Post by Admin on Feb 24, 2011 2:41:31 GMT -5
![](http://www.kartracingonline.com/image-files/champ-kart.jpg)
Champ karts are one of the few types of karts that have a roll cage. What I mean by roll cage is that their is basically a roof to the kart
. What do they look like?
Other than the obvious roll cage, they look pretty close to the speedway kart and the dirt kart.
The bumpers are a little longer extended on the front and back and they usually have side panels, and a hood on the front covering their lower body. Sometimes you will see them with wings on top.
When these first started being made they had a problem with being too stiff. It was hindering the ability for the kart to get through the turns quickly. Since then they have started building them with a floating chassis to help with this.
So what does having a floating chassis mean? Well they don't attach the top roll cage to the kart by welding it. They attach it like a seperate peice and allow it to move seperately a little bit to allow flex throughout the whole chassis.
They are built offset mainly, with the driver sitting on the left side of the kart.
Where do these karts race?
They race mostly on dirt ovals or asphalt ovals. I wouldn't rule out that they might race somewhere on a road course. But I haven't seen it.
Engines:
Champs mostly run 4 cycle engines. The Briggs Raptor and Briggs Animal would be the two most popular choices.
Some classes for this type of kart:
Adult Classes - These are for ages 15 and up and are the most popular classes to be found, they are seperated by the weights of the kart+driver.
Sr. Champ Light
Sr. Champ Heavy
Junior Classes - These are for ages 8-15. Classes depend on age. Llsted from youngest to oldest. These names may vary depending on track.
Sportsman 1 Champ (the restrictor plate in the engines is purple) Ages 8-10
Sportsman 2 Champ (plate is blue) Ages 10-12
Junior Champ (plate is gold for Raptor(flathead) and black for Animals engines) Ages 12-15
Safety Belts
Unlike open karts, champs have seatbelts.
It's safer to not have a seat belt in an open kart, but with the roll cage, the seat belts make sense.
The Champ Kart may be a little safer with the roll cage and safety belts, but the regular open kart is already pretty safe too. Lots of people enjoy racing their champs though, so it's still a good choice.
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