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Kart racing

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Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles , motorcycles , motorboats and powered aircraft . For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms automobile sport , motorcycle sport , power boating and air sports may be used commonly, or officially by organisers and governing bodies.

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99-760: Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel , four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits , although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports, with most Formula One drivers—including Ayrton Senna , Michael Schumacher , Fernando Alonso , Kimi Räikkönen , Lewis Hamilton , Sebastian Vettel , Nico Rosberg , and Max Verstappen —having begun their careers in karting. Karts vary widely in speed, and some (known as superkarts ) can reach speeds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph), while recreational go-karts intended for

198-399: A ferromagnetic core. Electric current passing through the wire causes the magnetic field to exert a force ( Lorentz force ) on it, turning the rotor. Windings are coiled wires, wrapped around a laminated, soft, iron, ferromagnetic core so as to form magnetic poles when energized with current. Electric machines come in salient- and nonsalient-pole configurations. In a salient-pole motor

297-430: A magnetic field that passes through the rotor armature, exerting force on the rotor windings. The stator core is made up of many thin metal sheets that are insulated from each other, called laminations. These laminations are made of electrical steel , which has a specified magnetic permeability, hysteresis, and saturation. Laminations reduce losses that would result from induced circulating eddy currents that would flow if

396-404: A 100- horsepower induction motor currently has the same mounting dimensions as a 7.5-horsepower motor in 1897. In 2022, electric motor sales were estimated to be 800 million units, increasing by 10% annually. Electric motors consume ≈50% of the world's electricity. Since the 1980s, the market share of DC motors has declined in favor of AC motors. An electric motor has two mechanical parts:

495-431: A 20-hp squirrel cage and a 100-hp wound rotor with a starting rheostat. These were the first three-phase asynchronous motors suitable for practical operation. Since 1889, similar developments of three-phase machinery were started Wenström. At the 1891 Frankfurt International Electrotechnical Exhibition, the first long distance three-phase system was successfully presented. It was rated 15 kV and extended over 175 km from

594-470: A commutator-type direct-current electric motor was built by American inventors Thomas Davenport and Emily Davenport , which he patented in 1837. The motors ran at up to 600 revolutions per minute, and powered machine tools and a printing press. Due to the high cost of primary battery power , the motors were commercially unsuccessful and bankrupted the Davenports. Several inventors followed Sturgeon in

693-463: A comparatively small air gap. The St. Louis motor, long used in classrooms to illustrate motor principles, is inefficient for the same reason, as well as appearing nothing like a modern motor. Electric motors revolutionized industry. Industrial processes were no longer limited by power transmission using line shafts, belts, compressed air or hydraulic pressure. Instead, every machine could be equipped with its own power source, providing easy control at

792-563: A dedicated purpose-built track (most of which also rent club karts for family fun), and sprint races are also held at kart tracks that exist at many major auto sports complexes like Daytona International Speedway , Charlotte Motor Speedway , Pittsburgh International Race Complex , NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Homestead-Miami Speedway , and Road America . Sprint races are also held at temporary kart circuits that can be built in parking areas at large stadiums and casinos throughout

891-433: A distance of eight miles. It was won by the locomotive of Isaac Watt Boulton , one of six he said he had run over the years, perhaps driven by his 22-year-old son, James W. The race was against Daniel Adamson's carriage, likely the one made for Mr. Schmidt and perhaps driven by Mr. Schmidt himself. The reports do not indicate who was driving, since both were violating the red-flag law then fully in force. Boulton's carriage

990-565: A final which last 20 minutes or more, with a variety of point scoring calculations to determine the event's overall winner. Typical duration does not normally exceed 25 minutes. Here, speed and successful passing is of the most importance. It normally occurs in the format of qualifying, one to three heats and a final race for trophy positions. Sprint Racing in the United States and Canada are held at three primary levels, club racing (local races at purpose-built tracks), regional racing - like

1089-422: A generator and the other as motor. The drum rotor was introduced by Friedrich von Hefner-Alteneck of Siemens & Halske to replace Pacinotti's ring armature in 1872, thus improving the machine efficiency. The laminated rotor was introduced by Siemens & Halske the following year, achieving reduced iron losses and increased induced voltages. In 1880, Jonas Wenström provided the rotor with slots for housing

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1188-593: A high-speed test, car handling manoeuvres can be tested such as precision drifting , donuts, handbrake turns, reversing and so on. Other disciplines of automobile sport include: The international motorcycle sport governing body recognised by the International Olympic Committee is the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Disciplines include: The international powerboating governing body recognised by

1287-591: A hill, at private and closed roadways where higher speeds and distances can be reached than at an autotesting course for example. Time attack are terms used by series that run sprints at racing circuits where competitors try to set the quickest lap time rather than racing head-to-head with others. Time trials are run by the Sports Car Club of America , amongst others. Rallysprints are mainly sanctioned and held in continental Europe. Ultimately, they are similar to other time trial sprints but originate from

