Getting started in Karting: Briggs & Stratton

Firstly, it was the lawnmower. Early motorised go karts were lawnmower engines with a chassis that sat only a few inches off the ground and they were fun as hell. This is something that many current karters ignore, but fun in karting is not strictly related to speed performances or powerful engines. It’s all about the driving, most of the times. That’s why karting was born for: cheap racing. Racing for all. Then it became also something different: the formula 1 dreaming, the baby racers, the huge business and the money. That’s the PRO karting and there’s nothing wrong with it but if we speak about pure racing and grassroots, how to forget a formula that currently meets huge success worldwide: 4 strokes racing. Racing karts – not rental chassis, RACING chassis – and lawnmower engines “converted” (custom engineered for racing) to racing. The results is affordable racing for racers who need to manage a budget, or who want to do more events per year, it’s an easy way for them to be able to practice and compete often. Market prices for a these engines and full chassis package are pretty level everywhere and don’t forget that this kind of classes can minimize the effect of the frustrating situation of (many) racers leave the sport after a few years…Ever raced one of these? We asked the Director of Briggs & Stratton Racing to summarize the 206 program:«The 206 racing engine is a ‘reset’ button. At the end of the day we have to make this sport more accessible. While a lot of karting focus is at the top of the pyramid we have to build the base as big as we can because that’s what feeds all levels of karting. That is what leads to healthy clubs, series, dealers, and manufacturers. We have to get more people into the sport as well as keep people racing longer. To do that costs have to be controlled, complexity reduced, and as gatekeepers we have to understand that people leave busy lives and mechanical skillsets are becoming rarer and rarer. And most important people are having fun and that is what it’s all about!»

The rising of the Briggs and Stratton in Italy by the Championship organized by CRG
In Italy, the project kicked off in 2019 thanks to CRG and Marco Angeletti's great experience in 'popular' karting: «The potential market for Karting is very broad, like that of many other sports. We cannot think that the reasons that push the family of a 13-year-old boy to go Karting in FIA events dreaming of F1 are the same that push a 50-year-old manager or employee on the track to have fun. Or that the availability of time and money of a practitioner willing to do a race that lasts 4-5 days, are the availability of all our potential users. On the contrary, they are the availability of a minority. Most fans don't think about F1, because they don't have the age to hope for it anymore, they don't have the money to try and the time to dedicate to it. The majority of enthusiasts just want to drive a kart on the track and it is up to us (sector operators and Federations) not to make it impossible for them; but rather to facilitate this process.»
The facts seem to prove CRG right, which believed in this project which, despite the two years of pandemic, has grown, attracting drivers from all backgrounds, from those who had never raced before to those who have tried their hand at other categories for years. , to those who are back behind the wheel after many years of stop. The Briggs & Stratton Championship by CRG is becoming to be popular in Europe too: stay tuned