The 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 66th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 6 and 7 June 1998.
58-586: The CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup was a kart racing competition organised by the ACM and sanctioned by the CIK-FIA , taking place at the Circuit de Monaco , Monte Carlo . Founded in 1995, the event was contested until 2010 by drivers in junior and senior classes. The kart circuit followed Port Hercules of the famous Formula One track, including corners such as Tabac , La Piscine and La Rascasse . The junior race
116-565: 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
174-474: 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
232-508: 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
290-412: 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
348-409: A reserve list, in case an entry from the list of 48 withdrew prior to the event. These entries were allowed to join the race entry list based on the fastest pre-qualifying times from the same group and class as the withdrawn entry. Before the race, two LMGT2 entries from the first pre-qualifying session were withdrawn. First to be withdrawn was the lone Cirtek Mustang which had qualified, which promoted
406-634: A seven-year hiatus, the senior class returned in 2009 under KZ2 regulations, replacing FA. Gianluca Beggio was the only driver to win multiple gearbox Monaco Grands Prix, winning back-to-back in 1998 and 1999. From 2002 to 2010, a six-hour endurance race was held at the Monaco Kart Cup, contested as the Six Heures de Monte-Carlo . From 2001 to 2002, the Monaco Stars Cup was held as an all-star race , contested again in 2007 as
464-487: A significant increase in manufacturer involvement. Porsche and Mercedes-Benz remained, with upgraded cars in both GT1 and LMP. Toyota sent three of their new, extremely fast GT-One racing cars, while BMW, in association with WilliamsF1 , launched the new BMW V12 LM . Nissan sent 4 of their new R390 GT1s . The United States was also represented properly with a two car team from Panoz , with Ford powered Esperante GTR-1s , and factory-backed Chrysler Viper GTS-R in
522-606: 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
580-421: 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
638-481: 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
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#1732790644899696-963: 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
754-507: 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,
812-852: 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
870-448: 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
928-1124: 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
986-806: 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 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
1044-739: The Monaco Elec-Kart Trophy , or the VIP Electric Trophée , in electric karts . From 2005 to 2008, a 250cc four-stroke race was held at the Monaco Kart Cup, contested as the Monaco Four-Stroke Contest . Kart racing 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
1102-579: 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
1160-478: The direct-drive Formula A (FA) and Junior Intercontinental A (ICA-J) classes, as well as the gearbox Intercontinental C (ICC) class. The inaugural FA event was won by Nicola Gianniberti, with Éric Salignon winning the junior event and Portuguese driver Jaime Correia winning the ICC race. In 1996, reigning two-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher entered the senior FA class, dominating
1218-588: The #33 Nova Nissan spinning into a gravel trap after only 10 minutes of the session, later resuming with the spare rear bodywork from one of the TWR cars. In LMP1 there were 9 entries competing for 7 slots. Again a Ferrari was fastest, as the JB Ferrari beat the factory BMW and Porsche entries with 0.4 and 2.7 seconds respectively. The second Kremer K8 scraped home ahead of the Konrad K8 by 0.08 seconds and thus made
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#17327906448991276-504: The #65 Roock Racing 911 GT2 into the race. Secondly Viper Team Oreca, which had a total of four Vipers qualified for the race including their automatic entry, withdrew Viper #52. This promoted the #58 RJ Racing Helem into the race. Of the 48 cars entered for the race 47 would take part in practice and qualifying. The Helem V6, which had been promoted following the withdrawal of the #52 Viper, ultimately failed race week scrutineering checks because of non-complying structural differences between
1334-505: The 1999 edition, not returning until 2009. Robert Kubica took back-to-back junior titles in 1998 and 1999, becoming the first—and to this date, only—driver to win multiple Junior Monaco Kart Cups. Jérôme d'Ambrosio ended his reign in 2000, beating Michael Ammermüller and Carlo van Dam to the title. The Monaco Stars Cup was hosted in 2001 and 2002 as an all-star race , won by Formula One drivers Gianni Morbidelli and Giorgio Pantano , respectively. The one-off Challenge Star Team