1386-473: A light and heavy category. Many people race worldwide in Spec series such as X30 125cc (a TaG class). As in other disciplines in motorsports, a license is required to drive a racing kart in competition. The licenses, issued by governing bodies, are provided by clubs or associations. Basic insurance coverage is usually included in the licence annual fee. In some countries, such as France , regulations require

1485-437: A model electric vehicle that same year. A major turning point came in 1864, when Antonio Pacinotti first described the ring armature (although initially conceived in a DC generator, i.e. a dynamo). This featured symmetrically grouped coils closed upon themselves and connected to the bars of a commutator, the brushes of which delivered practically non-fluctuating current. The first commercially successful DC motors followed

1584-508: A motorsport in itself, it is one of the sports regulated by FIA (under the name of CIK ), permitting licensed racing for anyone from the age of 8 onward. In the United States, there is not as much FIA involvement; instead, many organizations regulate racing, such as the IKF ( International Kart Federation ), WKA ( World Karting Association ), KART (Karters of America Racing Triad), USPKS (United States Pro Karting Series) SKUSA (SuperKartsUSA). In

1683-412: A personal computer equipped with a data analysis software. More sophisticated systems allow for more information such as lateral and longitudinal acceleration ( g-force ), throttle position, steering wheel position and brake pressure. Kart racing is generally accepted as the most economical form of motorsport available on four wheels. As a free-time activity, it can be performed by almost anybody, and as

1782-1037: A power grid, inverters or electrical generators. Electric motors may be classified by considerations such as power source type, construction, application and type of motion output. They can be brushed or brushless , single-phase , two-phase , or three-phase , axial or radial flux , and may be air-cooled or liquid-cooled. Standardized motors provide power for industrial use. The largest are used for ship propulsion, pipeline compression and pumped-storage applications, with output exceeding 100 megawatts . Applications include industrial fans, blowers and pumps, machine tools, household appliances, power tools, vehicles, and disk drives. Small motors may be found in electric watches. In certain applications, such as in regenerative braking with traction motors , electric motors can be used in reverse as generators to recover energy that might otherwise be lost as heat and friction. Electric motors produce linear or rotary force ( torque ) intended to propel some external mechanism. This makes them

1881-452: A race is between competitors running head-to-head, in its International Sporting Code, the FIA defines racing as two or more cars competing on the same course simultaneously. Circuit racing takes place on sealed-surface courses at permanent autodromes or on temporary street circuits . Competitors race over a set number of laps of the circuit with the winner being the first to finish, or for

1980-425: A rotating bar winding rotor. Steadfast in his promotion of three-phase development, Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky invented the three-phase induction motor in 1889, of both types cage-rotor and wound rotor with a starting rheostat, and the three-limb transformer in 1890. After an agreement between AEG and Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon , Doliwo-Dobrowolski and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown developed larger models, namely

2079-464: A sealed surface such as asphalt or concrete. Notable off-road races on open terrain include the Baja 1000 desert race, organised by SCORE International . The FIA authorise Extreme E , an electric off-road series whose organisers have announced a hydrogen fuel series, Extreme H, to begin in 2025. Examples of off-road racing disciplines and series include: Drag racing is an acceleration contest from

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2178-493: A set length of time with the winner having completed the highest number of laps, with others classified subsequently. Circuit racing replaced point-to-point (city-to-city) racing early in the history of motorsport, for both spectator appeal and as safety concerns brought in regulation of the sport, forcing organisers to use closed, marshalled and policed circuits on closed public roads. Aspendale Racecourse in Australia in 1906

2277-398: A solid core were used. Mains powered AC motors typically immobilize the wires within the windings by impregnating them with varnish in a vacuum. This prevents the wires in the winding from vibrating against each other which would abrade the wire insulation and cause premature failures. Resin-packed motors, used in deep well submersible pumps, washing machines, and air conditioners, encapsulate

2376-399: A standing start along a short and straight course. Vehicles of various types can compete, usually between two vehicles. Winners can be the first to finish of competing pairs or by setting the fastest time, and competitions may have heats and/or series of runs. Kart racing is a form of circuit racing using very small and low vehicles not considered as automobiles known as go-karts. It is one of

2475-605: A stiffer chassis is preferable, while in wet or other poor traction conditions, a more flexible chassis may work better. Temperature of the track can also affect handling and may prompt additional chassis adjustments. The best chassis allow for stiffening bars at the rear, front and side to be added or removed according to race conditions. Braking is achieved by a disc brake mounted on the rear axle. Front disc brakes are used in most shifter kart classes and are increasingly popular in other classes; however, certain classes do not allow them. Shifter karts have dual master cylinders, one for

