a new class that has been recently proposed by Paul Fletcher. The basic idea is that KF3 Clubman should be a more affordable senior class which will bring the KF kart engines to more people.

The KF3 engines are currently used in the junior class but a new homologation is due to come into force at the end of 2009, which will make available very many second hand engines, most of which should be priced from approximately £600 upwards. What Paul Fletcher is proposing is for these engines to be mated with the KF2 ignition that will raise the rev limit from 14K to 15K RPM and that there will be a minimum weight limit of 165Kg. This engine package will be combined with the durable Dunlop SL4 tires as used in ICC.

We had the opportunity to briefly test out the KF Clubman engine and tire package at PFI kart circuit. The chassis used was a Maranello RS10. Initial impressions were good, particularly of the Dunlop SL4 tires that already had quite a few laps on them from others testing the kart. All who tested the kart agreed that the tires are not the stickiest available for an engine with this much power but that the basic philosophy behind KF Clubman is for these tires to last long and give a consistent level of grip for at least a couple of weekends of racing and testing, a need which they look promising to fulfil.

The Maxter KF3 engine had a good spread of power and excellent top end for an engine without a power valve combined with an ignition allowing it to run up to 15,000 RPM. No power figures were available for the KF Clubman engine however it felt like it had more top end than the Rotax FR125. In line with the low cost nature of the class, the engines will need little maintenance. Bob Astill of Maxter UK reported that the bottom end of the engine may need to be rebuilt after half a season of heavy use and that this is normal for those using these engines while racing in the KF3 class in Europe. Bob also said that the schedule for top end rebuilds is very much down to preference but piston life can easily be as much as 30 to 40 hours before someone can choose to replace them.

Many thanks to Paul Fletcher and Bob Astill for the opportunity to test out the KF Clubman. I certainly hope the class will be a success and it may even convince this ex-kart racer to get a licence to race again. Special thanks also goes to Terence and Alan Dove of karting1.co.uk for the loan of the race suit.