HKRC Aug 8/9th

For the next twelve months, Wera Alliance Academy driver Felix Tandy, will be wearing a new number on his black and green kart. As winner of the Festival held at Kimbolton, he will replace his usual #127, with the honour of competing as #K, a number given annually only for those who come out on top of the circuits most prestigious weekend of racing.

Round 6

Qualifying        1st (overall and class)

Heat 1              Start     Finish

                        18th     1st      

Heat 2              Start     Finish

                        18th     1st

Heat 3              Start     Finish

                        18th     4th (1st class)

Festival Final  Start     Finish

                        18th     1st     

Tandy set the fastest time in Saturday qualifying, with a combined cadet class grid of Rotax Micromax, plus the Honda powered cadet drivers all competing on track at the same time. This meant even though Tandy’s JTR prepared kart was fastest overall, he and his fellow Rotax class competitors would start all the event’s races at the rear of the Honda pack.

Not put off, and seeing another challenge ahead, Felix got to work in the weekend’s heat races, storming through the field in both heat one and two to overtake seventeen drivers and cross the line first. Heat three saw him come up narrowly short, but did end taking maximum championship points from all races in class.

The Festival Final was a longer twelve minute duration, so whilst having to think carefully about managing his own points race with the Rotax drivers, hopes were high of having enough time to get through right to the front again. Tandy didn’t disappoint – taking the overall lead with two laps to go and eventually finishing over seven seconds clear of his nearest Micromax rival.

To top an excellent weekend, another maximum point haul also extends Felix’s lead in the championship race with four rounds left to come.

What you might not have been aware of is that he has been doing all this in an electric kart.

We spoke to Nick about how the electric revolution makes sense in the karting world and if it is a more expensive way to race and whether or not is has improved the racing.

Apart from the means of propulsion what are the differences between a petrol and electric kart?

The electric karts run on exactly the same chassis and tyres as their petrol counterparts. The weight is slightly heavier due to the battery but the throttle pick up is instantaneous as you’d expect from an electrified vehicle

Is there much difference in cost between the two?

The cost of racing at the top level is much, much less. This is one of the reasons MSUK have adopted the electric class in bambino as their only certified series. In two stroke bambino, to compete, some drivers would have multiple engines that require multiple rebuilds per season. In electric, we had the same motor unit for two seasons and had zero rebuild costs

Are they easier to maintain?

Maintenance of the motor unit is minimal. However, this just gives more time to the team, or the parent, to focus more maintenance on the actual kart chassis. So hours don’t go down, you just end up focusing on the entire kart, not just the engine.

Has it had any effect on the racing?

The racing in the electric series has been the best we’ve ever seen. With slower fossil fueled classes, the gaps between the drivers based on how much power they have can often be huge. In electric, every single motor kit is tested to be identical to each other. So it produces extremely tight racing, and as a result, teaches the young drivers lots of race craft

Do you feel this is the way to go for the future of karting?

I’m also a petrol head. That’s why we love racing. But karting is probably the most adoptable form of motosport on the planet currently to benefit from electrified powertrains due to the short nature of the races. I see two and four stroke petrol being around for a long time, but once legislation demands, there is already a tried and tested alternative which keeps the racing spirit alive.

Is it safer than a petrol kart?

Both petrol and electric karts are both extremely safe to operate. However there are other parts of karting safety that I do believe can be improved, and the FIA and MSUK are looking at these topics. Wheel guards for example, whilst not part of the history of go karting, is an area where I believe driver safety can be improved.

Has Felix had to change his driving style for the electric kart?

Driving style doesn’t change at all. A fast driver is a fast driver. And I’ve seen that the kids learn a lot more due to not worrying about the difference in engine performance, instead focusing on their own driving capability.

Is it good for the environment going forward?

The drivers just want a good race, and in bambino the racing has been excellent in electric. For the wider world however it does make sense to have less emissions, but also less noise as many rural circuits suffer with noise complaints nowadays.