2574-420: A transmission in the automotive power train or drive train. The transmission can: Karts do not have a differential . The lack of a differential means that one rear tire must slide while cornering. This is achieved by designing the chassis so that the inside rear tire lifts up slightly when the kart turns the corner. This allows the tire to lose some of its grip and slide or lift off the ground completely. Power

2673-584: A type of actuator . They are generally designed for continuous rotation, or for linear movement over a significant distance compared to its size. Solenoids also convert electrical power to mechanical motion, but over only a limited distance. Before modern electromagnetic motors, experimental motors that worked by electrostatic force were investigated. The first electric motors were simple electrostatic devices described in experiments by Scottish monk Andrew Gordon and American experimenter Benjamin Franklin in

2772-493: A world record, which Jacobi improved four years later in September 1838. His second motor was powerful enough to drive a boat with 14 people across a wide river. It was also in 1839/40 that other developers managed to build motors with similar and then higher performance. In 1827–1828, Jedlik built a device using similar principles to those used in his electromagnetic self-rotors that was capable of useful work. He built

2871-592: A wound rotor forming a self-starting induction motor , and the third a true synchronous motor with separately excited DC supply to rotor winding. One of the patents Tesla filed in 1887, however, also described a shorted-winding-rotor induction motor. George Westinghouse , who had already acquired rights from Ferraris (US$ 1,000), promptly bought Tesla's patents (US$ 60,000 plus US$ 2.50 per sold hp, paid until 1897), employed Tesla to develop his motors, and assigned C.F. Scott to help Tesla; however, Tesla left for other pursuits in 1889. The constant speed AC induction motor

2970-453: Is a form of motorsport where drivers intentionally lose rolling traction in corners through oversteering but maintain momentum with effective throttle control, clutch use and corrective steering. In competition a panel of judges award marks on artistry and car control through the corner or series of corners. Competitions often feature pairs of cars driving together where a lead car and a chase car go head-to-head, with only one car going through to

3069-584: Is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy . Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate force in the form of torque applied on the motor's shaft. An electric generator is mechanically identical to an electric motor, but operates in reverse, converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. Electric motors can be powered by direct current (DC) sources, such as from batteries or rectifiers , or by alternating current (AC) sources, such as

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3168-498: Is called a series, and a grouping of competitions often forms the basis of a championship , cup or trophy . Not all nations have a sporting authority affiliated with the FIA, some disciplines may not fall within the FIA's remit of control, or organisations may choose to ignore the claim of the authority of others. Examples include banger racing and stock car racing in the United Kingdom which are claimed by both

3267-962: Is held annually and lasts 24 hours with multiple classes participating. This event is hosted by the Prokart SSS Club near Johannesburg. The most popular class runs the Honda GX390 four-stroke engine, which is both affordable and durable, keeping running costs to a minimum. The Prokart Super Single Series, also known as Prokart SSS, has been running for more than 20 years and has proven to be a very popular entry platform for drivers of all ages who want to get into karting. Many clubs worldwide have taken on four-stroke endurance karting for this reason, since two-stroke karting can be very expensive. Speedway racing takes place on asphalt or clay oval tracks which are normally between 1/10-mile and 1/4-mile long. Tracks primarily consist of two straights and four left-turn corners, few tracks are symmetric and often

3366-507: Is no suspension , so chassis have to be flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the United States as "Open", "Caged", "Straight" or "Offset". All Commission Internationale de Karting –, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile –, or CIK-FIA-approved chassis are "Straight" and "Open". The stiffness of the chassis enables different handling characteristics for different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions,

3465-852: Is one example. They have become the norm as the top international classes have switched to 125 cc clutch-equipped engines as of January 2007. Wheels and tires are much smaller than those used on a normal car. Wheels are made of magnesium alloy, aluminum , or composite materials . Tires can support cornering forces in excess of 2 g (20 m/s²), depending on chassis, engine, and motor setup . Some car tire manufacturers, such as MG Bridgestone , Dunlop , and Maxxis make tires for karts. There are also specific kart tire manufacturers, which include MG, Vega, MOJO, LeCont, Cobra, Hoosier and Burris. Similarly to other motorsports, kart tires have different types for use appropriate to track conditions: As in other motor sports, several data acquisition systems have been developed for kart racing. These systems allow

3564-448: Is transmitted from the engine to the rear axle by a chain. Both engine and axle sprockets are removable. Their ratio must be adapted to the track configuration to obtain the most performance from the engine. In the early days, karts were direct drive, requiring push starts. The inconvenience of that configuration led to the centrifugal clutch for the club level classes. Dry centrifugal clutches are now used in many categories; Rotax Max

