InKart Championship Rules & Regulations
Daytona Sandown Park Spring Championship

The season will comprise of ten rounds, with the top eight scoring rounds to count to the final Championship Standings.

You must book in by the FRIDAY before the event; failure to do so may result in starting at the back of the grid or not being able to race.

Categories
A new format for 2020 will see 27 Cadets and 27 Juniors participating at each round. There will be a maximum of 9 Cadets and 9 Juniors on circuit at any one time and drivers will be scored in their respective categories (Cadet or Junior) whilst running on circuit at the same time.

Eligibility
All Junior drivers must fall into the 8-15 years age bracket and reach the minimum height to compete. Drivers must reach the designated height with their shoes on but not wearing their helmet.

If at the lower end of the height range, it is advised to organise a seat fitting.

Entry to the Championship will be determined by successful completion of one of two criteria; either graduating from Daytona’s Junior Race School or, for drivers with proven race experience, an InKart Assessment.

Format and Points
Each round will be of the same format and this will be arranged as follows:

Once drivers are signed in, one third of the Cadet drivers and 1 third of the Junior drivers will be randomly assigned to one of three 15-minute Practice/Qualifying sessions. A driver’s fastest lap will determine whether they race in the A, B or C Final. The top 3 drivers from each class from each session will go through to the A Final, 4^th-6^th into The B Final and 7^th – 9^th to the C Final.

The Finals will be 20 minutes in duration.

Race Start Procedure

All races will commence from a standing start on the grid. Drivers will leave the pit-lane and be directed to their starting position on the grid by the track marshals. Once the final driver has assumed their correct position on the grid, the start of the race will be signalled by the Start Line marshal with the green flag. If any driver is deemed to jump the start by the Start Line marshal, they will receive a penalty.

The Junior class grid will form up on the first 5 rows on the grid with the Cadet class grid forming up behind. There will then be a staggered start with the Cadet drivers leaving the grid 25 seconds after the Juniors.

Points will be awarded per category (Cadet and Junior), as follows:

A Final                                                  B Final                                                  C Final
1st          60 points                             1st          40 points                             1st          20 points

2nd        55 points                             2nd        36 points                             2nd        17 points

3rd         52 points                             3rd         33 points                             3rd         15 points

4th         50 points                             4th         32 points                             4th         14 points

5th         49 points                             5th         31 points                             5th         13 points

6th         48 points                             6th         30 points                             6th         12 points

7th         47 points                             7th         29 points                             7th         11 points

8th         46 points                             8th         28 points                             8th         10 points

9th         45 points                             9th         27 points                             9th         9   points

A bonus point will be awarded per class, per round, for the Fastest Lap in Qualifying and the Fastest Lap in the Race.

All points that a driver scores during the meeting will be added together and this will be the score for the day.  At the end of the season, a driver’s best 8 scores will be added together to determine the Championship Standings.

Please note that any driver who has broken any rule or who has demonstrated bad behaviour on or off the track may face points being deducted.

At the end of the season, should two drivers be on equal points, the driver who has the most Round wins across the entire season will be placed first. Should this not split the drivers it will then fall to second place finishes, and then third place finishes if they are still not split. In a situation where this still does not determine a winner, then it will fall to the most ‘Fastest Laps’ across the season.

Driving Standards

Penalty Board
For any offence considered a black flag offence, the driver will receive a Penalty Board.  This indicates a 5-place position drop from the position that the driver finishes in. If there are insufficient drivers in the race to fulfil the whole 5-place penalty, the driver will be penalised 5 positions worth of points. I.E. if a driver finished 6^th of 7 karts, they would receive points for a notional 11^th place. When receiving a penalty board, the driver does not have to return to the pit lane and can continue until the race has ended.

A driver may also receive a penalty board for an accumulated offence i.e. having received previous warning flags; any further offence will result in a driver receiving a penalty board.

Should a driver receive 2 Penalty Boards in one Race Meeting, they will serve a 30-second Stop/Go penalty.