1392-680: The GT2 class entered by Oreca . Automatic entry to the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was granted to teams that had performed well in the previous year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the 1997 season of the FIA GT Championship and the Le Mans Autumn Cup. Entries with a blue background were granted entries, but did not accept their invitations. A total of 63 entries, including those already automatically qualified, were presented for scrutineering on Saturday, May 2. 61 cars passed
1450-581: 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
1508-483: 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
1566-489: 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
1624-749: 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
1682-411: 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
1740-558: 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: 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans Events for the 24 Hours of Le Mans began on 2 May with technical inspections, before initial pre-qualifying on 3 May. The race week began on Monday 1 June with renewed technical inspections. 1998 saw
1798-646: The event—saw hometown hero Charles Leclerc take the KF3 crown ahead of Dennis Olsen and Pierre Gasly . The KZ2 race was won by Norman Nato , driving for CRG . The 2011 edition was cancelled due to unspecified technical reasons, marking the end of the Monaco Kart Cup. The Monaco Kart Cup was contested at the Circuit de Monaco , a street circuit in Monte Carlo , home of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix since 1929 . The track featured
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1856-488: 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
1914-515: The fastest 911 GT2. The non-qualifiers were two 911 GT2's and the Helem PRV V6. Note: Pink background denotes non-qualifiers, green background denotes entries automatically pre-qualified. Afternoon session (2:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.) The afternoon session saw the final 9 GT1 entries competing for the remaining 7 slots on the grid. Fastest overall and in GT1 was the number 26 Porsche in
1972-524: 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
2030-636: The fastest time. The non-qualifiers were the number 17 Kremer K8 (4:02) and the WR (3:56) which suffered a spin into the gravel trap at the Dunlop curve early in the session. Slowest of the LMP1 cars was the already-qualified Courage #24. The GT2 group consisted of 11 entries competing for 8 slots. The lone LMP2 entry to the race, the #22 Debora, had been grouped into this category in the absence of any other competition. The predicted Oreca Viper benefit, 4.3 seconds clear of
2088-418: The final to add the Monaco Kart Cup to his racing accolades. The 1997 edition saw Salignon add to his 1995 title by winning the senior class, becoming the only driver to win in both the junior and the senior classes at the Monaco Kart Cup. Gianluca Beggio secured his second consecutive ICC title, adding to his five World Championships and three European Championships . The gearbox class was discontinued after
2146-514: The first Monégasque driver to win an individual event at the Monaco Kart Cup. The junior class was contested under the newly-established KF3 regulations, won by Max Goff. The senior gearbox class returned in 2009, replacing the four-stroke event and running the secondary KZ2 regulations. French driver Anthony Abbasse won the first KZ2 event, with Carlos Sainz Jr. winning the Junior Monaco Grand Prix. 2010—the final year of
2204-745: 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
2262-646: 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
2320-645: The grid. In the end it was the unfortunate Larbre and Zakspeed entries that were out of luck despite trying hard with in the case of number 38 spectacular moments. Slowest of all in GT1 was the GTC McLaren with the Mercedes (which had a stop on the Mulsanne at 12:30, reason unknown) splitting the two non pre-qualifiers. In LMP1 8 entries battled for 6 slots on the grid, with the Moretti Ferrari setting
2378-456: The hands of Allan McNish after a titanic battle with Martin Brundle's Toyota in the closing hour, the difference ending up at only 0.09 seconds. The two who go no further in GT1 for this session were Hybrid Panoz and the second Zakspeed Porsche (meaning neither Zakspeed entry made it through to the race). The two Nissans (one TWR, one Nova) and the 'conventional' Panoz made it comfortably, despite
Monaco Kart Cup - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-453: 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
2494-578: The port complex of the Grand Prix circuit— Tabac , La Piscine and La Rascasse —as well as the Formula One pit lane . The exit of the pit lane was connected to the port via a ramp and a hairpin corner . The junior direct-drive class was held from the inaugural 1995 edition until its final 2010 edition. Until 2007, it was contested under ICA-J regulations, prior to the class being replaced by KF3 in international competition. Robert Kubica