3663-1124: The California ProKart Challenge , the Texas Sprint Racing Series , the Florida-based Sunshine Karting Championship Series , Route 66 Sprint Series in the Midwest, and the F-Series Gearup Challenge in the Northeast. National level karting takes place across North America in dedicated national series like the SKUSA Pro Tour Archived 22 July 2024 at the Wayback Machine , the USPKS Championship Series , WKA Manufacturers Cup and

3762-627: The International Olympic Committee is the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM). The organisation's origins date back to 1922. The international air sports governing body recognised by the International Olympic Committee is the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). The FAI also governs non-powered air sport such as gliding and ballooning, however its motorised sports include: Electric motor An electric motor

3861-821: The ROK Cup USA . The SKUSA Pro Tour championship is one of the most coveted, and the SKUSA SuperNats event held in Las Vegas annually is one of the largest kart races in the world, attracting drivers from every continent. The SKUSA SuperNats event has been run continuously for 25 years, and a SuperNats win is considered a legendary win in karting circles. The FIA championships, including the Karting World Championship , SKUSA SuperNats and all SKUSA Pro Tour, USPKS and ROK Cup USA Nationals take place in this format. Sprint racing can be held at

3960-483: The South Side Elevated Railroad , where it became popularly known as the " L ". Sprague's motor and related inventions led to an explosion of interest and use in electric motors for industry. The development of electric motors of acceptable efficiency was delayed for several decades by failure to recognize the extreme importance of an air gap between the rotor and stator. Efficient designs have

4059-631: The United States , dirt track racing became popular. After World War II , the Grand Prix circuit became more formally organised. In the United States, stock car racing and drag racing became firmly established. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), formed in 1904, is the oldest and most prominent international governing body. It claims to be the sole international motor sporting authority for automobiles and other land vehicles with four or more wheels, whilst acknowledging

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4158-439: The armature . Two or more electrical contacts called brushes made of a soft conductive material like carbon press against the commutator. The brushes make sliding contact with successive commutator segments as the rotator turns, supplying current to the rotor. The windings on the rotor are connected to the commutator segments. The commutator reverses the current direction in the rotor windings with each half turn (180°), so

4257-416: The 1740s. The theoretical principle behind them, Coulomb's law , was discovered but not published, by Henry Cavendish in 1771. This law was discovered independently by Charles-Augustin de Coulomb in 1785, who published it so that it is now known by his name. Due to the difficulty of generating the high voltages they required, electrostatic motors were never used for practical purposes. The invention of

4356-631: The ASNs must be obtained to organise events using their rules, and their licenses must be held by participants. Not all ASNs function in the same manner, some are private companies such as Motorsport UK, some are supported by the state such as France's FFSA, or in the case of the US's ACCUS, a council of sanctioning bodies is the national representative at FIA meetings. ASNs, their affiliated clubs or independent commercial promotors organise motorsport events which often include competitions . A collective of events

4455-582: The Lauffen waterfall on the Neckar river. The Lauffen power station included a 240 kW 86 V 40 Hz alternator and a step-up transformer while at the exhibition a step-down transformer fed a 100-hp three-phase induction motor that powered an artificial waterfall, representing the transfer of the original power source. The three-phase induction is now used for the vast majority of commercial applications. Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky claimed that Tesla's motor

4554-580: The MSA. Billed as the UK's first national karting league , the Elite Karting League also falls outside of MSA governance. In Australia, kart racing is administered by one of the following Karting bodies: Racing classes start at age 7 or 8 (5 in the United States with "Kid Karts") and generally run in 3-year age groupings or weight divisions until "senior" status is reached at age 15 or 16, depending on

4653-639: The Oshkosh and the Green Bay (the machines were referred to by their town of origin). This is examined and illustrated in detail in The Great Race of 1878 by Richard Backus, Farm Collector, May/June 2004. In 1894, the French newspaper Le Petit Journal organised a contest for horseless carriages featuring a run from Paris to Rouen. This is widely accepted as the world's first motorsport event, and

4752-642: The Oval Racing Council and the National Stock car Association, despite the claim by the FIA affiliated ASN, Motorsport UK , to be the "governing body of all four-wheel motorsport in the UK". SCORE International , National Auto Sport Association and National Off-Road Racing Association of the United States are also not members of the FIA affiliation system but may work with members for international matters. Although English dictionaries do not unanimously agree and singularly define that

4851-481: The UK, the Motor Sports Association (MSA) regulates most "owner driver" Karting. Some associations, such as NatSKA (National Schools Karting Association), organize race meetings throughout the country under the authority of the MSA. Various four-stroke "hire kart" series such as EPEC (European Prokart Endurance Championship) or BRKC (British Rental Kart Championship) fall outside the governance of