If a driver receives 3 Penalty Boards in one Race Meeting, they will score 0 points for that Round, and face possible suspension from the next round.

Contact

Karting is a non-contact sport and this will be strictly adhered to in the InKart Championship. -It is possible that in some cases, contact may occur as a result of a racing incident for example if a driver loses control of a kart and another “brushes” it in the process.  The circuit staff are trained to recognise this type of eventuality and to report it to the Race Director.

Avoidable contact will not be tolerated and any driver deemed to have made avoidable contact with another driver will be penalised.

Depending on the severity of the incident, the drivers involved will be shown a warning board at the start line.  This will be “NO BUMPING” for contact. Continued contact subject to severity may result in an immediate black & white flag or penalty (black flag).

Kerbing and Track Limits
Any driver observed causing their tyres to cross the white lines which define the circuit limits will face a warning by the issue of a “NO KERBING” board being displayed. Repetitive use of the kerbs will result in a penalty or disqualification. Drivers will be warned/penalised as follows:

1^st Offence – ‘No Kerbing’ board

2^nd Offence – ‘No Kerbing’ board with warning flag

3^rd Offence – Penalty Board (5 place penalty)

It will be assumed that any driver who is continuously exceeding the track limits is either unable to control the kart or trying to gain an unfair advantage. In both instances, the driver may receive a Penalty Board or even disqualified on the grounds of safety or fairness.

Overtaking
This is always a highly disputed issue but for the purposes of the InKart Championship the following rules will apply:

It is the responsibility of the driver doing the overtaking to do so safely.  There is no rule as to whether overtaking should be done on the left or the right and a driver making an overtaking move in to a corner may not expect to complete the manoeuvre if the line he/she is taking is closing towards the apex as a result of the kart ahead being on the racing line.

If two karts are side by side on the approach to a corner, it is the responsibility of both drivers to ensure that they negotiate the corner safely. In other words, a driver may not deliberately “squeeze” another off the circuit. If two karts are alongside throughout a corner the driver on the inside must leave one kart width on the outside of the exit of the corner. The driver on the outside must leave one kart width on the inside of the corner.

The driver overtaking on the inside must be under control and at least halfway alongside the other kart at the point of entry, the driver on the outside must then yield as any contact made will be their responsibility.

Weaving/Blocking

Weaving or blocking in an attempt to obstruct other karts is expressly prohibited.

It is not permissible to change direction by moving across the racing line more than once in any one instance and if a driver does this, it will be deemed as weaving and penalised as a result.

Spinning
Any driver spinning a kart should firstly ensure that they depress the brake pedal to stop the kart rolling backwards across the track and risk collecting another driver. Failure to do so will suggest that the driver is not in control of the kart and will receive a penalty.

A driver must raise his/her hand in the air to warn other driver and marshals of their situation.

If the kart is still on the circuit, the driver may turn their way back in to the race provided that they have made sure that the circuit is clear. Any obstructive driving at this point will lead to a penalty.

If in doubt, wait before making a move.

Mechanical Failure
Occasionally kart components do fail in spite of the highest standards of kart preparation and unfortunately this is part of motorsport.

Drivers must use the kart they have been allocated, preference to another or a competitor’s kart will not be entertained. If there is a genuine issue which the Pit manager deems to require a kart swap, the new kart will be allocated at random. Once a driver leaves the pit-lane, it will be assumed that they are satisfied with their kart.

If a driver returns to the pits with a problem during a race, no laps will be awarded back to the driver.

A driver suffering a ‘slow’ kart must report the problem to the marshal on the pit gate, there will be no change to the driver’s points. Complaints about kart performance will not be entertained once a driver has left the pit lane.

Karts reported faulty by a driver will be looked at and may rejoin the line up if repaired / deemed fit to race. This may involve a competent marshal testing the kart or an engineer solving the relevant issue.