2552-483: The race as the faster cars from Mercedes, BMW and Toyota retired with mechanical difficulties and accident damage. The remaining Nissans and outdated McLarens were unable to match the pace of the upgraded 911 GT1s. Following this race, Porsche went into a sabbatical, rumored to be part of a plan to allow Porsche's partner Audi to develop their own sportscar without competition from within the alliance. Porsche would return to Le Mans in 2014 ; they would eventually win
2610-528: The race. The other prototype not to progress was the other WR which never managed to set a competitive laptime. GT2 was again dominated by the Oreca Vipers. 8 of the 10 entries would make it through, with the two non-qualifiers being the second Cirtek Mustang and the third Roock Racing 911 GT2. Note: Pink background denotes non-qualifiers, green background denotes entries automatically pre-qualified. The entries which failed to pre-qualify were placed on
2668-750: 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
2726-434: The road car and the competition one entered in the 24 Hours. After barely scraping through on a reserve entry the car would thus not be allowed to take any further part in race proceedings. Qualifying took place over a combined four sessions held on Wednesday and Thursday evening, with the fastest times set at any time across all sessions determining the starting grid for the race. Class leaders are in bold . Porsche won
2784-429: The scrutineering checks, but two entries - the #37 Newcastle United Lister Storm and the #59 Pilbeam Racing Designs Lotus Esprit , were denied on technical grounds. With no time to effect the necessary changes both entries would be unable to take part in pre-qualifying for the race. Pre-qualifying for the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans took place on Sunday, May 3. The entries were divided into two groups of qualifiers where
2842-424: 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
2900-540: 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
2958-455: The slowest entries in each class would be eliminated and thus not qualify for the race. A total of 49 starting slots were available for the entered cars, including those already automatically pre-qualified, and were divided on a session- and class-basis. The pre-qualifying results were as follows: Morning session (7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.) It was an expectedly tight session for the GT1 cars, with 7 strong entries competing for 5 slots on
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#17327906448993016-478: Was also contested in 2001, won by Italian driver Stefano Tilly. That year's junior event saw future four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel 's victory, adding to his European Championship that season. The 2002 Monaco Kart Cup saw the introduction of the 6 Hours of Monte Carlo , a six-hour endurance race around the Principality, held continuously until the final meeting in 2010. It
3074-501: Was also contested that year, won by Swiss driver Antonio Ruggiero. The Junior Monaco Kart Cup was revived in 2006 as the Junior Monaco Grand Prix , now running as the primary class. Scott Jenkins beat compatriot Oliver Rowland , driving for Intrepid. The all-star race returned in electric karts in 2007 as the one-off Monaco Elec-Kart Trophy , won by 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Stéphane Ortelli , becoming
3132-477: Was also the final year of the senior direct-drive FA class, with Benjamin Horstman successfully defending his 2001 title; Alexander Sims took the junior crown. From 2003 to 2004, development work to the harbour at Port Hercules saw the cancellation of the event in those years. The 2005 edition saw the introduction of the Monaco Four-Stroke Contest , using 250cc four-stroke engines . The one-off Monaco Rok Up
3190-567: 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
3248-463: Was known as the Junior Monaco Grand Prix from 2006 to 2010. Notable winners of the Monaco Kart Cup include Formula One World Drivers' Champions Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel , as well as other Formula One drivers Robert Kubica , Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc . The Monaco Kart Cup was founded in 1995 by the Automobile Club de Monaco . It was initially contested in
3306-460: Was the only driver to win multiple Junior Monaco Grands Prix, winning back-to-back in 1998 and 1999. Notable winners in the junior class also include four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel and Formula One drivers Jérôme d'Ambrosio , Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc . From 1995 to 2002, the senior class at the Monaco Kart Cup was run under the secondary direct-drive Formula A (FA) regulations. Benjamin Horstman
3364-422: Was the only driver to win multiple senior direct-drive Monaco Kart Cups, winning back-to-back in 2001 and 2002. Notable winners include seven-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher , who entered the event upon winning his second World Championship . The secondary gearbox class Intercontinental C (ICC) was contested as a tertiary competition at the Monaco Kart Cup from 1995 to 1999. After
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