4950-489: The UK, the most celebrated karting series is the National karting series, also known as Super One . There are three types of Super One championships: Other UK National Championships include: Birel BirelART series UK: Cadet 60cc, Junior 100cc, Senior Light 125cc, Senior Heavy 125cc, British Indoor Karting Championship (BIKC) The BRKC is the UK's rental karting National championship, and the UK's official feeder series to

5049-749: The United States. Additionally, there are street races where races take place on city streets on temporary circuits like some of the IndyCar races. Endurance races last for an extended period, ranging from 30 minutes up to 24 hours or more, for one or more drivers. In general, consistency, reliability, and pit strategy is of greater importance than all out speed. Called "enduro" racing in the United States, most WKA and IKF sanctioned events typically last 30 minutes (sprint enduro) or 45 minutes (laydown enduro) and are run continuously without pit stops. Enduro events are held on full-size road racing circuits that are usually between 1.5 and 4 miles in length. As well as

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5148-412: The authority of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) over vehicles with one to three wheels, which FIM calls motorcycle sport. FIM and FIA are both recognised as international sports federations by the International Olympic Committee . Within the FIA's structure, each affiliated National Sporting Authority ( ASN ) is recognised as the sole authority in their nation. Permission of

5247-519: The cars and courses used in special stage rallying with the elements of navigation and itinerary removed, and not necessarily requiring a co-driver to call pacenotes . Rallying involves driving to a set itinerary, following a prescribed route and arriving and departing at control points at set times with penalties applied for diverging from the route or arriving late and early. Rallies nearly always involve routes on open roads, closed special stages are used on some rallies where competitors drive against

5346-516: The character of a particular competition, series or championship. Groups of these are often categorised informally, such as by vehicle type, surface type or propulsion method. Examples of categories within a discipline are formula racing , touring car racing , sports car racing , etc. The first prearranged match race of two self-powered road vehicles over a prescribed route occurred in the north west of England at 4:30 A.M. on August 30, 1867, between Ashton-under-Lyne and Old Trafford, Manchester ,

5445-699: The clock, the winner having the shortest, lowest average or total time. Hillclimbing events often include classes of competition for various categories and ages of vehicle and so may be incorporated into car shows or festivals of motoring such as the Goodwood Festival of Speed . Hill climb courses can be short at less than 1 mile, or several miles long such as the 12.42 mile Pikes Peak course in Colorado , USA. Sprints are governed by national FIA member ASNs in United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, amongst other places. They are held on courses that do not climb

5544-519: The clock. The classification of these rallies are determined by summing the times set with the fastest crews being victorious, as found in the World Rally Championship . This method is often called rally racing or stage rallying informally, whilst rallies that do not include special stages are distinctly regularity rallies . Rallies that include routes that cover terrain off-road are also known as rally raid or cross-country rallies,

5643-523: The development of DC motors, but all encountered the same battery cost issues. As no electricity distribution system was available at the time, no practical commercial market emerged for these motors. After many other more or less successful attempts with relatively weak rotating and reciprocating apparatus Prussian/Russian Moritz von Jacobi created the first real rotating electric motor in May 1834. It developed remarkable mechanical output power. His motor set

5742-478: The developments by Zénobe Gramme who, in 1871, reinvented Pacinotti's design and adopted some solutions by Werner Siemens . A benefit to DC machines came from the discovery of the reversibility of the electric machine, which was announced by Siemens in 1867 and observed by Pacinotti in 1869. Gramme accidentally demonstrated it on the occasion of the 1873 Vienna World's Fair , when he connected two such DC devices up to 2 km from each other, using one of them as

5841-411: The driver to monitor from a display fixed on the steering wheel some parameters such as RPM, timing of laps (including sectors), number of laps, best lap, cooling system temperature, exhaust gas temperature and sometimes speed or even gear for shifter karts. Some of those systems are able to record (logging) laps data from the sensors, allowing replay of an entire running session or/and direct download to

5940-644: The drivers to pass a medical exam each year. License classes differ between countries according to age groups or levels. Most of the time a Practice License can be easily obtained, while a Racing License might require a capability assessment. For their safety, kart drivers are required to wear proper equipment: Motorsport Different manifestations of motorsport with their own objectives and specific rules are called disciplines. Examples include circuit racing , rallying and trials . Governing bodies, also called sanctioning bodies, often have general rules for each discipline, but allow supplementary rules to define

6039-460: The electric energy produced in the US. In 1824, French physicist François Arago formulated the existence of rotating magnetic fields , termed Arago's rotations , which, by manually turning switches on and off, Walter Baily demonstrated in 1879 as in effect the first primitive induction motor . In the 1880s many inventors were trying to develop workable AC motors because AC's advantages in long-distance high-voltage transmission were offset by

