Winter karting: a very busy schedule

Explaining karting to people outside the kart track paddock is often difficult, starting from the calendar itself, which is far too stingy with breaks. Based on Formula 1 or other categories, it is in fact difficult to conceive a season that essentially sees the Christmas holidays and the first weeks of January as the only real breakbetween one season and the next.
In fact, for years now, the international kart season has started with winter tests in mid-January and then continues a few days later with the first trophy up for grabs. A sort of escalation that quickly leads teams and drivers to face the titled races without even realizing how many "cold races" have already gone to the archive. The first scheduled competitions, if you like, are part of a first section of the year valid as a sort of Prologue (as the WEC called them some time ago) or a rally shakedown towards what will be the true values ​​on the circuit.
In the context of cold races, it is in fact reasonable to expect changes in the hierarchy between manufacturers, the result of frames and set-ups or components that blend better or worse with low temperatures. The same goes for drivers who prefer or better determine certain conditions, wear and use of tires. From a physical and mental point of view, we know with certainty that the paddock does not always appreciate the sudden start of the season, especially due to the almost different working methods based on the prohibitive temperatures.
As happens in these cases, between organizers, teams and members, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Having a long season divided into several competitions with the FIA ​​Karting season as the fulcrum certainly has its advantages in economic terms and beyond. Over time, however, more than one dissenting voice has asked to consider the human factor, the psychological one, and also the disagreement in taking to the track with temperatures close to zero for inexperienced drivers like those of the 60 Mini.