Flag Signals & Lights

Green Flag

Once formed up on the grid, the green flag will be waved signalling the start of the race.

Chequered flag

This signals the finish of any practice or race.  All drivers are expected to respect the flag and treat it as a full course yellow.

Yellow flag or strobe light

This is the most common and important signal. This indicates that there is an incident ahead. Drivers need to slow to half race pace, form a single line and proceed with caution with no overtaking.

Waved yellow: Local incident – no racing until past the incident and there are no flags or strobes at the following bend;

Static yellow: Full course yellow conditions – no racing until yellow flags & strobes are removed and a green flag is waved by the marshals.

Any drivers deemed to have driven dangerously or in a reckless manner (including but not limited to speeding) under the yellow flags or lights will be penalised.

Red flag

Race stopped – bring the kart to a stop quickly and safely at the side of the track. Wait for instructions from the marshals.

If the race is able to resume, the positions in which the drivers crossed the start line on the previous lap will determine their positions for the restart.

The race will be restarted under Full Course Yellow with all drivers one kart length apart at ¼ racing speed. On approach to the start line a green flag will be used to start the race once more.

Black and white diagonal flag

Driver warning – you are now being watched by the marshals so driving standards must improve.

Black Flag

The Race Director may issue a black flag if they deem the recipient’s driving to be too dangerous or reckless.

GO TO PITS board
This may be issued at the Race Director’s discretion if they suspect there is (or there clearly is) damage to a kart.

Cameras and Communication Equipment
Drivers are welcome to use video cameras on the proviso that video footage must be submitted to Daytona Race Officials upon request. Any damage is the responsibility of the owners.

Appeals and Protests

The Race Director’s/Race Incident Director’s decision is final and must be accepted as being so in good faith by both the competitors and track officials. Any Driver who wishes to make an Appeal or Protest may do so for the following reasons:

• An Appeal to the Stewards of the Meeting against a decision of the Race Director or of any other Official of the Meeting.
• To Protest against a fellow Competitor.

All Appeals will be subject to a fee of £25 to be paid in advance of the Appeal being made. All Appeals must be made within 15 minutes of the end of the race concerned. A form will be available at Reception which is to be filled in with the grounds of the Appeal, the Parties involved and the applicant’s version of events. Once the form had been filled in, it must be handed back to Reception. Once an Appeal has been made the Race Director will be made aware. All appeals will be investigated after the Awards Ceremony. The Race Director will review the appeal form and any supplementary evidence, the decision reached will be final. No further appeals of the same or similar nature will be entertained.

Any drivers or associated spectators continuing to appeal either after an appeal has been filed and before the meeting or after the meeting will be subject to a points penalty. Should an Appeal or Protest be judged to be successful by the Race Director the fee will be refunded. For any unsuccessful appeal the fee will be donated to charity.

Arguments and disputes with other drivers, associated spectators or staff of Daytona Sandown Park by parents or other supporters and spectators will not be tolerated and may result in a points penalty or ban (subject to severity).

Safety is the key issue and will be the factor upon which most decisions will be made. Please respect this and consider your own safety as well as the safety of others whilst on the circuit.

Spectators are rarely as close to the scene of the incident as track staff and officials and it will be the observations of the track marshals that will be taken as the grounds for decisions if appropriate.

Any attempt to appeal a decision or protest outside of the above terms will result in a points penalty, further dispute may result in removal from the championship.

Any aggressive behaviour or attempt to informally appeal a Race Director’s decision will result in a penalty being imposed on the driver for whom the complainant is there to support. This is applicable to both Daytona staff members and fellow competitors/spectators. In extreme cases this may result in exclusion from the championship altogether.

Daytona reserves the right to refuse entry as well as remove anybody from the premises at any time.

Results are provisional for 30 minutes after the Awards Ceremony. This is to allow time to investigate any appeals made.

 Rule Amendments
Daytona Motorsport reserve the right to amend rules and regulations as required throughout the season. Any such amendments will be communicated to drivers.