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6138-576: The electric grid, provided for electric distribution to trolleys via overhead wires and the trolley pole, and provided control systems for electric operations. This allowed Sprague to use electric motors to invent the first electric trolley system in 1887–88 in Richmond, Virginia , the electric elevator and control system in 1892, and the electric subway with independently powered centrally-controlled cars. The latter were first installed in 1892 in Chicago by

6237-474: The electrochemical battery by Alessandro Volta in 1799 made possible the production of persistent electric currents. Hans Christian Ørsted discovered in 1820 that an electric current creates a magnetic field, which can exert a force on a magnet. It only took a few weeks for André-Marie Ampère to develop the first formulation of the electromagnetic interaction and present the Ampère's force law , that described

6336-487: The famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race for automobiles there is also a 24-hours event for karts which takes place at the kart circuit Alain Prost at Le Mans , France. This race has taken place since 1986 and its winners list include four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais (in 1996). Endurance racing is also considered a more affordable way of getting into karting. In South Africa, the 24 Hours of Karting Festival race

6435-524: The fastest growing in the United States is Lo206. The general classes are 125cc Shifter, 100cc tag, 125cc tag and then the X30 equivalents of these karts. The CIK-FIA sanctions international championships in OK , OKJ , KZ1 , KZ2 and Superkart . These are regarded as the top-level classes of karting and are also raced in national championships worldwide. The World Championship is decided here. In May 2019 it held

6534-472: The first device to contain the three main components of practical DC motors: the stator , rotor and commutator. The device employed no permanent magnets, as the magnetic fields of both the stationary and revolving components were produced solely by the currents flowing through their windings. The first commutator DC electric motor capable of turning machinery was invented by English scientist William Sturgeon in 1832. Following Sturgeon's work,

6633-745: The front and one for the rear, and are adjustable to allow for front/rear bias changes. Professionally raced karts typically weigh 165 to 175 lb (75 to 79 kg), complete without driver. Avanti , Tony Kart, Trulli , Birel , CRG , Gillard , Intrepid , Remo Racing , Kosmic, Zanardi or FA Kart and EKS are a few well-known examples of the many European manufacturers of race-quality chassis. Emmick, Coyote, Bandit, Shadow, MGM, Titan, PRC and Margay are American companies producing kart chassis. Racing karts mostly use small two-stroke or four-stroke engines; however, as of 2022, there has been small-scale adoption of electric motors in racing karts. Purpose of transmission: There are three reasons for having

6732-439: The general form of time trials and sprints. Hillclimbing is the most widely known form of time-trial due to its status as the only time trial or sprint form to have international FIA championships and endorsement. Its origins begin near the start of motorsport, particularly with the trials held that tested the capabilities of early automobiles to tackle uphill gradients. Contestants complete an uphill course individually and against

6831-643: The general public may be limited to lower speeds. American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft , he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Early karting events were held in the Rose Bowl Stadium car park. Instantly popular, Karting rapidly spread to other countries, and currently has a large following in Europe. The first kart manufacturer

6930-447: The general rule of participants completing a course individually with the intention of setting the shortest time or highest average speed. This form of motorsport can be recreational or when competitive, rules may vary slightly such as whether to include the total time of several runs, the best time set, or the average pace of multiple courses to classify competitors. Qualifying sessions for circuit races and special stages in rallying take

7029-586: The inability to operate motors on AC. The first alternating-current commutatorless induction motor was invented by Galileo Ferraris in 1885. Ferraris was able to improve his first design by producing more advanced setups in 1886. In 1888, the Royal Academy of Science of Turin published Ferraris's research detailing the foundations of motor operation, while concluding at that time that "the apparatus based on that principle could not be of any commercial importance as motor." Possible industrial development

7128-403: The international under-15 championship. The driver who finished first overall was Vlad Sputzki (Russia) followed by Daniel Smith (England) and then followed by Maximilien Blank (Australia) CIK-FIA categories: Non CIK-FIA categories: The Kart World Championship (or KWC) as opposed to the FIA's "Karting World Championship" uses 4-stroke rental karts and travels to a different country each year. In

7227-644: The load are exerted beyond the outermost bearing, the load is said to be overhung. The rotor is supported by bearings , which allow the rotor to turn on its axis by transferring the force of axial and radial loads from the shaft to the motor housing. A DC motor is usually supplied through a split ring commutator as described above. AC motors' commutation can be achieved using either a slip ring commutator or external commutation. It can be fixed-speed or variable-speed control type, and can be synchronous or asynchronous. Universal motors can run on either AC or DC. DC motors can be operated at variable speeds by adjusting

7326-546: The magnet, showing that the current gave rise to a close circular magnetic field around the wire. Faraday published the results of his discovery in the Quarterly Journal of Science , and sent copies of his paper along with pocket-sized models of his device to colleagues around the world so they could also witness the phenomenon of electromagnetic rotations. This motor is often demonstrated in physics experiments, substituting brine for (toxic) mercury. Barlow's wheel

7425-582: The most famous example being the Dakar Rally . In the United States, the National Off-Road Racing Association (NORRA) was founded in 1967 along with the Baja 1000 . Since the 1990s, this race has been organised by SCORE International whilst NORRA's events have closer followed the FIA regulations and standards for cross country rallies, although the association has no affiliation to ACCUS , the US's FIA member. Drifting

7524-494: The next heat or winning the competition. Autocross has multiple general meanings based on country of use. Also known as Autocross in US and Canada and Autoslalom in Continental Europe, these similar disciplines are held in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. They involve precise car control, usually but not always against the clock on very short and compact temporary courses. Rather than being

7623-485: The point of use, and improving power transmission efficiency. Electric motors applied in agriculture eliminated human and animal muscle power from such tasks as handling grain or pumping water. Household uses (like in washing machines, dishwashers, fans, air conditioners and refrigerators (replacing ice boxes ) of electric motors reduced heavy labor in the home and made higher standards of convenience, comfort and safety possible. Today, electric motors consume more than half of

7722-485: The production of mechanical force by the interaction of an electric current and a magnetic field. Michael Faraday gave the first demonstration of the effect with a rotary motion on 3 September 1821 in the basement of the Royal Institution . A free-hanging wire was dipped into a pool of mercury, on which a permanent magnet (PM) was placed. When a current was passed through the wire, the wire rotated around

7821-746: The rental Kart World Championship. NatSKA is a budget karting association set up for schools and youth groups in the UK, with 13 classes. In the United States, Dirt oval classes (which often use Briggs & Stratton industrial engines) are prominent in the Southeast and Midwest. In the West, European style sprint racing is much more common. In particular, 125cc shifter karts using Honda CR125 power units have gained tremendous popularity in recent years. In Australia, classes include Cadet (previously called Midget),Junior KA4, Junior KA3, X30, KZ2, Senior KA3, Senior TAG (Restricted and Unrestricted). Most classes run

7920-428: The rotor and stator ferromagnetic cores have projections called poles that face each other. Wire is wound around each pole below the pole face, which become north or south poles when current flows through the wire. In a nonsalient-pole (distributed field or round-rotor) motor, the ferromagnetic core is a smooth cylinder, with the windings distributed evenly in slots around the circumference. Supplying alternating current in

8019-465: The rotor and the stator. The product between these two fields gives rise to a force and thus a torque on the motor shaft. One or both of these fields changes as the rotor turns. This is done by switching the poles on and off at the right time, or varying the strength of the pole. Motors can be designed to operate on DC current, on AC current, or some types can work on either. AC motors can be either asynchronous or synchronous. Synchronous motors require

8118-402: The rotor, which moves, and the stator, which does not. Electrically, the motor consists of two parts, the field magnets and the armature, one of which is attached to the rotor and the other to the stator. Together they form a magnetic circuit . The magnets create a magnetic field that passes through the armature. These can be electromagnets or permanent magnets . The field magnet is usually on

8217-423: The series. Typically, race formats are one of the following: Sprint racing takes place on dedicated kart circuits resembling small road courses, with left and right turns, hairpins, chicanes, and short and long straightaways. Tracks range from 1/4-mile (400 metres) to over 1 mile (1,600 metres) in length. The sprint format is a series of short-duration races, normally for a small number of laps, that qualify for

8316-539: The shape parallels that of an egg or a tri-oval . "Offset" kart chassis have been developed for precise handling and adjustability in left-turn-only racing competition taking place on oval and tri-oval tracks. Depending on the track material, different tires are used on the kart. Speedway kart races range in length from 4 laps for a trophy dash, to 20 laps for a main event. The two chief racing formats used in dirt speedway karting are heat races and timed laps qualification: There are many different classes in kart. One of

8415-527: The sports regulated by FIA (under the name of CIK), permitting licensed competition racing for anyone from the age of 8 onward. It is generally accepted as the most economical form of motorsport available on four wheels. As a free-time activity, it can be performed by almost anybody, and as karting circuits can be indoors and not take as much space as other forms of motorsport, it can be accessible to retail consumers without much qualification or training. Non-racing speed competitions have various names but all carry

8514-454: The stator and the armature on the rotor, but these may be reversed. The rotor is the moving part that delivers the mechanical power. The rotor typically holds conductors that carry currents, on which the magnetic field of the stator exerts force to turn the shaft. The stator surrounds the rotor, and usually holds field magnets, which are either electromagnets (wire windings around a ferromagnetic iron core) or permanent magnets . These create

8613-435: The stator in plastic resin to prevent corrosion and/or reduce conducted noise. An air gap between the stator and rotor allows it to turn. The width of the gap has a significant effect on the motor's electrical characteristics. It is generally made as small as possible, as a large gap weakens performance. Conversely, gaps that are too small may create friction in addition to noise. The armature consists of wire windings on

8712-406: The torque applied to the rotor is always in the same direction. Without this reversal, the direction of torque on each rotor winding would reverse with each half turn, stopping the rotor. Commutated motors have been mostly replaced by brushless motors , permanent magnet motors , and induction motors . The motor shaft extends outside of the motor, where it satisfies the load. Because the forces of

8811-663: The voltage applied to the terminals or by using pulse-width modulation (PWM). AC motors operated at a fixed speed are generally powered directly from the grid or through motor soft starters . AC motors operated at variable speeds are powered with various power inverter , variable-frequency drive or electronic commutator technologies. The term electronic commutator is usually associated with self-commutated brushless DC motor and switched reluctance motor applications. Electric motors operate on one of three physical principles: magnetism , electrostatics and piezoelectricity . In magnetic motors, magnetic fields are formed in both

8910-406: The winding, further increasing the efficiency. In 1886, Frank Julian Sprague invented the first practical DC motor, a non-sparking device that maintained relatively constant speed under variable loads. Other Sprague electric inventions about this time greatly improved grid electric distribution (prior work done while employed by Thomas Edison ), allowed power from electric motors to be returned to

9009-431: The windings creates poles in the core that rotate continuously. A shaded-pole motor has a winding around part of the pole that delays the phase of the magnetic field for that pole. A commutator is a rotary electrical switch that supplies current to the rotor. It periodically reverses the flow of current in the rotor windings as the shaft rotates. It consists of a cylinder composed of multiple metal contact segments on

9108-563: Was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1957). In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted chainsaw two-stroke engine . Later, in the 1960s, motorcycle engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy ( IAME ), started to build engines for the sport. The chassis are made of chromoly tubing. There

9207-508: Was an early refinement to this Faraday demonstration, although these and similar homopolar motors remained unsuited to practical application until late in the century. In 1827, Hungarian physicist Ányos Jedlik started experimenting with electromagnetic coils . After Jedlik solved the technical problems of continuous rotation with the invention of the commutator , he called his early devices "electromagnetic self-rotors". Although they were used only for teaching, in 1828 Jedlik demonstrated

9306-661: Was developed from a scrapped John Bridge Adams light-rail vehicle. These were solid fired steam carriages. This event and the details of the vehicles are recorded in the contemporary press, The Engineer , and in Fletcher's books. The Wisconsin legislature passed an act in 1875 offering a substantial purse for the first US motor race, which was run on July 16, 1878, over a 200-mile course from Green Bay to Appleton, Oshkosh, Waupon, Watertown, Fort Atkinson and Janesville, then turning north and ending in Madison. Only two actually competed:

9405-449: Was envisioned by Nikola Tesla , who invented independently his induction motor in 1887 and obtained a patent in May 1888. In the same year, Tesla presented his paper A New System of Alternate Current Motors and Transformers to the AIEE that described three patented two-phase four-stator-pole motor types: one with a four-pole rotor forming a non-self-starting reluctance motor , another with

9504-458: Was found not to be suitable for street cars, but Westinghouse engineers successfully adapted it to power a mining operation in Telluride, Colorado in 1891. Westinghouse achieved its first practical induction motor in 1892 and developed a line of polyphase 60 hertz induction motors in 1893, but these early Westinghouse motors were two-phase motors with wound rotors. B.G. Lamme later developed

9603-438: Was not practical because of two-phase pulsations, which prompted him to persist in his three-phase work. The General Electric Company began developing three-phase induction motors in 1891. By 1896, General Electric and Westinghouse signed a cross-licensing agreement for the bar-winding-rotor design, later called the squirrel-cage rotor . Induction motor improvements flowing from these inventions and innovations were such that

9702-483: Was the first purpose-built motor racing track in the world. After which, permanent autodromes popularly replaced circuits on public roads. In North America, the term road racing is used to describe racing and courses that have origins in racing on public highways; distinguished from oval racing , which has origins at purpose-built speedways using concrete or wooden boards . Off-road racing can take place on open terrain with no set path, or on circuits that do not have

9801-645: Was the first to involve what would become known as automobiles. On 28 November 1895, the Chicago Times-Herald race , running from Chicago to Evanston and back, a distance of sixty miles, was held. This is believed to be the first motorsport event in the United States of America. In 1900, the Gordon Bennett Cup was established. Motorsport was a demonstration event at the 1900 Summer Olympics . Following World War I , European countries organised Grand Prix races over closed courses. In

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